Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Then Hezekiah sent word throughout all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the LORD’s temple in Jerusalem to observe the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel.

²For the king and his officials and the entire congregation in Jerusalem decided to observe the Passover of the LORD in the second month,

³because they were not able to observe it at the appropriate time. Not enough of the priests had consecrated themselves, and the people hadn’t been gathered together in Jerusalem.

⁴The proposal pleased the king and the congregation,

⁵so they affirmed the proposal and spread the message throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, to come to observe the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they hadn’t observed it often, as prescribed.

⁶So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the hand of the king and his officials, and according to the king’s command, saying, “Israelites, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel so that he may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria.

⁷Don’t be like your fathers and your brothers who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their ancestors so that he made them an object of horror as you yourselves see.

⁸Don’t become obstinate now like your fathers did. Give your allegiance to the LORD, and come to his sanctuary that he has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God so that he may turn his burning anger away from you,

⁹for when you return to the LORD, your brothers and your sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; he will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.”

¹⁰The couriers traveled from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but the inhabitants laughed at them and mocked them.

¹¹But some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

¹²Also, the power of God was at work in Judah to unite them to carry out the command of the king and his officials by the word of the LORD.

¹³A very large assembly of people was gathered in Jerusalem to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month.

¹⁴They proceeded to take away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the LORD’s temple.

¹⁶They stood at their prescribed posts, according to the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests splattered the blood received from the Levites,

¹⁷for there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, and so the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for every unclean person to consecrate the lambs to the LORD.

¹⁸A large number of the people — many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun — were ritually unclean, yet they had eaten the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah had interceded for them, saying, “May the good LORD provide atonement on behalf of

¹⁹whoever sets his whole heart on seeking God, the LORD, the God of his ancestors, even though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”

²⁰So the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day after day with loud instruments.

²²Then Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. They ate at the appointed festival for seven days, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

²³The whole congregation decided to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy,

²⁴for King Hezekiah of Judah contributed one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the congregation. Also, the officials contributed one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the congregation, and many priests consecrated themselves.

²⁵Then the whole assembly of Judah with the priests and Levites, the whole assembly that came from Israel, the resident aliens who came from the land of Israel, and those who were living in Judah, rejoiced.

²⁶There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this was known since the days of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel.

²⁷Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, and their prayer came into his holy dwelling place in heaven.

¹When all this was completed, all Israel who had attended went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, to the last one. Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own possession.

²Hezekiah reestablished the divisions of the priests and Levites for the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for praise in the gates of the camp of the LORD, each division corresponding to his service among the priests and Levites.

³The king contributed from his own possessions for the regular morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings of the Sabbaths, of the New Moons, and of the appointed feasts, as written in the law of the LORD.

⁴He told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give a contribution for the priests and Levites so that they could devote their energy to the law of the LORD.

⁵When the word spread, the Israelites gave liberally of the best of the grain, new wine, fresh oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in an abundance, a tenth of everything.

⁶As for the Israelites and Judahites who lived in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tenth of the herds and flocks, and a tenth of the dedicated things that were consecrated to the LORD their God. They gathered them into large piles.

⁷In the third month they began building up the piles, and they finished in the seventh month.

⁸When Hezekiah and his officials came and viewed the piles, they blessed the LORD and his people Israel.

⁹Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles.

¹⁰The chief priest Azariah, of the household of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began bringing the offering to the LORD’s temple, we eat and are satisfied and there is plenty left over because the LORD has blessed his people; this abundance is what is left over.”

¹¹Hezekiah told them to prepare chambers in the LORD’s temple, and they prepared them.

¹²The offering, the tenth, and the dedicated things were brought faithfully. Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second.

¹³Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were deputies under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by appointment of King Hezekiah and of Azariah the chief official of God’s temple.

¹⁴Kore son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the freewill offerings to God to distribute the contribution to the LORD and the consecrated things.

¹⁵Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests were to distribute it faithfully under his authority to their brothers by divisions, whether large or small.

¹⁶In addition, they distributed it to males registered by genealogy three years old and above; to all who would enter the LORD’s temple for their daily duty, for their service in their responsibilities according to their divisions.

¹⁷They distributed also to those recorded by genealogy of the priests by their ancestral families and the Levites twenty years old and above, by their responsibilities in their divisions;

¹⁸to those registered by genealogy — with all their dependents, wives, sons, and daughters — of the whole assembly (for they had faithfully consecrated themselves as holy);

¹⁹and to the descendants of Aaron, the priests, in the common fields of their cities, in each and every city. There were men who were registered by name to distribute a portion to every male among the priests and to every Levite recorded by genealogy.

²⁰Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God.

²¹He was diligent in every deed that he began in the service of God’s temple, in the instruction and the commands, in order to seek his God, and he prospered.

¹After these faithful deeds, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended to break into them.

²Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned war on Jerusalem,

³so he consulted with his officials and his warriors about stopping up the water of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him.

⁴Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land; they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”

⁵Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall and heightening the towers and the other outside wall. He repaired the supporting terraces of the city of David, and made an abundance of weapons and shields.

⁶He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, saying,

⁷“Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.

⁸He has only human strength, but we have the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people relied on the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.

⁹After this, while King Sennacherib of Assyria with all his armed forces besieged Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem against King Hezekiah of Judah and against all those of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying,

¹⁰“This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘What are you relying on that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?

¹¹Isn’t Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he says, “The LORD our God will keep us from the grasp of the king of Assyria”?

¹²Didn’t Hezekiah himself remove his high places and his altars and say to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before one altar, and you must burn incense on it”?

¹³“‘Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have any of the national gods of the lands been able to rescue their land from my power?

¹⁴Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors completely destroyed was able to rescue his people from my power, that your God should be able to deliver you from my power?

¹⁵So now, don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, and don’t let him mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my fathers. How much less will your God rescue you from my power! ’”

¹⁶His servants said more against the LORD God and against his servant Hezekiah.

¹⁷He also wrote letters to mock the LORD, the God of Israel, saying against him: Just like the national gods of the lands that did not rescue their people from my power, so Hezekiah’s God will not rescue his people from my power.

¹⁸Then they called out loudly in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem, who were on the wall, to frighten and discourage them in order that he might capture the city.

¹⁹They spoke against the God of Jerusalem like they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth, which were made by human hands.

²⁰King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven,

²¹and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword.

²²So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from the power of all others. He gave them rest on every side.

²³Many were bringing an offering to the LORD to Jerusalem and valuable gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah, and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after that.

²⁴In those days Hezekiah became sick to the point of death, so he prayed to the LORD, and he spoke to him and gave him a miraculous sign.

²⁵However, because his heart was proud, Hezekiah didn’t respond according to the benefit that had come to him. So there was wrath on him, Judah, and Jerusalem.

²⁶Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart — he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem — so the LORD’s wrath didn’t come on them during Hezekiah’s lifetime.

²⁷Hezekiah had abundant riches and glory, and he made himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and every desirable item.

²⁸He made warehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and pens for flocks.

²⁹He made cities for himself, and he acquired vast numbers of flocks and herds, for God gave him abundant possessions.

³⁰This same Hezekiah blocked the outlet of the water of the Upper Gihon and channeled it smoothly downward and westward to the city of David. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did.

³¹When the ambassadors of Babylon’s rulers were sent to him to inquire about the miraculous sign that happened in the land, God left him to test him and discover what was in his heart.

³²As for the rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign and his deeds of faithful love, note that they are written in the Visions of the Prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, and in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

³³Hezekiah rested with his fathers and was buried on the ascent to the tombs of David’s descendants. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. His son Manasseh became king in his place.

¹Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

²He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.

³He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down and reestablished the altars for the Baals. He made Asherah poles, and he bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served them.

⁴He built altars in the LORD’s temple, where the LORD had said, “Jerusalem is where my name will remain forever.”

⁵He built altars to all the stars in the sky in both courtyards of the LORD’s temple.

⁶He passed his sons through the fire in Ben Hinnom Valley. He practiced witchcraft, divination, and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did a huge amount of evil in the LORD’s sight, angering him.

⁷Manasseh set up a carved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s temple that God had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

⁸I will never again remove the feet of the Israelites from the land where I stationed your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them through Moses — all the law, statutes, and judgments.”

⁹So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

¹⁰The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they didn’t listen.

¹¹So he brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

¹²When he was in distress, he sought the favor of the LORD his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.

¹³He prayed to him, and the LORD was receptive to his prayer. He granted his request and brought him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. So Manasseh came to know that the LORD is God.

¹⁴After this, he built the outer wall of the city of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate; he brought it around the Ophel, and he heightened it considerably. He also placed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

¹⁵He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the LORD’s temple, along with all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the LORD’s temple and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city.

¹⁶He built the altar of the LORD and offered fellowship and thank offerings on it. Then he told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.

¹⁷However, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.

¹⁸The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign, along with his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the Events of Israel’s Kings.

¹⁹His prayer and how God was receptive to his prayer, and all his sin and unfaithfulness and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and carved images before he humbled himself, they are written in the Events of Hozai.

²⁰Manasseh rested with his fathers, and he was buried in his own house. His son Amon became king in his place.

²¹Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

²²He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, just as his father Manasseh had done. Amon sacrificed to all the carved images that his father Manasseh had made, and he served them.

²³But he did not humble himself before the LORD like his father Manasseh humbled himself; instead, Amon increased his guilt.

²⁴So his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house.

²⁵The common people killed all who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.

¹Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

²He did what was right in the LORD’s sight and walked in the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to the right or the left.

³In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images.

⁴Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he chopped down the shrines that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

⁵He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

⁶He did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali and on their surrounding mountain shrines.

⁷He tore down the altars, and he smashed the Asherah poles and the carved images to powder. He chopped down all the shrines throughout the land of Israel and returned to Jerusalem.

⁸In the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, along with Maaseiah the governor of the city and the court historian Joah son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of the LORD his God.

⁹So they went to the high priest Hilkiah and gave him the silver brought into God’s temple. The Levites and the doorkeepers had collected it from Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the entire remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁰They gave it to those doing the work — those who oversaw the LORD’s temple. They gave it to the workmen who were working in the LORD’s temple, to repair and restore the temple;

¹¹they gave it to the carpenters and builders and also used it to buy quarried stone and timbers — for joining and making beams — for the buildings that Judah’s kings had destroyed.

¹²The men were doing the work with integrity. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites as supervisors. The Levites were all skilled with musical instruments.

¹³They were also over the porters and were supervising all those doing the work task by task. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers.

¹⁴When they brought out the silver that had been deposited in the LORD’s temple, the priest Hilkiah found the book of the law of the LORD written by the hand of Moses.

¹⁵Consequently, Hilkiah told the court secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the LORD’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan.

¹⁶Shaphan took the book to the king, and also reported, “Your servants are doing all that was placed in their hands.

¹⁷They have emptied out the silver that was found in the LORD’s temple and have given it to the overseers and to those doing the work.”

¹⁸Then the court secretary Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah gave me a book,” and Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.

²⁰Then he commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, the court secretary Shaphan, and the king’s servant Asaiah,

²¹“Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that was found. For great is the LORD’s wrath that is poured out on us because our ancestors have not kept the word of the LORD in order to do everything written in this book.”

²²So Hilkiah and those the king had designated went to the prophetess Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her about this.

²³She said to them, “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: Say to the man who sent you to me,

²⁴‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling all the curses written in the book that they read in the presence of the king of Judah,

²⁵because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods so as to anger me with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.’

²⁶Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD: ‘This is what the LORD God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard,

²⁷because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before me, and you tore your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard’ — this is the LORD’s declaration.

²⁸‘I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place and on its inhabitants.’” Then they reported to the king.

²⁹So the king sent messengers and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

³⁰The king went up to the LORD’s temple with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites — all the people from the oldest to the youngest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the LORD’s temple.

³¹Then the king stood at his post and made a covenant in the LORD’s presence to follow the LORD and to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.

³²He had all those present in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it. So all the inhabitants of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

³³So Josiah removed everything that was detestable from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

¹Josiah observed the LORD’s Passover and slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month.

²He appointed the priests to their responsibilities and encouraged them to serve in the LORD’s temple.

³He said to the Levites who taught all Israel the holy things of the LORD, “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. Since you do not have to carry it on your shoulders, now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel.

⁴“Organize your ancestral families by your divisions according to the written instruction of King David of Israel and that of his son Solomon.

⁵Serve in the holy place by the groupings of the ancestral families for your brothers, the lay people, and according to the division of the Levites by family.

⁶Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your brothers to carry out the word of the LORD through Moses.”

⁷Then Josiah donated thirty thousand sheep, lambs, and young goats, plus three thousand cattle from his own possessions, for the Passover sacrifices for all the lay people who were present.

⁸His officials also donated willingly for the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, chief officials of God’s temple, gave twenty-six hundred Passover sacrifices and three hundred cattle for the priests.

⁹Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, donated five thousand Passover sacrifices for the Levites, plus five hundred cattle.

¹⁰So the service was established; the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command.

¹¹Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs, and while the Levites were skinning the animals, the priests splattered the blood they had been given.

¹²They removed the burnt offerings so that they might be given to the groupings of the ancestral families of the lay people to offer to the LORD, according to what is written in the book of Moses; they did the same with the cattle.

¹³They roasted the Passover lambs with fire according to regulation. They boiled the holy sacrifices in pots, kettles, and bowls; and they quickly brought them to the lay people.

¹⁴Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were busy offering up burnt offerings and fat until night. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

¹⁵The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also, the gatekeepers were at each temple gate. None of them left their tasks because their Levite brothers had made preparations for them.

¹⁶So all the service of the LORD was established that day for observing the Passover and for offering burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the command of King Josiah.

¹⁷The Israelites who were present in Judah also observed the Passover at that time and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

¹⁸No Passover had been observed like it in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present in Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁹In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was observed.

²⁰After all this that Josiah had prepared for the temple, King Neco of Egypt marched up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him.

²¹But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What is the issue between you and me, king of Judah? I have not come against you today but I am fighting another dynasty. God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God who is with me; don’t make him destroy you!”

²²But Josiah did not turn away from him; instead, in order to fight with him he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco’s words from the mouth of God, but went to the Valley of Megiddo to fight.

²³The archers shot King Josiah, and he said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded!”

²⁴So his servants took him out of the war chariot, carried him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem. Then he died, and they buried him in the tomb of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

²⁵Jeremiah chanted a dirge over Josiah, and all the male and female singers still speak of Josiah in their dirges today. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Dirges.

²⁶The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign, along with his deeds of faithful love according to what is written in the law of the LORD,

²⁷and his words, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

¹Then the common people took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.

²Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

³The king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and fined the land seventy-five hundred pounds of silver and seventy-five pounds of gold.

⁴Then King Neco of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took his brother Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt.

⁵Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.

⁶Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him and bound him in bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.

⁷Also Nebuchadnezzar took some of the articles of the LORD’s temple to Babylon and put them in his temple in Babylon.

⁸The rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, the detestable actions he committed, and what was found against him, are written in the Book of Israel’s Kings. His son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

⁹Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight.

¹⁰In the spring Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon along with the valuable articles of the LORD’s temple. Then he made Jehoiachin’s brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

¹¹Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

¹²He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before the prophet Jeremiah at the LORD’s command.

¹³He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He became obstinate and hardened his heart against returning to the LORD, the God of Israel.

¹⁴All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the LORD’s temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

¹⁵But the LORD, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again, for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.

¹⁶But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the LORD’s wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy.

¹⁷So he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their fit young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; he handed them all over to him.

¹⁸He took everything to Babylon — all the articles of God’s temple, large and small, the treasures of the LORD’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials.

¹⁹Then the Chaldeans burned God’s temple. They tore down Jerusalem’s wall, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable articles.

²⁰He deported those who escaped from the sword to Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the rise of the Persian kingdom.

²¹This fulfilled the word of the LORD through Jeremiah, and the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation until seventy years were fulfilled.

²²In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD roused the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also to put it in writing:

²³This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The LORD, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a temple at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the LORD his God be with him.

¹In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD roused the spirit of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:

²This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The LORD, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.

³Any of his people among you, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.

⁴Let every survivor, wherever he resides, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.”

⁵So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites — everyone whose spirit God had roused  — prepared to go up and rebuild the LORD’s house in Jerusalem.

⁶All their neighbors supported them with silver articles, gold, goods, livestock, and valuables, in addition to all that was given as a freewill offering.

⁷King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the LORD’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the house of his gods.

⁸King Cyrus of Persia had them brought out under the supervision of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.

⁹This was the inventory: 30 gold basins, 1,000 silver basins, 29 silver knives,

¹⁰30 gold bowls, 410 various silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles.

¹¹The gold and silver articles totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought all of them when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

¹These now are the people of the province who came from those captive exiles King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.

²They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the Israelite men included

³Parosh’s descendants — 2,172

⁴Shephatiah’s descendants — 372

⁵Arah’s descendants — 775

⁶Pahath-moab’s descendants: Jeshua’s and Joab’s descendants — 2,812

⁷Elam’s descendants — 1,254

⁸Zattu’s descendants — 945

⁹Zaccai’s descendants — 760

¹⁰Bani’s descendants — 642

¹¹Bebai’s descendants — 623

¹²Azgad’s descendants — 1,222

¹³Adonikam’s descendants — 666

¹⁴Bigvai’s descendants — 2,056

¹⁵Adin’s descendants — 454

¹⁶Ater’s descendants: of Hezekiah — 98

¹⁷Bezai’s descendants — 323

¹⁸Jorah’s descendants — 112

¹⁹Hashum’s descendants — 223

²⁰Gibbar’s descendants — 95

²¹Bethlehem’s people — 123

²²Netophah’s men — 56

²³Anathoth’s men — 128

²⁴Azmaveth’s people — 42

²⁵Kiriatharim’s, Chephirah’s, and Beeroth’s people — 743

²⁶Ramah’s and Geba’s people — 621

²⁷Michmas’s men — 122

²⁸Bethel’s and Ai’s men — 223

²⁹Nebo’s people — 52

³⁰Magbish’s people — 156

³¹the other Elam’s people — 1,254

³²Harim’s people — 320

³³Lod’s, Hadid’s, and Ono’s people — 725

³⁴Jericho’s people — 345

³⁵Senaah’s people — 3,630

³⁶The priests included Jedaiah’s descendants of the house of Jeshua — 973

³⁷Immer’s descendants — 1,052

³⁸Pashhur’s descendants — 1,247

³⁹and Harim’s descendants — 1,017

⁴⁰The Levites included Jeshua’s and Kadmiel’s descendants from Hodaviah’s descendants — 74

⁴¹The singers included Asaph’s descendants — 128

⁴²The gatekeepers’ descendants included Shallum’s descendants, Ater’s descendants, Talmon’s descendants, Akkub’s descendants, Hatita’s descendants, Shobai’s descendants, in all — 139

⁴³The temple servants included Ziha’s descendants, Hasupha’s descendants, Tabbaoth’s descendants,

⁴⁴Keros’s descendants, Siaha’s descendants, Padon’s descendants,

⁴⁵Lebanah’s descendants, Hagabah’s descendants, Akkub’s descendants,

⁴⁶Hagab’s descendants, Shalmai’s descendants, Hanan’s descendants,

⁴⁷Giddel’s descendants, Gahar’s descendants, Reaiah’s descendants,

⁴⁸Rezin’s descendants, Nekoda’s descendants, Gazzam’s descendants,

⁴⁹Uzza’s descendants, Paseah’s descendants, Besai’s descendants,

⁵⁰Asnah’s descendants, Meunim’s descendants, Nephusim’s descendants,

⁵¹Bakbuk’s descendants, Hakupha’s descendants, Harhur’s descendants,

⁵²Bazluth’s descendants, Mehida’s descendants, Harsha’s descendants,

⁵³Barkos’s descendants, Sisera’s descendants, Temah’s descendants,

⁵⁴Neziah’s descendants, and Hatipha’s descendants.

⁵⁵The descendants of Solomon’s servants included Sotai’s descendants, Hassophereth’s descendants, Peruda’s descendants,

⁵⁶Jaalah’s descendants, Darkon’s descendants, Giddel’s descendants,

⁵⁷Shephatiah’s descendants, Hattil’s descendants, Pochereth-hazzebaim’s descendants, and Ami’s descendants.

⁵⁸All the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants — 392.

⁵⁹The following are those who came from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer but were unable to prove that their ancestral families and their lineage were Israelite:

⁶⁰Delaiah’s descendants, Tobiah’s descendants, Nekoda’s descendants — 652

⁶¹and from the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai — who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and who bore their name.

⁶²These searched for their entries in the genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood.

⁶³The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest who could consult the Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁴The whole combined assembly numbered — 42,360

⁶⁵not including their 7,337 male and female servants, and their 200 male and female singers.

⁶⁶They had 736 horses, 245 mules,

⁶⁷435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

⁶⁸After they arrived at the LORD’s house in Jerusalem, some of the family heads gave freewill offerings for the house of God in order to have it rebuilt on its original site.

⁶⁹Based on what they could give, they gave 61,000 gold coins, 6,250 pounds of silver, and 100 priestly garments to the treasury for the project.

⁷⁰The priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, and some of the people settled in their towns, and the rest of Israel settled in their towns.

¹When the seventh month arrived, and the Israelites were in their towns, the people gathered as one in Jerusalem.

²Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his brothers began to build the altar of Israel’s God in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.

³They set up the altar on its foundation and offered burnt offerings for the morning and evening on it to the LORD even though they feared the surrounding peoples.

⁴They celebrated the Festival of Shelters as prescribed, and offered burnt offerings each day, based on the number specified by ordinance for each festival day.

⁵After that, they offered the regular burnt offering and the offerings for the beginning of each month and for all the LORD’s appointed holy occasions, as well as the freewill offerings brought to the LORD.

⁶On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, even though the foundation of the LORD’s temple had not yet been laid.

⁷They gave money to the stonecutters and artisans, and gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so they would bring cedar wood from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, according to the authorization given them by King Cyrus of Persia.

⁸In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God’s house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were twenty years old or more to supervise the work on the LORD’s house.

⁹Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah and of Henadad, with their sons and brothers, the Levites, joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.

¹⁰When the builders had laid the foundation of the LORD’s temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph, holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the LORD, as King David of Israel had instructed.

¹¹They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the LORD: “For he is good; his faithful love to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD because the foundation of the LORD’s house had been laid.

¹²But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple, but many others shouted joyfully.

¹³The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from that of the weeping, because the people were shouting so loudly. And the sound was heard far away.

¹When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel,

²they approached Zerubbabel and the family heads and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”

³But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of Israel’s families answered them, “You may have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone will build it for the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”

⁴Then the people who were already in the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build.

⁵They also bribed officials to act against them to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.

⁶At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus, the people who were already in the land wrote an accusation against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷During the time of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.

⁸Rehum the chief deputy and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes concerning Jerusalem as follows:

⁹From Rehum the chief deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues — the judges and magistrates from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa (that is, the people of Elam),

¹⁰and the rest of the peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and the region west of the Euphrates River.

¹¹This is the text of the letter they sent to him: To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men from the region west of the Euphrates River:

¹²Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you have returned to us at Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and evil city, finishing its walls, and repairing its foundations.

¹³Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, duty, or land tax, and the royal revenue will suffer.

¹⁴Since we have taken an oath of loyalty to the king, and it is not right for us to witness his dishonor, we have sent to inform the king

¹⁵that a search should be made in your fathers’ record books. In these record books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces. There have been revolts in it since ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

¹⁶We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, you will not have any possession west of the Euphrates.

¹⁷The king sent a reply to his chief deputy Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates River: Greetings.

¹⁸The letter you sent us has been translated and read in my presence.

¹⁹I issued a decree and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has had uprisings against kings since ancient times, and there have been rebellions and revolts in it.

²⁰Powerful kings have also ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates River, and tribute, duty, and land tax were paid to them.

²¹Therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a further decree has been pronounced by me.

²²See that you not neglect this matter. Otherwise, the damage will increase and the royal interests will suffer.

²³As soon as the text of King Artaxerxes’s letter was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they immediately went to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.

²⁴Now the construction of God’s house in Jerusalem had stopped and remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.

¹But when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them,

²Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began to rebuild God’s house in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, helping them.

³At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues came to the Jews and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?”

⁴They also asked them, “What are the names of the workers who are constructing this building?”

⁵But God was watching over the Jewish elders. These men wouldn’t stop them until a report was sent to Darius, so that they could receive written instructions about this matter.

⁶This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.

⁷They sent him a report, written as follows: To King Darius: All greetings.

⁸Let it be known to the king that we went to the house of the great God in the province of Judah. It is being built with cut stones, and its beams are being set in the walls. This work is being done diligently and succeeding through the people’s efforts.

⁹So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?”

¹⁰We also asked them for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

¹¹This is the reply they gave us: We are the servants of the God of the heavens and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

¹²But since our fathers angered the God of the heavens, he handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

¹³However, in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, he issued a decree to rebuild the house of God.

¹⁴He also took from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver articles of God’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried them to the temple in Babylon. He released them from the temple in Babylon to a man named Sheshbazzar, the governor by the appointment of King Cyrus.

¹⁵Cyrus told him, “Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.”

¹⁶Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God’s house in Jerusalem. It has been under construction from that time until now, but it has not been completed.

¹⁷So if it pleases the king, let a search of the royal archives in Babylon be conducted to see if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Let the king’s decision regarding this matter be sent to us.

¹King Darius gave the order, and they searched in the library of Babylon in the archives.

²But it was in the fortress of Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found with this record written on it:

³In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its original foundations be retained. Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety feet,

⁴with three layers of cut stones and one of timber. The cost is to be paid from the royal treasury.

⁵The gold and silver articles of God’s house that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon must also be returned. They are to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem where they belong and put into the house of God.

⁶Therefore, you must stay away from that place, Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and your colleagues, the officials in the region.

⁷Leave the construction of the house of God alone. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its original site.

⁸I hereby issue a decree concerning what you are to do, so that the elders of the Jews can rebuild the house of God: The cost is to be paid in full to these men out of the royal revenues from the taxes of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that the work will not stop.

⁹Whatever is needed — young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of the heavens, or wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem — let it be given to them every day without fail,

¹⁰so that they can offer sacrifices of pleasing aroma to the God of the heavens and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

¹¹I also issue a decree concerning any man who interferes with this directive: Let a beam be torn from his house and raised up; he will be impaled on it, and his house will be made into a garbage dump because of this offense.

¹²May the God who caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who dares to harm or interfere with this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out diligently.

¹³Then Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

¹⁴So the Jewish elders continued successfully with the building under the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.

¹⁵This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

¹⁶Then the Israelites, including the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.

¹⁷For the dedication of God’s house they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, as well as twelve male goats as a sin offering for all Israel — one for each Israelite tribe.

¹⁸They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the book of Moses.

¹⁹The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

²⁰All of the priests and Levites were ceremonially clean, because they had purified themselves. They killed the Passover lamb for themselves, their priestly brothers, and all the exiles.

²¹The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the Gentiles of the land in order to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.

²²They observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful, having changed the Assyrian king’s attitude toward them, so that he supported them in the work on the house of the God of Israel.