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So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained,

For the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites and commanded them, “Do not worship other gods or bow down to them; do not serve them or sacrifice to them.

Instead, worship the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. You are to bow down to Him and offer sacrifices to Him.

Do not forget the covenant I have made with you. Do not worship other gods,

And the LORD was with Hezekiah, and he prospered wherever he went. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.

At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold with which he had plated the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.

Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, along with Shebnah and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak with us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, along with Shebnah and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak with us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”

Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,

Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

…who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest outposts, the densest of its forests.

I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.

“Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

And Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh reigned in his place.

“Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin,

As for the rest of the acts of Manasseh, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And his son Amon reigned in his place.

As for the rest of the acts of Amon, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

But they need not account for the money put into their hands, since they work with integrity.”

…because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place and will not be quenched.’

And he went up to the house of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people small and great—and in their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.

So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

Josiah also did away with the idolatrous priests ordained by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem—those who had burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.

Although the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones.

“Let him rest,” said Josiah. “Do not let anyone disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, along with those of the prophet who had come from Samaria.

Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses.

Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses.

Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses.

…and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.

As for the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

And Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin reigned in his place.

So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.

And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the population.

Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall. The bronze capital atop one pillar was three cubits high, with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its network, was similar.

Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall. The bronze capital atop one pillar was three cubits high, with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its network, was similar.

And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, assuring them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”

In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

Then all the people small and great, together with the commanders of the army, arose and fled to Egypt for fear of the Chaldeans.

And he spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and set his throne above the thrones of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

Later, Hezron slept with the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead. He had married her when he was sixty years old, and she bore to him Segub.

But Geshur and Aram captured Havvoth-jair, along with Kenath and its sixty surrounding villages. All these were descendants of Machir the father of Gilead.

And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! May Your hand be with me and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted the request of Jabez.

But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and they prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

They ministered with song before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. And they performed their duties according to the regulations given them.

These are the men who served, together with their sons. From the Kohathites: Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,

Ashan, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, together with their pasturelands.

And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. So they had thirteen cities in all among their families.

They were given Shechem (a city of refuge) with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer,

Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon, together with their pasturelands.

And from the half-tribe of Manasseh the rest of the clans of the Kohathites were given Aner and Bileam, together with their pasturelands.

The Gershomites received the following: From the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan and also Ashtaroth, together with their pasturelands.

Ramoth, and Anem, together with their pasturelands.

Hukok, and Rehob, together with their pasturelands.

And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, together with their pasturelands.

The Merarites (the rest of the Levites) received the following: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Rimmono and Tabor, together with their pasturelands.

Kedemoth, and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands.

Heshbon, and Jazer, together with their pasturelands.

And again he slept with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. So he named him Beriah, because tragedy had come upon his house.

And along the borders of Manasseh were Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor, together with their villages. The descendants of Joseph son of Israel lived in these towns.

The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built Ono and Lod with its villages),

In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge of the gatekeepers, and the LORD was with him.

Their relatives came from their villages at fixed times to serve with them for seven-day periods.

But the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and the treasuries of the house of God.

A Levite named Mattithiah, the firstborn son of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with baking the bread.

Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

So Saul died together with his three sons and all his house.

So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, where David made a covenant with them before the LORD. And they anointed him king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD through Samuel.

And David became greater and greater, for the LORD of Hosts was with him.

Now these were the chiefs of David’s mighty men, who, together with all Israel, bolstered and strengthened his kingdom, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel.

He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines gathered there for battle. At a place with a field full of barley, the troops fled from the Philistines.

He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines gathered there for battle. At a place with a field full of barley, the troops fled from the Philistines.

Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Three, and he wielded his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name along with the Three.

He also struck down an Egyptian, a huge man five cubits tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s beam in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club, snatched the spear from his hand, and killed the Egyptian with his own spear.

He also struck down an Egyptian, a huge man five cubits tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s beam in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club, snatched the spear from his hand, and killed the Egyptian with his own spear.

These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who won a name along with the three mighty men.

Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, chief of the Reubenites, and the thirty with him,

Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the wilderness. They were mighty men of valor, trained for battle, experts with the shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were as swift as gazelles on the mountains:

And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”

Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

Some from Manasseh defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (They did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers consulted and sent David away, saying, “It will cost us our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”)

Now these are the numbers of men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, in accordance with the word of the LORD:

…including Jehoiada, leader of the house of Aaron, with 3,700 men,

…and Zadok, a mighty young man of valor, with 22 commanders from his own family.

From Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their kinsmen at their command.

From Zebulun: 50,000 fit for service, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, who with one purpose were devoted to David.

From Zebulun: 50,000 fit for service, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, who with one purpose were devoted to David.

From Naphtali: 1,000 commanders, accompanied by 37,000 men with shield and spear.

And from east of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh there: 120,000 armed with every kind of weapon of war.

They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them.

Then David conferred with all his leaders, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds.