Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹His son Jehoshaphat then became king in his place, and he proved himself strong over Israel.

²He placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and placed garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim which his father Asa had captured.

³And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals,

⁴but sought the God of his father, followed His commandments, and did not act as Israel did.

⁵So the LORD established the kingdom in his control, and all Judah gave tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor.

⁶He took great pride in the ways of the LORD, and again removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah.

⁷Then in the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah;

⁸and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them the priests Elishama and Jehoram.

⁹They taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the LORD with them; and they went throughout the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

¹⁰Now the dread of the LORD was on all the kingdoms of the lands which were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

¹¹Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat; the Arabians also brought him flocks, 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats.

¹²So Jehoshaphat grew greater and greater, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah.

¹³He had large supplies in the cities of Judah, and warriors, valiant mighty men, in Jerusalem.

¹⁴This was their muster according to their fathers’ households: of Judah, commanders of thousands, Adnah was the commander, and with him three hundred thousand valiant warriors;

¹⁵and next to him was Johanan the commander, and with him 280,000;

¹⁶and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who volunteered for the LORD, and with him two hundred thousand valiant warriors;

¹⁷and of Benjamin, Eliada, a valiant warrior, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;

¹⁸and next to him Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 equipped for war.

¹⁹These are the ones who served the king, apart from those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

¹Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor; and he allied himself by marriage to Ahab.

²Some years later he went down to visit Ahab at Samaria, and Ahab slaughtered many sheep and oxen for him and the people who were with him. And he incited him to go up against Ramoth-gilead.

³Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?” And he said to him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people, and we will be with you in the battle.”

⁴However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please request the word of the LORD first.”

⁵So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, “Should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will hand it over to the king.”

⁶But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of him?”

⁷And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything good regarding me, but always bad. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “May the king not say so.”

⁸Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly.”

⁹Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, dressed in their robes, and they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹⁰Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed!’ ”

¹¹All the prophets were prophesying this as well, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and be successful, for the LORD will hand it over to the king.”

¹²Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable to the king. So please let your word be like one of them, and speak favorably.”

¹³But Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, whatever my God says, I will speak it.”

¹⁴When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” He said, “Go up and succeed, for they will be handed over to you!”

¹⁵Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

¹⁶So he said, “I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, Like sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master. Each of them is to return to his house in peace.’ ”

¹⁷Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad?”

¹⁸And Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the angels of heaven standing on His right and on His left.

¹⁹And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one spirit said this, while another said that.

²⁰Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘How?’

²¹He said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall entice him, and you will also prevail. Go out and do so.’

²²Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours, for the LORD has declared disaster against you.”

²³Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek; and he said, “How did the Spirit of the LORD pass from me to speak to you?”

²⁴And Micaiah said, “Behold, you are going to see how on that day when you go from one inner room to another trying to hide yourself.”

²⁵Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;

²⁶and say, ‘This is what the king says: “Put this man in prison, and feed him enough bread and water to survive until I return safely.” ’ ”

²⁷But Micaiah said, “If you actually return safely, the LORD has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people!”

²⁸So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead.

²⁹And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.

³⁰Now the king of Aram had commanded the commanders of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with the small or great, but only with the king of Israel.”

³¹So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “He is the king of Israel!” And they turned aside to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him, and God diverted them from him.

³²When the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³³Now one man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am severely wounded.”

³⁴The battle raged on that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot in front of the Arameans until the evening; and at sunset he died.

¹Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem.

²And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD, and by doing so bring wrath on yourself from the LORD?

³But there is some good in you, for you have removed the Asheroth from the land and you have set your heart to seek God.”

⁴So Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers.

⁵He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city.

⁶He said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for mankind but for the LORD who is with you when you render judgment.

⁷Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be careful about what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in injustice or partiality, or in the taking of a bribe.”

⁸In Jerusalem Jehoshaphat also appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD, and to judge disputes among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

⁹Then he commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and wholeheartedly.

¹⁰Whenever any dispute comes to you from your countrymen who live in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, you shall warn them so that they will not be guilty before the LORD, and wrath will not come on you and your countrymen. This you shall do and you will not be guilty.

¹¹Behold, Amariah the chief priest will be over you in every matter that pertains to the LORD, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all that pertains to the king. Also the Levites shall be officers before you. Act resolutely, and may the LORD be with the upright.”

¹Now it came about after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.

²Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Aram; and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).”

³Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the LORD; and he proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah.

⁴So Judah gathered together to seek help from the LORD; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.

⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD in front of the new courtyard;

⁶and he said, “LORD, God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.

⁷Did You not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land from Your people Israel, and give it to the descendants of Your friend Abraham forever?

⁸They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying,

⁹‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house), and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save us.’

¹⁰Now behold, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not allow Israel to invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (for they turned aside from them and did not destroy them),

¹¹see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance.

¹²Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

¹³All Judah was standing before the LORD, with their infants, their wives, and their children.

¹⁴Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph;

¹⁵and he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

¹⁶Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.

¹⁷You need not fight in this battle; take your position, stand and watch the salvation of the LORD in your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow, go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.”

¹⁸Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.

¹⁹The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and from the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Put your trust in the LORD your God and you will endure. Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.”

²¹When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the LORD and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His faithfulness is everlasting.”

²²When they began singing and praising, the LORD set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down.

²³For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, completely destroying them; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they turned toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and there was no survivor.

²⁵When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoils, they found much among them, including goods, garments, and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were taking the spoils for three days because there was so much.

²⁶Then on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for they blessed the LORD there. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of Beracah” until today.

²⁷Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had helped them to rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets, to the house of the LORD.

²⁹And the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.

³⁰So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God gave him rest on all sides.

³¹Now Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

³²He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not deviate from it, doing right in the sight of the LORD.

³³The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.

³⁴Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first to last, behold, they are written in the annals of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

³⁵After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly in so doing.

³⁶So he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.

³⁷Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and could not go to Tarshish.

¹Then Jehoshaphat lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Jehoram became king in his place.

²He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.

³Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

⁴Now when Jehoram had taken over the kingdom of his father and gathered courage, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and some of the leaders of Israel as well.

⁵Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.

⁶He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab’s daughter was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

⁷Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant which He had made with David, and because He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.

⁸In his days Edom broke away from the rule of Judah, and appointed a king over themselves.

⁹Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots with him. And he got up at night and struck and killed the Edomites who were surrounding him, and the commanders of the chariots.

¹⁰So Edom revolted against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time against his rule because he had abandoned the LORD God of his fathers.

¹¹Furthermore, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be unfaithful, and led Judah astray.

¹²Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, “This is what the LORD, the God of your father David says: ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat and the ways of Asa king of Judah,

¹³but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be unfaithful as the house of Ahab was unfaithful, and you have also killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you,

¹⁴behold, the LORD is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a great plague;

¹⁵and you will suffer severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day by day.’ ”

¹⁶Then the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who bordered the Ethiopians;

¹⁷and they came against Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found in the king’s house together with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

¹⁸So after all this the LORD struck him in his intestines with an incurable sickness.

¹⁹Now it came about in the course of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels came out because of his sickness, and he died in great pain. And his people did not make a funeral fire for him like the fire for his fathers.

²⁰He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years; and he departed with no one’s regret, and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

¹Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men who came with the Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

²Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.

³He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor to act wickedly.

⁴So he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his own destruction.

⁵He also walked by their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. But the Arameans wounded Joram.

⁶So he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had inflicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

⁷Now the destruction of Ahaziah was from God, in that he went to Joram. For when he arrived, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to eliminate the house of Ahab.

⁸And it came about, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, that he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers attending to Ahaziah, and killed them.

⁹He also searched for Ahaziah, and they caught him while he was hiding in Samaria; they brought him to Jehu, put him to death, and buried him. For they said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So there was no one of the house of Ahaziah to retain the power of the kingdom.

¹⁰Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and eliminated all the royal children of the house of Judah.

¹¹But Jehoshabeath the king’s daughter took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she would not put him to death.

¹²He kept himself hidden with them in the house of God for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.

¹Now in the seventh year, Jehoiada gathered his courage, and took captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Johanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, and they entered into a covenant with him.

²And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

³Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD has spoken concerning the sons of David.

⁴This is the thing which you shall do: a third of you, of the priests and Levites who come in on the Sabbath, shall be gatekeepers,

⁵and a third shall be at the king’s house, and a third at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courtyards of the house of the LORD.

⁶But no one is to enter the house of the LORD except the priests and the ministering Levites; they may enter, for they are holy. And all the people are to keep the command of the LORD.

⁷The Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house is to be put to death. Therefore be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

⁸The Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss any of the divisions.

⁹Then Jehoiada the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and the shields and quivers which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God.

¹⁰He stationed all the people, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king.

¹¹Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!”

¹²When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the LORD to the people.

¹³She looked, and behold, the king was standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters were beside the king. And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets, the singers with their musical instruments leading the praise. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”

¹⁴And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army, and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever follows her is to be put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “You shall not put her to death in the house of the LORD.”

¹⁵So they seized her, and when she arrived at the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king’s house, they put her to death there.

¹⁶Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the LORD’S people.

¹⁷And all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down, and they broke in pieces his altars and his images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

¹⁸Moreover, Jehoiada placed the offices of the house of the LORD under the authority of the Levitical priests, whom David had assigned over the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the Law of Moses—with rejoicing and singing according to the order of David.

¹⁹He stationed the gatekeepers of the house of the LORD, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean.

²⁰He took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the LORD, and went through the upper gate to the king’s house. And they seated the king upon the royal throne.

²¹So all of the people of the land rejoiced and the city was at rest. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword.

¹Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba.

²Joash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

³Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he fathered sons and daughters.

⁴Now it came about after this that Joash decided to restore the house of the LORD.

⁵He gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all Israel to repair the house of your God annually, and you shall do the work quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly.

⁶So the king summoned Jehoiada, the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the contribution of Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the congregation of Israel, for the tent of the testimony?”

⁷For the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God, and even used the holy things of the house of the LORD for the Baals.

⁸So the king commanded, and they made a chest and set it outside by the gate of the house of the LORD.

⁹And they made a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the LORD the contribution commanded by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰All the officers and all the people rejoiced, and they brought in their contribution and dropped it into the chest until they had finished.

¹¹It happened that whenever the chest was brought to the king’s officer by the Levites, and they saw that the money was substantial, the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would come and empty the chest, and pick it up and return it to its place. They did this daily and collected a large amount of money.

¹²The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the LORD; and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the LORD, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the LORD.

¹³So the workmen labored, and the repair work progressed in their hands, and they restored the house of God according to its specifications and strengthened it.

¹⁴When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and it was made into utensils for the house of the LORD, utensils for the service and the burnt offerings, and pans and utensils of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually, all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵Now Jehoiada reached a good old age and he died; he was 130 years old at his death.

¹⁶And they buried him in the city of David with the kings, because he had done well in Israel and for God and His house.

¹⁷But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them.

¹⁸And they abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols; so wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.

¹⁹Yet He sent prophets to them to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.

²⁰Then the Spirit of God covered Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest like clothing; and he stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God has said, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the LORD and do not prosper? Because you have abandoned the LORD, He has also abandoned you.’ ”

²¹So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the house of the LORD.

²²So Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him, but he murdered his son. And as Zechariah died he said, “May the LORD see and avenge!”

²³Now it happened at the turn of the year that the army of the Arameans came up against Joash; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the officials of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoils to the king of Damascus.

²⁴Indeed, the army of the Arameans came with a small number of men; yet the LORD handed a very great army over to them, because Judah and Joash had abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgment on Joash.

²⁵When they left him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they murdered him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶Now these are the men who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

²⁷As to his sons and the many pronouncements against him and the rebuilding of the house of God, behold, they are written in the treatise of the Book of the Kings. Then his son Amaziah became king in his place.

¹Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

²He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, only not wholeheartedly.

³Now it came about, as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, that he killed his servants who had killed his father the king.

⁴However, he did not put their children to death, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, which the LORD commanded, saying, “Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, nor sons be put to death for fathers; but each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

⁵Moreover, Amaziah assembled Judah and appointed them according to their fathers’ households under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds throughout Judah and Benjamin; and he took a census of those from twenty years old and upward and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war and handle spear and shield.

⁶He also hired a hundred thousand valiant warriors from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.

⁷But a man of God came to him saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel come with you, for the LORD is not with Israel nor with any of the sons of Ephraim.

⁸But if you do go, do it, be strong for the battle; yet God will bring you down before the enemy, for God has the power to help and to bring down.”

⁹Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what are we to do about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, “The LORD has much more to give you than this.”

¹⁰Then Amaziah dismissed the troops which came to him from Ephraim, to go home; so their anger burned against Judah, and they returned home in fierce anger.

¹¹Now Amaziah gathered his courage and led his people out, and went to the Valley of Salt, and struck and killed ten thousand of the sons of Seir.

¹²The sons of Judah also captured ten thousand alive and brought them to the top of the cliff, and threw them down from the top of the cliff so that they were all dashed to pieces.

¹³But the troops whom Amaziah sent back, those not going with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck and killed three thousand of them, and plundered a large amount of spoils.

¹⁴Now after Amaziah came from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought the gods of the sons of Seir and set them up as his gods. Then he bowed down before them and burned incense to them.

¹⁵So the anger of the LORD burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people who have not saved their own people from your hand?”

¹⁶As he was talking with him, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you to be a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be put to death?” Then the prophet stopped and said, “I know that God has planned to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

¹⁷Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent word to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying, “Come, let’s face each other.”

¹⁸But Joash the king of Israel sent a reply to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thorn bush that was in Lebanon sent word to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn bush.

¹⁹You said, ‘Behold, you have defeated Edom.’ And your heart has lifted you up in boasting. Now stay home; why should you provoke trouble so that you, would fall, you and Judah with you?”

²⁰But Amaziah would not listen, for it was from God, so that He might hand them over to Joash, because they had sought the gods of Edom.

²¹So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh, which belonged to Judah.

²²And Judah was defeated by Israel, and they fled, every man to his tent.

²³Then Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits.

²⁴He took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of God with Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages too, and returned to Samaria.

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

²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from the first to the last, behold, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel?

²⁷From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent men after him to Lachish, and they killed him there.

²⁸Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

¹Now all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.

²He built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king lay down with his fathers.

³Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jechiliah of Jerusalem.

⁴He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, in accordance with everything that his father Amaziah had done.

⁵He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him successful.

⁶Now he went out and fought against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in the area of Ashdod and among the Philistines.

⁷God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites.

⁸The Ammonites gave tribute to Uzziah, and his fame extended to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong.

⁹Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress, and he fortified them.

¹⁰He also built towers in the wilderness and carved out many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the lowland and in the plain. He also had plowmen and vinedressers in the hill country and the fertile fields, for he loved the soil.

¹¹Moreover, Uzziah had an army ready for battle, which entered combat by divisions according to the number of their muster, recorded by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the official, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s officers.

¹²The total number of the heads of the households, of valiant warriors, was 2,600.

¹³Under their direction was an army of 307,500, who could wage war with great power, to help the king against the enemy.

¹⁴Moreover, Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slingstones.

¹⁵In Jerusalem he made machines of war invented by skillful workmen to be on the towers and the corners, for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. So his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.

¹⁶But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was untrue to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

¹⁷Then Azariah the priest entered after him, and with him eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men.

¹⁸They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been untrue and will have no honor from the LORD God.”

¹⁹But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense.

²⁰Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they quickly removed him from there, and he himself also hurried to get out because the LORD had stricken him.

²¹King Uzziah had leprosy to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, afflicted as he was with leprosy, for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. And his son Jotham was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

²²Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, the first to the last, the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, has written.

²³So Uzziah lay down with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the grave which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He had leprosy.” And his son Jotham became king in his place.

¹Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.

²He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; however he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people continued acting corruptly.

³He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD, and he built the wall of Ophel extensively.

⁴Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and he built fortresses and towers on the wooded hills.

⁵He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed over them so that during that year the Ammonites gave him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The Ammonites also paid him this amount in the second year and in the third.

⁶So Jotham became powerful because he directed his ways before the LORD his God.

⁷Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

⁸He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years.

⁹And Jotham lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and his son Ahaz became king in his place.

¹Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD as his father David had done.

²But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also made cast metal images for the Baals.

³Furthermore, he burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from the sons of Israel.

⁴He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

⁵Therefore the LORD his God handed him over to the king of Aram; and they defeated him and carried from him a great number of captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him with heavy casualties.

⁶For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 in Judah in one day, all valiant men, because they had abandoned the LORD God of their fathers.

⁷And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the ruler of the house, and Elkanah the second to the king.

⁸The sons of Israel led away captive two hundred thousand of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters; and they also took a great deal of spoils from them, and brought the spoils to Samaria.

⁹But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, He has handed them over to you, and you have killed them in a rage which has even reached heaven.

¹⁰Now you are proposing to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves for yourselves. Are you not, however guilty yourselves of offenses against the LORD your God?

¹¹Now then, listen to me and return the captives whom you captured from your brothers, for the burning anger of the LORD is against you.”

¹²Then some of the leading men of the sons of Ephraim—Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—rose up against those who were coming from the battle,

¹³and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here, for you are proposing to bring guilt upon us before the LORD, adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great, and His burning anger is against Israel.”

¹⁴So the armed men left the captives and the spoils before the officers and all the assembly.

¹⁵Then the men who were designated by name got up, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked people from the spoils; they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria.

¹⁶At that time King Ahaz sent word to the kings of Assyria for help.

¹⁷For the Edomites had come again and attacked Judah, and led away captives.

¹⁸The Philistines had also invaded the cities of the lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they had settled there.

¹⁹For the LORD had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the LORD.

²⁰So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him.

²¹Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the LORD and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

²²Now during the time of his distress, this same King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.

²³For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me.” But they became the downfall of him and all Israel.

²⁴Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he closed the doors of the house of the LORD, and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.

²⁵In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers, to anger.

²⁶Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

²⁷So Ahaz lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel; and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.

¹Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old; and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

²He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, in accordance with everything that his father David had done.

³In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them.

⁴He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the public square on the east.

⁵Then he said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites. Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out of the holy place.

⁶For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the LORD our God, and they have abandoned Him and turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and have turned their backs.

⁷They have also shut the doors of the porch and extinguished the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.

⁸Therefore the wrath of the LORD was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes.

⁹For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this.

¹⁰Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, so that His burning anger may turn away from us.

¹¹My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.”

¹²Then the Levites arose: Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the sons of the Kohathites; and from the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and from the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah;

¹³and from the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; and from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

¹⁴and from the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵They assembled their brothers, consecrated themselves, and went in to cleanse the house of the LORD, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the LORD.

¹⁶So the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and they brought every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the LORD out to the courtyard of the house of the LORD. Then the Levites received it to carry out to the Kidron Valley.

¹⁷Now they began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the porch of the LORD. Then they consecrated the house of the LORD in eight days, and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.

¹⁸Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the whole house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the showbread with all of its utensils.

¹⁹Moreover, all the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and consecrated; and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.”

²⁰Then King Hezekiah got up early and assembled the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

²¹They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. And he ordered the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD.

²²So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. They also slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar; they slaughtered the lambs as well, and sprinkled the blood on the altar.

²³Then they brought the male goats of the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.

²⁴The priests slaughtered them and purified the altar with their blood to atone for all Israel, because the king ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.

²⁵He then stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the command of David and of Gad, the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the command was from the LORD through His prophets.

²⁶The Levites stood with the musical instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

²⁷Then Hezekiah gave the order to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the song to the LORD also began with the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David, king of Israel.

²⁸While the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

²⁹Now at the completion of the burnt offerings, the king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped.

³⁰Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.

³¹Then Hezekiah said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come forward and bring sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the house of the LORD.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and everyone who was willing brought burnt offerings.

³²The number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all of these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.

³³The consecrated offerings were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep.

³⁴But the priests were too few, so that they were unable to skin all the burnt offerings; therefore their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was finished and the other priests had consecrated themselves. For the Levites were more conscientious to consecrate themselves than the priests.

³⁵There were also many burnt offerings with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of the LORD was established again.

³⁶Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.