New Living Translation (NLT)

Hezekiah Rules in Judah

1 Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel.

2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah,the daughter of Zechariah.

3 He did what was pleasing in theLord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.

4 He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.

5 Hezekiah trusted in theLord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time.

6 He remained faithful to theLordin everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands theLordhad given Moses.

7 So theLordwas with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute.

8 He also conquered the Philistines as far distant as Gaza and its territory, from their smallest outpost to their largest walled city.

9 During the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel, King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked the city of Samaria and began a siege against it.

10 Three years later, during the sixth year of King Hezekiah’s reign and the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel, Samaria fell.

11 At that time the king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and placed them in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

12 For they refused to listen to theLordtheir God and obey him. Instead, they violated his covenant—all the laws that Moses theLord’s servant had commanded them to obey.

Assyria Invades Judah

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them.

14 King Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. I will pay whatever tribute money you demand if you will only withdraw.” The king of Assyria then demanded a settlement of more than eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold.

15 To gather this amount, King Hezekiah used all the silver stored in the Temple of theLordand in the palace treasury.

16 Hezekiah even stripped the gold from the doors of theLord’s Temple and from the doorposts he had overlaid with gold, and he gave it all to the Assyrian king.

17 Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent his commander in chief, his field commander, and his chief of stafffrom Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.

18 They summoned King Hezekiah, but the king sent these officials to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

19 Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah:

“This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?

20 Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me?

21 On Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable!

22 “But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in theLordour God!’ But isn’t he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn’t Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem?

23 “I’ll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them!

24 With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers?

25 What’s more, do you think we have invaded your land without theLord’s direction? TheLordhimself told us, ‘Attack this land and destroy it!’”

26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff, “Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don’t speak in Hebrew,for the people on the wall will hear.”

27 But Sennacherib’s chief of staff replied, “Do you think my master sent this message only to you and your master? He wants all the people to hear it, for when we put this city under siege, they will suffer along with you. They will be so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine.”

28 Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, “Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria!

29 This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you from my power.

30 Don’t let him fool you into trusting in theLordby saying, ‘TheLordwill surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!’

31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me—open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well.

32 Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one—a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards, olive groves and honey. Choose life instead of death!

“Don’t listen to Hezekiah when he tries to mislead you by saying, ‘TheLordwill rescue us!’

33 Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria?

34 What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power?

35 What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that theLordcan rescue Jerusalem from me?”

36 But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, “Do not answer him.”

37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/2KI/18-b884e4194b90e89be679b646626a0854.mp3?version_id=116—

Hezekiah Seeks the Lord’s Help

1 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of theLord.

2 And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, all dressed in burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

3 They told him, “This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby.

4 But perhaps theLordyour God has heard the Assyrian chief of staff,sent by the king to defy the living God, and will punish him for his words. Oh, pray for those of us who are left!”

5 After King Hezekiah’s officials delivered the king’s message to Isaiah,

6 the prophet replied, “Say to your master, ‘This is what theLordsays: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers.

7 Listen! I myself will move against him,and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.’”

8 Meanwhile, the Assyrian chief of staff left Jerusalem and went to consult the king of Assyria, who had left Lachish and was attacking Libnah.

9 Soon afterward King Sennacherib received word that King Tirhakah of Ethiopiawas leading an army to fight against him. Before leaving to meet the attack, he sent messengers back to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this message:

10 “This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria.

11 You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different?

12 Have the gods of other nations rescued them—such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all!

13 What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”

14 After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to theLord’s Temple and spread it out before theLord.

15 And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before theLord: “OLord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth.

16 Bend down, OLord, and listen! Open your eyes, OLord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.

17 “It is true,Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations.

18 And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands.

19 Now, OLordour God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, OLord, are God.”

Isaiah Predicts Judah’s Deliverance

20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what theLord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer about King Sennacherib of Assyria.

21 And theLordhas spoken this word against him:

“The virgin daughter of Zion

despises you and laughs at you.

The daughter of Jerusalem

shakes her head in derision as you flee.

22 “Whom have you been defying and ridiculing?

Against whom did you raise your voice?

At whom did you look with such haughty eyes?

It was the Holy One of Israel!

23 By your messengers you have defied the Lord.

You have said, ‘With my many chariots

I have conquered the highest mountains—

yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon.

I have cut down its tallest cedars

and its finest cypress trees.

I have reached its farthest corners

and explored its deepest forests.

24 I have dug wells in many foreign lands

and refreshed myself with their water.

With the sole of my foot

I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!’

25 “But have you not heard?

I decided this long ago.

Long ago I planned it,

and now I am making it happen.

I planned for you to crush fortified cities

into heaps of rubble.

26 That is why their people have so little power

and are so frightened and confused.

They are as weak as grass,

as easily trampled as tender green shoots.

They are like grass sprouting on a housetop,

scorched before it can grow lush and tall.

27 “But I know you well—

where you stay

and when you come and go.

I know the way you have raged against me.

28 And because of your raging against me

and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself,

I will put my hook in your nose

and my bit in your mouth.

I will make you return

by the same road on which you came.”

29 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Here is the proof that what I say is true:

“This year you will eat only what grows up by itself,

and next year you will eat what springs up from that.

But in the third year you will plant crops and harvest them;

you will tend vineyards and eat their fruit.

30 And you who are left in Judah,

who have escaped the ravages of the siege,

will put roots down in your own soil

and will grow up and flourish.

31 For a remnant of my people will spread out from Jerusalem,

a group of survivors from Mount Zion.

The passionate commitment of theLordof Heaven’s Armies

will make this happen!

32 “And this is what theLordsays about the king of Assyria:

“His armies will not enter Jerusalem.

They will not even shoot an arrow at it.

They will not march outside its gates with their shields

nor build banks of earth against its walls.

33 The king will return to his own country

by the same road on which he came.

He will not enter this city,

says theLord.

34 For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David,

I will defend this city and protect it.”

35 That night the angel of theLordwent out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrianswoke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere.

36 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.

37 One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sonsAdrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Ararat, and another son, Esarhaddon, became the next king of Assyria.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/2KI/19-6ab06d3c3290f8cd1687bfc4997d18eb.mp3?version_id=116—

Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery

1 About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what theLordsays: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.”

2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to theLord,

3 “Remember, OLord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

4 But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard,this message came to him from theLord:

5 “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what theLord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of theLord.

6 I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’”

7 Then Isaiah said, “Make an ointment from figs.” So Hezekiah’s servants spread the ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered!

8 Meanwhile, Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What sign will theLordgive to prove that he will heal me and that I will go to the Temple of theLordthree days from now?”

9 Isaiah replied, “This is the sign from theLordto prove that he will do as he promised. Would you like the shadow on the sundial to go forward ten steps or backward ten steps?”

10 “The shadow always moves forward,” Hezekiah replied, “so that would be easy. Make it go ten steps backward instead.”

11 So Isaiah the prophet asked theLordto do this, and he caused the shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundialof Ahaz!

Envoys from Babylon

12 Soon after this, Merodach-baladanson of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick.

13 Hezekiah received the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did those men want? Where were they from?”

Hezekiah replied, “They came from the distant land of Babylon.”

15 “What did they see in your palace?” Isaiah asked.

“They saw everything,” Hezekiah replied. “I showed them everything I own—all my royal treasuries.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from theLord:

17 The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says theLord.

18 Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.”

19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “This message you have given me from theLordis good.” For the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.”

20 The rest of the events in Hezekiah’s reign, including the extent of his power and how he built a pool and dug a tunnelto bring water into the city, are recorded inThe Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.

21 Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh became the next king.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/2KI/20-e6eddc7d61babe684943fc17ed37e3c7.mp3?version_id=116—

Manasseh Rules in Judah

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

2 He did what was evil in theLord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that theLordhad driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.

3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.

4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of theLord, the place where theLordhad said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.”

5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of theLord’s Temple.

6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire.He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in theLord’s sight, arousing his anger.

7 Manasseh even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple, the very place where theLordhad told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel.

8 If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands—all the laws my servant Moses gave them—I will not send them into exile from this land that I gave their ancestors.”

9 But the people refused to listen, and Manasseh led them to do even more evil than the pagan nations that theLordhad destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.

10 Then theLordsaid through his servants the prophets:

11 “King Manasseh of Judah has done many detestable things. He is even more wicked than the Amorites, who lived in this land before Israel. He has caused the people of Judah to sin with his idols.

12 So this is what theLord, the God of Israel, says: I will bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of those who hear about it will tingle with horror.

13 I will judge Jerusalem by the same standard I used for Samaria and the same measureI used for the family of Ahab. I will wipe away the people of Jerusalem as one wipes a dish and turns it upside down.

14 Then I will reject even the remnant of my own people who are left, and I will hand them over as plunder for their enemies.

15 For they have done great evil in my sight and have angered me ever since their ancestors came out of Egypt.”

16 Manasseh also murdered many innocent people until Jerusalem was filled from one end to the other with innocent blood. This was in addition to the sin that he caused the people of Judah to commit, leading them to do evil in theLord’s sight.

17 The rest of the events in Manasseh’s reign and everything he did, including the sins he committed, are recorded inThe Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.

18 When Manasseh died, he was buried in the palace garden, the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon became the next king.

Amon Rules in Judah

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz from Jotbah.

20 He did what was evil in theLord’s sight, just as his father, Manasseh, had done.

21 He followed the example of his father, worshiping the same idols his father had worshiped.

22 He abandoned theLord, the God of his ancestors, and he refused to follow theLord’s ways.

23 Then Amon’s own officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace.

24 But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah the next king.

25 The rest of the events in Amon’s reign and what he did are recorded inThe Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.

26 He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Josiah became the next king.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/2KI/21-5e8f394e385c966ef35f0e79606d9423.mp3?version_id=116—

Josiah Rules in Judah

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath.

2 He did what was pleasing in theLord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.

3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, the court secretary, to the Temple of theLord. He told him,

4 “Go to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money the gatekeepers have collected from the people at theLord’s Temple.

5 Entrust this money to the men assigned to supervise the restoration of theLord’s Temple. Then they can use it to pay workers to repair the Temple.

6 They will need to hire carpenters, builders, and masons. Also have them buy the timber and the finished stone needed to repair the Temple.

7 But don’t require the construction supervisors to keep account of the money they receive, for they are honest and trustworthy men.”

Hilkiah Discovers God’s Law

8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in theLord’s Temple!” Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it.

9 Shaphan went to the king and reported, “Your officials have turned over the money collected at the Temple of theLordto the workers and supervisors at the Temple.”

10 Shaphan also told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” So Shaphan read it to the king.

11 When the king heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes in despair.

12 Then he gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and Asaiah the king’s personal adviser:

13 “Go to the Temple and speak to theLordfor me and for the people and for all Judah. Inquire about the words written in this scroll that has been found. For theLord’s great anger is burning against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words in this scroll. We have not been doing everything it says we must do.”

14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the New Quarterof Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, the keeper of the Temple wardrobe.

15 She said to them, “TheLord, the God of Israel, has spoken! Go back and tell the man who sent you,

16 ‘This is what theLordsays: I am going to bring disaster on this cityand its people. All the words written in the scroll that the king of Judah has read will come true.

17 For my people have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to pagan gods, and I am very angry with them for everything they have done. My anger will burn against this place, and it will not be quenched.’

18 “But go to the king of Judah who sent you to seek theLordand tell him: ‘This is what theLord, the God of Israel, says concerning the message you have just heard:

19 You were sorry and humbled yourself before theLordwhen you heard what I said against this city and its people—that this land would be cursed and become desolate. You tore your clothing in despair and wept before me in repentance. And I have indeed heard you, says theLord.

20 So I will not send the promised disaster until after you have died and been buried in peace. You will not see the disaster I am going to bring on this city.’”

So they took her message back to the king.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/2KI/22-51d70ebc7baf5ea3e2d6ad2b3a4a7c63.mp3?version_id=116—

Josiah’s Religious Reforms

1 Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

2 And the king went up to the Temple of theLordwith all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in theLord’s Temple.

3 The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in theLord’s presence. He pledged to obey theLordby keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

4 Then the king instructed Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the Temple gatekeepers to remove from theLord’s Temple all the articles that were used to worship Baal, Asherah, and all the powers of the heavens. The king had all these things burned outside Jerusalem on the terraces of the Kidron Valley, and he carried the ashes away to Bethel.

5 He did away with the idolatrous priests, who had been appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had offered sacrifices at the pagan shrines throughout Judah and even in the vicinity of Jerusalem. They had also offered sacrifices to Baal, and to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the powers of the heavens.

6 The king removed the Asherah pole from theLord’s Temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. Then he ground the ashes of the pole to dust and threw the dust over the graves of the people.

7 He also tore down the living quarters of the male and female shrine prostitutes that were inside the Temple of theLord, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah pole.

8 Josiah brought to Jerusalem all the priests who were living in other towns of Judah. He also defiled the pagan shrines, where they had offered sacrifices—all the way from Geba to Beersheba. He destroyed the shrines at the entrance to the gate of Joshua, the governor of Jerusalem. This gate was located to the left of the city gate as one enters the city.

9 The priests who had served at the pagan shrines were not allowed to serve attheLord’s altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat unleavened bread with the other priests.

10 Then the king defiled the altar of Topheth in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, so no one could ever again use it to sacrifice a son or daughter in the fireas an offering to Molech.

11 He removed from the entrance of theLord’s Temple the horse statues that the former kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were near the quarters of Nathan-melech the eunuch, an officer of the court.The king also burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.

12 Josiah tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had built on the palace roof above the upper room of Ahaz. The king destroyed the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of theLord’s Temple. He smashed them to bitsand scattered the pieces in the Kidron Valley.

13 The king also desecrated the pagan shrines east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, where King Solomon of Israel had built shrines for Ashtoreth, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians; and for Chemosh, the detestable god of the Moabites; and for Molech,the vile god of the Ammonites.

14 He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. Then he desecrated these places by scattering human bones over them.

15 The king also tore down the altar at Bethel—the pagan shrine that Jeroboam son of Nebat had made when he caused Israel to sin. He burned down the shrine and ground it to dust, and he burned the Asherah pole.

16 Then Josiah turned around and noticed several tombs in the side of the hill. He ordered that the bones be brought out, and he burned them on the altar at Bethel to desecrate it. (This happened just as theLordhad promised through the man of God when Jeroboam stood beside the altar at the festival.)

Then Josiah turned and looked up at the tomb of the man of Godwho had predicted these things.

17 “What is that monument over there?” Josiah asked.

And the people of the town told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted the very things that you have just done to the altar at Bethel!”

18 Josiah replied, “Leave it alone. Don’t disturb his bones.” So they did not burn his bones or those of the old prophet from Samaria.

19 Then Josiah demolished all the buildings at the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria, just as he had done at Bethel. They had been built by the various kings of Israel and had made theLordvery angry.

20 He executed the priests of the pagan shrines on their own altars, and he burned human bones on the altars to desecrate them. Finally, he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Celebrates Passover

21 King Josiah then issued this order to all the people: “You must celebrate the Passover to theLordyour God, as required in this Book of the Covenant.”

22 There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah.

23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated to theLordin Jerusalem.

24 Josiah also got rid of the mediums and psychics, the household gods, the idols,and every other kind of detestable practice, both in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Judah. He did this in obedience to the laws written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in theLord’s Temple.

25 Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to theLordwith all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.

26 Even so, theLordwas very angry with Judah because of all the wicked things Manasseh had done to provoke him.

27 For theLordsaid, “I will also banish Judah from my presence just as I have banished Israel. And I will reject my chosen city of Jerusalem and the Temple where my name was to be honored.”

28 The rest of the events in Josiah’s reign and all his deeds are recorded inThe Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.

29 While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, went to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah and his army marched out to fight him,but King Necokilled him when they met at Megiddo.

30 Josiah’s officers took his body back in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land anointed Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and made him the next king.

Jehoahaz Rules in Judah

31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

32 He did what was evil in theLord’s sight, just as his ancestors had done.

33 Pharaoh Neco put Jehoahaz in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath to prevent him from rulingin Jerusalem. He also demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of goldas tribute.

Jehoiakim Rules in Judah

34 Pharaoh Neco then installed Eliakim, another of Josiah’s sons, to reign in place of his father, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt as a prisoner, where he died.

35 In order to get the silver and gold demanded as tribute by Pharaoh Neco, Jehoiakim collected a tax from the people of Judah, requiring them to pay in proportion to their wealth.

36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah.

37 He did what was evil in theLord’s sight, just as his ancestors had done.

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1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years but then rebelled.

2 Then theLordsent bands of Babylonian,Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as theLordhad promised through his prophets.

3 These disasters happened to Judah because of theLord’s command. He had decided to banish Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh,

4 who had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. TheLordwould not forgive this.

5 The rest of the events in Jehoiakim’s reign and all his deeds are recorded inThe Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.

6 When Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoiachin became the next king.

7 The king of Egypt did not venture out of his country after that, for the king of Babylon captured the entire area formerly claimed by Egypt—from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Jehoiachin Rules in Judah

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem.

9 Jehoiachin did what was evil in theLord’s sight, just as his father had done.

10 During Jehoiachin’s reign, the officers of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up against Jerusalem and besieged it.

11 Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived at the city during the siege.

12 Then King Jehoiachin, along with the queen mother, his advisers, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the Babylonians.

In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he took Jehoiachin prisoner.

13 As theLordhad said beforehand, Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the treasures from theLord’s Temple and the royal palace. He stripped awayall the gold objects that King Solomon of Israel had placed in the Temple.

14 King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and artisans—10,000 in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land.

15 Nebuchadnezzar led King Jehoiachin away as a captive to Babylon, along with the queen mother, his wives and officials, and all Jerusalem’s elite.

16 He also exiled 7,000 of the best troops and 1,000 craftsmen and artisans, all of whom were strong and fit for war.

17 Then the king of Babylon installed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’suncle, as the next king, and he changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

19 But Zedekiah did what was evil in theLord’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done.

20 These things happened because of theLord’s anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile.

The Fall of Jerusalem

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

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1 So on January 15,during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls.

2 Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign.

3 By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign,the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.

4 Then a section of the city wall was broken down. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians,the soldiers waited for nightfall and escapedthrough the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden. Then they headed toward the Jordan Valley.

5 But the Babyloniantroops chased the king and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered.

6 They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.

7 They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.

The Temple Destroyed

8 On August 14 of that year,which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem.

9 He burned down the Temple of theLord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildingsin the city.

10 Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.

11 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.

12 But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.

13 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of theLord’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon.

14 They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple.

15 The captain of the guard also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.

16 The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for theLord’s Temple in the days of Solomon.

17 Each of the pillars was 27 feettall. The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 71/2feethigh and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around.

18 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers.

19 And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; five of the king’s personal advisers; the army commander’s chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens.

20 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

21 And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land.

Gedaliah Governs in Judah

22 Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan as governor over the people he had left in Judah.

23 When all the army commanders and their men learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they went to see him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jezaniahson of the Maacathite, and all their men.

24 Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm. “Don’t be afraid of them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you,” he promised.

25 But in midautumn of that year,Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.

26 Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them.

Hope for Israel’s Royal Line

27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind toJehoiachin and released himfrom prison on April 2 of that year.

28 He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon.

29 He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king’s presence for the rest of his life.

30 So the king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived.

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