Category: 2 Kings

1 Truly, Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, seeing that her son was dead, rose up and put to death all the royal offspring.

2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, the sister of Ahaziah, taking Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, stole him away from the midst of the sons of the king who were being killed, out of the bedroom, with his nurse. And she hid him from the face of Athaliah, so that he would not be killed.

3 And he was with her for six years, hidden in the house of the Lord. But Athaliah reigned over the land.

4 Then, in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent for and took centurions and soldiers, and he brought them to himself in the temple of the Lord. And he formed a pact with them. And taking an oath with them in the house of the Lord, he revealed to them the son of the king.

5 And he commanded them, saying: “This is the word that you must do.

6 Let one third part of you enter on the Sabbath, and keep watch on the house of the king. And let one third part be at the gate of Sur. And let one third part be at the gate behind the dwelling place of the shield bearers. And you shall keep the watch on the house of Mesha.

7 Yet truly, let two parts of you, all who depart on the Sabbath, keep watch over the house of the Lord concerning the king.

8 And you shall surround him, having weapons in your hands. But if anyone will have entered the precinct of the temple, let him be killed. And you shall be with the king, entering and departing.”

9 And the centurions acted in accord with all the things that Jehoiada, the priest, had instructed them. And taking each one of their men who would enter on the Sabbath, with those who would depart on the Sabbath, they went to Jehoiada, the priest.

10 And he gave to them the spears and weapons of king David, which were in the house of the Lord.

11 And they stood, each one having his weapons in his hand, before the right side of the temple, all the way to the left side of the altar and of the shrine, surrounding the king.

12 And he led forth the son of the king. And he placed the diadem on him, and the testimony. And they made him king, and they anointed him. And clapping their hands, they said: “The king lives!”

13 Then Athaliah heard the sound of the people running. And entering to the crowd at the temple of the Lord,

14 she saw the king standing upon a tribunal, according to custom, and the singers and trumpets near him, and all the people of the land rejoicing and sounding the trumpets. And she tore her garments, and she cried out: “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”

15 But Jehoiada gave orders to the centurions who were over the army, and he said to them: “Lead her away, beyond the precinct of the temple. And whoever will have followed her, let him be struck with the sword.” For the priest had said, “Do not allow her to be killed in the temple of the Lord.”

16 And they laid hands on her. And they pushed her through the way by which horses enter, beside the palace. And she was killed there.

17 Then Jehoiada formed a covenant between the Lord, and the king and the people, so that they would be the people of the Lord; and between the king and the people.

18 And all the people of the land entered the temple of Baal, and they tore down his altars, and they thoroughly crushed the statues. Also, they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altar. And the priest placed guards in the house of the Lord.

19 And he took the centurions, and the legions of the Cherethites and Pelethites, and all the people of the land, and together they led the king from the house of the Lord. And they went by way of the gate of the shield bearers into the palace. And he sat upon the throne of the kings.

20 And all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quieted. But Athaliah was slain with the sword at the house of the king.

21 Now Jehoash was seven years old when he had begun to reign.

1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash reigned. And he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Zebiah from Beersheba.

2 And Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord, during all the days that Jehoiada, the priest, taught him.

3 Yet still he did not take away the high places. For the people were still immolating, and burning incense, in the high places.

4 And Jehoash said to the priests: “All of the money for the holy things, which has been brought into the temple of the Lord from those who pass by, which is offered for the price of a soul, and which they bring into the temple of the Lord willingly, from their own free heart:

5 let the priests, according to their ranks, take and use it in order to repair the surfaces of the house, wherever they see anything in need of repair.”

6 And yet, even until the twenty-third year of king Jehoash, the priests did not repair the surfaces of the temple.

7 And king Jehoash called the high priest, Jehoiada, and the priests, saying to them: “Why have you not repaired the surfaces of the temple? Therefore, you may no longer accept money according to your ranks. Instead, return it in order that the temple may be repaired.”

8 And so the priests were prohibited from accepting any more money from the people to repair the surfaces of the house.

9 And the high priest, Jehoiada, took a certain chest, and he opened a hole in the top, and he placed it beside the altar, to the right of those who were entering the house of the Lord. And the priests who kept the doors put all the money in it which was being brought into the temple of the Lord.

10 And when they saw that there was a great amount of money in the chest, the scribe of the king and the high priest went up and poured it out. And they counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord.

11 And they gave it out, by number and measure, to the hands of those who were over the masons of the house of the Lord. And they weighed it out to the carpenters and masons, to those who were working in the house of the Lord

12 and restoring the surfaces, and to those who were cutting stones, and buying timber and stones to be cut, so that the repairs to the house of the Lord might be finished: for all that was needed toward the expenses in order to strengthen the house.

13 Yet truly, from the same money, they did not make for the temple of the Lord water pitchers, or small hooks, or censers, or trumpets, or any vessel of gold or silver, from the money that was brought into the temple of the Lord.

14 For it was given to those who were doing the work, so that the temple of the Lord might be repaired.

15 And they did not ration the money to the men who received it in order to distribute it to the artisans. Instead, they bestowed it with faith.

16 Yet truly, the money for offenses and the money for sins, they did not bring into the temple of the Lord, since it was for the priests.

17 Then Hazael, the king of Syria, ascended and fought against Gath, and he captured it. And he directed his face, so that he might ascend against Jerusalem.

18 For this reason, Jehoash, the king of Judah, took all the sanctified things, which Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, the kings of Judah, had consecrated and which he himself had offered, and all the silver that could be found in the treasuries of the temple of the Lord and in the palace of the king, and he sent it to Hazael, the king of Syria. And so he withdrew from Jerusalem.

19 Now the rest of the words of Jehoash, and all that he did, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah?

20 Then his servants rose up and conspired among themselves. And they struck down Jehoash, at the house of Millo, on the descent of Silla.

21 For Jozacar, the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And Amaziah, his son, reigned in his place.

1 In the twenty-third year of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, the king of Judah, Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, for seventeen years.

2 And he did evil before the Lord. And he followed the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. And he did not turn aside from these.

3 And the fury of the Lord was enraged against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael, the king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad, the son of Hazael, during all the days.

4 But Jehoahaz petitioned the face of the Lord, and the Lord heeded him. For he saw the anguish of Israel, because the king of Syria had oppressed them.

5 And the Lord gave a savior to Israel. And they were freed from the hand of the king of Syria. And the sons of Israel lived in their tabernacles, just as yesterday and the day before.

6 Yet truly, they did not withdraw from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who had caused Israel to sin. Instead, they walked by them. And there was even a sacred grove still remaining in Samaria.

7 And there was left to Jehoahaz from the people nothing but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers. For the king of Syria had killed them, and he had reduced them to become like dust on a threshing floor.

8 But the rest of the words of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his strength, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Joash, his son, reigned in his place.

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Jehoash, the king of Judah, Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, for sixteen years.

11 And he did what is evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not turn aside from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. Instead, he walked by them.

12 But the rest of the words of Joash, and all that he did, and his strength, the manner in which he fought against Amaziah, the king of Judah, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

13 And Joash slept with his fathers. Then Jeroboam sat upon his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel.

14 Now Elisha was sick of the infirmity from which he also died. And Joash, the king of Israel, descended to him. And he was weeping before him, and saying: “My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its driver!”

15 And Elisha said to him, “Bring a bow and arrows.” And when he had brought a bow and arrows to him,

16 he said to the king of Israel, “Place your hand upon the bow.” And when he had placed his hand, Elisha place his own hands over the hands of the king.

17 And he said, “Open the window toward the east.” And when he had opened it, Elisha said, “Shoot an arrow.” And he shot it. And Elisha said: “It is the arrow of the salvation of the Lord, and the arrow of salvation against Syria. And you shall strike the Syrians at Aphek, until you consume them.”

18 And he said, “Take the arrows.” And when he had taken them, he then said to him, “Strike an arrow against the ground.” And when he had struck three times, and he had stood still,

19 the man of God became angry against him. And he said: “If you had struck five or six or seven times, you would have struck down Syria, even until it was consumed. But now you will strike it three times.”

20 Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the robbers from Moab came into the land in the same year.

21 But certain ones who were burying a man saw the robbers, and they cast the dead body into the sepulcher of Elisha. But when it had touched the bones of Elisha, the man revived, and he stood upon his feet.

22 Now Hazael, the king of Syria, afflicted Israel during all the days of Jehoahaz.

23 But the Lord took pity on them, and he returned to them, because of his covenant, which he had made with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. And he was not willing to destroy them, nor to cast them out completely, even to the present time.

24 Then Hazael, the king of Syria, died. And Benhadad, his son, reigned in his place.

25 Now Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, by a just war, took the cities from the hand of Benhadad, the son of Hazael, which he had taken from the hand of Jehoahaz, his father. Jehoash struck him three times, and he restored the cities to Israel.

1 In the second year of Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel: Amaziah, the son of Jehoash, reigned as king of Judah.

2 He was twenty-five years old when he had begun to reign. And he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem.

3 And he did what is right before the Lord, yet truly, not like David, his father. He acted in accord with all the things that his father Jehoash did,

4 except for this alone: he did not take away the high places. For still the people were immolating, and burning incense, in the high places.

5 And when he had obtained the kingdom, he struck down those of his servants who had killed his father, the king.

6 But the sons of those who had been killed he did not put to death, in accord with what was written in the book of the law of Moses, just as the Lord instructed, saying: “The fathers shall not die for the sons, and the sons shall not die for the fathers. Instead, each one shall die for his own sin.”

7 He struck down ten thousand men of Idumea, in the Valley of the Salt Pits. And he captured ‘the Rock’ in battle, and he called its name ‘Subdued by God,’ even to the present day.

8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying: “Come, and let us see one another.”

9 And Jehoash, the king of Israel, sent a reply to Amaziah, the king of Judah, saying: “A thistle of Lebanon sent to a cedar, which is in Lebanon, saying: ‘Give your daughter as wife to my son.’ And the beasts of the forest, which are in Lebanon, passed by and trampled the thistle.

10 You have struck and prevailed over Idumea. And your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your own glory, and be seated your own house. Why would you provoke evil, so that you would fall, and Judah with you?”

11 But Amaziah was not quieted. And so Jehoash, the king of Israel, went up. And he and Amaziah, the king of Judah, saw one another at Beth-shemesh, a town in Judah.

12 And Judah was struck down before Israel, and they fled, each to their own tents.

13 And truly, Jehoash, the king of Israel, captured Amaziah, the king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. And he brought him to Jerusalem. And he breached the wall of Jerusalem, from the gate of Ephraim as far as the gate of the Corner, four hundred cubits.

14 And he took away all the gold and silver, and all the vessels, which were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king, and he returned to Samaria with hostages.

15 But the rest of the words of Jehoash, which he accomplished, and his strength, with which he fought against Amaziah, the king of Judah, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and he was buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel. And Jeroboam, his son, reigned in his place.

17 Now Amaziah, the son of Jehoash, the king of Judah, lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel.

18 And the rest of the words of Amaziah, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah?

19 And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. And he fled to Lachish. And they sent after him, to Lachish, and they killed him there.

20 And they carried him away on horses. And he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers, in the city of David.

21 Then all the people of Judah took Azariah, at sixteen years from birth, and they appointed him as king in place of his father, Amaziah.

22 He built up Elath, and he restored it to Judah, after which the king slept with his fathers.

23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah, the son of Jehoash, the king of Judah: Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash, the king of Israel, reigned, in Samaria, for forty-one years.

24 And he did what is evil before the Lord. He did not withdraw from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.

25 He restored the borders of Israel, from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Wilderness, in accord with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke through his servant, the prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai, who was from Gath, which is in Hepher.

26 For the Lord saw the exceedingly bitter affliction of Israel, and that they were being consumed, even to those who were enclosed in prison, and even to the least ones, and that there was no one who would help Israel.

27 But the Lord did not say that he would wipe away the name of Israel from under heaven. So instead, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash.

28 But the rest of the words of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his strength, with which he went to battle, and the manner in which he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah, in Israel, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel. And Zechariah, his son, reigned in his place.

1 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam, the king of Israel: Azariah, the son of Amaziah, reigned as king of Judah.

2 He was sixteen years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

3 And he did what was pleasing before the Lord, in accord with all that his father, Amaziah, did.

4 Yet truly, he did not demolish the high places. And still the people were sacrificing, and burning incense, in the high places.

5 Now the Lord struck the king, and he became a leper, even until the day of his death. And he was living in a separate house by himself. And truly, Jotham, the son of the king, governed the palace, and he judged the people of the land.

6 Now the rest of the words of Azariah, and all that he did, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah?

7 And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his ancestors in the city of David. And Jotham, his son, reigned in his place.

8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah, the king of Judah: Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, for six months.

9 And he did what is evil before the Lord, just as his fathers had done. He did not withdraw from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.

10 Then Shallum, the son of Jabesh, conspired against him. And he struck him openly, and killed him. And he reigned in his place.

11 Now the rest of the words of Zechariah, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

12 This was the word of the Lord, which he spoke to Jehu, saying: “Your sons, even to the fourth generation, shall sit upon the throne of Israel.” And so it happened.

13 Shallum, the son of Jabesh, reigned in the thirty-ninth year of Azariah, the king of Judah. And he reigned for one month, in Samaria.

14 And Menahem, the son of Gadi, ascended from Tirzah. And he went into Samaria, and he struck Shallum, the son of Jabesh, in Samaria. And he killed him, and reigned in his place.

15 Now the rest of the words of Shallum, and his conspiracy, by which he carried out treachery, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

16 Then Menahem struck Tirzah, and all who were in it, and its borders around Tirzah. For they were not willing to open to him. And he killed all of its pregnant women, and he tore them open.

17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah, the king of Judah: Menahem, son of Gadi, reigned over Israel for ten years, in Samaria.

18 And he did what was evil before the Lord. He did not withdraw from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, during all his days.

19 Then Pul, the king of the Assyrians, came into the land. And Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver, so that he would be a help to him, and so that he might strengthen his kingdom.

20 And Menahem proclaimed a tax upon Israel, on all who were powerful and wealthy, so that each one would give to the king of the Assyrians fifty shekels of silver. Then the king of the Assyrians turned back, and he did not remain in the land.

21 Now the rest of the words of Menahem, and all that he did, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

22 And Menahem slept with his fathers. And Pekahiah, his son, reigned in his place.

23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah, the king of Judah: Pekahiah, the son of Menahem, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, for two years.

24 And he did what was evil before the Lord. He did not withdraw from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.

25 Then Pekah, the son of Remaliah, his commander, conspired against him. And he struck him in Samaria, in the tower of the king’s house, near Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men from the sons of the Gileadites. And he killed him, and reigned in his place.

26 Now the rest of the words of Pekahiah, and all that he did, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah, the king of Judah: Pekah, the son of Remaliah, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, for twenty years.

28 And he did what was evil before the Lord. He did not withdraw from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.

29 In the days of Pekah, the king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, arrived and captured Ijon, and Abel Bethmaacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, and the entire land of Naphtali. And he took them away into Assyria.

30 Then Hoshea, the son of Elah, conspired and carried out treachery against Pekah, the son of Remaliah. And he struck him, and killed him. And he reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham, the son of Uzziah.

31 Now the rest of the words of Pekah, and all that he did, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

32 In the second year of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel: Jotham, son of Uzziah, reigned as king of Judah.

33 He was twenty-five years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.

34 And he did what was pleasing before the Lord. In accord with all that his father, Uzziah, had done, so he did.

35 Yet truly, he did not take away the high places. And still the people were immolating, and burning incense, in the high places. But he edified the gate of the house of the Lord to be very sublime.

36 Now the rest of the words of Jotham, and all that he did, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah?

37 In those days, the Lord began to send, into Judah, Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah.

38 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and he was buried with them in the city of David, his father. And Ahaz, his son, reigned in his place.

1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah, the son of Remaliah: Ahaz, the son of Jotham, reigned as king of Judah.

2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, his God, as his father David did.

3 Instead, he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. Moreover, he even consecrated his son, making him pass through fire, in accord with the idols of the nations that the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.

4 Also, he was immolating victims, and burning incense, in the high places, and on the hills, and under every leafy tree.

5 Then Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, ascended to do battle against Jerusalem. And they besieged Ahaz, but they were not able to overcome him.

6 At that time, Rezin, the king of Syria, restored Elath to Syria, and he expelled the Judeans from Elath. And the Idumeans went into Elath, and they have lived there, even to this day.

7 Then Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser, the king of the Assyrians, saying: “I am your servant, and I am your son. Ascend and accomplish my salvation from the hand of the king of Syria, and from the hand of the king of Israel, who have risen up together against me.”

8 And when he had collected the silver and the gold that could be found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king, he sent it as a gift to the king of the Assyrians.

9 And he agreed to his will. For the king of the Assyrians ascended against Damascus, and he laid waste to it. And he carried away its inhabitants to Cyrene. But Rezin he killed.

10 And king Ahaz traveled to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser, the king of the Assyrians. And when he had seen the altar of Damascus, king Ahaz sent to Uriah, the priest, its pattern and likeness, according to all of its work.

11 And Uriah, the priest, constructed an altar in accord with all that king Ahaz had commanded from Damascus. Uriah, the priest, did so, until king Ahaz arrived from Damascus.

12 And when the king had arrived from Damascus, he saw the altar, and he venerated it. And he went up and immolated holocausts, with his own sacrifice.

13 And he offered libations, and he poured out the blood of the peace offerings, which he had offered, upon the altar.

14 But the altar of brass, which was before the Lord, he took away from the face of the temple, and from the place of the altar, and from the place of the temple of the Lord. And he positioned it at the side of the altar, toward the north.

15 Also, king Ahaz instructed Uriah, the priest, saying: “Upon the great altar, offer the morning holocaust, and the evening sacrifice, and the holocaust of the king, and his sacrifice, and the holocaust of the entire people of the land, and their sacrifices. But their libations, and all the blood of the holocaust, and all the blood of the victim, you shall pour out upon it. Then truly, the altar of brass shall be prepared for use at my will.”

16 And so Uriah, the priest, acted in accord with all that king Ahaz had instructed to him.

17 Then king Ahaz took away the engraved bases, and the basin that was upon them. And he took down the sea from the bronze oxen, which were holding it up. And he positioned it upon a layer of pavement stone.

18 Also, the canopy for the Sabbath, which he had built in the temple, and the exterior entrance of the king, he converted into the temple of the Lord, because of the king of the Assyrians.

19 Now the rest of the words of Ahaz that he did, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah?

20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and he was buried with them in the city of David. And Hezekiah, his son, reigned in his place.

1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz, the king of Judah: Hoshea, the son of Elah, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, for nine years.

2 And he did evil before the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who had been before him.

3 Shalmaneser, the king of the Assyrians, ascended against him. And Hoshea became a servant to him, and he paid him tribute.

4 And when the king of the Assyrians discovered that Hoshea, striving to rebel, had sent messengers to Sais, to the king of Egypt, so as not to present the tribute to the king of the Assyrians, as he had been accustomed to do each year, he besieged him. And having been bound, he cast him into prison.

5 And he wandered through the entire land. And ascending to Samaria, he besieged it for three years.

6 And in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of the Assyrians captured Samaria, and he carried away Israel to Assyria. And he stationed them in Halah and in Habor, beside the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes.

7 For it happened that, when the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord, their God, who had led them away from the land of Egypt, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, they worshipped strange gods.

8 And they walked according to the rituals of the nations that the Lord had consumed in the sight of the sons of Israel, and of the kings of Israel. For they had acted similarly.

9 And the sons of Israel offended the Lord, their God, with deeds that were not upright. And they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.

10 And they made for themselves statues and sacred groves, on every high hill and under every leafy tree.

11 And they were burning incense there, upon altars, in the manner of the nations that the Lord had removed from their face. And they did wicked deeds, provoking the Lord.

12 And they worshipped impurities, concerning which the Lord instructed them that they should not do this word.

13 And the Lord testified to them, in Israel and in Judah, through the hand of all the prophets and seers, saying: “Return from your wicked ways, and keep my precepts and ceremonies, in accord with the entire law, which I instructed to your fathers, and just as I sent to you by the hand of my servants, the prophets.”

14 But they did not listen. Instead, they hardened their necks to be like the neck of their fathers, who were not willing to obey the Lord, their God.

15 And they cast aside his ordinances, and the covenant that he formed with their fathers, and the testimonies which he testified to them. And they pursued vanities and acted vainly. And they followed the nations that were all around them, concerning the things which the Lord had commanded them not to do, and which they did.

16 And they abandoned all the precepts of the Lord, their God. And they made for themselves two molten calves and sacred groves. And they adored the entire celestial army. And they served Baal.

17 And they consecrated their sons and their daughters through fire. And they devoted themselves to divinations and soothsaying. And they delivered themselves into the doing of evil before the Lord, so that they provoked him.

18 And the Lord became vehemently angry with Israel, and he took them away from his sight. And there remained no one, except the tribe of Judah alone.

19 But even Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord, their God. Instead, they walked in the errors of Israel, which they had wrought.

20 And the Lord cast aside all of the offspring of Israel. And he afflicted them, and he delivered them into the hand of despoilers, until he drove them away from his face,

21 even from that time when Israel was torn away from the house of David, and they appointed for themselves Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, as king. For Jeroboam separated Israel from the Lord, and he caused them to sin a great sin.

22 And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he had done. And they did not withdraw from these,

23 even when the Lord carried away Israel from his face, just as he had said by the hand of all his servants, the prophets. And Israel was carried away from their land into Assyria, even to this day.

24 Then the king of the Assyrians brought some from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim. And he located them in the cities of Samaria, in place of the sons of Israel. And they possessed Samaria, and they lived in its cities.

25 And when they had begun to live there, they did not fear the Lord. And the Lord sent lions among them, which were killing them.

26 And this was reported to the king of the Assyrians, and it was said: “The peoples that you transferred and caused to live in the cities of Samaria, they are ignorant of the ordinances of the God of the land. And so the Lord has sent lions among them. And behold, they have killed them, because they were ignorant of the rituals of the God of the land.”

27 Then the king of the Assyrians commanded, saying: “Lead to that place one of the priests, whom you brought as a captive from there. And let him go and live with them. And let him teach them the ordinances of the God of the land.”

28 And so, when one of the priests, who had been led away captive from Samaria, had arrived, he lived in Bethel. And he taught them how they should worship the Lord.

29 And each of the nations made gods of their own, and they placed them in the shrines of the high places, which the Samaritans had made: nation after nation, in their cities in which they were living.

30 So the men of Babylon made Soccoth-benoth; and the men of Cuth made Nergal; and the men of Hamath made Ashima;

31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. Then those who were from Sepharvaim burned up their children with fire, for the gods of Sepharvaim: Adram-melech and Anam-melech.

32 But nevertheless, they worshipped the Lord. Then they made for themselves, from the least of the people, priests of the high places. And they placed them in the shrines of the high places.

33 And though they worshipped the Lord, they also served their own gods, according to the custom of the nations from which they had been transferred into Samaria.

34 Even to the present day, they follow the ancient customs; they do not fear the Lord, and they do not keep his ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and commandment, which the Lord had instructed to the sons of Jacob, whom he named Israel.

35 And he had struck a covenant with them, and he had commanded them, saying: “You shall not fear foreign gods, and you shall not adore them, and you shall not worship them, and you shall not sacrifice to them.

36 But the Lord, your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, with great strength and with an outstretched arm, him shall you fear, and him shall you adore, and to him shall you sacrifice.

37 Also, the ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall keep so that you do them for all days. And you shall not fear strange gods.

38 And the covenant, which he struck with you, you shall not forget; neither shall you worship strange gods.

39 But you shall fear the Lord, your God. And he will rescue you from the hand of all your enemies.”

40 Yet truly, they did not listen to this. Instead, they acted in accord with their earlier custom.

41 And such were these nations: to some extent fearing the Lord, yet nevertheless also serving their idols. As for their sons and grandsons, just as their fathers acted, so also did they act, even to the present day.

1 In the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah, the king of Israel: Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, reigned as king of Judah.

2 He was twenty-five years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah.

3 And he did what was good before the Lord, in accord with all that his father David had done.

4 He destroyed the high places, and he crushed the statues, and he cut down the sacred groves. And he broke apart the bronze serpent, which Moses had made. For even until that time, the sons of Israel were burning incense to it. And he called its name Nehushtan.

5 He hoped in the Lord, the God of Israel. And after him, there was no one similar to him, among all the kings of Judah, nor even among any of those who were before him.

6 And he clung to the Lord, and he did not withdraw from his footsteps, and he carried out his commandments, which the Lord had instructed to Moses.

7 Therefore, the Lord was also with him. And he conducted himself wisely in all the things to which he went forth. Also, he rebelled against the king of the Assyrians, and he did not serve him.

8 He struck the Philistines as far as Gaza, and in all their borders, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.

9 In the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea, the son of Elah, the king of Israel: Shalmaneser, the king of the Assyrians, ascended to Samaria, and he fought against it,

10 and he seized it. For after three years, in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Israel, Samaria was captured.

11 And the king of the Assyrians took away Israel into Assyria. And he located them in Halah and in Habor, at the rivers of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes.

12 For they did not listen to the voice of the Lord, their God. Instead, they transgressed his covenant. All that Moses, the servant of the Lord, had instructed, they would neither hear, nor do.

13 In the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, went up to all the fortified cities of Judah, and he captured them.

14 Then Hezekiah, the king of Judah, sent messengers to the king of the Assyrians at Lachish, saying: “I have offended. Withdraw from me, and all that you will impose upon me, I will bear.” And so the king of the Assyrians levied a tax upon Hezekiah, the king of Judah, of three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

15 And Hezekiah gave all the silver that had been found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king.

16 At that time, Hezekiah broke apart the doors of the temple of the Lord, with the plates of gold which he had affixed to them. And he gave these to the king of the Assyrians.

17 Then the king of the Assyrians sent Tartan, and Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh, from Lachish, to king Hezekiah, with a powerful hand, to Jerusalem. And when they had ascended, they arrived in Jerusalem, and they stood beside the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is along the way of the fuller’s field.

18 And they called for the king. But there went out to them Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, the first ruler of the house, and Shebnah, the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the keeper of records.

19 And Rabshakeh said to them: “Speak to Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of the Assyrians: What is this faith, in which you strive?

20 Perhaps, you have taken counsel, so that you would prepare yourself for battle. In whom do you trust, so that you would dare to rebel?

21 Do you hope in Egypt, that staff of a broken reed, which, if a man would lean upon it, breaking, it would pierce his hand? Such is Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to all who would trust in him.

22 But if you say to me: ‘We have faith in the Lord, our God.’ Is it not he, whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away? And did he not instruct Judah and Jerusalem: ‘You shall adore before this altar in Jerusalem?’

23 Now therefore, cross over to my lord, the king of the Assyrians, and I will give to you two thousand horses, and we will see if you even have enough riders for them.

24 So how can you resist one prince from the least of my lord’s servants? Do you have faith in Egypt because of the chariots and horsemen?

25 Is it not by the will of the Lord that I have chosen to ascend to this place, so that I may destroy it? The Lord said to me: ‘Ascend to this land, and destroy it.’ ”

26 Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh: “We beseech you, that you may speak to us, your servants, in Syriac. For we understand that language to some extent. And do not speak to us in the Jews’ language, in the hearing of the people, who are upon the wall.”

27 And Rabshakeh responded to them, saying: “Has my lord sent me to your lord and to you, so that I may speak these words, and not instead to the men who are sitting upon the wall, so that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own urine with you?”

28 And so, Rabshakeh stood up, and he exclaimed in a great voice, in the Jews’ language, and he said: “Listen to the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians.

29 Thus says the king: Let not Hezekiah lead you astray. For he will not be able to rescue you from my hand.

30 And do not let him give you faith in the Lord, saying: ‘The Lord will rescue and free us, and this city will not be delivered into the hand of the king of the Assyrians.’

31 Do not choose to listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of the Assyrians: Do with me what is for your own good, and come out to me. And each one of you will eat from his own vine, and from his own fig tree. And you shall drink water from your own wells,

32 until I arrive and transfer you into a land, similar to your own land, a fruitful and fertile land of wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olives and oil and honey. And you will live, and not die. Do not choose to listen to Hezekiah, who deceives you, saying: ‘The Lord will free us.’

33 Have any of the gods of the nations freed their land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

34 Where is the god of Hamath, and of Arpad? Where is the god of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and of Avva? Have they freed Samaria from my hand?

35 Which ones among all the gods of the lands have rescued their region from my hand, so that the Lord would be able to rescue Jerusalem from my hand?”

36 But the people were silent, and they did not respond at all to him. For indeed, they had received an instruction from the king that they should not respond to him.

37 And Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, the first ruler of the house, and Shebnah, the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the keeper of records, went to Hezekiah with their garments torn. And they reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.

1 And when king Hezekiah had heard this, he tore his garments, and he covered himself with sackcloth, and he entered the house of the Lord.

2 And he sent Eliakim, the first ruler of the house, and Shebnah, the scribe, and the elders from the priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz.

3 And they said to him: “Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy. The sons are ready to be born, but the woman in labor does not have the strength.

4 Perhaps the Lord, your God, may hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of the Assyrians, his lord, sent so that he would reproach the living God, and rebuke with words, which the Lord, your God, has heard. And so, offer a prayer on behalf of the remnant that has been found.”

5 And the servants of king Hezekiah went to Isaiah.

6 And Isaiah said to them: “So shall you say to your lord. Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid before the face of the words that you have heard, by which the servants of the king of the Assyrians have blasphemed me.

7 Behold, I will send a spirit to him, and he will hear a report, and he will return to his own land. And I will bring him down by the sword in his own land.”

8 Then Rabshakeh returned, and he found the king of the Assyrians fighting against Libnah. For he had heard that he had withdrawn from Lachish.

9 And when he had heard from Tirhakah, the king of Ethiopia, saying, “Behold, he has gone out so that he may fight against you,” and when he went forth against him, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying:

10 “So shall you say to Hezekiah, the king of Judah: Let not your God, in whom you trust, lead you astray. And you should not say, ‘Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.’

11 For you yourself have heard what the kings of the Assyrians have done to all the lands, the manner in which they have laid waste to them. Therefore, how would you alone be able to be freed?

12 Have the gods of the nations freed any of those whom my fathers have destroyed, such as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who were at Telassar?

13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena, and of Avva?”

14 And so, when Hezekiah had received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and had read it, he ascended to the house of the Lord, and he spread it out before the Lord.

15 And he prayed in his sight, saying: “O Lord, God of Israel, who sits upon the cherubim, you alone are God, over all the kings of the earth. You made heaven and earth.

16 Incline your ear, and listen. Open your eyes, O Lord, and see. And hear all the words of Sennacherib, who sent so that he might reproach the living God before us.

17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have devastated all peoples and lands.

18 And they have cast their gods into the fire. For they were not gods, but instead were the works of men’s hands, out of wood and stone. And so they destroyed them.

19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, bring us salvation from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord God.”

20 Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I have heard what you beseeched from me, concerning Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians.

21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken about him: The virgin daughter of Zion has spurned and ridiculed you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head behind your back.

22 Whom have you reproached, and whom have you blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel!

23 By the hand of your servants, you have reproach the Lord, and you have said: ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the summit of Lebanon. And I have cut down its sublime cedars, and its elect spruce trees. And I have entered even to its limits. And its forest of Carmel,

24 I have cut down. And I drank foreign waters, and I dried up all the enclosed waters with the steps of my feet.’

25 But have you not heard what I have done from the beginning? From the days of antiquity, I have formed it, and now I have brought it to be. And fortified cities of fighting men will become piles of ruins.

26 And whoever may settle in these, they have trembled, with a weak hand, and they have been confounded. They have become like the hay of the field, and like weeds sprouting on the rooftops, which dry up before they reached maturity.

27 Your habitation, and your exit, and your entrance, and your way, I knew beforehand, along with your fury against me.

28 You have been maddened against me, and your arrogance has ascended to my ears. And so, I will place a ring in your nose, and a bit between your lips. And I will lead you back along the way by which you came.

29 But as for you, Hezekiah, this shall be a sign: Eat this year whatever you will find, and in the second year, whatever may spring up of itself. But in the third year, sow and reap; plant vineyards, and eat from their fruit.

30 And whatever will have been left behind, from the house of Judah, shall send a root downward, and shall bear fruit upward.

31 Indeed, a remnant shall go forth from Jerusalem, and what may be saved shall go forth from mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall accomplish this.

32 For this reason, thus says the Lord about the king of the Assyrians: He shall not enter into this city, nor shoot an arrow into it, nor overtake it with the shield, nor encircle it with fortifications.

33 By the way that he came, so shall he return. And he shall not enter this city, says the Lord.

34 And I will protect this city, and I will save it for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.”

35 And so it happened that, in the same night, an Angel of the Lord went and struck down, in the camp of the Assyrians, one hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when he had risen up, at first light, he saw all the bodies of the dead. And withdrawing, he went away.

36 And Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, returned and dwelled in Nineveh.

37 And while he was worshipping in the temple of his god, Nisroch, his sons, Adram-melech and Sharezer, struck him with the sword. And they fled into the land of the Armenians. And Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his place.

1 In those days, Hezekiah was sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, came and said to him: “Thus says the Lord God: Instruct your house, for you will die, and not live.”

2 And he turned his face to the wall, and he prayed to the Lord, saying:

3 “I beg you, O Lord, I beseech you, remember how I have walked before you in truth, and with a perfect heart, and how I have done what is pleasing before you.” And then Hezekiah wept with a great weeping.

4 And before Isaiah departed from the middle part of the atrium, the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

5 “Return and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David: I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears. And behold, I have healed you. On the third day, you shall ascend to the temple of the Lord.

6 And I will add fifteen years to your days. Then too, I will free you and this city from the hand of the king of the Assyrians. And I will protect this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.”

7 And Isaiah said, “Bring me a mass of figs.” And when they had brought it, and they had placed it on his sore, he was healed.

8 But Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I will ascend to the temple of the Lord on the third day?”

9 And Isaiah said to him: “This will be the sign from the Lord, that the Lord will do the word that he has spoken: Do you wish that the shadow may ascend ten lines, or that it may turn back for the same number of degrees?”

10 And Hezekiah said: “It is an easy for the shadow to increase for ten lines. And so I do not wish that this be done. Instead, let it turn back for ten degrees.”

11 And so the prophet Isaiah called upon the Lord. And he led back the shadow, along the lines by which it had already descended on the sundial of Ahaz, in reverse for ten degrees.

12 At that time, Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, the king of the Babylonians, sent letters and gifts to Hezekiah. For he had heard that Hezekiah had been ill.

13 Now Hezekiah rejoiced at their arrival, and so he revealed to them the house of aromatic spices, and the gold and silver, and the various pigments and ointments, and the house of his vessels, and all that he was able to have in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominions, that Hezekiah did not show to them.

14 Then the prophet Isaiah came to king Hezekiah, and said to him: “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said to him, “They came to me from Babylon, from a far away land.”

15 And he responded, “What did they see in your house?” And Hezekiah said: “They saw all things whatsoever that are in my house. There is nothing in my treasuries that I did not show to them.”

16 And so Isaiah said to Hezekiah: “Listen to the word of the Lord.

17 Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have stored up even to this day, will be carried away to Babylon. Nothing at all shall remain, says the Lord.

18 Then too, they will take from your sons, who will go forth from you, whom you will conceive. And they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah: “The word of the Lord, which you have spoken, is good. Let peace and truth be in my days.”

20 Now the rest of the words of Hezekiah, and all his strength, and how he made a pool, and an aqueduct, and how he brought waters into the city, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah?

21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers. And Manasseh, his son, reigned in his place.