Song of Songs 1:1 – 2:7

Title

Song of Songs 1

¹ The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

Anticipation—Take Me Away

The Woman

Best Wishes to the Man

The Friends

My Own Vineyard

The Woman

Escape to the Country

The Woman

A Reply to the Woman

Most Beautiful of Women

The Man

The Woman

Our House

The Man

The Woman

The Woman

The Man

He Embraces Me

The Woman

Ecclesiastes 10:8 – 11:8

Ecclesiastes 10

⁸ A person who digs a pit might fall into it, and one who breaks through a wall might be bitten by a snake.

⁹ A person who quarries stones may be hurt by them. Someone who splits logs may be endangered by them.

¹⁰ If the ax is dull and no one sharpens its edge, the person chopping must apply more strength, but an advantage of wisdom is that it gives success.

¹¹ If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to having a charmer. ^[1]

¹² Words from a wise man’s mouth bring favor, but a fool’s lips swallow him up.

¹³ The fool starts out by saying stupid things, but he ends up speaking wicked madness. ¹⁴ The fool multiplies words.

No one knows what will be in the future, and who can tell him what will come after him?

¹⁵ The hard work of fools wears them out so much that they no longer know their way to town. ^[2]

¹⁶ How unfortunate you are, O land, when your king once was a servant, ^[3] and your officials overeat in the morning. ¹⁷ How blessed you are, O land, when your king is a son of nobles, and your officials eat at the right time—to get stronger, not to get drunk.

¹⁸ Because of laziness, roof beams sag. Because of idle hands, the house leaks.

¹⁹ Food is made for pleasure. Wine makes life happy, but money is the answer for everything.

²⁰ Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich person in your bedroom, for a bird in the skies might carry your voice, or a bird in flight might reveal the matter.

Ecclesiastes 11

¹ Cast your bread on the surface of the water. Then, after many days you will find it again. ^[4]

² Put part of your investment into seven or even into eight ventures, for you do not know what disaster might come upon the land.

³ If the clouds are full, they pour out rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, wherever it falls, there it will lie.

⁴ Whoever keeps watching the wind will never sow, and anyone who keeps looking at the clouds will never reap.

⁵ Just as you do not know the path of the wind, ^[5] or how bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.

⁶ In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, for you do not know which effort will succeed, this one or that, or if both of them will be equally good.

⁷ Light is sweet, and it is good for eyes to see the sun.

⁸ Yes, even if a man lives many years, in all of them let him find joy, but let him keep in mind the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come is vapor.

Ecclesiastes 7 – 8

What Is Better?

Ecclesiastes 7

¹ A good reputation is better than the best perfume, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of his birth. ² Better to go to a funeral than to a feast, ^[1] since death is the final destination for all mankind. The living must take this to heart! ³ Grief is better than laughter, because a sad face does a heart good.

⁴ The hearts of the wise think about the funeral, but the hearts of fools think about the feast. ⁵ It is better to hear a rebuke from a wise man than to listen to a happy song from fools, ⁶ for the fool’s laughter sounds like thorns crackling under a cooking pot. This too is vapor.

⁷ To be sure, oppressing others ^[2] turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts his heart.

⁸ It is better to finish something than to begin something. A patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.

⁹ Do not be quick to lose your temper, for outrage is embraced by fools.

¹⁰ Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” Wisdom would not lead you to ask such a question.

¹¹ Wisdom along with an inheritance ^[3] is good. It is an advantage for those who see the sun, ¹² because wisdom gives shade as money gives shade, but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom keeps its owner alive.

Keep Your Balance

¹³ Look at the work of God. Indeed, who can straighten what he has bent?

¹⁴ On a good day, enjoy the good, but on a bad day, consider carefully. God has made the one as well as the other, so no man can find out about anything that will come later.

¹⁵ During my days that vanish like vapor, I have seen it all. For instance, a righteous man perishes despite being righteous, while an evil man lives for a long time in spite of his evil.

¹⁶ Do not be overly righteous. Do not trust too much in wisdom. Why ruin yourself? ¹⁷ Do not be overly wicked, either, and do not be a fool. Why die before your time? ¹⁸ It is good that you hang on to one alternative, but do not let go of the other, for one who fears God will avoid both extremes. ^[4]

¹⁹ Wisdom makes one wise man stronger than ten rulers who are in the city.

²⁰ There is surely not a righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin.

²¹ Furthermore, do not take to heart all the words people say, so that you do not hear your servant cursing you. ²² Yes, you know in your heart that many times you too have cursed others.

²³ All this I tested with wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was out of reach for me. ²⁴ What has already happened is out of reach, and deeper than deep. Who can find it?

²⁵ I turned my heart to know, to investigate, and to seek wisdom, and to find out how things fit together, ^[5] and to know that wickedness is foolishness and stupidity is madness.

²⁶ I kept finding out that a woman whose heart is a trap is more bitter than death. Her heart is a hunter’s net. Her hands are chains. The man whom God recognizes as good will escape from her, but the sinner gets trapped by her.

²⁷ “Look,” says Ecclesiastes, “this is what I found by adding one thing to another in my attempts to find how things fit together— ²⁸ this is something my soul keeps seeking but has not found. One man out of a thousand I have found, but a woman among all these I have not found. ^[6]

²⁹ “Look, I have found only this: I have found that God made mankind ^[7] upright, but they have gone off looking for many schemes.”

Ecclesiastes 8

¹ Who is such a wise man? And who knows how to explain a situation? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine and softens the hard look on his face.

² Obey the king’s command ^[8] because of your oath before God. ^{[9] 3} Do not quickly leave his presence. Do not stand up for ^[10] a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. ⁴ For a king’s word is supreme, and who will say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵ Whoever obeys a command will experience no harm, and a wise heart will know the right time and the right way to act, ⁶ because for each situation there is a right time and a right way to act, although evil may weigh a man down. ⁷ But no one knows what will be. Indeed, who can tell him what will be? ^{[11] 8} As no one has power to restrain the wind, there is no power over the day of death. No discharge is granted during war, and wickedness will not deliver those who practice it.

Life Is Not Fair

⁹ All this I saw while I was applying my heart to every work done under the sun, during this time when one man has power over another to harm him. ^{[12] 10} While doing this, I have seen wicked people buried. They had come and gone from the holy place, and they were praised ^[13] in the city where they had done so! This too is vapor.

¹¹ When the sentence for a crime is not carried out quickly, people’s hearts are emboldened to do evil.

¹² Though a sinner commits a hundred crimes and lives for a long time, ^[14] I nevertheless know that it will turn out well for those who fear God, who stand in awe before him. ¹³ But it will not be good for the wicked. Such a man will not lengthen his days like a shadow, since he does not stand in fear before God.

¹⁴ Another example of vapor that appears on the earth is when righteous people get what the wicked deserve for their actions, and wicked people get what the righteous deserve for their actions. I said, “This too is vapor.”

¹⁵ So I sang the praises of pleasure, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. Such joy will stay with him during his hard work, throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶ When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe the tiresome business done on the earth (even though it keeps a person from sleeping day or night), ¹⁷ I saw everything that God has done, but no man can grasp all the work that is done under the sun. No matter how hard a man works to explore it, he cannot discover it all. Even if the wise man claims to know it, he cannot find it.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 4:8

Everything in Its Time

⁹ What does the worker gain from his hard work? ¹⁰ I have seen the task which God has given the children of Adam to keep them busy. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Yes, he has also put eternity in their hearts, yet it is not possible for man to understand the work that God has done from beginning to end.

¹² I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy good things ^[1] while they live. ¹³ Also, when anyone eats, drinks, and experiences the good things that his hard work leads to—this is God’s gift.

¹⁴ I know that everything God does will last forever. Nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. God acts so that people will fear him. ¹⁵ Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been. God makes whatever has already passed come again. ^[2]

There Is No Justice

¹⁶ I saw something else under the sun: In the place where justice should be, there was wickedness, and in the place for righteousness, there was wickedness. ¹⁷ I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked. Yes, there will be a time for every case to be settled before God.” ^[3]

¹⁸ So I said in my heart, “This is done so that God can test the children of Adam, so that they can see what animals they are if left to themselves.” ^{[4] 19} For the outcome ^[5] for the children of Adam and the outcome for animals is the same. One dies just like the other. All have the same breath. Mankind has no advantage over animals, because everything is vapor. ²⁰ All go to the same place. All were from the dust, and to the dust all return. ²¹ Who knows whether the spirit ^[6] of the man goes upward, and the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?

²² So I saw that there is nothing better for man than to be happy in his activities, since that is his reward. ^[7] For who will show him what there will be after him?

Ecclesiastes 4

¹ I looked again, and I saw all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Just look at the tears of the oppressed, who have no one to comfort them! Their violent oppressors had the upper hand, and there was no one to comfort them.

² So I congratulate the dead, who already have died, more than the living, who are still alive. ³ But better than either of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil done under the sun.

⁴ I also saw that all hard work and all accomplishment are the result of a person’s envy of his neighbor. This too is vapor and chasing the wind.

⁵ The fool idly folds his hands and eats his own flesh. ⁶ Better one handful with relaxation, than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.

⁷ I looked again and saw another example of meaningless vapor under the sun: ⁸ There was a single person all alone, without even a son or a brother, and there was no end to all his hard work. His eyes also were not satisfied with wealth. “So for whom am I working so hard,” he asks, “and depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is vapor and a miserable task.

Esther 9 – 10

Esther 9

¹ On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (Adar), the day which the king’s proclamation had specified for his decree to be carried out, the day on which the enemies of the Jews hoped to obtain power over them, the situation was reversed so that the Jews would gain power over those who hated them.

² The Jews gathered in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes, to strike against those seeking to hurt them. No one opposed them because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon all the people. ³ All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the people who did the work of the king were helping the Jews because the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them, ⁴ because he was important in the king’s house. His reputation was spreading in all the provinces because this man Mordecai was becoming more and more influential.

⁵ The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering and destroying them. They did whatever they pleased against their enemies.

⁶ In Susa, the citadel, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, ⁷ including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, ⁸ Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, ⁹ Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. ¹⁰ They killed the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, who had been persecuting the Jews, but they did not seize any plunder.

¹¹ On that day the number of those killed in Susa, the citadel, was reported to the king. ¹² The king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa, the citadel, the Jews have killed five hundred men, including the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the provinces of the king? What is your request? It will be granted. What you are still seeking will be done.”

¹³ Esther said, “If it seems good to the king, let permission be given to the Jews who are in Susa to carry out today’s order also tomorrow and that the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.”

¹⁴ The king said that this would be done. The command was given in Susa. The ten sons of Haman were hanged.

¹⁵ The Jews in Susa gathered again on the fourteenth day of Adar. In Susa they killed three hundred men, but they did not seize any plunder.

¹⁶ The rest of the Jews who were in the provinces of the king also gathered and defended themselves, getting relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they did not seize any plunder. ¹⁷ This happened on the thirteenth day of Adar. They rested on the fourteenth and had a day of feasting ^[1] and joyful celebration.

¹⁸ But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth. They rested on the fifteenth and made it a day of feasting and joyful celebration. ¹⁹ Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the unwalled towns of the open countryside, have their day of joyful celebration and feasting on the fourteenth of Adar. It is a holiday, and they send portions of food to their neighbors.

²⁰ Mordecai wrote these things down. Then he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far, ²¹ to call upon them to celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar every year, ²² because those were the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies. This was the month which was changed from sorrow to gladness for them and from a day of mourning to a holiday. They were to make those days into days of feasting and joyful celebration, sending portions of food to their neighbors and gifts to the poor.

²³ So the Jews completed what they had begun to do and what Mordecai had written to them, ²⁴ because Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the one opposed to all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast pur (that is, they had cast lots) to crush them and to destroy them.

²⁵ However, because Esther came into the presence of the king, he said in writing that Haman’s wicked plot, which he had devised against the Jews, was to return on his own head, and they should hang him and his sons on the gallows.

²⁶ That is why they called these days Purim (lots) because of the word pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, because of what they had observed, and because of what had happened to them, ²⁷ the Jews established this festival and made a commitment that they, their descendants, and all those associated with them would never fail to observe these two days according to these directions and at their proper time every year.

²⁸ These days are to be remembered and preserved in every generation, in every family, province, and city. The Jews should never stop celebrating the days of Purim. Their commemoration should never be set aside by their descendants.

²⁹ Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew used their authority to publish this second communication about Purim. ³⁰ He sent letters to all the Jews in one hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes containing words of true peace, ³¹ telling them to observe the days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had given them the responsibility to do, and telling them to carry out the directions about their fasts and their lamentation just as they and their descendants had agreed to do.

³² The command of Esther established the directions about Purim, and they were written in a book.

Esther 10

¹ King Xerxes imposed taxes on the land and on the islands and coasts of the sea. ² All his powerful and mighty acts and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king promoted, are they not written in the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?

³ This was written there because Mordecai the Jew, second in command to King Xerxes, was important for the Jews and popular with large numbers of his brother Israelites, because he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all their descendants.

Esther 5 – 6

Esther 5

¹ On the third day Esther dressed in the queen’s royal clothing and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, opposite the quarters of the king. The king was sitting on the throne in the reception hall, opposite the entrance.

² When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she pleased him. The king held out to Esther the golden scepter, which was in his hand. Esther approached and touched the head of the scepter.

³ The king said to her, “What concerns you, Queen Esther? Whatever you are seeking (up to half of the kingdom) will be given to you.”

⁴ Esther said, “If it is agreeable to the king, the king and Haman should come today to a banquet that I have made for him.”

⁵ The king said, “Hurry! Get Haman so that we can do what Esther has said.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

⁶ While the king was drinking wine, he said to Esther, “What is your request? It will be given to you. What are you seeking? Up to half of the kingdom—it’s yours.”

⁷ Esther answered, “This is my request. This is what I seek. ⁸ If I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request, let the king and Haman come to a banquet, which I will make for them tomorrow. Then I will give the answers requested by the king.”

⁹ Haman went out that day full of joy, with a happy heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, and Mordecai did not stand and tremble before him, Haman was filled with rage against Mordecai. ¹⁰ But Haman restrained himself from any action.

He went to his house and called together his friends and his wife Zeresh. ¹¹ Haman reviewed for them the glory of his wealth, the number of his sons, all the details about how the king had made him great, and how the king had elevated him over all the officials and the king’s administrators. ¹² Haman said, “What’s more, Queen Esther did not invite anyone except me to come with the king to the banquet that she prepared. I have been invited again for her banquet with the king tomorrow. ¹³ But none of this means anything to me whenever I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

¹⁴ Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Make a gallows ^[1] seventy-five feet high. In the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged ^[2] on it. Then go happily with the king to the banquet.” In Haman’s opinion this was good advice, so he had the gallows made.

Esther 6

¹ That night the king could not sleep, so he ordered that the chronicles, ^[3] the record of the memorable events of his reign, be brought to him. These accounts were read to the king.

² They found the account about the incident when Mordecai had reported Bigthan ^[4] and Teresh, the king’s two eunuchs who had controlled access to the entrance to the palace, who had tried to assassinate King Xerxes.

³ The king said, “What honor and recognition has been given to Mordecai for this?”

Then the servants of the king who were attending him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”

⁴ The king said, “Who is in the court?” Just then Haman had come to the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

⁵ The king’s servants said to him, “Look, Haman is standing in the court.” The king said, “Have him come in.”

⁶ When Haman came in, the king said to him, “What should be done to honor the man with whom the king is pleased?”

Haman said in his heart, “Who could there be that the king would be more pleased to honor than me?”

⁷ Haman said to the king, “The man whom the king is pleased to honor ⁸ should be clothed with garments that the king has worn. He should be given a horse on which the king has ridden, and crowned with a crown that has been on the king’s head. ⁹ These clothes and this horse should be delivered by one of the highest ranking noblemen of the king. They should dress up the man whom the king is pleased to honor and let him ride on the horse in the public square of the city. Walking in front of him, they will proclaim, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is pleased to honor.”

¹⁰ The king said to Haman, “Hurry! Take the clothing and the horse just as you have said, and do this for Mordecai the Jew, who sits in the gatehouse of the king. Do not leave out a thing from whatever you have said.”

¹¹ Haman took the clothing and the horse, clothed Mordecai, had him ride through the public square of the city, and proclaimed before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is pleased to honor.”

¹² Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his home, mourning, with his head covered. ¹³ Haman reported all this to Zeresh his wife and to all his friends.

His advisors and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, ^[5] you will not overcome him. Instead, you will surely fall before him.”

¹⁴ While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Esther 2:19 – 3:15

Esther 2

¹⁹ When the virgins were gathered together for a second time, ^[1] Mordecai was sitting in the gatehouse to the king’s palace. ²⁰ (Esther had not revealed her family or her nationality because when Mordecai had been taking care of her, Mordecai had told her not to do so.)

²¹ When Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gatehouse, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who controlled access to the entrance to the palace, became very angry and plotted to kill King Xerxes. ²² When Mordecai learned about this, he told Queen Esther. She passed the report along to the king, crediting Mordecai by name. ²³ The matter was investigated, and the charges were found to be true, and both of them were hanged. ^[2] This incident was recorded in the daily record book, in the presence of the king.

Esther 3

¹ After these events King Xerxes honored Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite. He promoted him and placed him over all the officials who served with him. ² All the servants of the king who were at the king’s gate were bowing down and kneeling in Haman’s presence, because the king had commanded that this be done for him, but Mordecai did not bow down and did not kneel.

³ So the servants of the king who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why are you going against the king’s command?” ⁴ Even though they spoke to him every day, he did not listen to them. They reported this to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s actions would be tolerated. Mordecai had informed them that he was a Jew.

⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing down and kneeling in his presence, Haman was enraged. ⁶ Because the king’s servants had made Haman aware of Mordecai’s nationality, Haman was not satisfied with laying hands only on Mordecai. Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.

⁷ During the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ reign, during the first month, the month of Nisan, a pur (which means “a lot”) was cast before Haman for every day and every month of the year, until Adar, the twelfth month, was chosen.

⁸ Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a group of people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of all the other people. They do not keep the laws of the king. It is not good for the king to allow them to get away with this. ⁹ If the king agrees, a directive should be written to destroy them. I will weigh out ten thousand talents ^[3] of silver to the treasury of the king for those who carry out this work.”

¹⁰ The king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the man opposing the Jews. ¹¹ The king said to Haman, “The silver will be given to you, ^[4] as well as the people. Do with them whatever seems good to you.”

¹² In the first month, on the thirteenth day, the king’s scribes were summoned. A decree based on everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps, ^[5] to the governors over each province, and to the officials of every people. The decree was sent to each province in its own writing system and to each people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

¹³ The letters were sent by courier to all the provinces of the king to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, including children and women, and to plunder their goods in one day, on the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month. ¹⁴ A copy of the decree was to be proclaimed as a law to all the peoples in every province, so that they could be ready for that day.

¹⁵ The couriers went out, spurred on by the word of the king. The law was issued in Susa, the citadel. The king and Haman sat down to drink. The city of Susa was perplexed and confused.

Esther 1

¹ These events happened during the time of Xerxes, ^[1] when Xerxes was ruling over one hundred twenty-seven provinces from India to Cush. ^{[2] 2} King Xerxes was ruling on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel. ^[3]

³ In the third year of his reign ^[4] he gave a banquet ^[5] for all his officials and administrators, for the leaders of the army of Persia and Media, and for the nobles and officials of the provinces. ⁴ He displayed the glory and splendor of the riches of his kingdom, the grandeur of his majesty, for many days (one hundred eighty days in all).

⁵ When this was completed, the king gave a banquet for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa, from the most important to the least significant. It lasted for seven days in the courtyard of the garden in the king’s palace.

⁶ There were white and blue linen hangings, attached to marble ^[6] pillars with white and purple cords and silver rings. ^[7] There were couches made of gold and silver, standing on a mosaic floor made of purple porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other precious stones. ⁷ Drinks were served in gold goblets. Each goblet was unique. The royal wine was plentiful, in keeping with the king’s extravagance. ⁸ No directions were given about the amount each person was to drink because the king had ordered all the waiters to serve the amount each man desired.

⁹ Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the palace of King Xerxes.

¹⁰ On the seventh day, when the king was feeling good from the wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Karkas, seven of the eunuchs who served him, ¹¹ to bring before him Queen Vashti wearing the crown of the kingdom, in order to show the people and the officials her beauty. She was very good-looking.

¹² Queen Vashti refused to come in response to the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. The king was infuriated and his anger burned within him.

¹³ So the king spoke to his advisors who understood the times. (It was the king’s custom to consult with those who were acquainted with law and legal principles.) ¹⁴ His close advisors were Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, seven officials of Persia and Media who were allowed to see the king’s face and were ranked first in the kingdom.

¹⁵ He asked, “According to the law, what should be done with Queen Vashti since she did not obey the command of the king delivered by the eunuchs?”

¹⁶ In the presence of the king and the officials, Memucan said, “Queen Vashti has not only committed an offense against the king, but she has also committed an offense against all the officials and all the people in the provinces of King Xerxes, ¹⁷ because the action of the queen, when it is reported to all the women, will cause them to look upon their husbands with contempt. They will say, ‘King Xerxes said to bring Queen Vashti before him, but she did not come.’ ¹⁸ Today the noble ladies of Persia and Media, who have heard about the action of the queen, will be talking about it to their husbands, who are the officials of the king. There will be more than enough contempt and anger. ¹⁹ If the king agrees, he should issue a royal decree. It should be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it cannot be changed. Vashti shall not come into the presence of King Xerxes. The king will give her status as queen to a different person, one better than she is. ²⁰ The decree of the king will be heard throughout all of his vast kingdom. Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, both the most important and the least significant.”

²¹ The advice seemed good to the king and the officials, so the king did as Memucan had said. ²² He sent letters to all the provinces of the kingdom—to each province in its own writing system and to each people in its own language. The letters stated that each man should be lord in his own house. The letters were addressed to every man in his own language. ^[8]

2 Chronicles 34 – 35

Josiah King of Judah

2 Chronicles 34

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

² He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He walked in the ways of his father David. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

Josiah Cleanses the Land

³ In the eighth year of his reign, when he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David. In the twelfth year he began to purify Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images. ⁴ In his presence they tore down the altars of the Baals. He chopped down the sun pillars, which stood above them. He broke the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images into pieces and ground them to dust, which he scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ He burned the bones of their priests on their altars. In this way he purified Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, as well as in the ruins around them, ⁷ he tore down the altars, the Asherah poles, and the images. He ground them into powder. He cut to pieces all the sun pillars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

⁸ In the eighteenth year of his rule, in order to purify the land and the House, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Ma’aseiah the administrator of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the House of the Lord his God. ⁹ They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the silver that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, from all of the remnant of Israel, and from all of Judah, Benjamin, and the residents of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They gave it to those doing the work, to the ones who were organized to work in the House of the Lord. Those who were doing the work in the House of the Lord used it to repair and restore the building. ¹¹ They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stones and timbers for joists and beams for the buildings which the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.

¹² The men were doing the work faithfully. The supervisors appointed to oversee the work were Jahath and Obadiah, who were Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, who were Levites descended from Kohath. These Levites were all skillful with musical instruments. ¹³ They were in charge of the people transporting material and were overseers for all those doing the different kinds of work. Some of the Levites also served as scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

¹⁴ When they brought out the silver that had been brought into the House of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been received from the hand of Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah responded by telling Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the House of the Lord.” Hilkiah then gave the scroll to Shaphan.

¹⁶ Shaphan brought the scroll to the king. He also brought this report to the king: “Your servants are doing everything they were assigned to do. ¹⁷ They have emptied the silver found in the House of the Lord from the chest and have delivered it to the overseers and to the workmen.”

¹⁸ Shaphan the secretary then told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. ¹⁹ When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothing.

²⁰ The king gave this command to Hilkiah and to Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah servant of the king: ^{[1] 21} “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for those who remain in Israel and in Judah concerning the words of the book which has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is being poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord by doing everything that is written in this book.”

²² Hilkiah and the men the king sent with him went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, ^[2] the keeper of the vestments. ^[3] She was living in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke to her concerning this matter.

²³ She told them:

They brought back this message to the king.

The Book of the Covenant Is Read and Followed

²⁹ The king then summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ The king went up to the House of the Lord with all the men of Judah, with the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people from the least to the greatest. In their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the House of the Lord.

³¹ The king stood in his place by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord to walk in the way of the Lord, to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, and to uphold the words of the covenant that were written in this book.

³² Then he made all those who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin stand up and do the same. The inhabitants of Jerusalem acted according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

Josiah Cleanses the Land

³³ Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands that belonged to the people of Israel. He influenced everyone in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout all his days, they did not turn away from the Lord, the God of their fathers.

Josiah Celebrates a Passover

2 Chronicles 35

¹ Josiah celebrated a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month. ² He appointed the priests to their offices. He encouraged them in the service for the House of the Lord.

³ He said this to the Levites, who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord:

⁷ Josiah contributed a total of thirty thousand lambs and young goats as Passover offerings for all the people who were present, and three thousand cattle. These were contributed from the possessions of the king. ⁸ His officials contributed toward a voluntary offering on behalf of the people, the priests, and the Levites.

Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the House of God, gave the priests twenty-six hundred lambs for Passover offerings and three hundred cattle.

⁹ Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, with Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, the officials of the Levites, contributed five thousand Passover lambs and five hundred cattle to the Levites.

¹⁰ When preparations for the service had been completed, the priests stood in their places, and the Levites stood in their divisions as the king had commanded. ¹¹ They slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests applied the blood they had received, while the Levites skinned the animals. ¹² They set aside the burnt offerings to present them on behalf of the groups of fathers’ houses of the people, to offer them to the Lord as is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. ¹³ They roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the regulation. They boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. They distributed them quickly to all the people.

¹⁴ Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were busy offering the burnt offerings and the fat portions until it was nighttime. So the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

¹⁵ The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were in their places according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king’s seer.

The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their assigned posts because their brother Levites prepared the Passover for them.

¹⁶ So all the service for 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.

¹⁷ The people of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and also the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

¹⁸ No Passover like it had been celebrated in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests and the Levites, and with all Judah and Israel, whoever was present, and with the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁹ This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah.

Josiah’s Death

²⁰ After all this, when Josiah had restored the House, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him.

²¹ Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What do we have to do with each other, King of Judah? I am not against you this day, but only against the house ^[4] against which I am waging war. God has said that I should hurry. Stop opposing God, who is with me, so he will not destroy you.”

²² But Josiah did not turn aside from him. Instead, he disguised himself to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco, which were from the mouth of God, but he went out to battle on the plain near Megiddo.

²³ The archers shot King Josiah, so the king said to his attendants, “Take me away, because I am badly wounded.” ²⁴ His attendants took him out of the chariot and carried him to his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. He died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

²⁵ Jeremiah composed a lament for Josiah, and all the male and female singers have sung about Josiah in their laments right up until the present day. They made this into a customary practice in Israel. You can find them recorded among the laments.

²⁶ The rest of the acts of Josiah and his faithful deeds, which were performed according to what is written in the Law of the Lord, ²⁷ and his actions from first to last, you can find these written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

2 Chronicles 31:2 – 32:33

2 Chronicles 31

² Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and Levites, assigning each man to his area of service according to his division. The priests and Levites were responsible for burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, in order to minister and to give thanks and praise in the gates of the camps ^[1] of the Lord.

³ The king’s contribution from his own personal property was designated for the morning and evening burnt offerings, as well as for burnt offerings on the sabbaths, the new moons, and the designated festivals, as it is written in the Law of the Lord. ⁴ He commanded the people living in Jerusalem to contribute the portion designated for the priests and the Levites, so that they could hold tightly to the Law of the Lord.

⁵ As soon as the order was made public, the people of Israel gave their firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and all the produce of the field in abundance. They brought an abundant tithe of everything.

⁶ All the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought their tithe of the cattle and sheep, and a tithe of the holy things dedicated for the Lord their God. They piled up one heap on top of another. ⁷ In the third month they began to accumulate it, and they finished by the seventh month.

⁸ When Hezekiah and the officials came, they saw the piles and blessed the Lord and his people Israel. ⁹ Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles. ¹⁰ Azariah, the head priest of the house of Zadok, answered, “Ever since they began bringing their contributions into the House of the Lord, the people have had plenty to eat and drink, enough to be full, with plenty left over. The Lord has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.”

¹¹ Hezekiah told them to prepare rooms in the House of the Lord, and they did so. ¹² They faithfully brought the special contributions, tithes, and dedicated things. Konaniah the Levite was the chief officer over them, and his brother Shimei was second in command. ¹³ Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were administrators under the supervision of Konaniah and his brother Shimei, by the appointment of King Hezekiah. Azariah was the chief officer of the House of God. ¹⁴ Kore son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the voluntary offerings to God. He was responsible for distributing the special contribution given to the Lord ^[2] and the most holy offerings. ¹⁵ Faithfully assisting him in the cities of the priests were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shekaniah, who were making distributions to their brothers, according to their divisions, the same to old and young alike.

¹⁶ Besides that, they gave support to all those enrolled by genealogy, to the males from three years old and up, to all who came to the House of the Lord for their daily service in their assigned offices in their divisions. ¹⁷ They also gave support to those enrolled as priests on the basis of the house of their fathers, also to the Levites from twenty years old and older, according to their assigned offices in their divisions, ¹⁸ to those enrolled with all their dependents, their wives and their sons and daughters—to the entire group—because they were faithfully keeping themselves holy. ¹⁹ For the descendants of Aaron, those priests who were living in the fields of the common pastureland around their cities, in every city, men designated by name were assigned to give portions to every male among the priests and to all the enrolled Levites.

²⁰ Hezekiah carried this out in all Judah. He did what was good, right, and faithful before the Lord his God. ²¹ In all the work which he began in service to the House of God, to the law, and to the commandment, he sought his God and acted with all his heart, and he prospered.

The King of Assyria Threatens Jerusalem

2 Chronicles 32

¹ After these events and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came into Judah and laid siege to the fortified cities. He intended to capture them for himself.

² When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and was ready to wage war against Jerusalem, ³ he made plans with his officials and soldiers to block the water supply from the springs outside the city. They helped him ⁴ by gathering a large group of people, who stopped all the springs and the water channel that flowed through the middle of the land. ^[3] They said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”

⁵ Hezekiah strengthened his position. He rebuilt the whole part of the wall that had been broken down. He made the towers taller. He made a second wall outside the first wall. He strengthened the Millo ^[4] of the City of David. He made many weapons and shields. ⁶ He set military officers over the people. He brought them together with him in the square at the city gate. He spoke to encourage them: ⁷ “Be strong. Be courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified because of the presence of the king of Assyria and the horde that is with him, because the one with us is greater than all those who are with him. ⁸ With him is only an arm of flesh. With us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” The people were encouraged by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

⁹ After this, while Sennacherib king of Assyria was attacking Lachish with his powerful forces, he sent his officials to Jerusalem, to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem.

¹⁰ Sennacherib’s officials proclaimed:

¹⁶ These officials had even more to say against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ The king of Assyria wrote letters to heap scorn on the Lord, the God of Israel, and to speak against him by saying, “Like the gods of those foreign nations, which have not delivered their people from my hands, the god of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.”

¹⁸ They shouted loudly in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, in order to frighten them and terrify them so that they could take the city. ¹⁹ They spoke about the God of Jerusalem in the same way that they spoke about the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of human hands.

The Lord Saves Jerusalem

²⁰ Hezekiah the king and Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, prayed about this, crying out to heaven.

²¹ So the Lord sent an angel, who wiped out all the powerful warriors, the commanders, and the officers in the camp of the king of Assyria, and he returned to his land in disgrace. There he went into the house of his god, and some of his offspring from his own body struck him down with the sword.

²² So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of everyone else. He gave them rest on all sides.

²³ Many people kept bringing gifts for the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah. He was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after this.

The Lord Humbles Hezekiah

²⁴ In those days Hezekiah became sick and was dying. He prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah did not respond to the benefit granted to him, because his heart was proud. So there was wrath against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁶ But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. So the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah’s Wealth

²⁷ Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor. He made treasuries for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices and incense, shields, and all kinds of expensive items.

²⁸ He made storehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and olive oil, as well as stalls for all kinds of cattle and pens for flocks of sheep and goats. ²⁹ He built cities for himself and amassed flocks of sheep and very many cattle, for God had given him very much property and many possessions.

³⁰ This Hezekiah was the one who closed the upper outlet of the Gihon Spring. He directed the water down to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah was successful in everything he did.

³¹ When the envoys from the officials of Babylon were sent to him to inquire about the sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.

Hezekiah’s Death

³² You can find the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his faithfulness written in the vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

³³ Hezekiah rested with his fathers and was buried in the upper part of ^[5] the tombs of the sons of David. All Judah and the residents of Jerusalem honored him at his death. Then his son Manasseh became king in his place.

2 Chronicles 26 – 28

Uzziah (Azariah) King of Judah

2 Chronicles 26

¹ All the people of Judah took Uzziah, ^[1] who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.

² He was the one who built Elat and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah rested with his fathers.

³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah ^[2] from Jerusalem.

⁴ He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, like everything that his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He continued to seek God throughout the days of Zechariah, who trained him in the fear ^[3] of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.

⁶ He went out and waged war against the Philistines. He broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Javneh, and the wall of Ashdod. He built cities in the territory of Ashdod and among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites.

⁸ The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah. His reputation spread as far as the border of Egypt because he had become very strong. ⁹ Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle, and he fortified them.

¹⁰ He built towers in the wilderness. He dug many cisterns because he had large herds both in the Shephelah and on the plains. He also had farmers and vineyard workers in the highlands and in the fertile lands, ^[4] because he loved the soil.

¹¹ Uzziah had an army, well trained and ready for war, organized in divisions based on the numbers from the census taken by Jeiel the secretary and Ma’aseiah the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s officials.

¹² The total number of the leading fathers ^[5] who led the powerful warriors was 2,600. ¹³ Under their command there was a strong army of 307,500 men, able to wage war as a very powerful force, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ Uzziah supplied the whole army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slingshots. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem he made war machines produced by clever inventors to be mounted on the towers and at the corners, to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. His reputation spread far and wide because he received marvelous help until he was strong.

Uzziah’s Sinful Pride and Death

¹⁶ But when he had grown powerful, the pride in his heart led to his destruction. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God. He entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

¹⁷ Azariah the priest went in after him. He was followed by eighty priests of the Lord, brave men. ¹⁸ They confronted King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, because you have been unfaithful. This action will not result in any praise for you from the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Uzziah became angry. He had a censer for burning incense in his hand. When he became angry with the priests, leprosy ^[6] broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests, beside the altar of incense in the House of the Lord. ²⁰ When Azariah, the head priest, and all the other priests looked at him, they immediately realized he had leprosy on his forehead. They rushed him out of there. He himself also was in a hurry to leave because the Lord had struck him.

²¹ King Uzziah remained a leper until the day of his death. He lived in a quarantined house because he was a leper. He was excluded from the House of the Lord. Jotham his son was in charge of the palace of the king and administered justice for the people of the land.

²² The rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, were recorded by Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet.

²³ Uzziah rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, because they said, “He is a leper.” His son Jotham ruled as king in his place.

Jotham King of Judah

2 Chronicles 27

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

² He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord in everything, as his father Uzziah had done, but he did not go into the temple of the Lord as Uzziah had done. The people, however, still followed corrupt practices.

³ He built the upper gate of the House of the Lord. He also carried out extensive construction work on the wall of Ophel. ⁴ He also built cities in the hill country of Judah. On the wooded hills he built forts and towers.

⁵ He waged war against the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. That year the Ammonites gave him one hundred talents of silver, sixty thousand bushels ^[7] of wheat, and sixty thousand bushels of barley. The Ammonites paid him this amount also in the second and third years.

⁶ Jotham became powerful because he aligned his ways with the ways of the Lord his God.

⁷ You can find the rest of the acts of Jotham and all his wars and his ways written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

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

⁹ Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. His son Ahaz ruled as king in his place.

Ahaz of Judah

2 Chronicles 28

¹ Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord as his father David had done. ² Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made cast images for the Baals ³ and sent up sacrifices in smoke in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. He burned his sons in the fire, in keeping with the disgusting practices of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the people of Israel. ⁴ He also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every leafy tree.

⁵ So the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and captured a great number of prisoners, who were taken to Damascus. Ahaz was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who dealt him a heavy blow.

⁶ In one day, Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand men in Judah, all of them strong warriors, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. ⁷ Zikri, a strong warrior from Ephraim, killed the king’s son Ma’aseiah, as well as Azrikam chief officer of the palace, and Elkanah second in command to the king.

⁸ The men from Israel took two hundred thousand of their fellow Israelites captive, including wives, sons, and daughters. They also seized a large amount of plunder from them and took it to Samaria.

⁹ There was a prophet of the Lord there, whose name was Oded. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Look! Because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry against Judah, he gave them into your hand. You have killed them in a rage that reaches up to heaven. ¹⁰ Now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves for yourselves. Do you not have enough guilt of your own against the Lord your God? ¹¹ Now hear me. Send back the captives whom you have taken from your brothers, because the fierce anger of the Lord is upon you.”

¹² Some of the leaders of Ephraim, Azariah son of Johanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai, took a stand against those returning from the battle. ¹³ They said to them, “You must not bring the captives here, because it would make us guilty before the Lord. You are proposing to increase our sins and our guilt, because great guilt rests upon us and fierce anger burns against Israel.”

¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the plunder in front of the officials and the whole assembly. ¹⁵ The men who had been designated by name got up and took custody of the captives. From the spoils they provided clothing for all those who were naked. They clothed them and provided them with sandals, with food and drink, and with salve for their wounds. They transported all those who were weak on donkeys. They brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, to their fellow Israelites. Then they returned to Samaria.

¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent a request for help to the kings of Assyria. ¹⁷ Once again the Edomites came and defeated Judah and carried away captives.

¹⁸ The Philistines also made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and the Negev of Judah. They captured Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soko with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and they settled there.

¹⁹ The Lord brought Judah low, because Ahaz king of Israel ^[8] had led Judah to throw off all restraint. He had been very unfaithful to the Lord.

²⁰ When Tiglath Pileser ^[9] king of Assyria came, he marched against Ahaz and oppressed him instead of strengthening him. ²¹ Ahaz took some things from the House of the Lord, from the palace of the king, and from the officials, and he gave them to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.

²² In the time of his distress King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord. That was the way he was. ²³ He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him. He said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me.” But they were his ruin and the ruin of all Israel.

²⁴ Ahaz gathered the articles from the House of God and cut all these things from the House of God to pieces. He shut the doors of the House of the Lord and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In each and every city throughout Judah, he made high places to burn incense to other gods. He provoked the Lord, the God of his fathers, to anger.

²⁶ As for the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, you can find them written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

²⁷ Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of Jerusalem. They did not bury him in the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah ruled as king in his place.

2 Chronicles 24

Joash Repairs the Temple

¹ Joash ^[1] was seven years old when he became king, and he ruled as king in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba.

² Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

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

⁴ After this, it was on Joash’s heart to restore the House of the Lord, ⁵ so he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all Israel for the repairs to the house of your God. Do this annually. Get started immediately.”

The Levites, however, did not act on it quickly, ⁶ so the king summoned Jehoiada, the head of the project, ^[2] and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to collect from Judah and Jerusalem the tax which Moses, the servant of the Lord, established with the congregation of Israel for the Tent of Testimony?” ^[3]

⁷ (Because Athaliah was wicked, her sons had broken into the House of God and used all the dedicated things of the House of the Lord for the Baals.)

⁸ The king gave a command that a chest was to be made and set outside the gate of the House of the Lord. ^{[4] 9} A proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem that the tax imposed upon Israel in the wilderness by Moses, the servant of God, should be brought to the Lord. ¹⁰ All the officials and all the people rejoiced. They brought the money and dropped it into the chest until it was full.

¹¹ From time to time the chest was delivered from the custody of the Levites to the king’s administrators. Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of silver in it, the secretary of the king and the administrator of the head priest came and emptied the chest. Then they would take the chest and return it to its place. They did this regularly and collected a large amount of silver.

¹² The king and Jehoiada gave the silver to those carrying out the work on the House of the Lord. They hired stonemasons and carpenters to restore the House of the Lord, and also craftsmen who worked with iron and bronze to repair the House of the Lord.

¹³ The laborers carrying out the project worked hard, and the work of restoration moved forward because of the diligent work of their hands. They restored the House of God to its proper condition and strengthened it.

¹⁴ When they finished, they brought the rest of the silver to the king and to Jehoiada. They used it to make items for the House of the Lord, utensils for use in the service and for the burnt offerings, such as small dishes ^[5] and gold and silver vessels. So they offered burnt offerings in the House of the Lord continually, throughout all the days of Jehoiada.

Joash Turns Away From the Lord

¹⁵ Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and he died. He was one hundred thirty years old at his death.

¹⁶ They buried him in the City of David with the kings, because he had done good things for Israel in connection with God and his house.

¹⁷ After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king. Then the king began to listen to them. ¹⁸ They abandoned the House of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherahs and the idols. Wrath fell upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their guilt.

¹⁹ God sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. The prophets testified against them, but they did not listen.

²⁰ The Spirit of God came upon ^[6] Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood in front of the people and said to them, “This is what God says. Why do you disobey the commandments of the Lord? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.”

²¹ But they conspired against him, and by the command of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the House of the Lord.

²² Thus King Joash did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada, his mentor, ^[7] had shown to him. Instead, he killed Jehoiada’s son. As Zechariah was dying, he said, “The Lord will see and avenge.”

The End of Joash

²³ At the end of the year, the army of Aram marched out against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem. They slaughtered all the officials from among the people, and they sent all their spoils to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Although the army of Aram had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered a very great army into their hand because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. So the Arameans carried out judgment against Joash.

²⁵ When they withdrew, leaving behind Joash, who was severely wounded, his own officials conspired against him because of the blood of the sons ^[8] of Jehoiada the priest. They violently attacked him on his bed, and he died. They buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶ Those who conspired against him were Zabad son of Shimath, an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith, a Moabite woman. ^[9]

²⁷ The accounts about his sons, about the many prophetic warnings against him, and about the restoration of the House of God are recorded in the notes in the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah ruled as king in his place.

2 Chronicles 21:1 – 22:9

Jehoram (Joram) King of Judah

2 Chronicles 21

¹ Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. His son Jehoram ruled in his place.

² Jehoram had brothers, who were the sons of Jehoshaphat. They were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. ³ Their father gave them many gifts: silver, gold, and valuable possessions, as well as fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingship to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

⁴ Jehoram ascended to the throne of his father and strengthened his position. Then he killed all his brothers with the sword and also killed some of the officials of Israel.

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

⁶ He walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, because the daughter of Ahab was his wife. So he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

⁷ But the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant he had made with David, when he promised him and his sons that he would keep a light shining for all time. ^[1]

⁸ In Jehoram’s days Edom revolted from Judah’s control and set up a king for themselves. ⁹ So Jehoram crossed over to Edom with his commanders and with all the chariots. He got up at night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot officers. ¹⁰ Edom has successfully revolted from the control of Judah to this day. Libnah also revolted from his control at that time because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers.

¹¹ Jehoram also made high places in the hill country of Judah and caused those living in Jerusalem to prostitute themselves. He caused Judah to go astray.

¹² A letter came to him from Elijah the prophet which said:

¹⁶ The Lord stirred up against Jehoram the hostility ^[2] of the Philistines and the Arabs who were next to the Cushites. ¹⁷ They came up against Judah, successfully invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found at the king’s palace, as well as his sons and his wives. None of his sons were left except Jehoahaz, ^[3] the youngest.

¹⁸ After all this the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable disease in his intestines. ¹⁹ He suffered day after day, until the end of the second year, when his intestines fell out because of the disease. He died in great pain. His people did not make a bonfire for him like the fires for his fathers.

²⁰ He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned as king in Jerusalem for eight years. He departed without anyone regretting it. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Ahaziah King of Judah

2 Chronicles 22

¹ The residents of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, king in Jehoram’s place because the raiding band, which had come to the camp with the Arabs, had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram ruled as the king of Judah.

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

³ He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, because his mother was advising him how to do wicked things. ⁴ He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab did, because they were his advisors after the death of his father. This led to his destruction.

⁵ He also followed their advice and went with Jehoram, ^[4] the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram there. ⁶ So he returned to Jezre’el to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramah when he was fighting against Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah ^[5] son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to visit Jehoram son of Ahab in Jezre’el because Jehoram had been wounded.

⁷ It was due to God that Ahaziah’s downfall came about when he went to visit Joram. After Ahaziah had arrived, he went out with Jehoram ^[6] to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. ⁸ When Jehu was carrying out judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers, ^[7] who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them. ⁹ He also searched for Ahaziah and captured him, while he was hiding in Samaria. ^[8] They brought him to Jehu, who put him to death. They buried him, because they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” There was nobody from the house of Ahaziah strong enough to rule the kingdom.

2 Chronicles 17 – 18

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah ^[1]

2 Chronicles 17

¹ Asa’s son Jehoshaphat ruled in his place. He strengthened his position against Israel and ² placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah. He placed garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.

³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the ways that his father David walked in the beginning. He did not seek the Baals, ⁴ but he sought the God of his father, and he walked in his commandments. He did not follow the example of Israel. ⁵ So the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. All Judah gave tribute to Jehoshaphat. He had abundant riches and honor. ⁶ His heart was bold in the ways of the Lord. Furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah. ⁸ Along with them he sent these Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, as well as the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They taught in Judah. They took the Book of the Law ^[2] of the Lord with them and traveled around through all the cities of Judah, teaching among the people.

¹⁰ The fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah. They did not wage war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver to Jehoshaphat as tribute. Also the Arabs brought flocks to him: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.

¹² Jehoshaphat was continually becoming greater and greater. He built fortresses and towns for storehouses in Judah.

¹³ He had large amounts of supplies ^[3] in the cities of Judah, and soldiers who were powerful warriors were stationed in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Their numbers, based on their fathers’ houses, were as follows.

Belonging to Judah, these were the commanders of units of a thousand:

¹⁷ From Benjamin:

¹⁹ These were the men who served the king, in addition to those forces that the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab

2 Chronicles 18

¹ Jehoshaphat had abundant riches and honor. He also formed a marriage alliance with Ahab.

² After some years passed, Jehoshaphat went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab sacrificed sheep and cattle in great numbers for him and for the troops with him. So Ahab persuaded him to go up against Ramoth Gilead.

³ Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth Gilead?”

Jehoshaphat answered him, “I am like you. My people are like your people. We are with you in the war.”

⁴ But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please seek the word of the Lord today.”

⁵ So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and he said to them, “Should we go up to make war on Ramoth Gilead, or should I refrain?”

They said, “Go up! God will give it into the hand of the king.”

⁶ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here? We should inquire from him.”

⁷ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man from whom we could inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he doesn’t prophesy anything good about me. He continually prophesies only bad things. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not talk like that.”

⁸ So the king of Israel summoned one of his officials and said, “Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah here.”

⁹ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. They were sitting by the threshing floor at the entrance to the gate to Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹⁰ Zedekiah son of Kena’anah had made iron horns for himself, and he said, “This is what the Lord says. With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.” ¹¹ All the prophets were prophesying in this same way: “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and triumph, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

¹² The messenger who was sent to summon Micaiah said to him, “Pay attention to the words of the prophets. With one mouth they are promising good things to the king. Please! Your words should be like the words of one of them. You should say something good.”

¹³ But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that is what I will say.”

¹⁴ Then he came to the king, and the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth Gilead for battle, or should I refrain?”

Micaiah answered him, “Go up and triumph. They will be given into your hand.”

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

¹⁶ Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. The Lord said, ‘They have no masters. Let each one return to his home in peace.’”

¹⁷ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he does not prophesy anything good about me but only bad?”

¹⁸ Then Micaiah proclaimed:

²³ Then Zedekiah son of Kena’anah came over and struck Micaiah on his cheek and said, “Where is this pathway on which the spirit of the Lord has traveled from me to speak to you?”

²⁴ Micaiah said, “You will see on the day you go into the inner room to hide.”

²⁵ Then the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, the administrator of the city, and to Joash, son of the king. ²⁶ You are to say to them, ‘This is what the king says. Put this man in prison and feed him nothing more than bread and water until I come back safely.’”

²⁷ Micaiah said, “If you ever come back safely, then the Lord has not spoken through me.”

He also said, “Hear this, you people, all of you!”

Ahab Dies in Battle

²⁸ Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.

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

³⁰ The king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight against anyone, whether small or great, but only against the king of Israel.”

³¹ When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “That is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him.

Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him.

³² When the chariot commanders realized that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.

³³ But a man shot an arrow at random and struck the king of Israel in the seam between two parts of his armor.

Ahab said to the chariot driver, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I have been wounded.”

³⁴ The battle increased in intensity all that day. The king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing Aram until evening. He died at sunset.