Category: 2 Kings

Judah’s King Manasseh

1 Manassehwas 12 years old when he became king and reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.

2 He did what was evil in theLord’s sight,imitating the detestable practices of the nations that theLordhad dispossessed before the Israelites.

3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyedand reestablished the altars for Baal. He made an Asherah,as King Ahab of Israel had done;he also worshiped the whole heavenly hostand served them.

4 He built altars in theLord’s temple,where theLordhad said, “Jerusalem is where I will put My name.”

5 He built altars to the whole heavenly hostin both courtyards of theLord’s temple.

6 He made his son pass through the fire,practiced witchcraft and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists.He did a great amount of evil in theLord’s sight, provoking Him.

7 Manasseh set up the carved image of Asherah, which he made, in the temple that theLordhad spoken about to David and his son Solomon, “I will establish My name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

8 I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land I gave to their ancestors if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them — the whole law that My servant Moses commanded them.”

9 But they did not listen; Manasseh caused them to stray so that they did greater evil than the nations theLordhad destroyed before the Israelites.

10 TheLordspoke through His servants the prophets, saying,

11 “Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these detestable things— greater evil than the Amoriteswho preceded him had done — and by means of his idols has also caused Judah to sin,

12 this is what theLordGod of Israel says: ‘I am about to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that everyone who hears about it will shudder.

13 I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line used on Samaria and the mason’s level used on the house of Ahab,and I will wipeJerusalem clean as one wipes a bowl — wiping it and turning it upside down.

14 I will abandon the remnantof My inheritance and hand them over to their enemies. They will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies,

15 because they have done what is evil in My sight and have provoked Me from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until today.’ ”

16 Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end to another.This was in addition to his sin that he caused Judah to commit. Consequently, they did what was evil in theLord’s sight.

Manasseh’s Death

17 The restof the events of Manasseh’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

18 Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, the garden of Uzza. His son Amon became king in his place.

Judah’s King Amon

19 Amon was 22 years old when he became kingand reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah.

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

21 He walked in all the ways his father had walked; he served the idols his father had served, and he worshiped them.

22 He abandoned theLordGod of his ancestorsand did not walk in the way of theLord.

23 Amon’s servants conspired against the king and killed him in his own house.

24 Then the common peopleexecutedall those who had conspired against King Amon and made his son Josiahking in his place.

25 The rest of the events of Amon’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

26 He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.

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Judah’s King Josiah

1 Josiahwas eight years old when he became king and reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.

2 He did what was right in theLord’s sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David;he did not turn to the right or the left.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent the court secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to theLord’s temple,saying,

4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest so that he may total up the money brought into theLord’s temple — the money the doorkeepers have collected from the people.

5 It is to be put into the hands of those doing the work — those who oversee theLord’s temple. They in turn are to give it to the workmen in theLord’s temple to repair the damage.

6 They are to give it to the carpenters, builders, and masons to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the temple.

7 But no accounting is to be required from them for the money put into their hands since they work with integrity.”

The Book of the Law Found

8 Hilkiah the high priest told Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the book of the lawin theLord’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.

9 Then Shaphan the court secretary went to the king and reported,“Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the temple and have put it into the hand of those doing the work — those who oversee theLord’s temple.”

10 Then Shaphan the court secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book,” and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

11 When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.

12 Then he commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikamson of Shaphan, Achborson of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah:

13 “Go and inquire of theLordfor me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is theLord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”

Huldah’s Prophecy of Judgment

14 SoHilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetessHuldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah,son of Harhas,keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District.They spoke with her.

15 She said to them, “This is what theLordGod of Israel says, ‘Say to the man who sent you to Me:

16 This is what theLordsays: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read,

17 because they have abandoned Me and burned incense to other gods in order to provoke Me with all the work of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.

18 Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of theLord: This is what theLordGod of Israel says: As for the words that you heard,

19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before theLordwhen you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse,and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard you — this is theLord’s declaration —

20 therefore, I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace.Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.’ ”

Then they reportedto the king.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/2KI/22-c83d6a9369259303e382dce1b220a24a.mp3?version_id=72—

Covenant Renewal

1 So the king sent messengers,and they gathered all the eldersof Jerusalem and Judah to him.

2 Then the king went to theLord’s temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets — all the people from the youngest to the oldest. As they listened, he read all the words of the book of the covenantthat had been found in theLord’s temple.

3 Next, the king stood by the pillarand made a covenantin the presence of theLordto follow theLordand to keep His commands, His decrees, and His statutes with all his mind and with all his heart,and to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed tothe covenant.

Josiah’s Reforms

4 Then the king commanded Hilkiahthe high priest and the priests of the second rankand the doorkeepers to bring out of theLord’s temple all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and the whole heavenly host.He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.

5 Then he did away with the idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high placesin the cities of Judah and in the areas surrounding Jerusalem. They had burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon, constellations, and the whole heavenly host.

6 He brought out the Asherah polefrom theLord’s temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it at the Kidron Valley,beat it to dust,and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.

7 He also tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutesthat were in theLord’s temple, in which the women were weaving tapestriesfor Asherah.

8 Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high placesfrom Gebato Beer-sheba,where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate).

9 The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of theLordin Jerusalem; instead, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

10 He defiled Topheth,which is in the Valley of Hinnom,so that no one could make his son or daughter pass through the fireto Molech.

11 He did away with the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They had been at the entrance of theLord’s temple in the precincts by the chamber of Nathan-melech the court official, and he burned up the chariots of the sun.

12 The king tore down the altars that were on the roof— Ahaz’s upper chamberthat the kings of Judah had made — and the altars that Manasseh had madein the two courtyards of theLord’s temple. Then he smashed themthere and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.

13 The king also defiled the high places that were across from Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth, the detestable idol of the Sidonians; for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab; and for Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.

14 He broke the sacred pillars into pieces,cut down the Asherah poles,then filled their places with human bones.

15 He even tore down the altar at Betheland the high placethat Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had made. Then he burned the high place, crushed it to dust, and burned the Asherah.

16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mountain. He sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar.He defiled it according to the word of theLordproclaimed by the man of Godwho proclaimed these things.

17 Then he said, “What is this monument I see? ”

The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done to the altar at Bethel.”

18 So he said, “Let him rest. Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

19 Josiah also removed all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke theLord.Josiah did the same things to them that he had done at Bethel.

20 He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the high placeswho were there, and he burned human bones on the altars.Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Passover Observed

21 The king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover of theLordyour God as written in the book of the covenant.”

22 No such Passover had ever been kept from the time of the judges who judged Israel through the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah.

23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to theLordin Jerusalem.

Further Zeal for the Lord

24 In addition, Josiah removed the mediums, the spiritists,household idols,images, and all the detestable thingsthat were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this in order to carry out the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in theLord’s temple.

25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to theLordwith all his mind and with all his heart and with all his strengthaccording to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him.

26 In spite of all that, theLorddid not turn from the fury of His great burning anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had provoked Him with.

27 For theLordhad said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight just as I have removed Israel.I will reject this city Jerusalem, that I have chosen, and the temple about which I said, ‘My name will be there.’ ”

Josiah’s Death

28 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign,along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

29 During his reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egyptmarched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to confront him, and at Megiddowhen Neco saw him he killed him.

30 From Megiddo his servants carried his dead body in a chariot, brought him into Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb.Then the common peopletook Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.

Judah’s King Jehoahaz

31 Jehoahazwas23 years old when he became king and reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutaldaughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.

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

33 Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblahin the land of Hamathto keep him from reigning in Jerusalem, and he imposed on the land a fine of 7,500 poundsof silver and 75 poundsof gold.

Judah’s King Jehoiakim

34 ThenPharaoh Neco made Eliakimson of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.But Neco took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there.

35 So Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but at Pharaoh’s command he taxed the land to give the money. He exacted the silver and the gold from the common people,each man according to his assessment,to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

36 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah, from Rumah.

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

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Jehoiakim’s Rebellion and Death

1 DuringJehoiakim’s reign,Nebuchadnezzarking of Babylonattacked.Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, and then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 TheLordsent Chaldean, Aramean,Moabite,and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of theLordHe had spoken through His servants the prophets.

3 Indeed, this happened to Judah at theLord’s command to remove them from His sight.It was because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all he had done,

4 and also because of all the innocent blood he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood,and theLordwould not forgive.

5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

6 Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

7 Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again,for the king of Babylon took everything that belonged to the king of Egypt,from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Judah’s King Jehoiachin

8 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king and reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem.

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

Deportations to Babylon

10 At that timethe servants of Nebuchadnezzarking of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.

11 Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it.

12 Jehoiachin king of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the king of Babylon.

So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign.

13 He also carried off from there all the treasures of theLord’s temple and the treasures of the king’s palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had madefor theLord’s sanctuary, just as God had predicted.

14 Then he deported all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the fighting men,10,000 captives,and all the craftsmen and metalsmiths.Except for the poorest people of the land,no one remained.

15 Nebuchadnezzar deported Jehoiachin to Babylon. Also, he took the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16 The king of Babylon also brought captive into Babylon all 7,000 fighting men and 1,000 craftsmen and metalsmiths — all strong and fit for war.

17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’suncle,king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Judah’s King Zedekiah

18 Zedekiahwas 21 years old when he became kingand reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutaldaughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.

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

20 Because of theLord’s anger,it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that He finally banished them from His presence.Then, Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

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Nebuchadnezzar’s Siege of Jerusalem

1 In the ninth yearof Zedekiah’s reign,on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army.They laid siege to the city and built a siege wall against it all around.

2 The city was under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

3 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that the people of the land had no food.

4 Then the city was broken into,and all the warriors fledby night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden,even though the Chaldeans surrounded the city. As the king made his way along the route to the Arabah,

5 the Chaldean army pursued him and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah’s entire army was scattered from him.

6 The Chaldeans seized the kingand brought him up to the king of Babylonat Riblah,and they passed sentence on him.

7 They slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes. Finally, the king of Babylon blinded Zedekiah, bound him in bronze chains, and took him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Destroyed

8 Onthe seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.

9 He burned theLord’s temple,the king’s palace,and all the houses of Jerusalem; he burned downall the great houses.

10 The whole Chaldean army with the commander of the guards tore down the wallssurrounding Jerusalem.

11 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.

12 But the commander of the guards left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

13 Nowthe Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillarsof theLord’s temple, the water carts, and the bronze reservoir,which were in theLord’s temple, and carried the bronze to Babylon.

14 They also took the pots, the shovels, the wick trimmers, the dishes, and all the bronze articles used in temple service.

15 The commander of the guards took away the firepans and the sprinkling basins — whatever was gold or silver.

16 As for the two pillars, the one reservoir, and the water carts that Solomon had made for theLord’s temple, the weight of the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure.

17 One pillar was 27 feettall and had a bronze capital on top of it. The capital, encircled by a grating and pomegranates of bronze, stood five feethigh. The second pillar was the same, with its own grating.

18 The commander of the guardsalso took away Seraiahthe chief priest, Zephaniahthe priest of the second rank, and the three doorkeepers.

19 He took a court official who had been appointed over the warriors from the city; five trusted royal aidesfound in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and 60 men from the common peoplewho were found within the city.

20 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

21 The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor

22 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliahson of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over the rest of the people he left in the land of Judah.

23 When all the commanders of the armies — they and their men — heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite — they and their men.

24 Gedaliah swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don’t be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”

25 In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with 10 men and struck down Gedaliah, and he died. Also, they killed the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

26 Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, and the commanders of the army, left and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Pardoned

27 Onthe twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he pardoned King Jehoiachinof Judah and released him from prison.

28 He spoke kindlyto him and set his throne over the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.

29 So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and he dined regularly in the presence of the king of Babylon for the rest of his life.

30 As for his allowance, a regular allowancewas given to him by the king, a portion for each day, for the rest of his life.

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