2 Chronicles 24-28

II Chronicles 24

¹A son of seven years is Joash in his reigning, and forty years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Zibiah of Beer-Sheba.

²And Joash doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

³And Jehoiada taketh for him two wives, and he begetteth sons and daughters.

⁴And it cometh to pass after this, it hath been with the heart of Joash to renew the house of Jehovah,

⁵and he gathereth the priests and the Levites, and saith to them, ‘Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to strengthen the house of your God sufficiently year by year, and ye, ye do haste to the matter;' and the Levites have not hasted.

⁶And the king calleth for Jehoiada the head, and saith to him, ‘Wherefore hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tribute of Moses, servant of Jehovah, and of the assembly of Israel, for the tent of the testimony?

⁷for sons of Athaliah, the wicked one, have broken up the house of God, and also, all the holy things of the house of Jehovah they have prepared for Baalim.'

⁸And the king speaketh, and they make one chest, and put it at the gate of the house of Jehovah without,

⁹and give an intimation in Judah and in Jerusalem to bring in to Jehovah the tribute of Moses, servant of God, laid on Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰And all the heads, and all the people rejoice, and they bring in, and cast into the chest, unto completion.

¹¹And it cometh to pass, at the time one bringeth in the chest for the inspection of the king by the hand of the Levites, and at their seeing that the money is abundant, that a scribe of the king hath come in, and an officer of the head-priest, and they empty the chest, and take it up and turn it back unto its place; thus they have done day by day, and gather money in abundance.

¹²And the king and Jehoiada give it unto the doers of the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and they are hiring hewers and artificers to renew the house of Jehovah, and also -- to artificers in iron and brass to strengthen the house of Jehovah.

¹³And those doing the business work, and there goeth up lengthening to the work by their hand, and they establish the house of God, by its proper measure, and strengthen it.

¹⁴And at their completing it, they have brought in before the king and Jehoiada the rest of the money, and they make it vessels for the house of Jehovah, vessels of serving, and of offering up, and spoons, even vessels of gold and silver; and they are causing burnt-offerings to ascend in the house of Jehovah continually, all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵And Jehoiada is aged and satisfied with days, and dieth -- a son of a hundred and thirty years in his death,

¹⁶and they bury him in the city of David, with the kings, for he hath done good in Israel, and with God, and his house.

¹⁷And after the death of Jehoiada come in have heads of Judah, and bow themselves to the king; then hath the king hearkened unto them,

¹⁸and they forsake the house of Jehovah, God of their fathers, and serve the shrines and the idols, and there is wrath upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt.

¹⁹And He sendeth among them prophets, to bring them back unto Jehovah, and they testify against them, and they have not given ear;

²⁰and the Spirit of God hath clothed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and he standeth over-against the people, and saith to them, ‘Thus said God, Why are ye transgressing the commands of Jehovah, and prosper not? because ye have forsaken Jehovah -- He doth forsake you.'

²¹And they conspire against him, and stone him with stones by the command of the king, in the court of the house of Jehovah,

²²and Joash the king hath not remembered the kindness that Jehoiada his father did with him, and slayeth his son, and in his death he said, ‘Jehovah doth see, and require.'

²³And it cometh to pass, at the turn of the year, come up hath the force of Aram against him, and they come in unto Judah and Jerusalem, and destroy all the heads of the people from the people, and all their spoil they have sent to the king of Damascus,

²⁴for with few men have the force of Aram come in, and Jehovah hath given into their hand a mighty force for multitude, because they have forsaken Jehovah, God of their fathers; and with Joash they have executed judgments.

²⁵And in their going from him -- for they left him with many diseases -- his servants themselves have conspired against him, for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slay him on his bed, and he dieth; and they bury him in the city of David, and have not buried him in the graves of the kings.

²⁶And these are those conspiring against him, Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

²⁷As to his sons, and the greatness of the burden upon him, and the foundation of the house of God, lo, they are written on the ‘Inquiry' of the book of the Kings; and reign doth Amaziah his son in his stead.

II Chronicles 25

¹A son of twenty and five years hath Amaziah reigned, and twenty and nine years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Jehoaddan of Jerusalem,

²and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah -- only, not with a perfect heart.

³And it cometh to pass, when the kingdom hath been strong upon him, that he slayeth his servants, those smiting the king his father,

⁴and their sons he hath not put to death, but did as is written in the law, in the book of Moses, whom Jehovah commanded, saying, ‘Fathers do not die for sons, and sons die not for fathers, but each for his own sin they die.'

⁵And Amaziah gathereth Judah, and appointeth them, according to the house of the fathers, for heads of the thousands, and for heads of the hundreds, for all Judah and Benjamin; and he inspecteth them from a son of twenty years and upward, and findeth them three hundred thousand chosen ones, going forth to the host, holding spear and target.

⁶And he hireth out of Israel a hundred thousand mighty ones of valour, with a hundred talents of silver;

⁷and a man of God hath come in unto him, saying, ‘O king, the host of Israel doth not go with thee; for Jehovah is not with Israel -- all the sons of Ephraim;

⁸but if thou art going -- do it, be strong for battle, God doth cause thee to stumble before an enemy, for there is power in God to help, and to cause to stumble.'

⁹And Amaziah saith to the man of God, ‘And what -- to do for the hundred talents that I have given to the troop of Israel?' And the man of God saith, ‘Jehovah hath more to give to thee than this.'

¹⁰And Amaziah separateth them -- for the troop that hath come in unto him from Ephraim to go to their own place, and their anger doth burn mightily against Judah, and they turn back to their place in the heat of anger.

¹¹And Amaziah hath strengthened himself, and leadeth his people, and goeth to the Valley of Salt, and smiteth the sons of Seir -- ten thousand.

¹²And ten thousand alive have the sons of Judah taken captive, and they bring them to the top of the rock, and cast them from the top of the rock, and all of them have been broken.

¹³And the sons of the troop that Amaziah hath sent back from going with him to battle -- they rush against cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth-Horon, and smite of them three thousand, and seize much prey.

¹⁴And it cometh to pass, after the coming in of Amaziah from smiting the Edomites, that he bringeth in the gods of the sons of Seir, and establisheth them to him for gods, and before them doth bow himself, and to them he maketh perfume.

¹⁵And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Amaziah, and He sendeth unto him a prophet, and he saith unto him, ‘Why hast thou sought the gods of the people that have not delivered their people out of thy hand?'

¹⁶And it cometh to pass, in his speaking unto him, that he saith to him, ‘For a counsellor to the king have we appointed thee? cease for thee; why do they smite thee?' And the prophet ceaseth, and saith, ‘I have known that God hath counselled to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel.'

¹⁷And Amaziah king of Judah taketh counsel, and sendeth unto Joash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying,

¹⁸‘Come, we look one another in the face.' And Joash king of Israel sendeth unto Amaziah king of Judah, saying, ‘The thorn that is in Lebanon hath sent unto the cedar that is in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son for a wife; and pass by doth a beast of the field that is in Lebanon, and treadeth down the thorn.

¹⁹Thou hast said, Lo, I have smitten Edom; and thy heart hath lifted thee up to boast; now, abide in thy house, why dost thou stir thyself up in evil, that thou hast fallen, thou, and Judah with thee?'

²⁰And Amaziah hath not hearkened, for from God it is in order to give them into hand, because they have sought the gods of Edom;

²¹and go up doth Joash king of Israel, and they look one another in the face, he and Amaziah king of Judah, in Beth-Shemesh, that is Judah's,

²²and Judah is smitten before Israel, and they flee -- each to his tents.

²³And Amaziah king of Judah, son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, hath Joash king of Israel caught in Beth-Shemesh, and bringeth him in to Jerusalem, and breaketh down in the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the gate of the corner, four hundred cubits,

²⁴and taketh all the gold, and the silver, and all the vessels that are found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, and the treasures of the house of the king, and the sons of the pledges, and turneth back to Samaria.

²⁵And Amaziah son of Joash, king of Judah, liveth after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, fifteen years;

²⁶and the rest of the matters of Amaziah, the first and the last, lo, are they not written on the books of the kings of Judah and Israel?

²⁷And from the time that Amaziah hath turned aside from after Jehovah -- they make a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fleeth to Lachish, and they send after him to Lachish, and put him to death there,

²⁸and lift him up on the horses, and bury him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

II Chronicles 26

¹And all the people of Judah take Uzziah (and he is a son of sixteen years), and cause him to reign instead of his father Amaziah.

²He hath built Eloth, and restoreth it to Judah after the king's lying with his fathers.

³A son of sixteen years is Uzziah in his reigning, and fifty and two years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Jecholiah of Jerusalem.

⁴And he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Amaziah his father did,

⁵and he is as one seeking God in the days of Zechariah who hath understanding in visions of God: and in the days of his seeking Jehovah, God hath caused him to prosper.

⁶And he goeth forth, and fighteth with the Philistines, and breaketh down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and buildeth cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines.

⁷And God helpeth him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who are dwelling in Gur-Baal and the Mehunim.

⁸And the Ammonites give a present to Uzziah, and his name goeth unto the entering in of Egypt, for he strengthened himself greatly.

⁹And Uzziah buildeth towers in Jerusalem, by the gate of the corner, and by the gate of the valley, and by the angle, and strengtheneth them;

¹⁰and he buildeth towers in the wilderness, and diggeth many wells, for he had much cattle, both in the low country and in the plain, husbandmen and vine-dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel; for he was a lover of the ground.

¹¹And Uzziah hath a force, making war, going forth to the host, by troops, in the number of their reckoning by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Masseiah the officer, by the hand of Hananiah one of the heads of the king.

¹²The whole number of heads of the fathers of the mighty ones of valour is two thousand and six hundred;

¹³and by their hand is the force of the host, three hundred thousand, and seven thousand, and five hundred warriors, with mighty power to give help to the king against the enemy.

¹⁴And Uzziah prepareth for them, for all the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, even to stones of the slings.

¹⁵And he maketh in Jerusalem inventions -- a device of an inventor -- to be on the towers, and on the corners, to shoot with arrows and with great stones, and his name goeth out unto a distance, for he hath been wonderfully helped till that he hath been strong.

¹⁶And at his being strong his heart hath been high unto destruction, and he trespasseth against Jehovah his God, and goeth in unto the temple of Jehovah to make perfume upon the altar of perfume.

¹⁷And Azariah the priest goeth in after him, and with him priests of Jehovah eighty, sons of valour,

¹⁸and they stand up against Uzziah the king, and say to him, ‘Not for thee, O Uzziah, to make perfume to Jehovah, but for priests, sons of Aaron, who are sanctified to make perfume; go forth from the sanctuary, for thou hast trespassed, and it is not to thee for honour from Jehovah God.'

¹⁹And Uzziah is wroth, and in his hand is a censer to make perfume, and in his being wroth with the priests -- the leprosy hath risen in his forehead, before the priests, in the house of Jehovah, from beside the altar of perfume.

²⁰And Azariah the head priest looketh unto him, and all the priests, and lo, he is leprous in his forehead, and they hasten him thence, and also he himself hath hastened to go out, for Jehovah hath plagued him.

²¹And Uzziah the king is a leper unto the day of his death, and inhabiteth a separate house -- a leper, for he hath been cut off from the house of Jehovah, and Jotham his son is over the house of the king, judging the people of the land.

²²And the rest of the matters of Uzziah, the first and the last, hath Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet written;

²³and Uzziah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him with his fathers, in the field of the burying-place that the kings have, for they said, ‘He is a leper;' and reign doth Jotham his son in his stead.

II Chronicles 27

¹A son of twenty and five years is Jotham in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Jerushah daughter of Zadok.

²And he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Uzziah his father did; only, he hath not come in unto the temple of Jehovah; and again are the people doing corruptly.

³He hath built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, and in the wall of Ophel he hath built abundantly;

⁴and cities he hath built in the hill-country of Judah, and in the forests he hath built palaces and towers.

⁵And he hath fought with the king of the sons of Ammon, and prevaileth over them, and the sons of Ammon give to him in that year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand cors of wheat, and of barley ten thousand; this have the sons of Ammon returned to him both in the second year, and in the third.

⁶And Jotham doth strengthen himself, for he hath prepared his ways before Jehovah his God.

⁷And the rest of the matters of Jotham, and all his battles, and his ways, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

⁸A son of twenty and five years was he in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem;

⁹and Jotham lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David, and reign doth Ahaz his son in his stead.

II Chronicles 28

¹A son of twenty years is Ahaz in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and he hath not done that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, as David his father,

²and walketh in the ways of the kings of Israel, and also, molten images hath made for Baalim,

³and himself hath made perfume in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burneth his sons with fire according to the abominations of the nations that Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel,

⁴and sacrificeth and maketh perfume in high places, and on the heights, and under every green tree.

⁵And Jehovah his God giveth him into the hand of the king of Aram, and they smite him, and take captive from him a great captivity, and bring them in to Damascus, and also into the hand of the king of Israel he hath been given, and he smiteth him -- a great smiting.

⁶And Pekah son of Remaliah slayeth in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day (the whole are sons of valour), because of their forsaking Jehovah, God of their fathers.

⁷And Zichri, a mighty one of Ephraim, slayeth Maaseiah son of the king, and Azrikam leader of the house, and Elkanah second to the king.

⁸And the sons of Israel take captive of their brethren, two hundred thousand, wives, sons and daughters, and also much spoil they have seized from them, and they bring in the spoil to Samaria.

⁹And there hath been there a prophet of Jehovah (Oded is his name), and he goeth out before the host that hath come in to Samaria, and saith to them, ‘Lo, in the fury of Jehovah God of your fathers against Judah, He hath given them into your hand, and ye slay among them in rage -- unto the heavens it hath come;

¹⁰and now, sons of Judah and Jerusalem ye are saying to subdue for men-servants and for maid-servants to you; but are there not with you causes of guilt before Jehovah your God?

¹¹and now, hear me, and send back the captives whom ye have taken captive of your brethren, for the heat of the anger of Jehovah is upon you.'

¹²And certain of the heads of the sons of Ephraim (Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai), rise up against those coming in from the host,

¹³and say to them, ‘Ye do not bring in the captives hither, for, to guilt against Jehovah on us, ye are saying to add unto our sin and unto our guilt? for abundant is the guilt we have, and the fierceness of anger on Israel.'

¹⁴And the armed men leave the captives and the prey before the heads and all the assembly;

¹⁵and the men who have been expressed by name rise and take hold on the captives, and all their naked ones they have clothed from the spoil, yea, they clothe them, and shoe them, and cause them to eat and drink, and anoint them, and lead them on asses, even every feeble one, and bring them in to Jericho, the city of palms, near their brethren, and turn back to Samaria.

¹⁶At that time hath king Ahaz sent unto the king of Asshur to give help to him;

¹⁷and again the Edomites have come, and smite in Judah, and take captive a captivity.

¹⁸And the Philistines have rushed against the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and capture Beth-Shemesh, and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho and its villages, and Timnah and its villages, and Gimzo and its villages, and dwell there,

¹⁹for Jehovah hath humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he made free with Judah, even to commit a trespass against Jehovah.

²⁰And Tilgath-Pilneser king of Asshur cometh in unto him, and doth distress him, and hath not strengthened him,

²¹though Ahaz hath taken a portion out of the house of Jehovah, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and giveth to the king of Asshur, yet it is no help to him.

²²And in the time of his distress -- he addeth to trespass against Jehovah, (this king Ahaz),

²³and he sacrificeth to the gods of Damascus -- those smiting him, and saith, ‘Because the gods of the kings of Aram are helping them, to them I sacrifice, and they help me,' and they have been to him to cause him to stumble, and to all Israel.

²⁴And Ahaz gathereth the vessels of the house of God, and cutteth in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shutteth the doors of the house of Jehovah, and maketh to himself altars in every corner in Jerusalem.

²⁵And in every city and city of Judah he hath made high places to make perfume to other gods, and provoketh Jehovah, God of his fathers.

²⁶And the rest of his matters, and all his ways, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

²⁷And Ahaz lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city, in Jerusalem, but have not brought him in to the graves of the kings of Israel, and reign doth Hezekiah his son in his stead.