Translation:2 Kings

For other English-language translations of this work, see 2 Kings (Bible).

Chapter 1

¹ And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

² And Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room which was in Samaria, and was injured. And he sent messengers and said to them, Go inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, to find out whether I will survive this injury.

³ And an angel of Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, Rise. Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, Is it because there is no god in Israel that you go to inquire of Baal Zebub king of Ekron? ⁴ And therefore thus says Yahweh, You will not come down from the bed where you are laid up. Rather, you will certainly die. And Elijah left.

⁵ And the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why have you come back?

⁶ And they said to him, A man came up to meet us, and said to us, Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says Yahweh, Is it because there is no god in Israel that you send to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not come down from the bed where you are laid up. Rather, you will certainly die.

⁷ And he said to them, What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these things?

⁸ And they said to him, He was a hairy man, who wore a leather belt around his waist.

And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

⁹ And the king sent him a commander of fifty with his fifty men. And he went up to him, and there he was: sitting on top of a hill. And he said to him, Man of God, the king says, Come down.

¹⁰ And Elijah replied, and said to the commander of fifty, If I am really a man of God, let fire come down from the sky and consume you and the fifty. And fire came down from the sky and consumed him and the fifty.

¹¹ And again he sent him another commander of fifty with his fifty men. And he said to him, Man of God, thus says the king: Come down quickly!

¹² And Elijah replied and said to him, If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty. And fire from God came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty.

¹³ And again he sent up a third commander of fifty with his fifty men. And the third commander of fifty went up and came, and bowed on his knees before Elijah, and petitioned him, and said to him, Man of God, Please let my life and the life of these fifty of your servants be valuable in your eyes. ¹⁴ I know that fire has come down from the sky and consumed the two first commanders of fifty with their fifties. Please, let my life be valuable in your eyes.

¹⁵ And the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him. And he rose, and went down with him to the king.

¹⁶ And he said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron -- is it because there is no god in Israel at whose word you could inquire? -- therefore you will not come down from that bed where you are laid up, but will surely die.

¹⁷ And he died, according to the message from Yahweh which Elijah delivered.

And Jehoram reigned in his place in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because he had no son. ¹⁸ And the deeds of Ahaziah, which he did, are they not written in the record of the annals of the kings of Israel?

Chapter 2

¹ Now when Yahweh was going to take up Elijah into the sky in the wind, Elijah went up from the Gilgal. ² And Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here, because Yahweh has sent me to Bethel.

And Elisha said, By the life of Yahweh, and by the life of my soul, I will not leave you. And they went down to Bethel.

³ And the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, Do you know that Yahweh will take your master from upon your head today?

And he said, Yes, I know. Be quiet.

⁴ And Elijah said to him, Elisha, stay here now, because Yahweh has sent me to Jericho.

And he said, By the life of Yahweh, and by my own life, I will not leave you.

And they came to Jericho.

⁵ And the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha, and said to him, Do you know that Yahweh will take your master from your head today?

And he answered, Yes, I know. Be quiet.

⁶ And Elijah said to him, Now stay here, because Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan.

And he said, By the life of Yahweh, and by my own life, I will not leave you.

And the two of them went. ⁷ And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood watching far off as the two of them stood by the Jordan. ⁸ And Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the waters, and they were pushed off to either side, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

⁹ And then they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, What should I do for you? Ask, before I am taken away from you.

And Elisha, Please, let a double share of your spirit be upon me.

¹⁰ And he said, You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken away from you, you will have it, but if not, you will not. ¹¹ Now, as they were walking and talking, there came a chariot of fire with horses of fire, and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up in the wind to the sky.

¹² And Elisha saw, and he shouted, My father! My father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen. And he did not see him anymore, and he took his clothing and tore them apart in two. ¹³ And he picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood along the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ And he took the mantle of Elijah, and struck the waters, and said, Where is Yahweh, Elijah's god? Then when he had struck the waters, they were pushed off to either side, and Elisha went over.

¹⁵ And when the sons of the prophets who were watching saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha. And they came to meet, and prostrated themselves on the ground before him.

¹⁶ And they said to him, There are with your servants fifty brave men. Please, let us go and search for your master. Perhaps the spirit of God has picked him up and thrown him onto some hill or some valley.

And he said, Do not send them.

¹⁷ And when they insisted until he was embarassed, he said, Sent them. And they sent fifty men, and they looked for three days, but did not find him. ¹⁸ And when they returned to him, as he was staying at Jericho, he said to them, Didn't I tell you not to go?

¹⁹ And the men of the city said to Elisha, Please, notice how the situation is well-placed, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land miscarries.

²⁰ And he said, Bring me a new jug, and put salt in it. And they brought it to him. ²¹ And he went out to the spring, and threw the salt there, and said, Thus says Yahweh: I have healed these waters. There will no longer be any more death or miscarriage. ²² And the waters have been healed until this day, just as Elisha said.

²³ And he went up from there to Bethel, and as he was going up along the path, small children came out from the city and said to him, Go up, bald-head! Go up, bald-head!

²⁴ And he turned back, and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Yahweh. And two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children.

²⁵ And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Chapter 3

¹ And Jehoram son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. ² And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. Yet he was not like his father and mother; he put away the state of Baal which his father had made. ³ But he clung to the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel sin. He did not turn away from it.

⁴ And Mesha king of Moab was a herdsman, and he would bring tribute to the king of Israel of one hundred thousand lambs and one hundred thousand rams' worth of wool. ⁵ Now when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶ And King Jehoram went out at that time from Samaria, and took a census of all Israel. ⁷ And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me against Moab to battle?

And he said, I am with you, and my people with your people, my horses with your horses.

⁸ And he said, Which way should we go up?

And he said, The way of the wilderness of Edom.

⁹ And the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they took a circular route of seven days' journey, and there was no water for the forces, and for the livestock following them. ¹⁰ And the king of Israel said, Alas! Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

¹¹ And Jehoshaphat said, Is there no prophet of Yahweh here, by whom we could inquire of Yahweh?

And one of the king of Israel's servants replied, Elisha son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.

¹² And Jehoshaphat said, The word of Yahweh is with him. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³ And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What do I have to do with you? Go to your father's prophets, and your mother's prophets.

And the king of Israel said to him, No, because Yahweh has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

¹⁴ And Elisha said, By the life of Yahweh of Armies, before whom I stand, were it not for my respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not even look at you or notice you. ¹⁵ Now, bring me a harpist. And then, as the harpist played, the hand of Yahweh was upon him.

¹⁶ And he said, Thus says Yahweh: Make this valley full of puddles. ¹⁷ Forthus says Yahweh. You will not see wind, nor will you see rain, but the valley will be filled with water, and you will drink: you, and your livestock, and your animals. ¹⁸ And this is small in the eyes of Yahweh, and he will deliver Moab into your hand. ¹⁹ And you will strike every fortified city, and every choice city, and cut down ever good tree, and stop up all the wells, and ruin every good plot of land with stones.

²⁰ And then in the morning, when the grain-offering was given, there came water along the way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.

²¹ And all Moab heard that the kings had come up to make war with them, they summoned all who were old enough to wear armor and upward, and stood along the border. ²² And they rose early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water, red like blood. ²³ And they said, This is blood. The kings must have been killed, and each struck his ally down. Now, Moab, to the spoils!

²⁴ And they came to the camp of Israel, and the Israelites rose and struck down Moab, and they fled before them. And Israel entered and crushed Moab. ²⁵ And they tore apart [the walls of] the cities, and each man cast a stone on every good plot of land, and filled it. And they stopped up all the wells, and felled every good tree. Only in Kir Harasheth they left the stones, and slingers surrounded it and defeated it. ²⁶ And the king of Moab saw that the war is too strong for him, so he took seven hundred thousand people with drawn swords to defeat Edom, but they couldn't. ²⁷ So he took his first-born son who would rule after him, and offered him as a burned sacrifice on the wall, and there was great anger at Israel; they departed from him and returned to their land.

Chapter 4

¹ And a certain one of the wives of the sons of the prophets called out to Elisha, saying, Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that my servant feared Yahweh, and the creditor has come to take my two sons as his slaves.

² And Elisha said to her, What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?

And she said, Your maidservant has nothing in the house except for a flask of oil.

³ And he said, Go out and borrow containers from your neighbors, empty containers, not just a few. ⁴ And come in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour it into all those containers, and set aside the full ones.

⁵ And she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons who brought [the containers] to her, and she began pouring. ⁶ And then, when the containers were full, she said to her son, Bring me another container.

And he said to her, There are no more containers.

And the oil stopped. ⁷ And she went and told the man of God. And he said, Go sell the oil, and pay your creditor,^[1] and you and your sons can live on the rest.

⁸ And one day as Elisha travelled through Shunem, there was a woman of means there, and she insisted he stop for a meal. And whenever he would pass by, he would turn in there for a meal. ⁹ And she said to her husband, Surely I know that this is a holy man of God who keeps passing by. ¹⁰ Let us make a little upstairs room on the wall, and let us set up for him there a bed, and a table, and a chair, and a lamp. Then, when he comes to us, he can stay there.

¹¹ And one day, when he came there, and stayed in the room, and laid down there, ¹² he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite.

And he called her, and she stood before him. ¹³ And he said to her, I see how you have taken great pains in taking care of us. What can be done for you? Would you like to have a good word put in for you to the king or the commander of the army?

And she said, I dwell among my own people.

¹⁴ And he said, What can be done for her?

And Gehazi said, She has no child at all, and her husband is old.

¹⁵ And he said, Call her. And he called her, and she stood in the door.

¹⁶ And he said, This time next year, in the spring, you will be holding a son.

And she said, No, my lord, man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.

¹⁷ And the woman conceived, and gave birth to a son at the time of year that Elisha had said to her, in the spring.

¹⁸ And the child grew, and one day, he went out to his father and the reapers. ¹⁹ And he said to his father, My head! My head!

And he said to his servant, Carry him to his mother. ²⁰ And he took him and brought him to his mother, and he sat on her knees until noon, and he died. ²¹ And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door, and left.

²² And she called to her husband, and said, Please, send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, and I will run to the man of God, and return.

²³ And he said, Why would you go to him today? It is not new moon or sabbath.

And she said, All is well. ²⁴ And she saddled the donkey, and said to her servant, Lead the way, and do not slow down for me unless I tell you. ²⁵ And she went and came to the man of God, to Mount Carmel. And when the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, Here comes that Shunammite woman. ²⁶ So run on to meet her, and say to her, How are you? How is your husband? How is your child?

And she said, All is well.

²⁷ And she came to the man of God, to the hill, and took hold of his feet, and Gehazi came to drive her away.

And the man of God said, Leave her alone, because her soul is upset, and Yahweh has concealed it from me, and has not told me.

²⁸ And she said, Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?

²⁹ And he said to Gehazi, Gird your loins and take your staff in your hand, and go your way. And if you come upon anyone, do not greet him. And if anyone greets you, do not reply to him. Then lay your staff on the face of the child.

³⁰ And the mother of the lad said, By the life of Yahweh, and by my own life, I will not leave you. And he rose and went, and followed her. ³¹ And Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the lad's face, but the boy did not wake up or make any sound.

And he went back to meet him, and told him, The child has not woken up.

³² And Elisha came to the house, and saw the child, dead, laid on his bed. ³³ And he went in, and shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to Yahweh. ³⁴ And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his palms on his palms, and stretched himself out on top of his, and the child's body grew warm. ³⁵ And he returned and went through the house once back and forth, and stretched himself out on top of him, and the lad sneezed seven times, and the lad opened his eyes. ³⁶ And he called to Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite woman. And he called her. And she came to him and said, Hold your son. ³⁷ And she went in and fell at his feet, and prostrated herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

³⁸ And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. And as the sons of the prophets were sitting in front of him, he said to his servant, Set up the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.

³⁹ And one went out to the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and as many wild gourds as his clothes could hold, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, because they did not recognize them. ⁴⁰ And they poured it out for the men to eat. Then, as they were eating the stew, they shouted out, There is death in the pot, man of God! And they could not eat it.

⁴¹ And he said, Bring flour. And he threw it into the pot, and said, Pour it out for the people, and they can eat it. And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

⁴² And a man came from Baal Shalishah,^[2] and brought the man of God bread of firstfuits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh grains in a sack.^[3] And he said, Give it for the people to eat.

⁴³ And his attendant said, What? Am I to set this before a hundred men?

And he said, Give it to the people to eat, because thus says Yahweh: there will be enough and to spare. ⁴⁴ And he set it before them, and they ate and left some over, as Yahweh said.

Chapter 5

¹ And Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram was a significant man before his master, and honored, because Yahweh had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant warrior, afflicted with tzaarath.^{[4] 2} And the Arameans had gone out in raiding-parties, and had captured a little girl from the land of Israel, and she waiting on Naaman's wife. ³ And she said to her mistress, If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal him of his tzaarath. ⁴ And someone went and told his master, So and so said the girl who is from the land of Israel.

⁵ And the king of Aram said, Go on, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he went and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand [shekels] of gold,^[5] and ten changes of clothing.

⁶ And he brought a letter to the king of Israel, saying, When this letter comes to you, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, so that you can heal him of his tzaraath.

⁷ And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends for me to cure a man of tzaraath? So you can see how he is seeking a pretext against me.

⁸ Then, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent word to the king: Why have you torn your clothes? Send him to me, and you will know that there is a prophet in Israel.

⁹ And Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at the entrance of Elisha's house. ¹⁰ And Elisha sent him a messenger, saying, Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be pure.^[6]

¹¹ And Naaman was angry, and went away, and said, Here I was thinking that he would surely come out to me, and stand, and invoke the name of Yahweh his god and wave his hand over the place, and heal the tzaraath. ¹² Aren't Abanah^[7] and Parpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not have washed in them and become pure? And he turned and left enraged. ¹³ And his servants approached and spoke to him, and said, My father, had the prophet told you to do some great deed, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he said to you, Bathe, and be pure?

¹⁴ And he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had said, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was pure.

¹⁵ And he returned to the man of God, he and all his camp, and came and stood before him, and said, Now I know there is no god in all the earth except for Israel. Please take a gift^[8] from your servant.

¹⁶ And he said, By the life of Yahweh, before whom I stand, I will not accept it. And he insisted that he take it, but he refused.

¹⁷ And Naaman said, Then, please, let your servant be given two donkey-loads of earth, because you servant will no longer make burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods except for Yahweh. ¹⁸ May Yahweh pardon your servant this one thing, when my master goes to the house of Rimmon to do homage, and he leans on my hand, and I do homage in the house of Rimmon. When I do homage in the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh pardon your servant in this thing.

¹⁹ And he said to him, Go in peace. And he went a little ways away from him.

²⁰ And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, Now my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not accepting from his hand hand what he brought. As Yahweh lives, I will run after him and take something from him. ²¹ And Gehazi pursued Naaman. And Naaman saw him running after him, and he dismounted his chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?

²² And he said, All is well. My master sent me, saying, two young men have come to me from the hill-country of Ephraim of the sons of the prophets. Please, give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.

²³ And Naaman said, Please, take two talents. And he insisted, and bound two talents of silver in two pouches, and two two changes of clothing, and set them on two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of him. ²⁴ And he came to the hill, and took them from their hand, and deposited them in the house. And he sent the men away. ²⁵ And he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, Where are you coming from Gehezi?

And he said, Your servant went nowhere.

²⁶ And he said to him, Didn't my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to accept silver, and accept clothing, and olive trees, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and male and female slaves? ²⁷ The leprosy of Naaman will stick to you and your descendants forever. And he went out from his presence with tzaarath like snow.

Chapter 6

¹ And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, The place where we are living is too small for us. ² Please, let us go to the Jordan, And each of us take one beam, and we will make ourselves a place there where we can live.

And he said, Go.

³ And one of them said, Please, agree to go with your servants.

And he said, I will go. ⁴ And he went with them, and they came to the Jordan, and cut down wood. ⁵ And as one of them was cutting down a beam, the axe-head fell into the water, and he cried out, and said, Alas, my master! It was borrowed.

⁶ And the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a branch, and threw it in there, and the axe-head floated. ⁷ And he said, Pick it up. And he reached out his hand and took it.

⁸ And the king of Aram was making war against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place my camp will be.

⁹ And the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, Be careful not to pass by this place, because the Arameans are staying there. ¹⁰ And the king of Israel sent word to the place where the man of God told him, and he would warn them, and they would keep on guard.

¹¹ And the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing, and he called to his servants, and said to them, Won't you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?

¹² And one of his servants said, No my lord the king, but it is Elisha the prophet in Israel who tells the king of Israel the words which you speak in your bedroom.

¹³ And he said, Go and see where he is, and I will send and capture him. And it was reported to him, saying, Now he is in Dothan. ¹⁴ And he sent horses and chariots and a great force there, and they came by night, and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ And the attendant of the man of God woke up early, and got up, and went out, and there he saw an army surrounding the city, with horses and chariots. And he said, Alas, my master! What are we to do?

¹⁶ And he said, Do not be afraid, because those who are with us are more than those with them. ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, and said, Yahweh, please open his eyes, so that he can see. And Yahweh opened the young man's eyes, and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.

¹⁸ And they came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, Please, strike this nation with blindness. And he struck them with blindness as Elisha requested.

¹⁹ And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man that you are looking for. And he lead them to Samaria.

²⁰ And then, when he came to Samaria, Elisha said, Yahweh, open the eyes of these men so that they can see. And Yahweh opened their eyes, and they realized that they were in the middle of Samaria.

²¹ And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, Should I strike them down dead, my father?

²² And he answered, You must not strike them. Would you strike those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set bread and water before them, so that they can eat and drink, and go to their master. ²³ And he prepared a great feast for them, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the raiding-parties of Aram no longer came into the land of Israel.

²⁴ Now, after this, Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria. ²⁵ And there was great hunger in Samaria, and they continued the siege against it until a donkey's sold for eighty [shekels] of silver, and a quarter of a kab^[9] of doves' dung for five [shekels] of silver.

²⁶ And the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, and a woman cried out to him, saying, Help, my lord the king!

²⁷ And he said, If Yahweh will not help you, how can I help you? From the threshing-floor or from the winepress? ²⁸ And the king said to her, What is troubling you?

And she answered, This woman said to me, Give your son, and we will eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. ²⁹ And we boiled my son and ate him, and I said to her the next day, Give your son, and we will eat him. And she hid her son.

³⁰ And when the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes, and he walked along the top of the wall, and the people saw him there wearing sackcloth under his clothes. ³¹ And he said, May God punish me ever so severely if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat is still standing on his today.

³² And Elisha sat in his house, and the city rulers were sitting with him, and the king sent out a man from his presence. Before the messenger came to him, he said to the city rulers. Do you see how this son of a murder has sent [a man] to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and keep him out. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? ³³ As he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him, and he said, Surely this catastrophe is from Yahweh. Why should I wait any longer for Yahweh?

Chapter 7

¹ And Elisha said, Hear a message from Yahweh. Thus says Yahweh, This time tomorrow a seah of flour [will be priced] at a shekel, and two seahs of barley at a shekel in the gate of Samaria.

² Then the official on whose hand the king leaned replied to the man of God, and said, Even if Yahweh made windows in the sky, would such a thing happen?

And he said, With your own eyes you will see it, but you will not eat of it.

³ And there were four men with tzaraath^[4] at the entrance of the gate, and they said to each other, Why are we sitting here till we die? ⁴ If we decide to enter the city, there is still famine in the city, and we will die there. And if we sit here, we also die. So then, come, and let's fall into the camp of Aram. If they keep us alive, we live, and if they kill us, we die. ⁵ And they got up at dusk to go to the camp of Aram, and went to the edge of the camp of Aram, and there was no one there. ⁶ Because the Lord^[10] had made the camp of Aram hear a sound of chariots, a sound of horses, the house of a great army, and they said to one another, Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the Hittites kings, and the Egyptian kings, to come against us. ⁷ And they arose and fled at dusk, and left their tents, and their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their life. ⁸ And the men with tzaarath came to the edge of the camp, and went into a tent, and ate, and drank, and carried out silver and gold and clothing, and went and buried it, and came back, and went into another tent, and carried out and went and buried.

⁹ And they said each to his fellow, We are not doing the right thing. This is a day of good news, but we stay silent. If we wait until morning, some ill may befall us. So, then, let us come and tell the king's house. ¹⁰ And they came and called to the gatekeeper of the city, and they told him, saying, We came to the camp of Aram, and saw that no one was there, and no human sound, only horses tied up, and donkeys tied up, and tents left as they were. ¹¹ And he called the gatekeepers, and they told it to the king's house inside. ¹² And the king got up by night, and said to his servants, I will tell you what Aram has done to us. They know we are hungry, and they went out from the camp to hide in the field, saying, When they come out from the city, we will catch them alive and go into the city.

¹³ And one of his servants replied, and said, Please, let us take five of the remaining horses that are left in it. Behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel who remain in it. Behold, like all the multitude of Israel who are dying. Let us send them and see. ¹⁴

And they took two horsemen, and the king sent them after the camp of Aram, saying, Go and see. ¹⁵ And they went after them as far as the Jordan, and all along the path was filled with garments and things that Aram had cast off in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king. ¹⁶ And the people went out, and plundered the camp of Aram. And a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, and Yahweh had said.

¹⁷ And the king placed the officer on whose hand he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, when he spoke as the king was coming down to him. ¹⁸ And so it was, just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two seahs of barley will be for a shekel, and two seahs of fine flour for a shekel, about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.

¹⁹ And the officer replied to the man of God, and said, Even if Yahweh made windows in the sky, could such a thing happen?

And he said, With your own eyes you will see it, but will not eat of it. ²⁰ And so it happened to him, when the people trampled him to death in the gate.

Chapter 8

¹ And Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had revived, saying, Get up and go, you and your household, and go off to wherever you can stay, because Yahweh has called for a famine, and it will be upon this land seven years. ² And the woman got up and did as the man of God said, and went with her household, and stayed in the land of Philistines seven years. ³ Now, at the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of Philistines, and she went to cry out the king for her house and land. ⁴ And the king spoke to Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Please, recount to me all the great things that Elisha has done.

⁵ And then, as he was recounted how he had revived a dead body, there came the woman whose son was revived, and cried out the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, My lord the king: this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha revived.

⁶ And the king asked the woman, and she told him. And the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, Restore everything that was hers, and all the produce of the field from the day she left the land until now.

⁷ And Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was reported to him that the man of God was near. ⁸ And the king said to Hazael, Take a present with you, and go meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, Will I survive this sickness?

⁹ And Hazael went to meet him, and took a present in his hand, and every good thing of Damascus, forty camel loads, and came and stood before him, and said, Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram sent me to you, saying, Will I survive this sickness?

¹⁰ And Elisha said to him, Go tell him, You will live. But Yahweh told me that he will die. ¹¹ And he fixed his expression until he was embarrassed, and the man of God wept.

¹² And Hazael said, Why is my lord weeping?

And he said, Because I know how you will harm the Israelites: their fortresses you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their infants you will crush, and their pregnant women you will tear open.

¹³ And Hazael said, No, but your servant is a mere dog. How could he do such a significant thing?

And Elisha said, Yahweh showed me that you will be king over Aram.

¹⁴ And he left Elisha and came to his master, and he said to him, What did Elisha say to you.

And he said, He told me you will surely recover. ¹⁵ Then, the next day, he took a thick cloth,^[11] and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face, so he died. And Hazael was king in his place.

¹⁶ And in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began his reign. ¹⁷ He was thirty-two years old when he began his reign, and eight years he reigned in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab did, because the daughter of Ahab became his wife, and he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. ¹⁹ But Yahweh was unwilling to destroy Judah on account of David his servant, as he promised always to give him a lamp for his sons.

²⁰ In his days Edom revoted against Judahite rule, and appointed a king over themselves. ²¹ And Joram went over to Zair,^[12] and all the chariots with him. Then he rose by night and struck the Edomites all around him, and the chariot commanders, and the people fled to their tents. ²² And Edom rebelled against Judahite rule to this day. Then Libnah rebelled at the same time. ²³ And the rest of the deeds of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²⁴ And Joram rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son ruled in his place.

²⁵ In the twelfth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Joram, king of Israel, began to reign. ²⁶ Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and ruled one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, daughter of Omri^[13] king of Israel. ²⁷ And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like the house of Ahab, because he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

²⁸ And he went with Joram son of Ahab to battle against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram. ²⁹ And king Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel from the wounds which he sustained from the Arameans at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was ill.

Chapter 9

¹ And Elisha the prophet called to one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. ² And when you arrive there, find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi, and go in and have him stand out from among his brothers, and take him to an inner room. ³ And take the flask of oil and pour it on his head, and say, Thus says Yahweh: I have anointed you king of Israel. Then open the door and run away; do not linger. ⁴ And the young man, the young prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. ⁵ And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting, and he said, I have a message for you, captain.

And Jehu said, For which one of us?

And he said, For you, captain.

⁶ And he stood up, and went inside, and poured the oil on his head, and said to him, Thus says Yahweh, god of Israel: I have anointed you as king over the people of Yahweh, over Israel. ⁷ And you will strike the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Yahweh, from the hand of Jezebel. ⁸ And all the house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab everyone who pisses against the wall, and him who is shut in and left in Israel. ⁹ And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. ¹⁰ And dogs will eat Jezebel on Israel's land, and none will bury her. And he opened the door and ran off.

¹¹ And Jehu came out to the servants of his lord, and one said to him, Is it well? Why did this maniac come to you?

And he said to them, You know the man and how he talks.

¹² And they said, Lies! Tell us!

And he said, Such and such he said to me, saying, Thus says Yahweh: I have anointed you king of Israel.

¹³ Quickly they took each his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and blew the shofar, and said, Jehu is king!

¹⁴ So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram had been defending Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, from Hazael king of Aram. ¹⁵ And king Jehoram returned to be healed at Jezreel from the wounds which the Arameans had given him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. And Jehu said, If this is what you want, Let no one go out and escape from the city to go report it in Jezreel. ¹⁶ And Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel, because Joram was lying there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷ Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw Jehu's company coming, and he said, I see a company!

And Jehoram said, Take a charioteer and send him to meet them and say, Is it peace?

¹⁸ And a charioteer went out to meet him, and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace?

And Jehu said, What do you have to do with peace? Follow behind me.

And the watchman reported it, saying, The messenger went out to him, but has not come back.

¹⁹ And he sent out a second charioteer, who came and said to them, Thus says the king, Is it peace?

And Jehu said, What do you have to do with peace? Follow behind me.

²⁰ And the watchman reported it, saying, He went to them, but did not return. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi, because he drives like a maniac.

²¹ And Jehoram said, Prepare it. And his chariot was prepared. And Jehoram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and came upon him on the land of Naboth the Jezreelite.

²² Then when Jehoram saw Jehu, he said, Is it peace, Jehu?

And he said, What peace, when the whorings of your mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?

²³ And Jehoram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, A trap, Ahaziah!

²⁴ And Jehu pulled a bow with his full strength, and struck Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out through his chest, and he fell to his knees in his chariot. ²⁵ And he said to Bidqar his official, Pick him up and toss in into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how, when you and I were riding together following Ahab his father, gave me this oracle: ²⁶ Have I not seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons? said Yahweh. I will avenge you on this plot, says Yahweh. So then, take him and toss him onto the plot, as Yahweh said.

²⁷ And Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, and fled by way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him, and said, That one in the chariot: strike him too. At the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. ²⁸ And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David. ²⁹ And it was in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab that Ahaziah began to reign in Judah.

³⁰ When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard, and she used eyeliner, and adorned her head, and looked out the window. ³¹ As Jehu entered the gate, she said, Do you come in peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?

³² Andhe lifted his face to the window, and said, Who is with me? Who? And two or three eunuchs looked out at him.

³³ And he said, Throw her down! And they threw her down, and some of her blood splashed on the wall, and on the horses, and he trampled her. ³⁴ And he went in, and ate, and drank, and said, Go take care of this cursed woman, and bury her, because she is a king's daughter.

³⁵ And they went to bury her, but found nothingbut her skull and feet, and the palms of her hands. ³⁶ And they returned and told him. And he said, This is the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, On the territory of Jezreel the dogs will eat Jezebel's flesh. ³⁷ And the corpse of Jezebel will be like dung on the face of a field in the territory of Jezreel, to the extent that they cannot say, This is Jezebel.

Chapter 10

¹ Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the elders who ruled Jezreel, and to the guardians of Ahab's children, saying, ² As soon as this letter comes to you, and your master's sons are with you, the chariots, and the horses, and a fortress city, and weaponry; ³ then choose the best and most suitable of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for you master's dynasty.^[14]

⁴ And they were terrified, and said, See: the other two kings could not stand against him. How could we stand?

⁵ And the steward of the house, and the mayor, and the elders, and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, and whatever you tell us we will do. We will not choose a king. Do what seems good to you.

⁶ And he wrote them a second letter, saying, If you are mine, and listen to my voice, take the heads^[15] of these men, your master's sons, and come to me this time tomorrow at Jezreel. And the king's son, seventy men, were with the great men of the city, who raised them.

⁷ And so, when the letter came to them, they took the king's sons, and killed seventy in all, and put their heads in buckets, and sent them to him in Jezreel.

⁸ And a messenger came and told him, They have brought the heads of the king's sons.

And he said, Put them in two piles at the entrance of the gate until morning.

⁹ Then in the morning he went out and stood, and said to all the people, You are decent people. You know that I conspired against my master and killed him. But who slaughtered all these? ¹⁰ Know now that nothing will fail of Yahweh's message that he delivered concerning the house of Ahab, and Yahweh has done what he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah. ¹¹ And Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his friends, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

¹² And he got up and left, and came to Samaria. As he was at Beth-eked of the shepherds on the way, ¹³ Jehu happened upon the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you?

And they said, We are the brothers of Ahaziah, and we are going down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.

¹⁴ And he said, Capture them alive. And they captured them alive, and slaughtered them at the cistern of Beth-eked, forty-two men, and left none alive.

¹⁵ And he went from there and came upon Jehonadab son of Rekab coming toward him, and greeted him with a blessing, and said to him, Are you as true to me as I am to you?

And Jehonadab said, It is.

So give me your hand. And he gave him his hand, and he pulled him upon into the chariot.

¹⁶ And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Yahweh. And they had him ride in the chariot. ¹⁷ And he came to Samaria, and killed all who remained of Ahab in Samaria, until he had wiped him out, according the message of Yahweh which he delivered to Elijah.

¹⁸ And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little. Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ So then, Call for me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let none be missing, because I have a great sacrifice^[16] for Baal. Whoever is missing will not live. But Jehu did it with deceit, in order to destroy the servants of the Baal.

²⁰ And Jehu said, Convoke a solemn assembly for the Baal. And they called it. ²¹ And Jehu sent through all Israel, and all the servants of the Baal came, so not a single man remained who did not come. And they came to the temple of the Baal, and the temple of the Baal was filled from end to end.

²² And he said to the man in charge of the vestry, Bring out garments for all the servants of the Baal. And he brought out the garments.

²³ And Jehu went with Jehonadab son of Rekab into the temple of the Baal, and said to the servants of the Baal, Search and make sure none of the servants of Yahweh are here with you, but only the servants of Baal.^{[17] 24} And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had set eighty men outside, and said, If anyone allows one to escape of the men I have assigned to you, [he will pay] life for life.

²⁵ And then, as he finished making the whole burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and the captains, Go in! Strike them! Let none escape! And they struck them with the sword, and the guards and the captains tossed them out, and went to the fortress of the house of Baal. ²⁶ And they brought out the sacred pillars of the Baal and burned them. ²⁷ And they broke down the sacred pillar of the Baal, and broke down the house of the Baal, and made it a dunghill^[18] to this day. ²⁸ So Jehu rooted out the Baal from Israel.

²⁹ Yet as for the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, Jehu did not stop following them: the golden calves which were in Bethel and Dan. ³⁰ And Yahweh said to Jehu, Because you have done well by acting as is right in my eyes, doing to the house of Ahab everything I had intended, your sons to the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Israel. ³¹ But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of Yahweh, the god of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.

³² In those days Yahweh began to ruin Israel, and Hazael struck them throughout the territory of Israel ³³ from the Jordan eastward: all the land of the Gilead, the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer along the wadi Arnon, and the Gilead, and the Bashan.

³⁴ And the rest of the deeds of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ³⁵ And Jehu rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. ³⁶ And the days that Jehu reigned over Israel were twenty-eight years.

Chapter 11

¹ Now Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah, and she saw that her son was dead, and she rose and destroyed all the royal seed. ² But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons who were killed, [and put] him and his nurse in the bedroom. And they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not killed. ³ And he was with her, concealed in the house of Yahweh six years. And Athaliah reigned over Israel.

⁴ And in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and took the captains of hundreds, of the Carites and the guards, and brought them to himself in the house of Yahweh, and made a covenant with them, and made them take an oath in the house of Yahweh, and showed them the king's son. ⁵ And he commanded them, saying, This is what you are to do. A third of you who enter on the sabbath will keep watch over the king's house. ⁶ And a third will be at the gate of Sur, and a third at the gate behind the guards. You will keep watch of the house massa.^{[19] 7} And the two divisions among you, all who go out on the sabbath, will keep the watch of the house of Yahweh for the king. ⁸ And they will surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand, and whoever breaks through the ranks is to be killed, and they will accompany the king wherever he goes.

⁹ And the captains of hundred did just as Jehoiada commanded, and they each took their men who went in on the sabbath, with those who went out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰ And the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the javelin and shields which belonged to David, which were in the house of Yahweh. ¹¹ And the guards stood, each with his weapons in his hand from the right corner of the house to the left corner of the house, toward the altar and the house, all around the king. ¹² And he brought out the king's son, and put upon him the crown and the testimony, and they made him king, and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, Long live the king!

¹³ And Athaliah heard the voice of the guards of the people, and she came to the people in the house of Yahweh. ¹⁴ And she looked, and there stood the king by the pillar, as one would, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes, and shouted, Treason! Treason!

¹⁵ And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds, the overseers of the army, and said to them, Take her outside the ranks, and whoever follows her, kill with the sword. For the priest said, Do not kill her in the house of Yahweh. ¹⁶ And they laid hands on her, and went out by the horses' entrance to the king's house, and she was killed there.

¹⁷ And Jehoiada made a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, to become the people of Yahweh, and between the king and the people. ¹⁸ And all the people of the land went to the house of the Baal and broke it down. His altars and his images they shattered well, and they killed Mattan the priest of the Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed overseers for the house of Yahweh. ¹⁹ And he took the captains of hundreds, and the Carites, and all the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of Yahweh, and came by way of the gate of the guards of the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. ²⁰ And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was at peace, and they put Athaliah to death with the sword at the king's house. ^21(12:1)[20] King Joash was seven years old when he became king.

Chapter 12

^1(12:2)[21] In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign, and forty years he reigned in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Zibiah of Beer Sheba. ² And Jehoash did was was right in the eyes of Yahweh all his days while Jehoiada the priest instructed him.^{[22] 3} Yet the bamot were not removed. Still the people sacrificed and burnt incense at the bamot.^[23]

⁴ And Jehoash said to the priests, All the silver^[24] of the consecrated things that is brought to the house of Yahweh, the silver of a man passing over,^[25] the silver assessed to persons, [and]^[26] all the silver which any man willingly brings to the house of Yahweh, ⁵ let the priests gather it, each from his distributor,^[27] and let them repair the breaches of the house, wherever a breach may be found.

⁶ Now in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. ⁷ And King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and said to them, Why have you not repaired the breaches of the house? Do not collect any more silver from your distributors,^[28] but spend [what you have collected] on the breaches of the house. ⁸ And the priests agreed to take no more silver from the people and not to repair the breaches of the house [themselves].

⁹ And Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Yahweh. And there the priests who watched the entrance put all the silver brought into the house of Yahweh. ¹⁰ And then whenever they saw that there was much silver in the chest, the king's scribe and the high priest would come up, and collect it, and count the silver found in the house of Yahweh. ¹¹ And once accounted for, they gave the silver into the hand of the workers who oversaw the house of Yahweh, and they apportioned it to the woodcutters and builders who worked on the house of Yahweh, ¹² and to the masons, and to stonecutters, and to purchase wood and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of Yahweh, and for all that was set out to repair the house. ¹³ Yet there were not made for the house of Yahweh basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or any vessels of silver, from the silver brought to Yahweh's house. ¹⁴ Rather, they gave it to the workers, and with it repaired the house of Yahweh. ¹⁵ And they did not demand an account of the men whom they entrusted the silver to give to the workers, because they acted with integrity. ¹⁶ The trespass silver and sin silver was not brought into the house of Yahweh. It belonged to the priests.

¹⁷ Then Hazael king of Aram went up and fought against Gath, and captured it, and Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And Jehoash king of Judah took all the consecrated things that had been consecrated by Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, and his own consecrated things, and all the gold found in the treasuries of Yahweh's house and the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Aram, and he went up from Jerusalem.

¹⁹ And the rest of the deeds of Joash, and that he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?

²⁰ And his servants arose, and conspired against him, and struck down Jehoash at the house of Millo, which goes down Silla. ²¹ And Jozakar^[29] son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his servants, struck him dead. And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 13

¹ In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria for seventeen years. ² And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and walked after the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he made Israel to sin. He did not turn from them.

³ And Yahweh's anger burned hot against Israel, and he handed them over to Hazael king of Aram, and to Ben-hadad son of Hazael all the days [of their kingships]. ⁴ And Jehoahaz entreated the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him, because he saw Israel's distress, because the king of Aram oppressed them. ⁵ And Yahweh gave Israel a savior, and they got out from under the hand of Aram, and the Israelites dwelt in their tents as before. ⁶ Yet they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin. He walked in them, and also an Asherah stood in Samariah. ⁷ Yet he left to Jehoahaz a force of only fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand foot-soldiers, because the king of Aram destroyed them, and beat them to dust.

⁸ And the rest of the deeds of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ⁹ And Jehoahaz rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place.

¹⁰ In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel for sixteen years. ¹¹ And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. He walked in them.

¹² And the rest of the deeds of Joash, and all that he did, and how he fought mightily with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ¹³ And Joash rested with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne, and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

¹⁴ Elisha had become sick, on his deathbed. And Joash king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, My father! My father! The chariot of Israel, and its horsemen!

¹⁵ And Elisha said to him, Take a bow and arrows. And he took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶ And he said to the king of Israel, Take ahold of^[30] the bow. And he drew it, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. ¹⁷ And he said, Open the east window. And he opened it. And Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The victory-arrow of Yahweh, the victory-arrow against Aram. You will strike Aram in Aphek until they are finished. ¹⁸ And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Strike the ground. And he struck three times, and stopped. ¹⁹ And the man of God was angry with him, and said, Had you struck five or six times, you would have utterly struck down Aram. But now you will strike Aram three times.

²⁰ And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now Moabite raiders would come into the land at the beginning of the year. ²¹ Now, as they were burying a man, they happened to see a raiding-party, and they tossed the man into Elisha's tomb, and when the man came into contact with the bones of Elisha, he came to life and stood on his feet.

²² And Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ²³ And Yahweh was gracious to them, and had compassion for them, and looked favorably on them, on account of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and was not willing to destroy them, nor to cast them out from his presence at that time.

²⁴ And Hazael king of Aram died, and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his place. ²⁵ And Jehoash son of Jehoahaz retook the cities from the hand of Ben-hadad son of Hazael which he had taken from the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

Chapter 14

¹ In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan^[31] of Jerusalem. ³ And he did right in the eyes of Yahweh, but not as David his father. He did everything as Joash his father did. ⁴ Yet the bamot^[23] were not removed. Still the people sacrificed and offered incense at the bamot.

⁵ Now, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, he killed his servants who had killed his father the king. ⁶ But the sons of the murderers he did not kill, following what was written in the words of the law of Moses, which Yahweh commanded, saying, Fathers are not to be put to death for children, and children are not to be put to death for fathers; rather, each man will be put to death for his own sin.^[32]

⁷ He struck Edom in the valley of Salt, ten thousand killed, and captured the Sela in the war, and called its name Joktheel to this day.

⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us meet face to face.

⁹ And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter as wife to my son. And the wild beast which was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. ¹⁰ You have surely struck Edom, and your heart is proud. Enjoy the glory and stay at home. Now why should you start a disastrous quarrel and fall, you and Judah with you?

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. And Jehoash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah saw each other face to face at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² And Judah was beaten by Israel, and they fled each to his tent. ¹³ And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah at Beth Shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits. ¹⁴ And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the objects found in the house of Yahweh, and in the treasuries of the king's house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

¹⁵ And the rest of the deeds of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ¹⁶ And Jehoash rested with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

¹⁷ And Amaziah son of Joash lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. ¹⁸ And the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ¹⁹ And they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish, and they sent people after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁰ And they carried him on horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. ²¹ And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ²² He fortified Elath, and restored it to Judah. Afterwards the king rested with his fathers.

²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel became king in Samariah for forty-one years. ²⁴ And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. ²⁵ He restored the territory of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Yahweh, the god of Israel, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath Hepher. ²⁶ For Yahweh saw the lowly condition of Israel, very bitter, and there was no one left, bond or free,^[33] and no one to help Israel. ²⁷ And Yahweh did not say that he would wipe out the name of Israel from under the sky, and he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash.

²⁸ And the rest of the deeds of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he made war, and how he recovered Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ²⁹ And Jeroboam rested with his fathers, with the kings of Israel, and Zachariah his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 15

¹ In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. ² He was sixteen years old when he became king, and fifty-two years he reigned in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. ³ And he did right in the eyes of Yahweh, following all that Amaziah his father had done. ⁴ Yet the bamot^[23] were not removed. The people sacrificed and burnt incense at the bamot. ⁵ And Yahweh struck the king, and he became metzorah^[34] until the day of his death, and lived in an isolated house. And Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people of the land.

⁶ And the rest of the deeds of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ⁷ And Azariah rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his king was king in his place.

⁸ In the thirty-eighth year of Ahaziah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam ruled over Israel in Samaria six months. ⁹ And he did evil in Yahweh's eyes, as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he involved Israel in. ¹⁰ And Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him, and attacked him in front of the people, and killed him, and reigned in his place.

¹¹ And the rest of the acts of Zechariah, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

¹² This was the message from Yahweh which he spoke to Jehu, saying, Your sons to the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Israel. And so it was.

¹³ Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned a full month in Samaria. ¹⁴ And Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and struck Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, and killed him, and reigned in his place.

¹⁵ And the rest of the deeds of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he conspired, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ¹⁶ Then Menahem struck Tiphsah, and all who were in it, and its territory from Tirzah, because they did not let him enter. And he struck, and tore all its pregnant women.

¹⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel for ten years in Samaria. ¹⁸ And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he made Israel to sin, all his days. ¹⁹ Pul king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver for his support, to strengthen his hold on the kingdom. ²⁰ And Menahem exacted the silver from Israel, from all the wealthy men, to give to the king of Assyria, fifty shekels of silver from each one. And the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay in the land.

²¹ And the rest of the deeds of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ²² And Menahem rested with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.

²³ In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king over Israel for two years. ²⁴ And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he made Israel sin. ²⁵ And Pekah son of Remalaih, his captain, conspired against him and struck him in Samaria, in the fortress of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty Gileadite men. And he killed him and reigned in his place.

²⁶ And the rest of the deeds of Pekahiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

²⁷ In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria for twenty years. ²⁸ And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he made Israel to sin. ²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, and Abel Beth-maacah, and Janoah, and Kadesh, and Hazor, and the Gilead, and the Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and took them as captives to Assyria. ³⁰ And Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah, and struck him, and killed him, and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.

³¹ And the rest of the deeds of Pekah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

³² In the second year of Pekah son of Remailiah king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah became king. ³³ He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha, daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ And he did right in the eyes of Yahweh, following all that his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵ Yet the bamot^[23] were not removed. The people sacrificed and burned incense still at the bamot. He built the higher gate of Yahweh's house.

³⁶ And the rest of the deeds of Jotham that he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ³⁷ In those days Yahweh began to send against Judah Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah. ³⁸ And Jotham rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 16

¹ In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah became king. ² Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not do right in the eyes of Yahweh his god, like David his father. ³ And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire, following the abominations of the peoples whom Yahweh cast out before the Israelites. ⁴ And he sacrificed and burned incense at the bamot,^[23] and on the hills, and under every verdant tree.

⁵ Then Rezin king of Aram went up with Pekah son of Remalia king of Israel to Jerusalem for battle, and they besieged Ahaz but could not prevail. ⁶ At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, and drove away the Judahites from Elath. And Arameans came to Elath and settled there to this day. ⁷ And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Aram, and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me. ⁸ And Ahaz took the silver and the gold found in Yahweh's house, and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. ⁹ And the king of Assyria listened to him, and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and captured it, and exiled [its people] to Kir, and killed Rezin.

¹⁰ And King Ahaz went to meet Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria in Damascus, and saw the altar which was in Damscus, and King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest design of the altar and the pattern of its workmanship. ¹¹ And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. Thus Uriah the priest made it before King Ahaz returned from Damascus. ¹² And when King Ahaz returned from Damascus, the king saw the altar, and the king approached the altar and sacrificed upon hit. ¹³ And he sent his burnt offering up in smoke, and his meal-offering, and poured his drink-offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace-offerings upon the altar. ¹⁴ And he brought the bronze altar which was before Yahweh from the front of the house, from between the altar and Yahweh's house, and set it on the north side of the altar. ¹⁵ And King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, On the larger altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meal-offering, and the king's burnt offering, and his meal-offering, and the burnt offerings of all the people of the land, and their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings, and all the blood of the burnt offering, and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the brazen altar will be for me to divine by. ¹⁶ And Uriah the priest did so, according to all King Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷ And king Ahaz cut off the frames of the stands, and removed from upon lavor from upon them. And he took down the sea from upon the bronze oxen under it, and placed it on a pavement of stones. ¹⁸ And the portico of the sabbath which they had built in the house and the entry of the king outside he made turn to the house of Yahweh on account of the king of Assyria.

¹⁹ And the rest of the deeds of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ²⁰ And Ahaz rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 17

¹ In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah began to rule in Samaria over Israel nine years. ² And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, but not like the kings of Israel who were before him. ³ Shalmaneser king of Assyria came against him, and Hoshea became his servant, and sent him tribute. ⁴ And the king of Assyria found Hoshea guilty of treachery for sending messengers to So, king of Egypt, and for not sending up the annual tribute to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria had him bound and confined in prison.

⁵ And the king of Assyria came up through all the land, and went up against Samaria, and laid siege to it three years. ⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria seized Samaria and exiled the Israelites to Assyria, and put them in Halah, and in Habor, the Gozan River, and the cities of the Medes.

⁷ This occurred because the Israelites sinned against Yahweh their god, who brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and served other gods. ⁸ And they followed the customs of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out before the Israelites, and those that the kings of Israel had introduced.^{[35] 9} And they ascribed^[36] things that were not true to Yahweh their god, and they built them bamot^[23] in all their walled towns, from the watchtower to the fortifications. ¹⁰ And they set up for themselves memorial stones and Asherim on every lofty hill, and under every verdant tree. ¹¹ And they burnt incense at all the bamot,^[23] like the nations whom Yahweh drove out before them, and they did evil things, enraging Yahweh. ¹² And they served idols, of which Yahweh said to them, You must not do this thing.

¹³ And Yahweh testified against Israel and against Judah by all his prophets and all the seers, saying, Turn from your evil ways, and keep my commands and customs in accord with the whole law that I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. ¹⁴ And they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks, like the neck of their forefathers who did not trust in Yahweh their god. ¹⁵ And they rejected his customs, and his covenant which he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them, and they followed futility and became futile, and followed the nations who surrounded them, of whom Yahweh had commanded them, that they should not do as them. ¹⁶ And they abandoned the commands of Yahweh their god, and made themselves molten images, two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the army of the sky, and served the Baal. ¹⁷ And they made their sons and daughters pass through the fire, and used sorcery and enchantments, and sold themselves by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh, enraging him. ¹⁸ And Yahweh was furious with Israel, and removed them from his presence. None remained except the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹ Still Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their god, and walked in the customs which Israel had practiced. ²⁰ And Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel, and oppressed them, and handed them over to plunderers until he had cast them from his presence, ²¹ when he tore Israel away from the house of David, and they enthroned Jeroboam son of Nebat, and Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following Yahweh, and lead them into great sin. ²² And the Israelites walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he practiced. They did not turn from them ²³ until Yahweh removed Israel from his presence, as he said through all his servants the prophets. And Israel was led captive from his land to Assyria to the present day.

²⁴ And the king of Assyria brought [people] from Babylon, and from Kuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns. ²⁵ Now, when they began to live there, they did not fear Yahweh. And Yahweh sent lions among them, and some of them were killed. ²⁶ And they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The peoples who you exiled and settled in the towns of Samaria do not know the law of this land's god, and he has sent lions among them, and now they are slaughtering them because they do not know the law of this land's god.

²⁷ And the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Send them one of the priests that you brought from there, and have them go and settle there, and teach them the law of that land's god. ²⁸ And one of the priests whom they had exiled from Samaria came and settled in Bethel, and taught them how to serve Yahweh.

²⁹ Still, each people made its own gods, and put them in the temples of the bamot^[23] which the Samaritans had made, each people in their towns where they settled. ³⁰ And the Babylonians made Sukkoth Benoth, and the men of Kuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ and the Avim made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvim burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.^{[37] 32} And they served Yahweh, and appointed themselves priests for the bamot^[23] from among themselves, and they acted on their behalf at the bamot houses. ³³ They both feared Yahweh and served their own gods, following the custom of the peoples whom they exiled from there.

³⁴ To the present day they follow the old customs. They do not fear Yahweh, and they do not follow their rules and their customs, or the law and the commandment which Yahweh commanded the sons of Jacob, whom he named Israel. ³⁵ Yahweh solemnized a covenant with them, saying, You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them. ³⁶ But rather Yahweh, who brought you up from Egypt's land with great strength and outstretched arm, him you must fear, and him you must worship, and to him you must sacrifice. ³⁷ And the rules, and the customs, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall observe by practicing them forever, and you shall fear no other gods. ³⁸ And the covenant which I solemnized with you, you must not forget, nor must you fear other gods. ³⁹ But Yahweh your god you must fear, and he will rescue you from the hand of all your enemies.

⁴⁰ And they did not listen, but instead practiced the old ways. ⁴¹ And these nations feared Yahweh while serving their graven images, as did their children, and their children's children, as their fathers did, until the present day.

Chapter 18

¹ Now in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi, daughter of Zechariah. ³ And he did right in the eyes of Yahweh, like everything his father David had done.

⁴ He removed the bamot,^[23] and broke the memorial stones, and cut up the Asherim, and smashed the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because until those days the Israelites burned incense to it, and called in Nehushtan.^{[38] 5} He trusted in Yahweh, the god of Israel. After him there were none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor before him. ⁶ He clung to Yahweh. He did not turn away from following him, and kept his commandments, which Yahweh commanded Moses. ⁷ And Yahweh was with him: he succeeded in all his campaigns, and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and did not serve him. ⁸ He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortifications.

⁹ Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. ¹⁰ And they seized it after three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was seized. ¹¹ And the king of Assyria took Israel captive to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and in Habor of the River Gozan, and the cities of the Medes, ¹² because they did not obey the voice of Yahweh their god, but transgressed his covenant, all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded, and would not listen or observe.

¹³ And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified towns of Judah, and took them. ¹⁴ And Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, I have done wrong. Turn away from me. Whatever you demand of me I will bear. And the king of Assyria demanded of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah gave all the silver that was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king's house. ¹⁶ At that time Hezekiah stripped the doors of the temple of Yahweh, and the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave them to the king of Assyria.

¹⁷ And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rab-shakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a great force to Jerusalem, and they came up and went to Jerusalem. And they went up, and came and stood at the channel of Upper Pool, which is along the roadway of the fuller's field. ¹⁸ When they called for the king, Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the steward; Shebnah the scribe; and Joah son of Asaf the recorder came out to them. ¹⁹ And Rab-shakeh said to them,

Please tell Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: What is this confidence that you trust in? ²⁰ Do you think that mere words are counsel and might for war? Now, who is it that you rely on, that you rebel against me? ²¹ Now, it is clear that the staff you rely on, Egypt, is a crushed reed. If a man leans on it, it will go through and pierce his hand. So is Pharaph king of Egypt to all who rely on him. ²² And if you say to me, We rely on Yahweh our god, is it not he whose bamot^[23] and whose altars Hezekiah has removed, and said to Judah and Israel, You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem? ²³ So then, make a wager with my lord, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses, if you can supply riders for them. ²⁴ So how can you turn away even one minor captain of my lord's servants, and rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? ²⁵ Now, did I come up against this place without Yahweh to destroy it? Yahweh said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it.

²⁶ And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah said to Rab-shakeh, Please speak to your servants in the Aramaic language, because we understand it. Do not speak to us in the Judean language so that the people on the wall can hear.

²⁷ And Rab-shakeh said to them, Has my master sent me to speak these words to you and your master? No, it is to the men who are sitting on the wall, who will eat their own sh-t^[39] and drink their own p-ss^[40] with you.

²⁸ And Rab-shakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Judahite, and spoke, and said, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! ²⁹ Thus says the king: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, because he will not be able to rescue you from his hand. ³⁰ And do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, Surely Yahweh will rescue us, and this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. ³¹ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: make a covenant with me by tribute, and come out to me, and let each of you eat of his own vine and fig tree, and let each of you drink from the waters of his own well, ³² until I come and take you to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and honey, and you will live and not die. So do not listen to Hezekiah, when he encourages you, saying, Yahweh will rescue us. ³³ Have any of the gods of the nations managed to rescue his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?^[41] Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who among all the gods of the lands have rescued their land from my hand, that Yahweh should rescue Jerusalem from my hand?

³⁶ And the people kept silent, and did not reply a word to him, because the king's commandment was not to answer him. ³⁷ And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the steward; and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaf, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the things Rab-shakeh said.

Chapter 19

¹ Now when King Hezekiah heard, he tore his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Yahweh. ² And he sent Eliakim, the steward; and Shebna the scribe; and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz. ³ And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah. Today is a day of distress, and punishment, and shame, for the time of childbirth has come, but there is no strength to give birth. ⁴ Perhaps Yahweh your god will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the Assyrian king, his master, sent to pour scorn on the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your god has heard. So lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is here.

⁵ And the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. ⁶ And Isaiah said to them, Thus speak to your master: Thus says Yahweh: Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, by which the Assyrian king's lads have blasphemed me. ⁷ Indeed, I will put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor, and return to his land, and I will fell him by sword in his land.

⁸ And Rab-shakeh returned, and found the Assyrian king warring against Libnah, when he heard that he had turned away from Lachish. ⁹ And he heard of Tirhakah king of Kush, saying, Here he comes to fight against you.

And he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ Thus you will say to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Do not be deceived by your god, whom you rely on, saying, Jerusalem will not be handed over to the Assyrian king. ¹¹ Surely you have heard what the Assyrian kings have done to all lands, exterminating them. So how will you be delivered? ¹² Have the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed delivered them: Gozan, and Haran, and Retseph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? ¹³ Where are the Hamath's king, and Arpad's king, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, [or the kings of] Hena and Ivah?^[41]

¹⁴ And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it, and Hezekiah went up to Yahweh's house, and spread it out before Yahweh. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh, and said, Yahweh, god of Israel, seated on the cherubim: You are the god, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. ¹⁶ Yahweh, turn your ear and hear. Yahweh, open your eyes and see. And hear the words of Sennacherib, who sent him to defy the living God. ¹⁷ Truly, Yahweh, the Assyrian kings have laid waste to the nations and their lands, ¹⁸ and set their gods on fire, because they are not gods, but rather the work of human hands, wood and stones, and they destroyed them. ¹⁹ Therefore, Yahweh our god, save us from his hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you are Yahweh, the only god.

²⁰ And Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says Yahweh, the god of Israel. What you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard. ²¹ The is what Yahweh has said concerning him. Virgin daughter Zion has mocked and derided you. Daughter Jerusalem shakes her heard at you. ²² Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you lifted up your voice, turning your eyes upward? Against the holy one of Israel. ²³ By the hand of your messengers you have defied the Lord, and said, By my many chariots I have come up to the height of mountains, to Lebanon's loins, and I will cut down its lofty cedars and choice firs. I will enter the dwelling of his territory, the forest of his Carmel. ²⁴ It is I who have dug and drunk foreign water, and with the sole of my feet dried up all the besieged rivers.^{[42] 25} Have you not heard? Since ancient times I did it, and since the distant past I shaped it. Now I have brought it to pass, and you will become destroyed heaps of ruins of fortified cities. ²⁶ And their inhabitants are powerless, terrified and ashamed. They are like grass of the field, and green grass, like straw on a roof, grain blighted before it could grow. ²⁷ And I know where you live, when you plan for war, and how you rage against me. ²⁸ For your rage against me and your arrogance has come to my attention, and I will place by ring in your nose, and my bridle on your lips, and I will turn you back the way you came.

²⁹ And this will be the sign for you. Food for this year will grow up on its own, and spontaneously next year as well. And in the third year you will sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruits. ³⁰ And again the remnant of the house of Judah that remains will send roots downward, and bear fruit above. ³¹ From from Jerusalem goes forth a remnant, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of Yahweh Tsebaot^[43] will accomplish this.

³² Therefore thus says Yahweh to the Assyrian king: You will not enter this city, and you will not shoot an arrow there, nor approach it with shield, nor build siegeworks against it. ³³ By the way he comes, he will return, and he will not enter the city. An oracle of Yahweh. ³⁴ I will protect this city and rescue it for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.

³⁵ And then, that very night, an angel of Yahweh went out and struck the Assyrian camp: one hundred eighty-five thousand. And when they arose at dawn, they were all dead corpses before them. ³⁶ Sennacherib king of Assyria left, he went, he return, and stayed at Nineveh. ³⁷ And there, as he was prostrating himself in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons^[44] killed him with the sword,^[45] and they escaped to the land of Ararat.^[46] And Esarhaddon his son ruled in his place.

Chapter 20

¹ In those days Hezekiah was mortally ill. And Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, came to him, and said, Thus says Yahweh. Get your house in order. You will die, and not live.

² And he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to Yahweh, saying, ³ Please, Yahweh, please remember how I walked before you in truth and integrity, and have done good in your eyes. And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ Then, as Isaiah had not yet gone out the middle court,^[47] a message from Yahweh came to him, saying, ⁵ Go back and tell Hezekiah, the prince of my people, Thus says Yahweh, the god of David your father. I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Indeed, I will heal you. On the third day you will go up to the house of Yahweh. ⁶ And I will add to your days fifteen years, and I will rescue you and this city from the Assyrian king's hand, and I will protect this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.

⁷ And Isaiah said, Take a cake of dried figs. And they took and set it on the boil, and he revived.

⁸ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What will be a sign that Yahweh will heal me, and that I will go up to the house of Yahweh on the third day.

⁹ And Isaiah said, This will be your sign from Yahweh that Yahweh will do what he said. Should the shadow go forward ten steps, or backward ten steps.

¹⁰ And Hezekiah said, It is a minor thing for the shadow to move along ten steps. No, but rather, let the shadow go backward ten steps.

¹¹ And Isaiah the prophet called out to Yahweh, and he turned back the shadow along the steps that it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz, ten steps.

¹² At that time Berodach Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he heard that Hezekiah was ill. ¹³ And Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all the house of his valuables: the silver, the gold, the spices, and the good oil, and his armory, and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴ And Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, What did these men say? And where have they come to you from?

And Hezekiah said, From a far country. They have come from Babylon.

¹⁵ And he said, What have they seen in your house?

And Hezekiah said, They have seen everything in my house. There is nothing among all my treasuries that they have not seen.

¹⁶ And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear Yahweh's message. ¹⁷ Surely the days are coming, when all that is stored in your house, and all that your fathers stored up until the present day, will be carted off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says Yahweh. ¹⁸ And some of the sons born to you, whom you will father, they will be taken, and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the Babylonian king.

¹⁹ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, It is good, what Yahweh said to you. And he said, But surely there will be peace and security in my days.

²⁰ And the rest of the deeds of Hezekiah, and all his power, and how he made a pool, and a channel, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ²¹ And Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and Manasseh his son ruled in his place.

Chapter 21

¹ Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and for fifty two years he reigned in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzi-bah. ² And he did evil in Yahweh's eyes, with all the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed before the Israelites. ³ And he rebuilt the bamot^[23] which Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and set up altars to the Baal, and made an Asherah as Ahab king of Israel had done, and bowed down to all the heavenly army, and served them. ⁴ And he built altar's in Yahweh's house, of which Yahweh had said, In Jerusalem I will place my name. ⁵ And he built altars for all the heavenly army in the two courts of Yahweh's house. ⁶ And he made his son pass through the fire, and augured, and practiced sorcery, and worked with chthonic deities and spirits, and did great wickedness in Yahweh's eyes, provoking him. ⁷ And he set a molten image of the Asherah that he had made in the house of which Yahweh said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chose out of all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name forever. ⁸ And no longer will I make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I gave their fathers, only on the condition that you observe and do all I commanded them, and all the law which my servant Moses commanded them. ⁹ And they would not listen, and Manasseh incited them to do more evil than the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the Israelites.

¹⁰ And Yahweh spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, ¹¹ Because Manasseh, king of Judah, did these abominations, [and] has done more wickedly than the Amorites did who were before him, and has involved Judah also in sin with his idols; ¹² therefore thus says Yahweh, the god of Israel. Know that I will bring such catastrophe against Jerusalem that you ever hears of it, both his ears will ring. ¹³ And I will stretch out over Jerusalem measuring-rod of Samaria, the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes off a dish. He wipes it, and sets it upside down. ¹⁴ And I will cast away the remnant of my inheritance, and hand them over to their enemies, and they will be plundered and despoiled by all their enemies, ¹⁵ because they have done evil in my eyes and have been provoking me to anger from the day they left Egypt to the present day.

¹⁶ And also, Manasseh shed a massive quantity of innocent blood, until Jerusalem was filled from end to end, in addition to the sin in which he involved Judah, doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

¹⁷ And the rest of the deeds of Manasseh, and all he did, and the sin he committed, are they not written in the book of the annals of the king's of Judah? ¹⁸ And Manasseh rested with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza, and his son Amon ruled in his place.

¹⁹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled twenty-two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. ²⁰ And he did evil in Yahweh's eyes, just as Manasseh his father did. ²¹ And he walked in the path his father walked, and served the idols which he served, and worshipped them. ²² And he abandoned Yahweh, the god of his fathers, and did not walk in Yahweh's path.

²³ And Amon's servants conspired against him and killed the king in his house. ²⁴ And the people of the land^[48] killed all those who had conspired against king Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

²⁵ And the rest of the deeds which Amon did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the king's of Judah? ²⁶ And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 22

¹ Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. ² And he did right in Yahweh's eyes, and walked in the path of David his father, and did not turn away to the right or to the left.

³ Then in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, the king sent Shaphan son of Meshullam, the scribe, to Yahweh's house, saying, ⁴ Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and he will total up the silver that is brought into Yahweh's house, which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. ⁵ And have it delivered to the workmen who supervise the house of Yahweh, and let them give it to the workmen who do the work of the house of Yahweh, to repair the breaches of the house: ⁶ for craftsmen, and for builders, and for masons, and timber to repair the house. ⁷ Yet there was no account taken of the silver which was handed over to them, because they acted with integrity.

⁸ And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law of Moses in the house of Yahweh. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

⁹ And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and sent a message back to the king, and said, Your servants have poured out the money that was found in the house, and handed it over to the workmen who oversee Yahweh's house. ¹⁰ And Shaphan the scribe reported to the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it aloud before the king.

¹¹ Then, when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. ¹² And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam son of Shaphan, and Akbor son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and the king's servant Asahiah, saying, ¹³ Go inquire of Yahweh on my behalf, and on behalf of the people, and on behalf of all Judah, about the words of the book that has been found, because the wrath of Yahweh is greatly kindled against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book by doing all that is written about us.

¹⁴ And Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Akbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah son of Harhas, keeper of the clothing--she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter--and they spoke with her. ¹⁵ And she said to them, Thus says Yahweh, the god of Israel. Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ Thus says Yahweh. Surely I will bring disaster to this place, and against its inhabitants, all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read; ¹⁷ because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods, in order to provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will burn hot against this place, and will not be quenched. ¹⁸ And to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of me, tell him this. Thus says Yahweh, god of Israel. The words which you have heard, ¹⁹ because your heard was soft, and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants, that they would become a cursed wasteland, and tore your clothes and wept before me, therefore I have heard you. An oracle of Yahweh. ²⁰ Therefore, I will surely gather your with your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the disaster which I will bring against this place.

And they told this to the king.

Chapter 23

¹ And the king sent, and they assembled before him all the elders fo Judah and Jerusalem. ² And the king went up to Yahweh's house, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, great and small, and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Yahweh.

³ And the king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to follow Yahweh, and to keep his commandments and his regulations and his observances with all their heart and soul, to establish the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people solemnized the covenant. ⁴ And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second rank, and the keepers of the door, to brought out from the temple of Yahweh all the objects made for the Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the heavenly army, and he bruned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ⁵ And he dismissed the officiants whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the bamot^[23] in the cities of Judah, and in the environs of Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to the Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the heavenly host. ⁶ And he brought out the Asherah from Yahweh's house outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and pounded it to dust, and tossed the dust on the graves of the sons of the people. ⁷ And he broke down the houses of the qedeshim^[49] which were in Yahweh's house, where the women would weave cloths^[50] for Asherah. ⁸ And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the bamot where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba, and broke down the bamot of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on the left-hand side of the city entrance. ⁹ Yet the priests of the bamot did not come up to the altar of Jerusalem, but rather ate the unleavened bread among their brethren.

¹⁰ And he defiled the Tophet, which was in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, so that no one would make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech. ¹¹ And he did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun,^[51] at the entrance of Yahweh's house, toward the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the parwarim. Likewise, later in the verse, the phrase "chariots of the sun" could be read as "chariots of Shamash".^[52] And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. ¹² As for the altars which were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of Yahweh's house, the king tore them down and carted them away, and scattered the crushed pieces into the wadi Kidron. ¹³ As for the bamot^[23] which were in front of Jerusalem, which were south of the Hill of Destruction, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Kemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the disgusting thing of the Ammonites, the king made them ritually impure. ¹⁴ And he shattered the memorial stones, and cut down the Asherahs, and filled their places with human bones.

¹⁵ Also, as for the altar that was at Bethel, the shrine made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who involved Israel in sin, both the that altar and the shrine, he tore them down, and burned the shrine, and pulverized it, and burned the Asherah. ¹⁶ And Josiah turned and saw the graves which were there on the mountain, and sent and took the bones from the graves, and burned them on the altar, making it impure, following the message of Yahweh which the man of God announced, who announced these things. ¹⁷ And he said, What is this marker that I see?

And the men of the city said to him, The grave of the man of God who came from Judah, and announced these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel.

¹⁸ And he said, Leave him be. Let no one touch his bones. And they did not disturb his bones, nor the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. ¹⁹ Likewise, all the shrine houses which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made as provocations, Josiah removed them, and treated them as he had done at Bethel. ²⁰ And he sacrificed all the priests of the shrines that were there on the altars, and burned human bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ And the king commanded all the people, saying, Observe the passover for Yahweh your god, as it is written in the book of this covenant, ²² because no such passover was observed from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this passover was observed for Yahweh in Jerusalem. ²⁴ Additionally, all the mediums, and diviners, and idols, and vanities, and abominations that had appeared in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah did away with, with the aim of confirming the words of the law written in the book which Hilkiah the priest found in Yahweh's house. ²⁵ And there was no king like him before him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength, following all the law of Moses, and after him none like him arose.

²⁶ Yet Yahweh did not turn from his burning rage, his burning rage against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh provoked him. ²⁷ And Yahweh said, I will also remove Judah from my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will reject this city which I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name will be there.

²⁸ And the rest of the deeds of Josiah, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ²⁹ In his days Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, went up against the king of Assyria by the river Euphrates, and King Josiah went to meet him, and he killed him at Megiddo he saw him. ³⁰ And his servants brought him by chariot from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in own grave. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.

³¹ Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² And he did evil in Yahweh's eyes, just as his fathers had done. ³³ And Pharaoh Necho placed him under ward in Riblah in the land of Hamath, so that he could not reign in Jerusalem,^[53] and enacted tribute upon the land of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ³⁴ And Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Jehoahaz he took away, and he came to Egypt and died there.

³⁵ And Jehoiakim gave the gold and silver to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the silver that Pharaoh demanded. Of each of the people he exacted the amount assessed in silver and gold, to give to Pharaoh Necho.

³⁶ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah,^[54] daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷ And he did evil in Yahweh's eyes, just as his fathers did.

Chapter 24

¹ In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim was subservient to him three years, and then turned against him and rebelled. ² And Yahweh sent against him Babylonian troops, and Aramean troops, and Moabite troops, and Ammonite troops, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the message which Yahweh had spoken by the hand of his servants the prophets. ³ It was only by Yahweh's order that this came upon Judah, to remove them from his sight for the sins of Manasseh, for all he had done, ⁴ and especially for the innocent blood which he spilled. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which Yahweh would not forgive.

⁵ And the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ⁶ And Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son ruled in his place.

⁷ And the king of Egypt no longer came out from his land, because the king of Babylon took [the land] from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates all that had belonged to the king of Egypt.

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹ And he did evil in Yahweh's eyes, just as his father had done.

¹⁰ And that time there came up against Jerusalem the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and the city was besieged. ¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants pressed against it. ¹² And Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon: he, and his mother, and his servants, and his nobles, and his officials, and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

¹³ And he carried out from there all the treasures of Yahweh's house, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut up all the gold objects which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, according to the word of Yahweh. ¹⁴ And he carried away captive all Jerusalem, and all the nobles, and all the mighty men, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and metalworkers. None were left except poorest people of the land. ¹⁵ And he took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon; and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the leaders of the country, he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ And all the capable men, seven thousand; and craftsmen and metalworkers, a thousand; all who were strong warriors, the king of Babylon took them captive to Babylon.

¹⁷ And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

¹⁸ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal,^[55] the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ And he did evil in Yahweh's eyes, just as Jehoiakim had done, ²⁰ because on account of Yahweh's anger so it was in Jerusalem and Judah, until he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Chapter 25

¹ Now, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth [day] of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his forces, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it, and built fortifications against it all around. ² And the city was in a state of siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ And on the ninth [day] of the month, the famine was strong in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.

⁴ And the city was breached, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls, which is by the king's garden.^[56] As the Babylonians surrounded the city, he went on the way toward the plain. ⁵ And the Babylonian forces pursued the king, and overtook him on the plains of Jericho. And all his forces had scattered from him. ⁶ And they seized the king and took him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. ⁷ And they slaughtered Zedekiah's sons as he watched, and they blinded Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him in brass fetters, and brought him to Babylon.

⁸ And in the fifth month, on the seventh [day] of the month, which was in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ And he burned Yahweh's house, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every large house he burned with fire. ¹⁰ And all the Babylonian army under the captain of the guard broke down the wall surrounding Jerusalem.

¹¹ And the rest of the people left in the city, and those who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude were carried away by Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard. ¹² And the captain of the guard left the poorest people of the land as vinedressers and ploughmen. ¹³ And the Babylonians broke in pieces the pillars of bronze which were in Yahweh's house, and the stands, and the bronze sea which was in Yahweh's house, and carried their bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴ And they took away the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the bronze objects which were used in temple service. ¹⁵ And the captain of the guard took away the firepans, and basins which were of gold, of gold and of silver; ¹⁶ the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for Yahweh's house. The bronze of all these objects was beyond measure. ¹⁷ The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and its capital upon it was bronze, and the height of the capital three cubits, and the lattice-work and the pomegranates on around the capital were all of brass. And the second pillar and its lattice-work were similar.

¹⁸ And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. ¹⁹ And from the city he took one officer who was appointed over the men of war, and five men who had attended the king, who were found in the city, and the main army scribe, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. ²⁰ And Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ And the king of Babylon struck and killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And Judah was carried away from its land.

²² And as for the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, over them he appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan. ²³ When all the captains of the armies, they and the men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah, with Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan son of Kareah, and Seraiah son of Tanhumet the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maachathites, they and their men. ²⁴ And Gedaliah made an oath to them, and to their men, and said to them, Do not be afraid to be servants of the Babylonians. Stay in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.

²⁵ Now, in the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, of royal ancestry, came with ten men with him, and struck Gedaliah dead, along with the Jews and the Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. ²⁶ And all the people, from small to great, and captains of the forces, rose and went to Egypt, because they were afraid of the Babylonians.

²⁷ Now in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh [day] of the month, Ewil-Merodak^[57] in the first year of his reign elevated the position of Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. ²⁸ And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ And he changed his prison clothes, and he ate bread every day in his presence all the days of his life. ³⁰ And he was given daily provisions from the king all the days of his life.

Footnotes

1. (4:7) creditor. Following the Qere. The Kethib reads, debts.
2. (4:42) Baal Shalishah. Following the Masoretic Text; the Septuagint reads Baithsarisa.
3. (4:42) fresh grains in a sack. This Hebrew phrase, karmel betsiqlono, is of unclear meaning.
4. (5:1) Tzaarath, as described in the Bible, was a sort of spreading white skin disease. It does not clearly correspond to any modern disease, but is traditionally translated as "leprosy."
5. (5:5) shekels ... talents. A shekel was a unit of weight, around 11 grams, and a shekel of silver was a common monetary unit. Thirty shekels of silver would buy a slave. A talent (Hebrew kikkar) was a unit weighing three thousand shekels. The money brought by Naaman was thus an enormous amount.
6. (5:10) pure. In biblical thought, tzaarath (generally speaking) produced a state of ritual impurity.
7. (5:12) Abanah. Following the Kethib and the Septuagint. The Qere reads Amanah.
8. (5:15) a gift. Literally, a blessing.
9. (6:25) kab. A measure of volume. The Hebrew Bible does not indicate how much it might be.
10. (7:6) the Lord. Hebrew Adonai, literally "My Lords"; a term for God.
11. (8:15) thick cloth. The Hebrew word mikbar occurs only here; some render it as "blanket".
12. (8:21) Zair. A place by this name is mentioned only here.
13. (8:26) Athaliah, daughter of Omri - however, according to verse 18, his father's wife was the daughter of Ahab, Omri's son. One possible explanation is that the word translated as "daughter", bat, actually means granddaughter here. The word for son, ben, is used in a simar way; for example, the same person is reffered to as Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi in 9:2 and as Jehu son of Nimshi in 9:20.
14. (10:3) dynasty. Literally, house.
15. (10:6) heads - the double-meaning of this word works better in Hebrew, but can also be seen in the English: the word can also mean "leader".
16. (10:19) sacrifice. In the great majority of cases, the Hebrew term (zevah) refers uncomplicatedly to sacrifice. But in some cases it is used for the killing of humans (Isaiah 34:6, Jeremiah 46:10, Ezekiel 39:17).
17. In this verse, "servants of the Baal" are עֹבְדֵי הַבַּעַל (worshippers of the Baal), while "servants of Yahweh" are עַבְדֵי יְהוָה (slaves of Yahweh).
18. (10:27) dunghill. The Hebrew maharaah occurs only here, though a related word that has to do with evacuating the bowels occurs elsewhere. The editors of the Masoretic Text replaced it in the margin with a euphemism, considering maharaah too graphic a word to read aloud.
19. (11:6) massa. The meaning of this Hebrew term is unclear. It appears only in this verse.
20. This verse is counted as the last verse of chapter 11 in English Bibles, but the first verse of chapter twelve in Hebrew Bibles.
21. (12:1)/(12:2). The verse beginning In the seventh year is counted as the first verse of this chapter in English Bibles, but the second verse in Hebrew Bibles. This difference in numeration continues throughout chapter 12 of 2 Kings, so that the number of each verse in Hebrew is one larger than the corresponding English verse number.
22. (12:2) while Jehoiada the priest instructed him - that is, during Jehoiada's lifetime, but not after his death. This verse could alternatively mean "as Jehoiada instructed him"; the only reason to go with the former is the parallel text in Chronicles.
23. (12:3, etc.) bamot. Singular bama: a sort of open-air shrine, condemned by the Hebrew Bible. Bamot is often translated as "high places".
24. (12:4) money. Literally, silver (Hebrew kesef), throughout the verse.
25. (12:4) the silver of a man passing over. The Hebrew phrase is difficult, and some suggest that due to a copying error, the original read the silver assessed to a man.
26. (12:4) [and]. Kittel's Biblia Hebraica suggests that here the Hebrew for "and" (w-) has dropped out of the text.
27. (12:5) distributor. This is a vague guess at the meaning of the Hebrew makkar, which occurs only here and have been various translated as "benefactor" (NJPS), "donor" (NRSV), "him that bestoweth it" (JPS 1917) and "acquaintance" (KJV).
28. (12:7) distributors. As in verse 5.
29. (12:21) Jazakar. According to Kittel's Biblia Hebraica, many Hebrew manuscripts here read "Jozabad".
30. (13:16) take ahold of. The meaning of the Hebrew expression harkev yadka is not completely certain. Another possibility is draw back.
31. (14:2) Jehoaddan. Following the Qere. The Kethib appears to read Jehoaddin.
32. (14:6) The quote is from Deuteronomy 24:16.
33. (14:26) bond or free. The Hebrew expression, literally, restrained or left, occurs only here and in 1 Kings 14:10. Its exact meaning is uncertain.
34. (15:5) metzorah. Afflicted with what the Bible describes as a skin disease called tzara'at, traditionally translated as "leprosy" although its symptoms do not match that of modern leprosy.
35. (17:8) introduced. Or, practiced.
36. (17:9) "ascribe ... to". This Hebrew verb occurs only here, and is of uncertain meaning.
37. (17:31) "Sepharvaim". Follow the Kethib. The Qere reads something like Sepharim.
38. (18:5) Nehushtan. A word which in Hebrew transparently sounds like "bronze" (nehoshet) and "serpent" (nahash), both of which appear in this verse. The original story of this serpent can be found in Numbers 21:4-9.
39. (18:27) sh-t. The Masoretic text has a particular Hebrew word here, but with the vowels altered and a marginal note indicating that the more polite term excrement is to be read aloud instead.
40. (18:27) p-ss. The Masoretic Text has a particular Hebrew word here, but with the vowels altered and a marginal note indicating that the more polite euphemism "water of legs" is to be read aloud instead.
41. Hena and Iva - these place names, showing up only here and the parallel section of Isaiah, have alternatively been interpreted as verbs, which would render these verses as "... Sepharvaim? He [the king of Assyria]] has moved them and exiled them."
42. (19:24) besieged rivers. Montgomery (International Critical Commentary, 1951) suggests that here there has been a copying error, and that the text should reads "all the Nile-arms of Egypt".
43. (19:31) Yahweh Tsebaot. A title for God, sometimes interpreted Yahweh of Hosts or Yahweh of Armies. In the main text of Biblia Hebraica Kittel the term Tsebaot is missing, but a marginal note says that many manuscripts, various versions, and the parallel text in Isaiah all include it.
44. (19:37) "his sons". Following the Qere; the Kethib omits "his sons".
45. On a historical note, Sennacherib was assassinated by his own sons (Arda-Mulissu and Nabu-shar-usur) in one of the temples in Assyria; a different son, Esarhaddon, succeeded him.
46. (19:37) "Ararat". The biblical term for Urartu.
47. (20:4) "court". Following the Qere. The Kethib reads "city".
48. (21:24) Various interpreters have suggested that the expression "people of the land" refers to some specific social, economic, or governmental group, perhaps to the landed gentry.
49. (23:7) qedeshim. Some interpret the term as referring to male cult prostitutes.
50. (23:7) "cloths". The Hebrew word is difficult, and at first glance appears to be the word "houses".
51. (23:11) "to the sun". Or, "to [the god] Shamash".
52. (23:1) This Hebrew word appears only here, unless it is identical to parbar, which appears only in 1 Chronicles 26:18. The context does not make it clear what a parwar was (parwarim being the plural).
53. (23:33) "so that he could not reign in Jerusalem". Hebrew mmlk yrwšlm, following the Qere. The Kethib reads, by a difference of one letter, bmlk yrwšlm, "when he was king (?) in Jerusalem".
54. (23:36) "Zebudah". Following the Qere. The Kethib reads something like Zebidah.
55. (24:18) "Hamutal". Following the Qere. The Kethib reads something like "Hamital".
56. (25:4) garden. The Hebrew word refers to a space enclosed by walls, in which plants (including trees) can be grown.
57. (25:27) "Ewil-Merodak". This is the figure known to history as "Amil-Marduk".