Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Now Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the LORD God of Israel.

²For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month,

³since they could not celebrate it at that time, because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient numbers, nor had the people been gathered to Jerusalem.

⁴So the decision was right in the sight of the king and all the assembly.

⁵So they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout Israel from Beersheba to Dan, that they are to come to celebrate the Passover to the LORD God of Israel in Jerusalem. For they had not celebrated it in great numbers as was written.

⁶The couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with the letters from the hand of the king and his princes, even according to the command of the king, saying, “Sons of Israel, return to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that He may return to those of you who escaped and are left from the hand of the kings of Assyria.

⁷Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were untrue to the LORD God of their fathers, so that He made them an object of horror, just as you see.

⁸Now do not stiffen your neck like your fathers, but yield to the LORD and enter His sanctuary which He has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, that His burning anger may turn away from you.

⁹For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your sons will find compassion in the presence of those who led them captive, and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”

¹⁰So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed at them with scorn and mocked them.

¹¹Nevertheless, some men of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

¹²The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD.

¹³Now many people were gathered at Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very large assembly.

¹⁴They got up and removed the altars which were in Jerusalem; they also removed all the incense altars and threw them into the brook Kidron.

¹⁵Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth of the second month. And the priests and Levites were ashamed of themselves, and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD.

¹⁶They stood at their stations following their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood which they received from the hand of the Levites.

¹⁷For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves; therefore, the Levites were in charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was unclean, in order to consecrate them to the LORD.

¹⁸For a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim and Manasseh, and Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon

¹⁹everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”

²⁰So the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹The sons of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests were praising the LORD day after day with loud instruments to the LORD.

²²Then Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good insight in the things of the LORD. So they ate for the appointed seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD God of their fathers.

²³Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate the feast another seven days, so they celebrated the seven days with joy.

²⁴For Hezekiah king of Judah had contributed to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the princes had contributed to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and a large number of priests consecrated themselves.

²⁵All the assembly of Judah rejoiced, with the priests and the Levites and all the assembly that came from Israel, both the strangers who came from the land of Israel and those living in Judah.

²⁶So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel.

²⁷Then the Levitical priests stood and blessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.

¹Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the memorial stones in pieces, cut down the Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.

²And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to serve and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the LORD.

³He also appointed the king’s portion of his property for the burnt offerings, namely, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and for the new moons and for the appointed festivals, as it is written in the Law of the LORD.

⁴Also he told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, so that they might devote themselves to the Law of the LORD.

⁵As soon as the order spread, the sons of Israel abundantly provided the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.

⁶The sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of sacred gifts which were consecrated to the LORD their God, and placed them in heaps.

⁷In the third month they began to make the heaps, and they finished them by the seventh month.

⁸When Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His people Israel.

⁹Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.

¹⁰Azariah, the chief priest of the house of Zadok, said to him, “Since the contributions started coming into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the LORD has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.”

¹¹Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare rooms in the house of the LORD, and they prepared them.

¹²They faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the consecrated things; and 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 overseers under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and Azariah was the chief officer of the house of God.

¹⁴Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the eastern gate, was in charge of the voluntary offerings for God, to distribute the contributions for the LORD and the most holy things.

¹⁵Under his authority were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, to distribute their portions faithfully to their brothers by divisions, whether great or small,

¹⁶without regard to their genealogical enrollment, to the males from thirty years old and upward—everyone who entered the house of the LORD for his daily obligations—for their work in their duties according to their divisions;

¹⁷as well as the priests who were enrolled genealogically according to their fathers’ households, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, by their duties and their divisions.

¹⁸The genealogical enrollment included all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, for the whole assembly, for they consecrated themselves faithfully in holiness.

¹⁹Also for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in the pasture lands of their cities, or in each and every city, there were men who were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone genealogically enrolled among the Levites.

²⁰Hezekiah did this throughout Judah; and he did what was good, right, and true before the LORD his God.

²¹Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in the Law and in the commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.

¹After these acts of faithfulness Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and intended to break into them for himself.

²Now when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem,

³he decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him.

⁴So many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream which flowed through the region, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”

⁵And he resolutely set to work and rebuilt all of the wall that had been broken down and erected towers on it, and built another outside wall and strengthened the Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in great numbers.

⁶He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the public square at the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying,

⁷“Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the One with us is greater than the one with him.

⁸With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

⁹After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem while he was besieging Lachish with all his forces with him, against Hezekiah king of Judah and against all of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying,

¹⁰“This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: ‘On what are you trusting that you are staying in Jerusalem under siege?

¹¹Is Hezekiah not misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, “The LORD our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria”?

¹²Is it not the same Hezekiah who removed His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, “You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall burn incense”?

¹³Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to save their land from my hand?

¹⁴Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could save his people from my hand, that your God would be able to save you from my hand?

¹⁵Now then, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to save his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God save you from my hand?’ ”

¹⁶His servants spoke further against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah.

¹⁷He also wrote letters to insult the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of the lands have not saved their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not save His people from my hand.”

¹⁸They called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city.

¹⁹They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they did against the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of human hands.

²⁰But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and called out to heaven for help.

²¹And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed every warrior, commander, and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with the sword.

²²So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side.

²³And many were bringing gifts to the LORD at Jerusalem and valuable presents to Hezekiah king of Judah; so thereafter he rose in the sight of all nations.

²⁴In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill; and he prayed to the LORD, and the LORD spoke to him and gave him a sign.

²⁵But Hezekiah did nothing in return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁶However, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles,

²⁸also storehouses for the produce of grain, wine, and oil; stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds for the flocks.

²⁹He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, because God had given him very great wealth.

³⁰It was Hezekiah who stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah was successful in everything that he did.

³¹Even in the matter of the messengers of the rulers of Babylon, who were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land; God left him alone only to test him, so that He might know everything that was in his heart.

³²Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his deeds of devotion, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

³³So Hezekiah lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper section of the tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.

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

²He did evil in the sight of the LORD according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

³For he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had torn down; he also set up altars for the Baals and made Asherim, and he worshiped all the heavenly lights and served them.

⁴He built altars in the house of the LORD of which the LORD had said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.”

⁵He built altars for all the heavenly lights in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD.

⁶He also made his sons pass through the fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.

⁷Then he put the carved image of the idol which he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;

⁸and I will not remove the foot of Israel again from the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will take care to do everything that I have commanded them according to all the Law, the statutes, and the ordinances given through Moses.”

⁹So Manasseh encouraged Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel.

¹⁰So the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.

¹¹Therefore the LORD brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains, and led him to Babylon.

¹²When he was in distress, he appeased the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.

¹³When he prayed to Him, He was moved by him and heard his pleading, and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD alone is God.

¹⁴Now after this he built the outer wall of the city of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, up to the entrance of the Fish Gate; and he encircled the Ophel with it and made it very high. Then he put army commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.

¹⁵He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city.

¹⁶He set up the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.

¹⁷However, the people still sacrificed on the high places, although only to the LORD their God.

¹⁸Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are among the records of the kings of Israel.

¹⁹His prayer also and how God was moved by him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and erected the Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the records of Hozai.

²⁰So Manasseh lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. And his son Amon became king in his place.

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

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

²³Furthermore, he did not humble himself before the LORD as his father Manasseh had done, but Amon multiplied his guilt.

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

²⁵But the people of the land killed all the conspirators against King Amon, and the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

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

²He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or the left.

³For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the carved images, and the cast metal images.

⁴They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he chopped down the incense altars that were high above them; also he broke in pieces the Asherim, the carved images, and the cast metal images, and ground them to powder, and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

⁵Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and purged Judah and Jerusalem.

⁶In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding spaces,

⁷he also tore down the altars and crushed the Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

⁸Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah an official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the secretary, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

⁹They came to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the doorkeepers, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁰Then they handed it over to the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and the workmen who were working in the house of the LORD used it to restore and repair the house.

¹¹They in turn gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin.

¹²The men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to supervise: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments.

¹³They were also in charge of the burden bearers, and supervised all the workmen from job to job; and some of the Levites were scribes, and officials, and gatekeepers.

¹⁴When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses.

¹⁵Hilkiah responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

¹⁶Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and reported further word to the king, saying, “Everything that was entrusted to your servants, they are doing.

¹⁷They have also emptied out the money which was found in the house of the LORD, and have handed it over to the supervisors and the workmen.”

¹⁸Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest 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 the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,

²¹“Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for the wrath of the LORD which has poured out on us is great, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to act in accordance with everything that is written in this book.”

²²So Hilkiah and those whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this.

²³Then she said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me,

²⁴this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah.

²⁵Since they have abandoned Me and have burned incense to other gods, so that they may provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, My wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be quenched.” ’

²⁶But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, this is what you shall say to him: ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: In regard to the words which you have heard,

²⁷“Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes, and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you,” declares the LORD.

²⁸“Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I am bringing on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” And they brought back word to the king.

²⁹Then the king sent word and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

³⁰The king went up to the house of the LORD with all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their presence all the words of the Book of the Covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.

³¹Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that are written in this book.

³²Furthermore, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

³³Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel serve the LORD their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the LORD God of their fathers.

¹Then Josiah celebrated the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover animals on the fourteenth day of the first month.

²He appointed the priests to their offices and encouraged them in the service of the house of the LORD.

³He also said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the LORD, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it will not be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.

⁴Prepare yourselves by your fathers’ households in your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and according to the writing of his son Solomon.

⁵Furthermore, stand in the holy place according to the sections of the fathers’ households of your countrymen, the lay people, and according to the Levites, by division of a father’s household.

⁶Now slaughter the Passover animals, keep one another consecrated, and prepare for your countrymen to act in accordance with the word of the LORD by Moses.”

⁷Josiah contributed to the lay people, to all who were present, flocks of lambs and young goats, all for the Passover offerings, numbering thirty thousand, plus three thousand bulls; these were from the king’s property.

⁸His officers also contributed a voluntary offering to the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the officials of the house of God, gave the priests 2,600 from the flocks and three hundred bulls, for the Passover offerings.

⁹Conaniah also, and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the officers of the Levites, contributed five thousand from the flocks and five hundred bulls to the Levites for the Passover offerings.

¹⁰So the service was prepared, and the priests stood at their positions and the Levites by their divisions according to the king’s command.

¹¹They slaughtered the Passover animals, and while the priests sprinkled the blood received from their hand, the Levites skinned the animals.

¹²Then they removed the burnt offerings so that they might give them to the sections of the fathers’ households of the lay people to present to the LORD, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did this with the bulls as well.

¹³So they roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the ordinance, and they boiled the holy things in pots, in kettles, and in pans and carried them quickly to all the lay people.

¹⁴Afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.

¹⁵The singers, the sons of Asaph, were also at their positions according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the gatekeepers at each gate did not have to leave their service, because their kinsmen the Levites prepared for them.

¹⁶So all the service of the LORD was prepared on that day to celebrate the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD according to the command of King Josiah.

¹⁷And the sons of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

¹⁸There had not been a Passover celebrated like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

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

²⁰After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came up to wage war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him.

²¹But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What business do you have with me, King of Judah? I am not coming against you today, but against the house with which I am at war, and God has told me to hurry. For your own sake, stop interfering with God who is with me, so that He does not destroy you.”

²²However, Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight against him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but he came to wage war on the plain of Megiddo.

²³The archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.”

²⁴So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him on the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem where he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

²⁵Then Jeremiah chanted a song of mourning for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their songs of mourning to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations.

²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of devotion as written in the Law of the LORD,

²⁷and his acts, the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

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

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

³Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem, and imposed a fine on the land of a hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.

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

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

⁶Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon.

⁷Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and he put them in his temple in Babylon.

⁸Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and the abominations which he committed, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

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

¹⁰At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent men and had him brought to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the LORD; and he made his relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

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

¹²He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD.

¹³He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance by God. But he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel.

¹⁴Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the LORD which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

¹⁵Yet the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place;

¹⁶but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against His people, until there was no remedy.

¹⁷So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or frail; He handed them all over to him.

¹⁸He brought all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and his officers, to Babylon.

¹⁹Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.

²⁰He took into exile those who had escaped from the sword to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia,

²¹to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept the Sabbath until seventy years were complete.

²²Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah—the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

²³“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the LORD his God be with him; go up then!’ ”

¹Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

²“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to rebuild for Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

³Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

⁴And every survivor, at whatever place he may live, the people of that place are to support him with silver and gold, with equipment and cattle, together with a voluntary offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’ ”

⁵Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites rose up, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

⁶And all of those around them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with equipment, cattle, and with valuables, aside from everything that was given as a voluntary offering.

⁷Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods;

⁸and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah.

⁹Now this was their number: thirty gold dishes, a thousand silver dishes, twenty nine duplicates;

¹⁰thirty gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind, and a thousand other articles.

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

¹Now these are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken into exile to Babylon, and they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city.

²These came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. T his is the number of the men of the people of Israel:

³the sons of Parosh, 2,172;

⁴the sons of Shephatiah, 372;

⁵the sons of Arah, 775;

⁶the sons of Pahath-moab of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812;

⁷the sons of Elam, 1,254;

⁸the sons of Zattu, 945;

⁹the sons of Zaccai, 760;

¹⁰the sons of Bani, 642;

¹¹the sons of Bebai, 623;

¹²the sons of Azgad, 1,222;

¹³the sons of Adonikam, 666;

¹⁴the sons of Bigvai, 2,056;

¹⁵the sons of Adin, 454;

¹⁶the sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98;

¹⁷the sons of Bezai, 323;

¹⁸the sons of Jorah, 112;

¹⁹the sons of Hashum, 223;

²⁰the sons of Gibbar, 95;

²¹the men of Bethlehem, 123;

²²the men of Netophah, 56;

²³the men of Anathoth, 128;

²⁴the sons of Azmaveth, 42;

²⁵the sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;

²⁶the sons of Ramah and Geba, 621;

²⁷the men of Michmas, 122;

²⁸the men of Bethel and Ai, 223;

²⁹the sons of Nebo, 52;

³⁰the sons of Magbish, 156;

³¹the sons of the other Elam, 1,254;

³²the sons of Harim, 320;

³³the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725;

³⁴the men of Jericho, 345;

³⁵the sons of Senaah, 3,630.

³⁶The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973;

³⁷the sons of Immer, 1,052;

³⁸the sons of Pashhur, 1,247;

³⁹the sons of Harim, 1,017.

⁴⁰The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, 74.

⁴¹The singers: the sons of Asaph, 128.

⁴²The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, 139 in all.

⁴³The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,

⁴⁴the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon,

⁴⁵the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub,

⁴⁶the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan,

⁴⁷the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah,

⁴⁸the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam,

⁴⁹the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai,

⁵⁰the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephisim,

⁵¹the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,

⁵²the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,

⁵³the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah,

⁵⁴the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.

⁵⁵The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda,

⁵⁶the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,

⁵⁷the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of Ami.

⁵⁸All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants totaled 392.

⁵⁹Now these were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, but they were not able to provide evidence of their fathers’ households and their descendants, whether they were of Israel:

⁶⁰the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, 652.

⁶¹Of the sons of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was called by their name.

⁶²These searched among their genealogical registration but they could not be located; so they were considered defiled and excluded from the priesthood.

⁶³The governor said to them that they were not to eat from the most holy things until a priest stood up with Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁴The whole assembly together totaled 42,360,

⁶⁵besides their male and female slaves who totaled 7,337; and they had two hundred singing men and women.

⁶⁶Their horses numbered 736; their mules, 245;

⁶⁷their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720.

⁶⁸Some of the heads of fathers’ households, when they arrived at the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to erect it on its site.

⁶⁹According to their ability they gave to the treasury for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand silver minas, and a hundred priestly garments.

⁷⁰Now the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

¹Now when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one person to Jerusalem.

²Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers, rose up and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God.

³So they set up the altar on its foundation, because they were terrified of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening.

⁴They also celebrated the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the prescribed number of burnt offerings daily, according to the ordinance, as each day required;

⁵and afterward there was a continual burnt offering, also for the new moons and for all the appointed festivals of the LORD that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a voluntary offering to the LORD.

⁶From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, but the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid.

⁷Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the permission they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

⁸Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites who were twenty years old and upward to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.

⁹Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.

¹⁰Now when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD according to the directions of King David of Israel.

¹¹And they sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, “For He is good, for His favor is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout of joy when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

¹²Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy,

¹³so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, because the people were shouting with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.

¹Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel,

²they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for like you, we seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.”

³But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build for the LORD God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

⁴Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building,

⁵and bribed advisers against them to frustrate their advice all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

⁶Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic.

⁸Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows—

⁹Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues, the judges and the lesser governors, the officials, the secretaries, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,

¹⁰and the rest of the nations which the great and honorable Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the Euphrates River. And now

¹¹this is a copy of the letter which they sent to him: “To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men of the region beyond the Euphrates River; and now

¹²let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city and are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.

¹³Now let it be known to the king, that if that city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, custom tax, or toll, and it will be detrimental to the revenue of the kings.

¹⁴Now because we are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king’s shame, for this reason we have sent word and informed the king,

¹⁵so that a search may be conducted in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and detrimental to kings and provinces, and that they have revolted within it in past days; for this reason that city was laid waste.

¹⁶We are informing the king that if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, then as a result of this you will have no possession in the province beyond the Euphrates River.”

¹⁷Then the king sent a response to Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River: “Peace. And now,

¹⁸the document which you sent to us has been translated and read before me.

¹⁹And a decree has been issued by me, and a search has been conducted and it has been discovered that that city has risen up against the kings in past days, and that rebellion and revolt have been perpetrated in it,

²⁰that mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem, governing all the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and that tribute, custom tax, and toll were paid to them.

²¹Now issue a decree to make those men stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me.

²²And beware of being negligent in carrying out this matter; why should there be great damage, to the detriment of the kings?”

²³Then as soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes’ decree was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their colleagues, they went in a hurry to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by military force.

²⁴Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem was discontinued, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

¹When the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the 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,

²then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

³At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them as follows: “Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?”

⁴Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were reconstructing this building.

⁵But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report could reach Darius, and then the decree concerning it could be sent back.

⁶This is the copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king.

⁷They sent the report to him in which it was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace.

⁸May it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God which is being built with large stones, and beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is being performed with great care and is succeeding in their hands.

⁹Then we asked those elders and said to them as follows: ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’

¹⁰We also asked them their names so as to inform you, in order that we might write down the names of the men who were in charge.

¹¹So they answered us as follows, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

¹²But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

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

¹⁴Also the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought them to the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus took them from the temple of Babylon and they were given to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor.

¹⁵And he said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and have the house of God rebuilt in its place.”

¹⁶Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and it is not yet completed.’

¹⁷And now, if it pleases the king, let a search be conducted in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, as to whether a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem; and let the king send to us his decision concerning this matter.”

¹Then King Darius issued a decree, and a search was conducted in the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon.

²And in Ecbatana, in the fortress which is in the province of Media, a scroll was found; and the following was written in it: “Memorandum—

³In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let the temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt, and let its foundations be repaired, its height being sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits,

⁴with three layers of large stones and one layer of timber. And the cost is to be paid from the royal treasury.

⁵Also the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned and brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

⁶“Now as for you, Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the River, stay away from there.

⁷Leave that work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild that house of God on its site.

⁸Furthermore, I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of that house of God: the full cost is to be paid to those people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and that without interruption.

⁹And whatever is needed, bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem order, it is to be given to them daily without fail,

¹⁰so that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the lives of the king and his sons.

¹¹And I issued a decree that any person who violates this decree, a timber shall be pulled out of his house and he shall be impaled on it; and his house shall be turned into a refuse heap on account of this.

¹²May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to change it, so as to destroy that house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; it is to be carried out with all diligence!”

¹³Then Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had ordered.

¹⁴And the elders of the Jews were successful in building through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building following the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

¹⁵Now this temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

¹⁶And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.

¹⁷They offered for the dedication of this temple of God a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁸Then they appointed the priests to their divisions and the Levites in their sections for the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.

¹⁹The exiles held the Passover on the fourteenth of the first month.

²⁰For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves.

²¹And the sons of Israel who returned from exile and all those who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the LORD God of Israel, ate the Passover.

²²And they held the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the LORD had made them happy, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.