
{1}1{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}In Samaria, King Ahaziah fell through the window from the 
second floor of his house and was badly injured. So he sent 
messengers to consult Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, "Ask him 
whether I shall survive this accident." [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}Then an angel of 
Yahweh said to Elijah of the town of Tishbe, "Arise, and go up to 
meet the messengers of the king of Samaria. You will say to them: 
Why have you come to consult Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Is it 
because there is no God in Israel? {R}_{I}4_{/}Now Yahweh himself gives 
you this answer: You shall not rise again from the bed where you 
lay down, but shall die there." So Elijah went.
{I}5_{/}Then the messengers returned to Ahaziah who asked, "How is it 
that you have returned?" {R}_{I}6_{/}They answered, "A man met us on the 
way, and he said to us: 'Return to the king who sent you and say 
to him in the name of Yahweh: Why do you send men to consult Baal-
zebub, the god of Ekron? Is there no God in Israel? Because of 
this, you shall not rise again from the bed where you lay down, 
but shall die there."
{R}_{I}7_{/}The king asked them, "What was the appearance of the man who 
met you on the way and told you this?" [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}They answered him, 
"The man wore a mantle of fur with a leather belt around his 
waist." The king then said, "He is Elijah from the town of 
Tishbe."
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}Ahaziah sent a captain of fifty men who went up with his 
fifty men to get him. Elijah was seated at the top of the 
mountain. The captain said to him, "Man of God, the king commands 
you to come down." {R}_{I}10_{/}Elijah answered the captain, "If I am a 
man of God, then may fire come down from heaven and devour you and 
your men." Fire came down from heaven and devoured him with his 
fifty men. {R}_{I}11_{/}The king again sent to him another captain of 
fifty who went up and said to him, "Man of God, the king says that 
you are to come down at once." [=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}Elijah answered, "If I am 
a man of God, then may fire come down from heaven and devour you 
and your men." Fire came down from heaven and devoured them all.
{R}_{I}13_{/}The king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third 
one went up and as he came, he fell on his knees before Elijah and 
said to him, "Man of God, I beg you to pardon me as well as my 
fifty men; we are all your servants. {I}14_{/}I have heard that fire 
came down from heaven twice and devoured the two captains with 
their fifty men. So now, do spare my life."
{R}_{I}15_{/}Then the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, "Go down with him 
and do not be afraid." {R}_{I}16_{/}So he stood up and went down with 
them to the king. And Elijah said to the king, "Listen to this 
word of Yahweh: Because you sent your messengers to consult Baal-
zebub, the god of Ekron, you shall not rise again from the bed on 
which you lie but shall die there."
{R}_{I}17_{/}Ahaziah died according to what Yahweh had said through the 
mouth of Elijah, and since he had no sons, his brother Jehoram 
reigned in his place in the second year of Jehoram, son of 
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. {R}_{I}18_{/}Everything referring to Ahaziah 
and his deeds is written in the Book of the Chronicles of the 
Kings of Israel.

{N}ELIJAH IS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN{/}

{1}2{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Yahweh took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. It 
happened this way: Elijah and Elisha had left Gilgal, and Elijah 
said to Elisha, {R}_{I}2_{/}"I beg you to stay here, for Yahweh is 
sending me to Bethel." Elisha said, "I swear by Yahweh and by your 
life that I will never leave you." So they went down to Bethel 
together. {R}_{I}3_{/}The fellow prophets in Bethel went out to welcome 
Elisha and said to him, "Don't you know that today Yahweh will 
take your master away from you?" He answered them, "Yes, I also 
know it. So, be quiet."
{R}_{I}4_{/}Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here, for Yahweh is only 
sending me to Jericho." Elisha answered, "I swear by Yahweh and by 
your life that I will never leave you." {R}_{I}5_{/}So they went on to 
Jericho.
The fellow prophets in Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, 
"Do you not know that Yahweh is to take your master away today?" 
Elisha answered, "Yes, I know it. Be quiet."
{R}_{I}6_{/}Elijah said once more to Elisha, "Stay here, I beg you, for 
Yahweh is only sending me to the Jordan." But Elisha answered, "I 
swear by Yahweh and by your life that I will never leave you." And 
as they went on their way, [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}fifty fellow prophets of 
Jericho followed them at a certain distance.
When Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan {R}_{I}8_{/}Elijah took his 
mantle, rolled it, and struck the water with it. The water parted 
to both sides and they crossed over on dry ground.
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}After they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "What 
shall I do for you before I am taken away from you? Ask me." 
Elisha said, "Grant that I may have the best of your spirit." 
{R}_{I}10_{/}Elijah answered, "Your request is most difficult. Yet if you 
see me while I am being taken from you, then you shall have it. 
But if not, you shall not have it."
[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}As they were talking on the way, a chariot of fire with 
horses of fire stood between them, and Elijah was taken up to 
heaven in a whirlwind. [=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}Elisha saw him and cried out, 
"Father, my father, chariots of Israel and its horsemen!"
When Elisha lost sight of him, he took hold of his own clothes and 
tore them. {R}_{I}13_{/}He then picked up the mantle which had fallen 
from Elijah and returned to the banks of the Jordan. {R}_{I}14_{/}There 
he struck the water with the mantle, but it did not part. So he 
asked, "Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?" And as he struck the 
water again it parted. Elisha crossed over.
[=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}The fellow prophets of Jericho saw him from the other 
side, and said, "The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha." And as 
they came to him, they bowed to the ground before him saying, 
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}"There are fifty valiant men here with us. Let them go 
in search of Elijah, for it may be that the spirit of Yahweh has 
left him in some mountain or valley." Elisha replied, "Do not send 
anyone." [=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}But they insisted so much that Elisha let them 
go, and they sent fifty men to search for Elijah. {R}_{I}18_{/}After 
three days they had not found him and they returned to Elisha, who 
had stayed in Jericho. He commented, "Did I not tell you not to 
go?"
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}19_{/}The men of the city said to Elisha, "The location of 
this city is good, as my lord can see, but the water is bad, and 
so the land is unproductive." {I}20_{/}He said to them, "Bring me a 
new pot with salt in it." When they brought it to him, 
{R}_{I}21_{/}Elisha went to the fountain and threw salt in it saying, 
"This is what Yahweh says: I have healed this water, never more 
will it cause death or sickness." {R}_{I}22_{/}And the water has remained 
wholesome to this day, just as Elisha said.
{R}_{I}23_{/}From there, he went up to Bethel. He was on his way when 
some youths came out from the city and made fun of him saying, "Go 
up, baldhead! Go up, baldhead!" {R}_{I}24_{/}Elisha turned around, looked 
at them and cursed them in the name of Yahweh. At once, two she-
bears came out of the forest and killed forty-two of them. 
[=]_{R}_{I}25_{/}From there Elisha set out for Mount Carmel, and from 
there he returned to Samaria.

{1}3{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Jehoram, son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria 
in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and he 
reigned for twelve years. {I}2_{/}He did what was displeasing to 
Yahweh, but not as his father or mother had done, for he removed 
the statue of Baal which his father had made. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}Nonetheless 
he clung to the sin of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which had 
become the sin of Israel, and did not depart from it.

{N}EXPEDITION OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH AGAINST MOAB{/}

{R}_{I}4_{/}Mesha, the king of Moab, had flocks of sheep. He paid the 
king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand 
rams with their wool annually. {R}_{I}5_{/}But when Ahab died, the king 
of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
{R}_{I}6_{/}At that time, King Jehoram set out from Samaria to mobilize 
the whole of Israel. [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}He also sent word to Jehoshaphat, 
the king of Judah, "The king of Moab has rebelled against me; will 
you come with me to fight against Moab?" Jehoshaphat answered him, 
"I will go with you, for you and I are one; my men and my horses 
are at your disposal." {R}_{I}8_{/}Jehoram asked, "By which way shall we 
go up?" And he answered, "By the way of the desert of Edom."
{R}_{I}9_{/}The kings of Israel, of Judah and of Edom had been going 
around for seven days, and there was no water for the soldiers and 
for the animals that followed them. {R}_{I}10_{/}Then the king of Israel 
said, "Yahweh has called us three kings to give us into the hands 
of Moab." [=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Then Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet 
of Yahweh here, through whom we may consult Yahweh?" One of the 
servants of the king of Israel said, "Elisha, son of Shaphat, is 
here. It was he who poured water on the hands of Elijah." 
{R}_{I}12_{/}And Jehoshaphat agreed, "Indeed, God's word comes to him." 
So the king of Israel, the king of Edom and Jehoshaphat went down 
to Elisha.
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do 
with you? Go see the prophets of your father or those of your 
mother." But the king of Israel asked him, "Has Yahweh perhaps 
called us three together to deliver us into the hands of Moab?" 
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}Elisha replied, "Had not Jehoshaphat the king of Judah 
been before me, I swear by Yahweh God of Hosts whom I serve, that 
I would not attend to you nor look at you. [=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}Now, bring me 
someone who plays the harp." As the musician played, the hand of 
Yahweh came upon Elisha {I}16_{/}and he said, "This is the word of 
Yahweh: Dig trenches and more trenches in this valley, {R}_{I}17_{/}for 
Yahweh says: You shall not see wind or rain, but the valley shall 
be filled with water, and you, your troops and your livestock will 
drink. {I}18_{/}This is an easy thing for Yahweh, for he shall give 
Moab into your hands. {R}_{I}19_{/}You shall conquer all the fortified 
cities, cut down all fruit-bearing trees, close up all the springs 
of water, and scatter stones in all the plowed fields."
[=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}In the morning, at the time of the offering, water came 
from the direction of Edom, and the whole country was flooded.
{R}_{I}21_{/}The Moabites had learned that the kings had come to attack 
them, so they gathered together all the men able to bear arms and 
positioned them at the border. {R}_{I}22_{/}When they woke up in the 
morning, they saw the sun shining upon the water, and this 
appeared to them as if it were blood. {R}_{I}23_{/}So the Moabites said, 
"Look at the blood; the kings have surely turned against one 
another and killed each other. Let us now go and gather the 
booty!" {I}24_{/}But when they came to the camp the Israelites 
confronted, defeated and routed them. The Israelites pursued and 
entered Moab. [=]_{R}_{I}25_{/}They destroyed the cities of Moab, and 
each man threw stones on the fertile land, until it was covered. 
They closed up the springs of water and cut down fruit trees. Only 
Kir-hareseth was left with stones, but men armed with slings, 
surrounded the city and began harassing it.
{R}_{I}26_{/}When the king of Moab saw that his enemies were winning, he 
gathered seven hundred warriors to break through the blockade, 
opposite the king of Edom. But they did not succeed. [=]_{R}_{I}27_{/}So 
he took his firstborn son who was to succeed him as king, and 
sacrificed him in the fire upon the wall. The fury that came upon 
the Israelites was great, so they withdrew from there and returned 
to their own land.

{N}THE WIDOW'S OIL{/}

{1}4{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}The widow of one of the fellow prophets called Elisha 
saying, "You know that my husband feared God. But now his creditor 
has come to collect payment. And as we could not pay, he wanted to 
take my two sons as slaves." {R}_{I}2_{/}Elisha said, "What can I do for 
you? Tell me what you have in your house?" She answered, "I have 
but a little oil for cleaning." {R}_{I}3_{/}Elisha said to her, "Go and 
ask your neighbors for empty jars. {I}4_{/}Get as many as you can; 
then go into your house with your sons and close the door. Pour 
oil into the vessels. And when they are filled, set them aside."
{I}5_{/}The woman went and locked herself in her house with her sons. 
They handed her the vessels and she filled them all. {I}6_{/}She said 
to one of her sons, "Bring me another vessel," and he answered, 
"There are no more." Then the oil stopped flowing.
{R}_{I}7_{/}As she went back to tell this to the man of God, he said to 
her, "Go and sell the oil to pay for your debts; you and your sons 
can live on the money that is left."

{N}THE RESURRECTION OF THE SHUNAMITE'S SON{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}8_{/}One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a rich woman invited 
him to eat. Afterwards, whenever he went to that town, he would go 
to her house to eat.
{R}_{I}9_{/}The woman said to her husband, "See, this man who constantly 
passes by our house is a holy man of God. [=]_{I}10_{/}If you want, we 
can make a small upper room for him, and place a bed, a table, a 
chair and a lamp in it. So when he comes, he may stay and rest."
{R}_{I}11_{/}One day when Elisha came, he went to the upper room and lay 
down. {R}_{I}12_{/}Then he said to Gehazi, his manservant, "Call this 
woman." She came when called and stood before Elisha.
{R}_{I}13_{/}Elisha said to her, "You have taken all this trouble for us. 
Tell me: what then can we do for you? Would you like me to say 
something to the king or the commander of the army for you?" But 
she answered, "I do not need anything in this land." {R}_{I}14_{/}So 
Elisha said to Gehazi, "What can we do for her?" The young man 
answered, "She has no children and her husband is now old."
{R}_{I}15_{/}And so Elisha said to him, "Call her." The young man called 
her and as the woman stood by the door, [=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}Elisha said, "By 
this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms." She 
answered, "No, my lord, O man of God, you are deceiving your 
maidservant."
[=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}But the woman gave birth to a son precisely at the time 
Elisha had told her.
{I}18_{/}The boy grew. One day, when he had gone out to his father 
among the harvesters, he had a severe headache. {I}19_{/}So the father 
ordered his servant, "Carry him to his mother." [=]_{I}20_{/}The 
servant brought him to his mother, and the boy sat on her lap till 
noon, when he died.
{R}_{I}21_{/}Then the mother went up and laid him on Elisha's bed and she 
left, closing the door. {R}_{I}22_{/}Then she called her husband, "Send 
me one of the servants with an ass. I am going to the man of God, 
and I will come back." {I}23_{/}He asked, "Why are you going to him? 
It is not the new moon yet nor the sabbath." But she said, "Do not 
worry."
{I}24_{/}She saddled the ass, and said to her servant, "Lead on, and 
don't stop until I tell you." {R}_{I}25_{/}So she set off and arrived at 
Mount Carmel where the man of God was.
Elisha saw her from afar, so he said to his servant, "Here comes 
our Shunamite. {I}26_{/}Run to meet her and ask: Are you well? How is 
your husband? And your son?" She answered, "Everything is all 
right." {R}_{I}27_{/}She went to the man of God, and embraced his feet. 
Then Gehazi came to draw her away, but the man of God said to him, 
"Leave her, for her soul is in bitter distress, and Yahweh has not 
made known to me nor has he revealed it to me." 
{I}28_{/}She said, "Did I ask, my lord, for a son? Why have you 
deceived me?" [=]_{R}_{I}29_{/}Elisha said to Gehazi, "Get ready, take my 
staff and go. If you meet anyone, do not stop to greet him; and if 
someone greets you, do not greet him in return. And as soon as you 
arrive, place my staff on the boy's face." {R}_{I}30_{/}But the boy's 
mother said, "I swear by Yahweh and by your life that I will not 
leave you." So Elisha arose and followed her.
{I}31_{/}Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy's face, 
but the boy did not move or give any sign of life, so Gehazi 
returned to meet them and said, "The boy has not revived."
{R}_{I}32_{/}Elisha came into the house, and found the dead boy lying on 
his bed. {I}33_{/}He entered, closed the door behind him, and prayed 
to Yahweh. {I}34_{/}Then he lay upon the boy, put his mouth upon the 
boy's mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, his hands upon the boy's 
hands, and warmth returned to the boy's body. {R}_{I}35_{/}Elisha came 
down and began walking to and fro. Then he went upstairs to 
stretch himself upon the boy, and the boy sneezed seven times and 
opened his eyes.
[=]_{R}_{I}36_{/}Elisha then called Gehazi and said, "Call the woman." 
And when she came, Elisha told her, "Take your son." {I}37_{/}She 
bowed at his feet, then she took her son and went out.
{R}_{I}38_{/}Elisha returned to Gilgal. There was great scarcity of food 
in the region, and when the fellow prophets came to sit with 
Elisha, he said to his servant, "Take the big pot and prepare some 
broth for the fellow prophets." {I}39_{/}One of them went out into the 
field to gather herbs; he found a wild plant, from which he 
gathered poisonous fruits, enough to fill his cloak. When he came 
back, he cut them into pieces and put them in the pot where the 
broth was being prepared, for he did not know what they were. 
{R}_{I}40_{/}Then the broth was served to the men to eat. But as soon as 
they tasted the soup, they cried out, "Man of God, this is pure 
poison!" So they did not eat any more. {R}_{I}41_{/}Then Elisha said, 
"Bring me flour." And he put it into the pot. Then he said, "Serve 
these men and let them eat." And there was no longer anything 
harmful in the pot.

{N}THE MULTIPLICATION OF LOAVES{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}42_{/}A man came from Baal-shalishad bringing bread and wheat 
to the man of God. These were from the first part of the harvest, 
twenty loaves of barley and wheat. Elisha told him, "Give the 
loaves to these men that they may eat."
{R}_{I}43_{/}His servant said to him, "How am I to divide these loaves 
among one hundred men?" Elisha insisted, "Give them to the men 
that they may eat, for Yahweh says: They shall eat and have some 
left over." [=]_{R}_{I}44_{/}So the man set it before them; and they ate 
and had some left, as Yahweh had said.

{N}NAAMAN HEALED OF LEPROSY{/}

{1}5{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Naaman was the army commander of the king of Aram. This 
man was highly regarded and enjoyed the king's favor, for Yahweh 
had helped him lead the army of the Arameans to victory. But this 
valiant man was sick with leprosy.
{R}_{I}2_{/}One day some Aramean soldiers raided the land of Israel and 
took a young girl captive who became a servant to the wife of 
Naaman. She said to her mistress, {R}_{I}3_{/}"If my master would only 
present himself to the prophet in Samaria, he would surely cure 
him of his leprosy."
{R}_{I}4_{/}Naaman went to tell the king what the young Israelite 
maidservant had said. {R}_{I}5_{/}The king of Aram said to him, "Go to 
the prophet, and I shall also send a letter to the king of 
Israel."
So Naaman went and took with him ten gold bars, six thousand 
pieces of silver and ten festal garments. [=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}On his arrival, 
he delivered the letter to the king of Israel. It said, "I present 
my servant Naaman to you that you may heal him of his leprosy."
{R}_{I}7_{/}When the king had read the letter, he tore his clothes to 
show his indignation, "I am not God to give life or death. And the 
king of Aram sends me this man to be healed! You see he is just 
looking for an excuse for war."
{R}_{I}8_{/}Elisha, the man of God, came to know that the king of Israel 
had torn his clothes, so he sent this message to him: "Why have 
you torn your clothes? Let the man come to me, that he may know 
that there is a prophet in Israel."
{R}_{I}9_{/}So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stopped 
before the house of Elisha. [=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Elisha then sent a messenger 
to tell him, "Go to the river Jordan and wash seven times, and 
your flesh shall be as it was before, and you shall be cleansed."
[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Naaman was angry, so he went away. He thought: "On my 
arrival, he should have personally come out, and then paused and 
called on the name of Yahweh, his God. And he should have touched 
with his hand the infected part, and I would have been healed. 
{R}_{I}12_{/}Are the rivers of Damascus, Abana and Pharpar not better 
than all the rivers of the land of Israel? Could I not wash there 
to be healed?" 
{R}_{I}13_{/}His servants approached him and said to him, "Father, if the 
prophet had ordered you to do something difficult, would you not 
have done it? But how much easier when he said: Take a bath and 
you will be cleansed."
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}So Naaman went down to the Jordan where he washed 
himself seven times as Elisha had ordered. His skin became soft 
like that of a child and he was cleansed.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Then Naaman returned to the man of God with all his men. He 
entered and said to him, "Now I know that there is no other God 
anywhere in the world but in Israel. I ask you to accept these 
gifts from your servant."
{R}_{I}16_{/}But Elisha answered, "I swear by Yahweh whom I serve, I will 
accept nothing." And however much Naaman insisted, Elisha would 
not accept his gifts.
{R}_{I}17_{/}So Naaman told him, "Since you refuse, let me get some sacks 
of soil from your land - the amount that two mules can carry. I 
shall use it to build an altar to Yahweh, for I shall not offer 
sacrifices to any other god but him. {R}_{I}18_{/}But may Yahweh pardon 
me: when my king goes to the temple of his god Rimmon, he leans on 
my arm, and I bow down with him. May Yahweh pardon me for this." 
{R}_{I}19_{/}Elisha answered, "Go in peace." And Naaman went.
Naaman was already at a certain distance, {R}_{I}20_{/}when Gehazi, 
Elisha's servant, thought: "Imagine that my lord refused to take 
the gifts that Aramean brought! As Yahweh lives, I will run after 
him and get some of them!"
{I}21_{/}Gehazi went after Naaman and Naaman saw Gehazi running after 
him, so he jumped out of his chariot to greet him. {R}_{I}22_{/}Gehazi 
said to him, "Pardon me, lord, my master sent me to say to you: 
Two young men from the community of the prophets have just come to 
me from the mountain of Ephraim, kindly give me a talent of silver 
and two new garments for them." Naaman replied, {I}23_{/}"Please 
accept two talents of silver."
He insisted that Gehazi accept them, so he put the two talents of 
silver with two new garments in two sacks, and handed them over to 
two of his servants who carried them before Gehazi. {R}_{I}24_{/}When 
they reached Ophel, Gehazi took them from their hands and put them 
away in his house. Then he sent the two servants of Naaman away, 
and they left.
{R}_{I}25_{/}When he appeared before his master, Elisha asked him, "Where 
have you been, Gehazi?" He answered, "Your servant has not been 
any place." [=]_{R}_{I}26_{/}Elisha replied, "Did not my spirit run after 
you when a man jumped out of his chariot to meet you? Well, you 
have received silver and can now buy olive groves, vineyards, 
sheep, oxen and servants. [=]_{I}27_{/}But you and all your decendants 
shall be infected with the leprosy of Naaman forever." And Gehazi 
left his presence with leprosy, as white as snow.

{1}6{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Now the fellow prophets said to Elisha, "See, the place where 
we are gathered has become too small for us. {R}_{I}2_{/}Let us go to the 
Jordan, and let each of us get a log to build a shed where we can 
gather." Elisha answered, "Go." {I}3_{/}Then one of them said to him, 
"Why do you not come along with us?" {R}_{I}4_{/}So Elisha went with 
them. And when they arrived at the Jordan, they began to cut down 
the trees. {R}_{I}5_{/}But as one of them was cutting a tree, his axehead 
fell into the river, and he exclaimed, "O my master, the iron 
piece that you have lent me!" The man of God asked him, 
{R}_{I}6_{/}"Where did it fall?" And he showed Elisha the place. Elisha 
cut off a stick, threw it in there, and the iron piece floated. 
{R}_{I}7_{/}Elisha said, "Get it." The man reached out his hand and took 
it. 

{N}ELISHA CAPTURES AN ARMED BAND OF ARAMEANS{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}8_{/}At that time when the king of Aram was raiding Israel, he 
consulted with his officials, and told them, "Let us attack that 
people." {R}_{I}9_{/}But the man of God sent a message to the king of 
Israel, "Guard this place for the Arameans shall go there." 
{R}_{I}10_{/}So the king of Israel sent men to the place indicated by the 
man of God, and they kept watch there. And this happened several 
times. {R}_{I}11_{/}The king of Aram was worried because of these things, 
so he called his officials and told them, "Go and find out who is 
revealing our plans to the king of Israel." {R}_{I}12_{/}One of his 
officials said, "None of us has betrayed you, my king, but Elisha, 
the prophet who is in Israel, makes known to his king even the 
words you say in your bedroom."
{R}_{I}13_{/}The king answered them, "Go then and find out where he 
lives, that I may send people to arrest him." When they told him 
that Elisha was in Dothan, {I}14_{/}he sent chariots, horses and 
strong troops who arrived there by night and surrounded the city. 
{R}_{I}15_{/}On the following day, when the servant of the man of God 
rose early in the morning, he went out and saw the Arameans 
surrounding the city with their chariots and horses. He said to 
Elisha, "O my master, what shall we do?" {I}16_{/}He answered, "Do not 
fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with 
them." {R}_{I}17_{/}Elisha prayed and said, "Yahweh, open his eyes that 
he may see." Yahweh opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw the 
hill full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha.
[=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}As the Arameans came down to him, Elisha again prayed to 
Yahweh, "Blind them." So Yahweh made them unable to see as Elisha 
had asked. {R}_{I}19_{/}Elisha told them, "This is not the way nor is 
this the city. Follow me and I shall bring you to the man whom you 
seek." And he led them to Samaria. {R}_{I}20_{/}When they had entered 
Samaria, Elisha said, "Yahweh open their eyes that they may see," 
and they saw they were in Samaria.
{R}_{I}21_{/}When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, "My 
father, should I kill them?" {R}_{I}22_{/}He answered, "If you do not 
kill those whom you have captured with your sword and your bow, 
how can you kill these men? Give them bread and water so they may 
eat and drink, and let them return to their master."
{R}_{I}23_{/}So the king served them a grand banquet, and they ate and 
drank. Then he sent them away to their master. From that day on, 
the troops of Aram did not return any more to invade the 
territories of Israel.

{N}FAMINE AND THE LIBERATION OF SAMARIA{/}

{R}_{I}24_{/}Afterwards Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, gathered together 
all his troops and went to lay siege to Samaria. {R}_{I}25_{/}There was 
great famine in Samaria; so great was the misery that the head of 
an ass was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a half-liter of 
chickpeas for five pieces of silver.
{R}_{I}26_{/}The king of Israel was walking by upon the wall when a woman 
cried out to him, "Save me, my lord King!" {R}_{I}27_{/}The king 
answered, "In what way can I help you? If Yahweh does not give you 
bread, where shall I get it? {I}28_{/}What is the matter?" She 
answered, "That woman told me: give up your son that we may eat 
him today, and then we will eat my son tomorrow. [=]_{I}29_{/}So we 
cooked my son and ate him. But on the next day, when I said to 
her: Take your son that we may eat him, she had hidden him."
{R}_{I}30_{/}When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his 
clothes. He was upon the wall, and the people saw that he was 
wearing sackcloth under his tunic. {R}_{I}31_{/}The king swore: "May the 
Lord punish me, if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, remains 
on his shoulders today." And the king sent a guard to Elisha's 
house. 
[*]_{R}_{I}32_{/}Elisha was seated in his house and the elders were 
sitting with him. Before the messenger's arrival, Elisha said to 
them, "Do you not know that this murderer has ordered someone to 
cut my head off? Well then, when the messenger comes, shut the 
door and do not let him in. Behind him, I hear the sound of his 
master's footsteps." {I}33_{/}He was still talking to them, when the 
king arrived. The king said, "If all this evil comes from Yahweh, 
why should I still trust him?"

{1}7{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}But Elisha answered, "Listen to the word of Yahweh: Tomorrow 
at this same time, at the gate of Samaria, a measure of flour 
shall be sold for a piece of silver, and two measures of barley 
for a piece of silver, too." {R}_{I}2_{/}The shield bearer on whose arm 
the king leaned said to the man of God, "Even if Yahweh opens the 
windows of heaven for it to rain wheat, how could this thing be?" 
Elisha answered, "You shall see it with your own eyes, but you 
shall not eat of it."

{I}3_{/}Four men were at the city gates, outside, at the other side of 
the wall. They were lepers. And on that day, they said to one 
another, "Shall we sit here until we die? {I}4_{/}If we decide to 
enter the city, there we shall die of hunger. But if we stay here, 
we die as well. So let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If 
they spare our lives, then we live; and if they kill us, then let 
us die!"
{I}5_{/}They arose as it was getting dark to go to the camp of the 
Arameans. But when they reached the camp, they found no one there. 
{R}_{I}6_{/}The Lord had let the Arameans hear the noise of chariots and 
horses, the sound of a great army. And they had thought: "The king 
of Israel has sent money to the kings of the Hittites and 
Moshrites to come and attack us."
{I}7_{/}So they fled as it was getting dark to save themselves, 
abandoning their tents, their horses, and their asses, leaving the 
camp just as it was. {I}8_{/}When these lepers reached the camp 
boundary, they went into a tent. They ate and drank; they took the 
silver, gold and clothes, and hid them there in the ground. They 
entered another tent and took whatever they found, and hid them in 
the same way.
{R}_{I}9_{/}Then they thought: "What we are doing is not good. Today is a 
day of good tidings, and if we keep silent until tomorrow, we 
shall be guilty. So let us go and tell this to the king's men." 
{I}10_{/}Returning to the city, they called out to the city guards, 
saying, "We went to the camp of the Arameans but no one was there, 
not a trace of anyone, only horses and asses tied, and the tents 
just as they were left." {R}_{I}11_{/}The guards cried out the news and 
it was told within the king's household.
{R}_{I}12_{/}The king arose in the night and said to his officials, "The 
Arameans know that we are hungry. They have left their camp and 
have hidden in the field, waiting for us to come out of the city 
that they may take us alive and then get into the city." {I}13_{/}One 
of the officials answered, "Let some men take five of the 
remaining horses for, at any rate, these are also bound to die of 
hunger, as are all the people of this city. Dispatch them and 
see." {R}_{I}14_{/}So they took two chariots and their horses, and the 
king sent the horsemen after the Arameans. {R}_{I}15_{/}They went as far 
as the Jordan, and all the way was littered with clothes and 
equipment which the Arameans had thrown away in their flight.
The messengers returned and told this to the king. {R}_{I}16_{/}Then the 
people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. A measure 
of flour was sold for a piece of silver and a double measure of 
barley was also sold for a piece, as Elisha had said. {R}_{I}17_{/}The 
king had appointed his shield bearer to keep watch at the city 
gates. But he was crushed right there by the crowd, so that he 
died, {R}_{I}18_{/}just as Elisha had told him when the king had come 
down to see him.
For when Elisha had said to the king, "Tomorrow at this hour, at 
the gate of Samaria, two measures of barley as well as a measure 
of flour shall be sold for a shekel," {R}_{I}19_{/}the shield bearer had 
said to the man of God, "Even if Yahweh opens the windows of 
heaven for it to rain down wheat, what you say will not happen." 
Then Elisha had told him, "You shall see it with your own eyes, 
but you shall not eat of it." {I}20_{/}So it happened. The people ran 
over him and crushed him at the city gates, and there he died.

{1}8{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had brought 
back to life, "Arise, and go with your family to live in another 
place, wherever it seems best for you, because Yahweh has called 
for a famine and it will come upon the land for seven years." 
{R}_{I}2_{/}The woman did what the man of God told her to do - she went 
with her family to the land of the Philistines and stayed there 
for seven years.
{R}_{I}3_{/}At the end of the seven years, the woman came back to her 
land and went to ask the king for her house and field. 
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}The king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man 
of God, saying, "Tell me all the marvelous things Elisha has 
done." {R}_{I}5_{/}As Gehazi was narrating how Elisha had restored the 
dead to life, the woman showed up, she whose very son Elisha had 
raised from the dead. She was claiming back from the king her 
house and field. Gehazi said, "This, my lord, is the woman, and 
this is her son whom Elisha raised from the dead."
{R}_{I}6_{/}The king asked her about what had happened, and she recounted 
it to him. Then the king immediately sent a palace official with 
her, and said to him, "See to it that all her properties are 
returned to her with all the produce of her field from the day she 
left her land until now."

{N}ELISHA AND HAZAEL OF DAMASCUS{/}

{R}_{I}7_{/}Elisha went to Damascus. Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, was 
sick. When he was told that the man of God had come, {R}_{I}8_{/}he said 
to Hazael, "Go to the man of God and consult Yahweh through him, 
that I may know if I shall recover from this sickness. But take 
with you a good gift."
{R}_{I}9_{/}So Hazael went to see Elisha, taking with him all the best he 
could find in Damascus, forty camel loads of gifts. When he came 
before Elisha, he said to him, "Your son, Ben-hadad, the king of 
Aram, has sent me to ask you: Shall I recover from this sickness?" 
{R}_{I}10_{/}Elisha answered, "Go and tell him that he shall recover. But 
Yahweh has shown me that he shall certainly die."
{R}_{I}11_{/}Then the face of the man of God became rigid, his gaze fixed 
and he began to weep. [=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}Hazael asked him, "Why do you 
weep, my lord?" He answered, "Because I have just seen the evil 
you will do to the children of Israel: you shall set on fire their 
fortresses, kill their young men by the sword, crush their 
children, and rip open the womb of pregnant women." {R}_{I}13_{/}Hazael 
told him, "Who am I, your servant, that I should carry out such 
exploits?" Elisha answered, "I have just had a vision: Yahweh has 
made you king of Aram."
{R}_{I}14_{/}Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master who asked him, 
"What has Elisha said to you?" He answered, "He has told me that 
you shall surely live." {R}_{I}15_{/}But on the following day, Hazael 
took a mantle, dipped it in water, and pressed it down on the 
king's face until he died. And so, Hazael succeeded him as king of 
Aram.
{R}_{I}16_{/}In the fifth year of Joram, son of Ahab and king of Israel, 
Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah began to reign. 
{R}_{I}17_{/}He was thirty-two years old when he began his reign, and he 
reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. [=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}He followed the 
footsteps of the kings of Israel and acted in everything like the 
family of Ahab. Because he had married the daughter of Ahab, he 
acted very badly with Yahweh. [=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}However, Yahweh would not 
destroy Judah for the sake of his servant David, according to the 
promise he had made to keep his lamp burning forever, which 
referred to David's descendants.
{R}_{I}20_{/}In his days, the Edomites rebelled against the rule of 
Judah, and proclaimed a king of their own. {I}21_{/}Then Joram went to 
attack the city of Zair with all his chariots of war. Rising by 
night he managed to escape from the Edomites, who had surrounded 
him and his chariot commanders, but the troops had fled. 
{R}_{I}22_{/}Thus Edom has rebelled against Judah to this day. At that 
time, the city of Libnah also rebelled.
{R}_{I}23_{/}The rest of the deeds of Joram and his bravery are written 
in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. {R}_{I}24_{/}When 
Joram died, they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, 
and his son Ahaziah succeeded him.

{N}AHAZIAH, KING OF JUDAH{/}

{R}_{I}25_{/}Ahaziah, son of Joram, king of Judah, began to reign in the 
twelfth year of Joram, son of Ahab, king of Israel. {R}_{I}26_{/}Ahaziah 
was twenty-two years old when he began his reign, and he reigned 
for a year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, daughter of 
Omri, king of Israel. {I}27_{/}He followed in the footsteps of Ahab 
and acted badly towards Yahweh like those in the family of Ahab 
had done, since he was related to Ahab's family. [=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}He went 
with Joram, the son of Ahab, to make war against Hazael, the king 
of Aram, at Ramoth of Gilead. {I}29{/}But the Arameans wounded Joram 
who returned from Ramoth to Jezreel to recover from his wounds. 
After a while, Ahaziah, the king of Judah, went to Jezreel to 
visit him as he was recuperating.

{N}JEHU IS ANOINTED KING OF ISRAEL{/}

{1}9{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}The prophet Elisha called one of the fellow prophets, and 
said to him, "Prepare to go to the city of Ramoth in Gilead taking 
this bottle of oil. {I}2_{/}Look there for Jehu, the son of 
Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Make him leave his companions, and 
lead him to a place apart from them. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}There you shall take 
the bottle and pour the oil on his head, saying: Yahweh has 
anointed you king of Israel. Then open the door and flee without 
delay." {R}_{I}4_{/}So the young man went to Ramoth.
{I}5_{/}When he arrived, the commanders of the army were seated 
together, and he said, "I have to talk with you, commander." Jehu 
asked, "To which of us?" He answered, "To you, commander." {R}_{I}6_{/}So 
Jehu arose and went into the house.
Then the young man poured the oil on Jehu's head, and said to him, 
"Yahweh, the God of Israel, has consecrated you king of the people 
of Israel. Thus says Yahweh: [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}You shall overthrow the 
kings of the family of Ahab, that I may avenge the blood of my 
servants, the prophets, whom Jezebel has murdered. {I}8_{/}I shall 
destroy the family of Ahab and all their men shall perish. 
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}The family of Ahab shall be like the family of Jeroboam 
and the family of Baasha. {R}_{I}10_{/}And regarding Jezebel, no one 
shall bury her, for the dogs shall devour her in the field of 
Jezreel." Then the young man opened the door and fled.
[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Jehu came out to join the officers of the king. They 
said to him, "What happened? Why did that fool call you?" Jehu 
answered, "You know that fellow and you also know why he came." 
{R}_{I}12_{/}They said, "We do not know anything. Tell us what he said to 
you." He answered, "These are his exact words: Yahweh has 
consecrated you king of Israel."
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Then all the commanders, the companions of Jehu, took 
their cloaks and put them on a wooden platform in the shape of a 
throne. And with blast of trumpets, they proclaimed, "Jehu is 
king!"
{R}_{I}14_{/}Thus Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired 
against Joram. At that time, Joram was with the Israelites 
defending the city of Ramoth in Gilead against Hazael, king of 
Aram, {R}_{I}15_{/}but Joram had retreated to Jezreel to recover from the 
wounds he had received in battle.
Jehu said, "If it seems good to you, let no one leave the city, 
lest they go and tell the news to the king in Jezreel." {R}_{I}16_{/}Jehu 
then mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, where Joram lay 
sick, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, had gone to visit him.
{I}17_{/}The watchman at the tower in Jezreel saw the retinue of Jehu 
coming and said, "I see a company." Joram said, "Take your horse 
and run to meet them, and ask them if they have any news."
{R}_{I}18_{/}So the man went out to meet them and said, "The king sent me 
to ask if you have any news." Jehu answered, "Do not worry about 
the news. Turn around and follow me." And the watchman immediately 
reported, "The messenger reached them, but he has not returned."
{R}_{I}19_{/}They sent another messenger who came to them and said, "The 
king wants to know if you bring any news." And Jehu again 
answered, "Do not worry about the news, turn around and ride 
behind me." [=]_{I}20_{/}Again the watchman reported, "He has reached 
them, but has not returned. The way of driving of him who comes 
resembles that of Jehu, son of Nimshi, for he drives like a 
madman."
{R}_{I}21_{/}Joram then said, "Harness the horses of my chariot." And 
Joram, the king of Israel, went out with Ahaziah, the king of 
Judah, each in his chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him in the 
field of Naboth of Jezreel.

{N}JEHU MURDERS JORAM{/}

{I}22_{/}When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, "Do you bring peace, Jehu?" 
Jehu answered, "Why do you ask for peace when the prostitution of 
your mother, Jezebel, and her many sorceries still continue?" 
{I}23_{/}So Joram turned his chariot around and fled, saying to 
Ahaziah, "Treachery, Ahaziah!"
{R}_{I}24_{/}Jehu then drew his bow with all his strength and shot Joram 
in the back, so that the arrow pierced his heart. And Joram fell 
dead in his chariot.
{I}25_{/}Jehu said to his shield bearer Bidkar, "Take the body and 
throw it in the field of Naboth of Jezreel; for remember, when we 
served together in the cavalry of his father, Ahab, Yahweh 
pronounced this sentence against him: [=]_{I}26_{/}I swear that in 
this field, I shall take vengeance on you, for the blood of Naboth 
and for the blood of his sons which I saw you shed yesterday. So 
take his body and throw it into the field according to the word of 
Yahweh."
{R}_{I}27_{/}As for Ahaziah, the king of Judah, he fled in the direction 
of Beth-haggan. Jehu pursued him, crying out, "Kill him, too!" And 
they shot him in his chariot at the slope of Gur near Ibleam. He 
reached Megiddo, took refuge there and died. {R}_{I}28_{/}His servants 
carried his body in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him with 
his fathers in the city of David. {R}_{I}29_{/}Ahaziah had begun his 
reign in Judah in the eleventh year of Joram, son of Ahab.

{N}JEZEBEL IS KILLED{/}

[\u0095]_{I}30_{/}Jehu entered the city of Jezreel. When Jezebel learned 
this, she painted her eyes, adorned her neck, and looked out of 
the window. {I}31_{/}As Jehu entered the gates, she said to him, "Do 
you bring peace? Will you not have Zimri's fate after murdering 
your master?"
{I}32_{/}Jehu looked up to the window and cried out, "Who is on my 
side?" Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. {I}33_{/}He ordered 
them, "Throw her down." They threw her down through the window, 
and her blood splashed on the walls and on the horses, and Jehu in 
his chariot ran over her.
{R}_{I}34_{/}Jehu entered Jezreel. After he had eaten and drunk, he gave 
these orders, "Take care of that cursed woman and bury her, for 
she was a king's daughter." {I}35_{/}They went to bury her, but they 
found no more than her hands and feet with the skull. 
[=]_{R}_{I}36_{/}When they told Jehu about it, he said, "This is what 
Elijah of Tishbe said in the name of Yahweh: In the field of 
Jezreel, the dogs shall eat Jezebel. {I}37_{/}Her body shall be as 
dung on the land, so that no one can say: This was Jezebel."

{N}AHAB'S FAMILY IS WIPED OUT{/}

{1}10{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}The seventy sons of Ahab lived in Samaria. So Jehu wrote 
letters and sent them to Samaria, to the leaders of the city, to 
the judges and to those who took care of the sons of Ahab, saying, 
{R}_{I}2_{/}"As soon as this letter comes to you who have the king's 
sons, chariots of war and horses, fortified cities and weapons, 
{I}3_{/}select the best and most fit of your master's sons and make 
him sit on his father's throne; then prepare to defend the family 
of your lord."
{R}_{I}4_{/}They were in great fear, and they said, "If the two kings 
were not able to stand up to him, how then can we resist him?" 
{R}_{I}5_{/}The palace chamberlain, the military commissioner of the 
city, the judges and the tutors sent this response to Jehu: "We 
are your servants, and we will do whatever you say. We will not 
proclaim anyone king; do whatever seems best to you."
[=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}Then he sent them a second letter which said, "If you are 
on my side and among those who obey me, take the heads of the sons 
of the king, your lord, and come to talk to me tomorrow at this 
time in Jezreel."
The king's sons were seventy and they were growing up in the 
houses of prominent families of the city.
{R}_{I}7_{/}As soon as this letter reached them, they seized the sons of 
the king, beheaded seventy of them and placed their heads in large 
baskets which they sent to Jezreel. {R}_{I}8_{/}The messenger came to 
where Jehu was and said to him, "Here they send you the heads of 
the king's sons." He answered, "Lay them in two heaps at the 
entrance of the gate of Jezreel until tomorrow."
{R}_{I}9_{/}In the morning, Jehu went out and said to all the people, "Be 
fair, tell me: if I have conspired against my king and have killed 
him, who then has beheaded all these? {R}_{I}10_{/}Know then that none of 
the words Yahweh has spoken against the family of Ahab shall be 
without effect. Everything he said through the mouth of his 
servant Elijah has been fulfilled."
{R}_{I}11_{/}Jehu then killed all who remained loyal to Ahab in Jezreel - 
all his ministers, relatives, priests - without sparing anyone. 
{R}_{I}12_{/}Then he left for Samaria, and in Beth-eked of the Shepherds, 
{R}_{I}13_{/}he met the brothers of Ahaziah, king of Judah. He asked 
them, "Who are you?" They answered, "We are the brothers of 
Ahaziah, and we go to greet the sons of the king and the sons of 
the queen." {I}14_{/}Jehu said, "Take them alive." They took them 
alive and beheaded them all by the well of Beth-eked. They were 
forty-two men, and none was left alive.
[=]_{I}15_{/}Setting out from there, he met Jehonadab, son of Rechab, 
who came out to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, "Would you be 
faithful to me as I am to you?" Jehonadab answered, "Yes." So Jehu 
said to him, "Give me your hand." He gave him his hand, and Jehu 
took him up with him into his chariot, and said, {I}16_{/}"Come with 
me and see my zeal for Yahweh." And he had him ride in his 
chariot.
{R}_{I}17_{/}When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all the survivors loyal 
to Ahab in that city, and he did not spare anyone. So the word 
Yahweh had said through the mouth of Elijah was fulfilled.
{I}18_{/}Jehu gathered together all the inhabitants and said, "Ahab 
served Baal, but I will serve him still better." {R}_{I}19_{/}And he 
added, "Summon all the prophets of Baal, all his faithful 
followers and priests. {R}_{I}20_{/}Let no one be missing at the solemn 
sacrifice I will offer to Baal. Whoever is absent shall die." Jehu 
did this with cunning, for he was determined to kill all who were 
faithful to Baal. They themselves proclaimed the sacred solemnity 
that Jehu had commanded. And Jehu, for his part, {R}_{I}21_{/}sent 
messengers throughout Israel for all the faithful of Baal to come 
without any exception.
When they entered the temple of Baal, they were so many that they 
hardly touched the ground. {I}22_{/}Then Jehu ordered those in charge 
of the vestments to bring out the sacred vestments reserved for 
the faithful of Baal and to distribute these to them. {I}23_{/}Jehu 
who was accompanied by Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, said 
insistently to the faithful of Baal, "Make sure that none of the 
faithful of Yahweh has entered with you, that there is no one here 
except all the true servants of Baal."
{R}_{I}24_{/}Then they entered to prepare the sacrifice. But Jehu had 
stationed eighty men outside, and said to them, "Whoever of you 
lets anyone escape of those who must die shall pay with his own 
life." {R}_{I}25_{/}And when the sacrifice was finished, Jehu gave this 
order to the soldiers and officers, "Go in and kill all of them, 
let none of them escape." So, they went in and put everyone to the 
sword, going as far as the sanctuary of the House of Baal. 
{I}26_{/}They pulled out the sacred pillar of the House of Baal and 
burned it. {R}_{I}27_{/}They destroyed the altar and pulled down the 
temple, which remains a garbage dump to this very day.
{R}_{I}28_{/}This was how Jehu wiped out the name of Baal from Israel. 
[=]_{R}_{I}29_{/}But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins which 
Jeroboam, the son of Nesbat, had caused Israel to commit, for they 
kept the golden calves of Bethel and Dan. {R}_{I}30_{/}In spite of this, 
Yahweh said to Jehu, "Since you have acted well, doing what seems 
just to me, and have dealt with the family of Ahab according to my 
will, your sons until the fourth generation shall sit on the 
throne of Israel." {R}_{I}31_{/}But Jehu did not completely walk 
according to the Law of Yahweh, since he did not give up the sins 
into which Jeroboam had led Israel.
[=]_{R}_{I}32_{/}In those days, Yahweh began to reduce the land of 
Israel, and Hazael conquered the Israelites taking their territory 
{R}_{I}33_{/}from the Jordan to the East, all the land of Gilead, of the 
tribes of Gad, Reuben, Manasseh, from Aroer by the brook of Arnon, 
all the land of Gilead and Bashan.
{R}_{I}34_{/}Now the rest of the story of Jehu, all that he did and his 
bravery are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of 
Israel. {R}_{I}35_{/}When Jehu died, they buried him in Samaria, and his 
son Jehoahaz reigned in his place. {R}_{I}36_{/}Jehu reigned over Israel 
in Samaria for twenty-eight years.

{N}ATHALIAH IN JUDAH{/}

{1}11{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son 
had died, she was determined to wipe out all the descendants of 
the king. {R}_{I}2_{/}But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and 
sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, her nephew, and brought him away 
from among the king's sons who were about to be killed, and put 
him with his wet nurse in the bedroom. Thus she hid him from 
Athaliah, so that the boy was saved. {R}_{I}3_{/}And Joash remained 
hidden in the House of Yahweh for six years while Athaliah reigned 
over the land.
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}In the seventh year, Jehoiada the chief priest, summoned 
the officers of the royal guard and of the Carites to the House of 
Yahweh. After concluding a pact with them under oath, he showed 
them the king's son.
{R}_{I}5_{/}Then he gave them these orders, "One third of your men who 
come on duty on the sabbath shall guard the king's house, 
{I}6_{/}another third shall be at the foundation gate, and the last 
third at the back gates. Keep watch continuously. {R}_{I}7_{/}Now about 
those who come off duty on the sabbath, two divisions of them 
shall guard the House of Yahweh and surround King Joash. {R}_{I}8_{/}You 
shall be at his side, each with drawn weapons, and you will kill 
all who would cross your line. Take care of the king wherever he 
goes."
{I}9_{/}The commanders of the guards did what Jehoiada the priest had 
told them to do and they showed up with all their men, those who 
were to go off duty on the sabbath as well as those who were to 
come on duty on that day. [=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Jehoiada entrusted to the 
officers the spears and shields of King David which were in the 
House of Yahweh. {R}_{I}11_{/}And then the guards stood from the southern 
corner of the house to the north, surrounding the altar and the 
House of Yahweh.
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}Then Jehoiada, the priest, brought out the king's son, 
crowned him and put the bracelets on him, then proclaimed and 
consecrated him king. All clapped their hands, shouting and crying 
out, "Long live the king!"
{R}_{I}13_{/}When Athaliah heard the noise of the people, she approached 
the crowd surrounding the House of Yahweh. {R}_{I}14_{/}The king was 
standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the officers 
and the trumpeters were with him. The people were filled with joy 
and they were blowing trumpets. On seeing this, Athaliah tore her 
clothes and cried out, "Treason, treason!"
{I}15_{/}Jehoiada the priest commanded the officers, "Surround her and 
bring her out to the courtyard, and kill anyone who tries to 
defend her." He gave this order, because he thought, "She should 
not die in the House of Yahweh."
{R}_{I}16_{/}They brought her out, and when they reached the palace of 
the king by the horses' entrance, there they killed her.
[=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}Jehoiada made a covenant between Yahweh and the king and 
the people so they would be the people of Yahweh. {I}18_{/}All the 
citizens went to the temple of Baal and destroyed it. They broke 
the altars and the images into pieces, and killed Mattan, the 
priest of Baal, before his altar. 
Then Jehoiada, the priest, posted guards over the House of Yahweh. 
{R}_{I}19_{/}He led the officers, the guards of the king, the Carites 
guards and the citizens, and they accompanied the king to the 
palace, passing through the Gate of the Guards. King Joash sat on 
the royal throne. {R}_{I}20_{/}All the citizens were happy and the city 
was at peace. Now regarding Athaliah, she had died by the sword in 
the king's palace.

{N}REIGN OF JOASH IN JUDAH{/}

{1}12{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}Joash was seven years old when he began his reign. {R}_{I}2_{/}It 
was then the seventh year of Jehu, and he reigned for forty-two 
years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 
[=]_{I}3_{/}Joash did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh as long as 
the priest Jehoiada guided him. [=]_{I}4_{/}But he did not demolish 
the sanctuaries on the hillsides where people continued offering 
sacrifices and burning incense.
{I}5_{/}Joash said to the priest, "All the money from the sacred 
contributions which the people bring to offer in the House of 
Yahweh, the money in cash, that which is offered as personal 
assessment, and that which is freely and voluntarily given in the 
House of Yahweh - {I}6_{/}all these you can receive. Let each one 
receive from the hand of those to whom he attends, but you are to 
repair the House of Yahweh, when anything needs to be repaired."
{R}_{I}7_{/}By the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash, the priests 
had not yet carried out the repairs needed in the House of Yahweh. 
{R}_{I}8_{/}So the king summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other 
priests with him, and said to them, "Why have you not carried out 
the repairs of the House yet? From now on, you will no longer keep 
any money during your service, but shall set it aside for the 
repair of the House." {R}_{I}9_{/}The priests agreed that henceforth, 
they would not accept money from the people and would not be in 
charge of the repair of the House. {R}_{I}10_{/}So Jehoiada, the priest, 
had a box made with a hole in the cover. He placed this by the 
altar, to the right side of those entering the House of Yahweh, 
and the priests who were at the gates put in it all the money 
offered in the House of Yahweh.
{R}_{I}11_{/}Whenever they saw that the box was full, a secretary of the 
king would come, and together with the high priest, they would 
take and count the money. {I}12_{/}Then they would turn the amount 
over into the hands of those responsible for the work of the 
House, who would, in turn, pay with this money the carpenters and 
bricklayers doing the repairs. {I}13_{/}From this amount, they also 
bought the stones, wood and everything necessary for the repair of 
the House of Yahweh. {R}_{I}14_{/}But of this money given for the House 
of Yahweh, they did not make any silver cups, or cutting tools, or 
water jars, or trumpets, or any golden or silver objects, {I}15_{/}but 
all the money was used to pay those who were repairing the House 
of Yahweh. {I}16_{/}Accounts were not asked from those responsible for 
paying the laborers, since they acted with great honor. {R}_{I}17_{/}Only 
the money offered for the expiation of sins was for the priests.
[=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}At that time Hazael, king of Aram, went up to fight 
against Gath. He captured it and was heading for Jerusalem. 
[=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}So Joash, king of Judah, took all the precious things 
that his fathers, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, kings of 
Judah, had consecrated, with all that he himself had consecrated, 
and all the gold he could find in the treasury of the House of 
Yahweh and in those of the king's house. Then he sent them to 
Hazael, king of Aram, who left Jerusalem with them.
{R}_{I}20_{/}Now the rest regarding Joash and all that he did is written 
in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 
{I}21_{/}Some of his officials plotted a conspiracy against him, and 
they killed him in Beth-Millo, as he was going to Silla. 
{R}_{I}22_{/}Jozacar, son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, son of Shomer, 
struck him down, and he died. He was buried with his fathers in 
the city of David, and his son Amaziah reigned in his place.

{N}JEHOAHAZ, KING OF ISRAEL{/}

{1}13{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}In the twenty-third year of Joash, son of Ahaziah, king of 
Judah, Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, began to rule over Israel from 
Samaria, its capital; he reigned for seventeen years. {R}_{I}2_{/}He 
acted badly towards Yahweh and persisted in the sins of Jeroboam, 
son of Nebat, which had become the sins of Israel, without turning 
away from them. {R}_{I}3_{/}So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, 
and he delivered them into the hands of Hazael, king of Aram, and 
into the hands of Ben-hadad, son of Hazael, throughout that time.
{R}_{I}4_{/}But Jehoahaz prayed to Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him for 
he had seen the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram 
oppressed them. {R}_{I}5_{/}And Yahweh gave Israel a liberator who would 
free them from the oppression of Aram, so the Israelites could 
live peacefully in their homes as before. [=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}(But they did 
not turn away from the sins by which Jeroboam made Israel sin, for 
the sacred pillar still remained standing in Samaria.) {R}_{I}7_{/}No 
more than fifty horsemen, ten chariots of war and ten thousand 
soldiers were left of the army of Jehoahaz, for the king of Aram 
had wiped out all the rest like dust.
{R}_{I}8_{/}The rest about Jehoahaz, all that he did and his bravery are 
written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 
{R}_{I}9_{/}When Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, they buried him in 
Samaria and his son Joash reigned in his place.

{N}JOASH, KING OF ISRAEL{/}

{R}_{I}10_{/}In the thirty-seventh year of Joash, king of Judah, Joash, 
son of Jehoahaz, began to reign over Israel in Samaria, its 
capital; he reigned for sixteen years. {R}_{I}11_{/}He did what was evil 
in the eyes of Yahweh; he did not turn away from the sins which 
Jeroboam, son of Nebat, made Israel commit. {R}_{I}12_{/}The rest about 
Joash and all that he did, his bravery and how he fought against 
Amaziah, king of Judah are written in the Book of the Chronicles 
of the Kings of Israel. {R}_{I}13_{/}When Joash slept with his fathers, 
he was buried in Samaria, together with the kings of Israel, and 
Jeroboam sat upon his throne.

{N}DEATH OF ELISHA{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}When Elisha became very sick and was about to die, 
Joash, king of Israel, went down to him and went before him, 
saying, "My father! My father! Chariot and horses of Israel!" 
{R}_{I}15_{/}Elisha said to him, "Take a bow and arrows." So he took a 
bow and arrows. {R}_{I}16_{/}Elisha then said to the king, "Draw the 
bow," and the king drew the bow. Then Elisha put his hand on the 
king's hand [=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}and said, "Open the window towards the 
east." He opened it. Elisha then said, "Shoot!" And he shot. 
Elisha said, "Yahweh's arrow of victory, arrow of victory over 
Aram! You shall defeat Aram in Aphek until you utterly destroy 
them!" {R}_{I}18_{/}And he added, "Take the arrows." And he took them. 
Elisha said to the king, "Strike the ground with them." He struck 
three times and stopped. {R}_{I}19_{/}So the man of God became angry at 
him, and said, "You should have struck five or six times, then you 
would have struck down Aram completely. But now, you will strike 
down Aram only three times."
{R}_{I}20_{/}Elisha died and they buried him. A little later, a 
detachment of Moabites conducted a raid as they used to do at the 
beginning of every year. {R}_{I}21_{/}It happened that at that time some 
people were burying a dead man, when they saw the Moabites. So 
they quickly threw the body into the grave of Elisha, and then 
fled to safety. But as soon as the man's body touched the bones of 
Elisha, the man revived and stood on his feet.
{R}_{I}22_{/}Hazael, king of Aram, oppressed the Israelites throughout 
the reign of Jehoahaz. {R}_{I}23_{/}But Yahweh had pity and took 
compassion on them; he turned towards them because of his covenant 
with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and would not utterly destroy them, 
or cast them far from his face. {R}_{I}24_{/}Hazael, the king of Aram, 
died; and his son Ben-hadad reigned in his place. {R}_{I}25_{/}Then 
Joash, son of Jehoahaz, again took from Ben-hadad the cities which 
Hazael had taken from Jehoahaz. Joash defeated him thrice and 
recovered the cities of Israel.

{N}AMAZIAH, KING OF JUDAH{/}

{1}14{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign in the 
second year of Joash, king of Israel. {R}_{I}2_{/}He was twenty-five 
years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine 
years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. {R}_{I}3_{/}He 
did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, yet not like his father 
David; rather he acted like his father Joash. {I}4_{/}The Sanctuaries 
on the Hillside still stood; there the people continued to offer 
sacrifices and to burn incense.
{R}_{I}5_{/}When the kingdom was firmly in his hands, Amaziah killed the 
officers who had murdered the king, his father, [=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}but did 
not kill the sons of the assassins, according to what is written 
in the Law of Moses where Yahweh gave this command: "You shall not 
put the fathers to death because of their sons, nor shall you put 
the sons to death because of their fathers, but everyone shall be 
punished on account of his own crimes."
{I}7_{/}Amaziah conquered ten thousand Edomites in the valley of Salt, 
and conquered the Rock by arms, calling it Joktheel, which is its 
name to this day.
{R}_{I}8_{/}Then Amaziah sent messengers to Joash, son of Jehoahaz, son 
of Jehu, king of Israel, to say to him, "Come up and let us see 
which of the two of us is better." {R}_{I}9_{/}Joash, king of Israel, 
sent as an answer to Amaziah, king of Judah: "A thornbush of 
Lebanon sent this message to a cedar of Lebanon: Give me your 
daughter to be my son's wife. But the wild beasts of Lebanon 
passed by and trampled down the bush. {R}_{I}10_{/}You now feel very 
proud since you conquered the Edomites. Be content with your fame 
and be quiet in your own house lest disgrace befall you and the 
people of Judah."
{R}_{I}11_{/}But Amaziah did not listen; so Joash, king of Israel, came 
and confronted him in Beth-shemesh of Judah. {R}_{I}12_{/}Judah was 
defeated by Israel, and everyone of them fled to his home. 
{R}_{I}13_{/}Joash, king of Israel, took Amaziah, son of Ahaziah, as 
prisoner in Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem.
He made an opening two hundred meters wide in the wall of 
Jerusalem, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. {R}_{I}14_{/}He took 
all the gold and silver, all that he found in the House of Yahweh 
and in the treasuries of the king's house, and hostages as well, 
and then returned to Samaria.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Now the rest about Joash, about his bravery and how he 
fought against Amaziah, king of Judah, is written in the Book of 
the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. {R}_{I}16_{/}When Joash rested 
with his fathers, they buried him in Samaria with his ancestors, 
and his son Jeroboam reigned in his place.
{R}_{I}17_{/}Now about Amaziah: he lived fifteen more years after the 
death of Joash, king of Israel. {R}_{I}18_{/}The rest of the history of 
Amaziah is written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of 
Judah. [=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}There were people who conspired against him in 
Jerusalem. So Amaziah took refuge in Lachish, but they pursued him 
and killed him in that city. {R}_{I}20_{/}His body was brought from there 
in a chariot, and they buried him in Jerusalem with his fathers in 
the city of David. {R}_{I}21_{/}Then, all the people of Judah took 
Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and proclaimed him king in 
place of his father Amaziah. {R}_{I}22_{/}He rebuilt Elath and restored 
it to Judah, after the king, his father, died.

{N}JEROBOAM II, KING OF ISRAEL{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}23_{/}Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign 
in Samaria in the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah, king of 
Judah. He reigned for forty-one years, {R}_{I}24_{/}and during his reign 
he acted badly towards Yahweh, for he did not turn away from the 
sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, made Israel commit. {R}_{I}25_{/}He 
restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath up to 
the Dead Sea, according to the word which Yahweh, the God of 
Israel, had said through the mouth of his servant, the prophet 
Jonah, the son of Amittai from Gath-hepher. {R}_{I}26_{/}Yahweh had seen 
the extreme bitter misery of Israel; there was no one left, 
neither slave nor freeman, who would help Israel. [=]_{R}_{I}27_{/}But 
Yahweh did not decide to wipe out the name of Israel from under 
the heavens, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam, son of 
Joash.
{R}_{I}28_{/}Now the rest regarding Jeroboam, all that he did and his 
bravery, how he fought and restored Hamath and Damascus to Israel, 
is written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 
{R}_{I}29_{/}When Jeroboam died, he was buried with the kings of Israel, 
and his son Zechariah reigned in his place.

{N}AZARIAH, KING OF JUDAH{/}

{1}15{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Azariah, son of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to reign in the 
twenty-seventh year of the reign of Jeroboam in Israel. {R}_{I}2_{/}He 
was sixteen years old when he began his reign; he reigned for 
fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jecoliah of 
Jerusalem.
{I}3_{/}He did what pleased Yahweh, like his father Amaziah had done. 
{I}4_{/}But the Sanctuaries of the Hillsides were not demolished, and 
the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense on them.
[=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}Yahweh struck down the king. He became sick with leprosy, 
and he remained a leper to the day of his death. He lived in an 
isolated house, while Jotham, his son, was head of the king's 
household and administered justice in the kingdom.
{R}_{I}6_{/}Now the rest about Azariah and all that he did is written in 
the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. {R}_{I}7_{/}When 
Azariah died, they buried him with his fathers in the city of 
David, and his son Jotham succeeded him.

{N}THE LAST KINGS OF ISRAEL{/}

{R}_{I}8_{/}Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, began to reign over Israel in 
Samaria, its capital, in the thirty-eighth year of Azariah, king 
of Judah. For the six months that he stayed in power, [=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}he 
acted badly towards Yahweh, as his fathers had done, for he did 
not turn away from the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, made 
Israel commit.
{I}10_{/}Shallum, son of Jabesh, conspired against him, and struck him 
down at Ibleam. He killed him and reigned in his place.
{R}_{I}11_{/}Now the rest regarding Zechariah is written in the Book of 
the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. {R}_{I}12_{/}In this way the 
promise Yahweh had made to Jehu was fulfilled: "Your sons until 
the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel." And so 
it was.
{R}_{I}13_{/}Shallum, son of Jabesh, began to reign in the thirty-ninth 
year of Uzziah, king of Judah, and he reigned for a month in 
Samaria. {R}_{I}14_{/}Then Menahem, son of Gadi, rebelled against him in 
Tirzah. He came to Samaria and killed Shallum in that city. Having 
killed Shallum, Menahem reigned in his place.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Now the rest about Shallum and the conspiracy which he 
plotted is written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of 
Israel.
{R}_{I}16_{/}Then Menahem seized Tappuah and killed its inhabitants, 
devastating its territory from Tirzah onwards, since they would 
not open the gates to him. And he ripped open all the pregnant 
women.
{R}_{I}17_{/}Menahem, son of Gadi, began to reign in the thirty-ninth 
year of Azariah, king of Judah. He reigned for ten years in 
Samaria, {R}_{I}18_{/}and he too acted badly towards Yahweh, for he did 
not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, which he 
made Israel commit. 
{R}_{I}19_{/}In his days, Pul, the king of Assyria, invaded the land of 
Israel. And Menahem had to give him a thousand talents of silver 
so that the king of Asshur would receive him as an ally and keep 
him in power. {R}_{I}20_{/}Menahem exacted the money from all the wealthy 
and prominent people of Israel to give to the king of Asshur: 
fifty pieces of silver from each one. With this, the king of 
Asshur turned back and did not stay there in the land.
{R}_{I}21_{/}Now the rest regarding Menahem and all that he did is 
written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 
{I}22_{/}When Menahem died, his son Pekahiah succeeded him.
{R}_{I}23_{/}Pekahiah, son of Menahem, began to reign over Israel in 
Samaria in the fiftieth year of Azariah, king of Judah. He reigned 
for two years, {R}_{I}24_{/}during which he acted badly towards Yahweh; 
he did not turn away from the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, 
made Israel commit.
{R}_{I}25_{/}His general, Pekah, son of Remaliah, rebelled against him. 
He led some fifty men from the province of Gilead, and they came 
to kill him in Samaria in the tower of the palace. With the king 
dead, Pekah succeeded him.
{R}_{I}26_{/}The rest about Pekahiah and all that he did is written in 
the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
{R}_{I}27_{/}In the fifty-second year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekah, 
son of Remaliah, began to reign over Israel in Samaria, its 
capital. He reigned for twenty years, and he acted badly towards 
Yahweh, {R}_{I}28_{/}for he did not turn away from the sins which 
Jeroboam made Israel commit.
{R}_{I}29_{/}In the time of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser, king 
of Assyria, came and seized Iyon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, 
Kedesh, Hazor, the territory of Gilead and Galilee, and the whole 
land of Naphtali, and deported their inhabitants to Asshur. 
{R}_{I}30_{/}Then Hoshea, son of Elah, conspired against Pekah, son of 
Remaliah, killed him and reigned in his place. {R}_{I}31_{/}The rest 
about Pekah and all that he did is written in the Book of the 
Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

{N}JOTHAM, KING OF JUDAH{/}

{R}_{I}32_{/}Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign in the 
second year of Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel. 
{R}_{I}33_{/}Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and 
he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jerusha, 
daughter of Zadok. 
{I}34_{/}He did what pleased Yahweh, as his father had done, 
[=]_{I}35_{/}but he did not abolish the Sanctuaries on the high places 
where the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense.
He built the Upper Gate of the House of Yahweh. {R}_{I}36_{/}The rest 
about Jotham and all that he did is written in the Book of the 
Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. {R}_{I}37_{/}In those days, Yahweh 
began to send Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, 
against Judah. {R}_{I}38_{/}When Jotham died, they buried him with his 
fathers in the city of his ancestor David, and his son Ahaz 
succeeded him.

{N}AHAZ, KING OF JUDAH{/}

{1}16{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah, son of 
Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 
{R}_{I}2_{/}Ahaz was then twenty years old and he reigned for sixteen 
years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased Yahweh, his God, as 
his father David had done. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}He walked in the way of the 
kings of Israel, and even sacrificed his son in the fire, 
according to the hateful practices of those nations which Yahweh 
had expelled from the land, so the children of Israel could occupy 
their place. [=]_{I}4_{/}He offered sacrifices in the sanctuaries on 
the hills, on the slopes and under every green tree. 
[=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}Then Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, 
king of Israel, came up to fight Jerusalem. They surrounded it, 
but could not conquer it. {R}_{I}6_{/}At that time Rezin, king of Aram, 
recovered Elath for the Edomites, expelling the Jews from there. 
The Edomites then entered Elath and lived there until now.
{R}_{I}7_{/}Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser, king of Asshur, to 
tell him, "I am your servant and your son. Come then and rescue me 
from the hands of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who 
wage war against me." [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}Ahaz took the silver and gold that 
was in the House of Yahweh and the treasures from the house of the 
king, and sent them as a gift to the king of Asshur. {R}_{I}9_{/}The king 
of Asshur paid heed to him and went to attack Damascus; he seized 
that city and exiled its inhabitants to Kir, then he killed Rezin.
{R}_{I}10_{/}So King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet with Tiglath-pileser, 
king of Asshur. And when he saw the altar in Damascus, he sent to 
Uriah the priest, the measurement of that altar together with the 
design which he copied exactly in all its details.
{R}_{I}11_{/}The priest Uriah built the altar according to the design the 
king had sent him from Damascus. He finished it before King Ahaz 
arrived from Damascus. [=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}When the king returned from 
Damascus, he saw the altar, approached it and went up to it. 
{R}_{I}13_{/}He burned on that altar his holocausts and sacrifices. There 
he made his libation and shed the blood of his peace offerings. 
{R}_{I}14_{/}He removed the altar of bronze that was before Yahweh, from 
the front of the House, from between the new altar and the House 
of Yahweh, and he placed it on the north side of his new altar.
King Ahaz ordered the priest Uriah, {R}_{I}15_{/}"Upon this great altar 
you shall burn the morning holocaust and the evening sacrifice, 
the king's holocaust and his sacrifice, the holocausts of the 
people of the land, their sacrifices and libations. You shall shed 
upon it all the blood of the holocausts and sacrifices. As for the 
bronze altar, I will deal with it." {R}_{I}16_{/}The priest Uriah did as 
the king had commanded him.
{R}_{I}17_{/}The king dismantled the paneling of the stands, removed the 
washbasins from on top of them, took down the big bronze basin 
from the top of the oxen that supported it, and placed it upon the 
stone pavement. Now, about the throne which had been built within 
the House of Yahweh and the outer entrance for the king, 
[=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}he removed them from the House of Yahweh because of the 
king of Asshur.
{R}_{I}19_{/}The rest regarding Ahaz and all that he did is written in 
the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. {R}_{I}20_{/}When Ahaz 
died, they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and 
his son Hezekiah succeeded him.

{N}END OF THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL IN THE NORTH{/}

{1}17{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Hoshea, son of Elah, began to reign in Israel in the 
twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah. He reigned for nine years in 
the city of Samaria, {R}_{I}2_{/}and he acted badly towards Yahweh though 
not as bad as the previous kings of Israel.
{R}_{I}3_{/}Shalmaneser, king of Asshur, came with his army to attack 
Hoshea, who surrendered to him and began paying taxes to him. 
{R}_{I}4_{/}But the king of Asshur discovered that Hoshea was plotting 
against him, for Hoshea had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, 
and did not pay him the taxes as he had done every year. 
Shalmaneser arrested him, and then put him in prison.
{R}_{I}5_{/}The army of the king of Asshur subjected the whole of Israel, 
and they came to Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 
[=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured 
Samaria, exiled the Israelites to Asshur and made them settle in 
Halah, at the banks of Habor, the river of Gozan, as well as in 
the cities of the Medes.

{N}CAUSES OF THE FALL OF ISRAEL{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}This happened because the children of Israel had 
sinned against Yahweh, their God, who had brought them out of the 
land of Egypt, where they were subject to Pharaoh, but they had 
turned back to other gods. {I}8_{/}They followed the customs of the 
nations which Yahweh had driven out before them.
{R}_{I}9_{/}The children of Israel introduced many innovations that 
offended Yahweh, their God. They built sanctuaries in all the 
cities, from the watchtowers to the fortified cities. 
[=]_{I}10_{/}They placed images and sacred pillars on all the hills 
and under every green tree. {I}11_{/}There they burned incense in 
their sanctuaries on the hills, like the nations Yahweh had 
dispossessed for them.
They did wicked things, provoking Yahweh to anger. {I}12_{/}They 
served their filthy idols in spite of what Yahweh had told them: 
"You must not do such a thing." [=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Yahweh warned Israel and 
Judah through the mouth of every prophet and seer, saying: "Turn 
from your evil ways and keep my commandments and precepts 
according to the laws which I commanded your fathers and which I 
have sent to you by my servants, the prophets."
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}But they did not listen and refused as did their fathers 
who did not believe in Yahweh, their God. [=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}They despised 
his statutes and the covenant he had made with their fathers, and 
the warnings he had given them. They went after worthless idols 
and they themselves became worthless, following the nations which 
surrounded them, in spite of what Yahweh had said, "Do not do as 
they do."
{I}16_{/}They abandoned all the commandments of Yahweh and fashioned 
two calves of bronze. They made sacred pillars and knelt before 
all the stars of heaven, and worshiped Baal.
[=]_{I}17_{/}They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire, 
practiced divination and magic, and sold themselves to evildoing 
in the sight of Yahweh enkindling his anger.
{R}_{I}18_{/}So Yahweh became indignant with Israel and cast them far 
away from his presence, leaving only the tribe of Judah.
{R}_{I}19_{/}But neither did Judah keep the commandments of Yahweh, their 
God; on the contrary, they followed the customs practiced in 
Israel. {R}_{I}20_{/}Because of this, Yahweh rejected the whole race of 
Israel. He humbled them and delivered them into the hands of 
plunderers, until the day came when he drove them far away from 
his presence. 
{R}_{I}21_{/}When he divided the kingdom of David, Israel chose Jeroboam, 
son of Nebat, as king: he made them commit a great sin by 
separating themselves from Yahweh. {R}_{I}22_{/}The Israelites followed 
Jeroboam in his sins, and did not turn away from them {R}_{I}23_{/}until 
Yahweh had removed Israel from his presence, according to the 
warning given them through his servants, the prophets. So Israel 
was exiled from its land to the country of Asshur until this day.

{N}THE ORIGIN OF THE SAMARITANS{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}24_{/}The king of Asshur brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, 
Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim, and he settled them in the cities of 
Samaria in place of the Israelites. These people occupied the 
country of Samaria and resided in its cities.
{I}25_{/}When they first settled there they did not worship Yahweh, so 
Yahweh sent lions which killed many of them. [=]_{R}_{I}26_{/}Then it was 
reported to the king of Asshur, "The people you deported and sent 
to Samaria to settle in its cities do not know how Yahweh, the God 
of the land, should be honored, so he has sent lions which are 
killing them."
{R}_{I}27_{/}So the king of Asshur commanded, "Let one of the priests we 
have banished from Samaria return there. Let him go and live with 
those people and teach them how to honor the God of that land." 
{R}_{I}28_{/}So, one of the priests who had been banished from Samaria 
came back, and staying in Bethel, taught these people how they 
should honor Yahweh.
{I}29_{/}Yet each of these nations made its own gods, and placed them 
in the sanctuaries on the hills which the Samaritans had built. 
Each of these nations put their god in the city where they 
settled: {R}_{I}30_{/}the Babylonians set up the idol Succoth, the 
inhabitants of Cuth made Negal, the inhabitants of Hamath made 
Ashima, {I}31_{/}those of Avva made Nibjaz and Tartak. Those of 
Sepharvaim burned their children in the fire in honor of 
Adrammelech and Anammelech, their gods. 
{R}_{I}32_{/}They worshiped Yahweh, but they appointed for themselves 
priests from among their people, who served Yahweh in the Houses 
on the hills. {I}33_{/}They honored Yahweh but at the same time, 
served their own gods, according to the customs of the nations 
where they had been banished.
{R}_{I}34_{/}Until this very day, they still observe the old customs. 
They do not honor Yahweh since they do not follow the precepts and 
customs, the Law or the commandments which Yahweh had given to the 
children of Jacob to whom he had given the name Israel. 
{R}_{I}35_{/}Yahweh had made a covenant with them, commanding them, "Do 
not honor other gods or bow down before them, or serve them or 
offer them sacrifices. {R}_{I}36_{/}You shall honor Yahweh alone, who 
brought you out of the land of Egypt with the strength of his arm; 
before him you shall bow and to him alone shall you offer 
sacrifices. {R}_{I}37_{/}Keep the precepts, the ordinances, the Law and 
the commandments he wrote for you. Fulfill them all your days and 
do not adore strange gods. {R}_{I}38_{/}Do not forsake the covenant he 
made with you and do not adore strange gods, {R}_{I}39_{/}but adore only 
Yahweh, your God, and he shall free you from the hand of all your 
enemies." {I}40_{/}But they did not pay attention; instead they 
followed their ancient customs.
[=]_{I}41_{/}So these people honored Yahweh, but at the same time also 
served their idols; and after them, their children and their 
children's children continued doing what their fathers had done.

{N}HEZEKIAH, KING OF JUDAH{/}

{1}18{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, began to reign in Judah in the 
third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel. 
{R}_{I}2_{/}He was twenty-five years old then, and his reign in Jerusalem 
lasted for twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, daughter of 
Zechariah. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, 
like David, his ancestor.
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}He did away with the sanctuaries on the hills, demolished 
the standing stones and cut down the sacred pillars.
He also destroyed the bronze serpent that Moses had fashioned in 
the desert for, until that time, the Israelites were offering 
sacrifices to it and called it Nehushtan.
[=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}He trusted in Yahweh more than any of the kings of Judah 
who preceded or succeeded him and he never departed from Yahweh. 
{I}6_{/}He kept the commandments Yahweh had given through Moses. 
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}For that reason, Yahweh was with him; he succeeded in all 
his undertakings. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and was 
no longer subject to him. {R}_{I}8_{/}He imposed his authority on the 
Philistines as far as Gaza, and seized their land from the 
watchtowers to the fortified cities.
{R}_{I}9_{/}In the fourth year of Hezekiah's reign, which was the seventh 
year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser, king of 
Assyria, came against Samaria and besieged it. {R}_{I}10_{/}At the end of 
three years, he conquered it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which 
was the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel, Samaria was 
conquered. {R}_{I}11_{/}The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to 
Assyria and settled them in Halah, on the Habor, the river of 
Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
{R}_{I}12_{/}This happened to them because they did not listen to the 
voice of Yahweh, their God, and had broken his covenant; they did 
not listen to nor put into practice what Moses, the servant of 
Yahweh, had commanded them.

{N}SENNACHERIB'S INVASION{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, 
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up and invaded Judah; he laid 
siege to all the fortified cities and seized all of them. 
{R}_{I}14_{/}Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent a message to Sennacherib who 
was in Lachish, "I have acted badly, stop your attack and I will 
do whatever you demand of me." The king of Assyria demanded that 
Hezekiah give a contribution of three hundred talents of silver 
and thirty of gold.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Hezekiah then handed over to him all the money that was 
found in the House of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the royal 
palace. {R}_{I}16_{/}It was at that time that Hezekiah ordered that the 
gold sheets, with which he himself had adorned the doorposts, be 
stripped from the gates of the House of Yahweh, and given to the 
king of Assyria.
[=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}From Lachish the king of Assyria sent his field 
commander with a large army to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. They 
halted at the channel of the Upper Pool on the highway to the 
Fuller's Field. The field commander called for the king; and 
{R}_{I}18_{/}Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator, went out 
to him together with Shebnah the secretary and Joah son of Asaph, 
the recorder.
{R}_{I}19_{/}The field commander said to them, "Give Hezekiah this 
message from the great king of Assyria: How can you be so 
confident? {I}20_{/}You thought that words are as good as wisdom and 
replace strength in time of war? On whom are you relying that you 
rebel against me? [=]_{I}21{/}You rely on Egypt, a broken staff which 
pierces the palm of him who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh, king of 
Egypt, for all who rely on him. {R}_{I}22_{/}Yes, you may say to me: 'We 
rely on Yahweh our God.' But isn't he the one whose altars and 
high places Hezekiah removed when he commanded Judah and 
Jerusalem: You shall worship before this altar?
{R}_{I}23_{/}Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king. I will 
give you two thousand horses if you are able to supply riders. 
[=]_{R}_{I}24_{/}How could you ever repulse one of the least of my 
master's generals? And you rely on Egypt for chariots and 
horsemen! [=]_{I}25_{/}Do you think that I have come to attack and 
destroy this land without consulting Yahweh? He himself said to 
me: Go up to this land and conquer it!" {I}26_{/}Then Eliakim and 
Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, "Speak to your 
servants in Aramaic; we understand it. Do not speak to us in 
Hebrew in the hearing of these people on the walls."
{I}27_{/}But the field commander said, "Do you think that my master 
sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you? Is it 
not also to the men on the walls who, with you, will have to eat 
their own dung and drink their own urine?"
{R}_{I}28_{/}Then the field commander stood and cried out with a loud 
voice in Hebrew, "Hear the words of the great king of Assyria: 
{R}_{I}29_{/}Do not let Hezekiah deceive you! No, he will not be able to 
help you! {R}_{I}30_{/}Do not listen to him when he tells you to trust in 
Yahweh, saying, 'Yahweh will save us; this city will not be given 
over to the king of Assyria.' Do not listen to Hezekiah but 
[=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}to what the king of Assyria says, 'Make your peace with 
me and surrender. Then I will let each of you eat of your vine and 
of your fig tree and drink the water of your cistern until I come 
again. [=]_{I}32_{/}Then I will take you to a land like your own land, 
a land of grain and new wine, of bread and vineyards, of oil and 
honey, that you may live and not die. 
Hezekiah is misleading you when he says that Yahweh will save you. 
{R}_{I}33_{/}Have the gods of the nations rescued their land from the 
hands of the king of Assyria? {R}_{I}34_{/}Where are the gods of Hamath 
and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? And 
have the gods delivered Samaria from my hand? {R}_{I}35_{/}Who among all 
the gods of these nations has been able to save his country from 
me? Do you think that Yahweh will deliver Jerusalem from my hand?"
{R}_{I}36_{/}The people were like deaf men and remained silent, since the 
king had commanded them not to answer him.
{R}_{I}37_{/}Then Eliakim with Shebna and Joah came to Hezekiah with 
their clothes torn and told him what the field commander had said.

{1}19{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}When King Hezekiah heard this he tore his clothes, 
covered himself with sackcloth and went to the house of Yahweh. 
{R}_{I}2_{/}He sent Eliakim, the overseer of the palace, Shebna, the 
secretary, and the elders among the priests, all wearing 
sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}And they said to Isaiah, "This is what Hezekiah says: 
'Today is a day of distress, rebuke and disgrace, as when children 
are at the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver 
them. {R}_{I}4_{/}Would that your God might hear the words of the field 
commander, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent. May 
Yahweh your God rebuke him for the words he said, insulting the 
living God. Therefore offer a prayer for the few of us that are 
left."
{R}_{I}5_{/}When King Hezekiah's officials came to Isaiah, {R}_{I}6_{/}he said 
to them: "Tell your master this word of Yahweh: Do not fear 
because of the words you have heard, with which the servants of 
the king of Assyria have insulted me. {R}_{I}7_{/}Listen! I will let him 
be frightened. Then he will return to his country, and there I 
will have him slain by the sword."
[=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}The field commander returned and found the king of 
Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king 
had left Lachish. {R}_{I}9_{/}This was because King Sennacherib had heard 
that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was going out to fight 
him. 

{N}SENNACHERIB'S LETTER TO HEZEKIAH{/}

Again Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah with these words, 
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}"Say to Hezekiah, king of Judah that his God in whom he 
trusts may be deceiving him in saying that Jerusalem will not be 
given into the hands of the king of Assyria. {R}_{I}11_{/}Surely you have 
heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands they 
have destroyed! And will you be spared? {I}12_{/}Have their gods saved 
the nations that my fathers destroyed? Gozan and Haran, Rezeph and 
the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? {R}_{I}13_{/}Where is the king of 
Hamath, the king of Arpad, the kings of the city of Sepharvaim, of 
Hena and Ivvah?"
{R}_{I}14_{/}Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, and when he 
had read it he went to the house of Yahweh where he unrolled the 
letter {R}_{I}15_{/}and prayed saying, "O Yahweh, God of hosts and God of 
Israel, enthroned above the cherubim! You alone are God over all 
the kingdoms of the earth; you have made the heavens and the 
earth. {R}_{I}16_{/}Give ear, Yahweh, and hear! Open your eyes and see! 
Listen to all the words of Sennacherib who has sent men to insult 
the living God! {R}_{I}17_{/}It is true, Yahweh, that the kings of 
Assyria have laid waste all the countries of the earth. 
[=]_{I}18_{/}They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed 
them, for they were not true gods but gods made of wood and stone 
by human hands. [=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}Now, O Yahweh our God, save us from his 
hand and let all the kingdoms of the earth know that you alone, 
Yahweh, are God."

{N}ISAIAH INTERVENES{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent word to Hezekiah: "You 
have called upon Yahweh and he has heard your prayer regarding 
Sennacherib, king of Assyria. [=]_{I}21_{/}This is what Yahweh has 
spoken against him:
The Virgin Daughter of Zion
despises and scorns you;
the Daughter of Jerusalem
shakes her head behind you.
[=]_{R}_{I}22_{/}Whom have you insulted and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted up your eyes in arrogance?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
{I}23_{/}Through your servants
you have insulted Yahweh.
For you have said:
With the enormous number of my chariots,
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
the topmost recesses of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
and its choicest fir trees.
I have climbed its remotest heights to the densest of its forests.
{R}_{I}24_{/}I have dug wells and drunk waters;
I have dried up with the soles of my feet all the streams of 
Egypt.
[=]_{I}25_{/}Have you not heard
how I decreed it long ago,
how I planned from days of old
what now I have brought to pass?
Your ordained role was
to lay waste fortified cities,
to turn them into ruinous heaps.
{I}26_{/}Shorn of power, their inhabitants
have been dismayed and confounded;
they have been as the grass
and green plants in the field, as the grass on the housetops,
scorched before it has grown.
{I}27_{/}I know whenever you rise or sit, whenever you go out or come 
in; and I know your rage against me.
{I}28_{/}Because of your rage against me
and your arrogance that I have heard of,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bridle in your mouth,
and I will turn you back
on the way by which you came.
{R}_{I}29_{/}This will be a sign for you, O Hezekiah: This year you will 
eat the after-growth grain, and next year what grows from that, 
but in the third year, sow and reap, plant vines and eat the 
fruit.
{R}_{I}30_{/}A remnant of the house of Judah shall take root below and 
produce fruit above. [=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}For a remnant will come from 
Jerusalem and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of Yahweh of 
hosts will accomplish this. {R}_{I}32_{/}That is why Yahweh has said this 
concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not enter this city nor 
shoot his arrows. He shall not raise a shield to oppose it nor 
build a siege ramp against it. {I}33_{/}He shall leave by the way he 
came and he shall not enter the city, word of Yahweh. {R}_{I}34_{/}I will 
protect this city and so save it for my own sake and for the sake 
of David, my servant. [=]_{I}35_{/}It happened that the angel of 
Yahweh went out that night and struck one hundred and eighty-five 
thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people rose early next 
morning there were all the corpses.
[=]_{R}_{I}36_{/}So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed, returned home 
and lived in Nineveh. {R}_{I}37_{/}While he was worshiping in the temple 
of his god, Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer slew him 
with the sword and then escaped to the land of Ararat. And 
Esarhaddon, his son, succeeded him as king.

{N}HEZEKIAH'S ILLNESS{/}

{1}20{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}In those days Hezekiah fell mortally ill and the prophet 
Isaiah, son of Amoz, went to him with a message from Yahweh, "Put 
your house in order for you shall die; you shall not live."
{R}_{I}2_{/}Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, 
{R}_{I}3_{/}"Ah, Yahweh! Remember how I have walked before you in truth 
and wholeheartedly, and have done what is good in your sight." And 
Hezekiah wept bitterly.
{R}_{I}4_{/}Isaiah had still not reached the central courtyard when the 
word of Yahweh came to him, {R}_{I}5_{/}"Go back and tell Hezekiah, the 
ruler of my people, what Yahweh, the God of his father David, 
says: "I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears. And 
now I will cure you. On the third day you will go up to the house 
of Yahweh. {R}_{I}6_{/}See! I am adding fifteen years to your life and I 
will save you and this city from the power of the king of Assyria. 
I will defend it for my sake and for the sake of David my 
servant."
[=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "What shall be the sign that 
Yahweh will heal me and that I shall go up to the House of Yahweh 
within three days?" {R}_{I}9_{/}Isaiah answered, "This shall be the sign 
for you in Yahweh's name, that Yahweh shall do what he has said: 
Do you wish the shadow of the second story to go forward ten steps 
or to go back?" {R}_{I}10_{/}Hezekiah said, "It is easy for the shadow to 
lengthen ten steps, but it shall be wonderful if the shadow goes 
back ten steps." {R}_{I}11_{/}The prophet Isaiah called on Yahweh, and 
Yahweh made the shadow go back ten steps, line by line, on the ten 
steps it had covered on the stairway.
{I}7_{/}Isaiah then said, "Bring a fig cake to rub on the ulcer and 
let Hezekiah be cured!"
{R}_{I}12_{/}At that time Merodach-baladan, son of Baladan, king of 
Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah after hearing that he 
was recovering from an illness. {R}_{I}13_{/}Hezekiah rejoiced, so he 
showed the envoys his treasure house - the silver, the gold, the 
spices, the fragrant oils, his weapons and all that was in the 
treasury. There was nothing in this palace, or in all he possessed 
that Hezekiah did not show.
{R}_{I}14_{/}Then the prophet Isaiah went to the king and said, "What did 
these men say? Where did they come from?" The king answered, "They 
have come from a far country, from Babylon." {R}_{I}15_{/}Isaiah said, 
"And what have they seen in your house?" The king answered, "They 
have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my 
treasuries that I did not show them."
{R}_{I}16_{/}So Isaiah said to the king, "Listen to this word of Yahweh: 
{I}17_{/}The days are coming when all that is in your house and all 
that your fathers have stored up to this day shall be taken to 
Babylon; nothing shall be left, says Yahweh. {R}_{I}18_{/}Some of your 
own sons who are born of your blood shall be taken away, and they 
shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." 
{R}_{I}19_{/}Hezekiah answered Isaiah, "What you say is a good word from 
Yahweh"; for he thought, "What does it matter just so I have peace 
and security in my own lifetime?"
[=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}Now the rest regarding Hezekiah and all about his 
bravery, how he built the great reservoir and how it supplied 
water to the city is written in the Book of the Chronicles of the 
Kings of Judah. {R}_{I}21_{/}When Hezekiah slept with his fathers, his 
son Manasseh reigned in his place.

{N}MANASSEH, KING OF JUDAH{/}

{1}21{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Manasseh was twelve years old when he began his reign, 
and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's 
name was Hephzibah.
{I}2_{/}He treated Yahweh very badly, imitating the wretched practices 
of the people Yahweh had driven out from the land in order to give 
it to the Israelites. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}He rebuilt the sanctuaries on the 
hills, which had been destroyed by Hezekiah his father. He built 
altars to the god Baal and made a sacred pillar similar to the one 
Ahab, king of Israel, had made. He knelt before all the stars of 
heaven and worshiped them. [=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}He built altars in the 
courtyard of the House of Yahweh, about which Yahweh had said, 
"Jerusalem shall be the dwelling place of my Name."
{I}5_{/}He built altars for all the stars of heaven in the two 
courtyards of the House of Yahweh. {I}6_{/}He sacrificed his son by 
fire. He practiced soothsaying and magic, he brought in seers and 
wizards, doing without ceasing what Yahweh condemned, and thus 
provoking his anger. {R}_{I}7_{/}He even put up the sacred pillar of the 
goddess Asherah in the House of Yahweh in spite of what Yahweh had 
said to David and to his son, Solomon: "I shall let my Name rest 
forever in this House, for I have chosen Jerusalem from among all 
the tribes of Israel. {R}_{I}8_{/}I shall no longer let Israel wander out 
of the land I gave to their fathers, provided that you try to live 
according to all the Law I gave you through my servant Moses."
{R}_{I}9_{/}But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them into doing 
things worse than those nations had done whom Yahweh had expelled 
before the Israelites. {R}_{I}10_{/}So Yahweh spoke through the mouth of 
his servants, the prophets, saying,
{R}_{I}11_{/}"Manasseh, king of Judah, has multiplied the wretched 
practices and has acted worse than the Amorites. He has made the 
people of Judah sin with his repugnant images.
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}Therefore, I shall bring upon Jerusalem and upon Judah 
an evil so great that the ears of those who hear of it shall buzz. 
{I}13{/}Jerusalem and its kings shall suffer the fate of Samaria and 
of the family of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a plate 
to clean it, and then turns it upside down. {I}14_{/}I shall drive 
away the rest of my people and give them over into the hands of 
their enemies so that they shall become their prey and booty. 
{R}_{I}15_{/}For they did what displeased me and made me angry from the 
day when their fathers came out of Egypt to this day."
{R}_{I}16_{/}Manasseh also shed innocent blood in such quantity that it 
filled up Jerusalem from one end to the other, besides the sins 
which he made Judah commit, doing what is wrong in the sight of 
Yahweh. {R}_{I}17_{/}The rest regarding Manasseh, all that he did and the 
sins he committed, is written in the Book of the Chronicles of the 
Kings of Judah.
{R}_{I}18_{/}When Manasseh died, they buried him in the garden of his 
house, in the garden of Uzza, and his son Amon reigned in his 
place.
{R}_{I}19_{/}Amon was twenty-two years old when he began his reign, and 
he reigned for two years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was 
Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz, of the city of Jotbah. {R}_{I}20_{/}He 
treated Yahweh badly, as his father Manasseh had done. {I}21_{/}He 
completely followed in the footsteps of his father - he served the 
idols his father had served and bowed down before them. {R}_{I}22_{/}He 
abandoned Yahweh, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the 
way of Yahweh.
{I}23_{/}The officials of Amon conspired against him, and murdered him 
in his house. [=]_{R}_{I}24_{/}But the citizens killed all who had 
plotted against the king, and they proclaimed his son Josiah king 
in his place.
{R}_{I}25_{/}The rest regarding Amon and all that he did is written in 
the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. {R}_{I}26_{/}They 
buried him in his tomb, in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah 
reigned in his place. 

{N}THE BOOK OF THE LAW IS DISCOVERED{/}

{1}22{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Josiah was eight years old when he began to govern, and 
he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother was 
Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}He did everything 
that was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and followed in the 
footsteps of David, his father, without turning aside either to 
the right or to the left.
{R}_{I}3_{/}In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent his 
secretary Shaphan, son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the House 
of Yahweh, saying, [=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}"Go up to the high priest Hilkiah and 
give him the amount of money which the people offer for the House 
of Yahweh, and that which the gatekeepers have collected, and when 
these have been smelted down, {I}5_{/}let them turn it over to those 
in charge of the House of Yahweh. {I}6_{/}It shall be given to those 
carpenters and construction workers who do the repairs of the 
House. In the same way, they shall buy the wood and stones needed 
for the repair of the House.{I}7_{/}But do not ask from them any 
account of the money, for they are honorable men."
[=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}At that moment Hilkiah, the high priest, said to Shaphan, 
the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the House of 
Yahweh." And he entrusted the Book to Shaphan who read it. 
{R}_{I}9_{/}Then Shaphan went to the king and said, "We have gathered the 
money in the House, and this has been turned over to the 
caretakers of the House to make the repairs."
{R}_{I}10_{/}And Shaphan added, "The priest Hilkiah has turned over a 
book to me." And Shaphan read the book to the king. {R}_{I}11_{/}When the 
king heard the contents of the book, he tore his clothes and 
{I}12_{/}commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, the secretary Shaphan, and 
Asaiah, his minister, to do the following, [=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}"Go and 
consult Yahweh about the threats in this book which you have 
found. Consult him for me, for the people and for the whole of 
Judah, since our fathers did not listen to what this book says nor 
to its ordinances. This is why the anger of Yahweh is ready to 
burn against us."

[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}The priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan and Asaiah 
went to consult the prophetess Huldah, wife of Shallum, son of 
Tikva, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in 
Jerusalem, in the new city.
{I}15_{/}She answered them, {R}_{I}16_{/}"You will say to the one who sent 
you to me: This is what Yahweh says: I shall bring evil upon this 
place and upon its inhabitants according to all the words of the 
book which the king of Judah has read, {I}17_{/}for this people have 
abandoned me and they have burned incense in honor of other gods. 
Because of all they have done, I am angry about this place, and 
the fire of my anger will not be quenched.
{R}_{I}18_{/}You shall deliver this answer to the king of Judah, who has 
sent you to consult Yahweh: Yahweh, the God of Israel says this - 
The warnings in this book shall not reach you, {I}19_{/}for your heart 
has been touched and you have done penance in the presence of 
Yahweh when you heard what I have said against this place and its 
inhabitants, that this place shall be desolate and cursed. You 
have torn your garments and wept before me, and I have heard you, 
says Yahweh. {I}20_{/}Therefore, you shall join your fathers; you 
shall die and be buried in peace, without seeing any of the evils 
I shall send against this place." 

{N}JOSIAH'S RELIGIOUS REFORM{/}

{1}23{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}The king summoned to his side all the leaders of Judah and 
Jerusalem. [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Then he went up to the House of Yahweh 
followed by all the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The priests 
with the prophets and all the people went with him, from the 
youngest to the oldest. When all were gathered, he read to them 
the book of the Law found in the House of Yahweh.
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}The king stood by the pillar; he made a covenant in the 
presence of Yahweh, promising to follow him, to keep his 
commandments and laws, and to respect his ordinances. He promised 
to keep this covenant according to what was written in the book 
with all his heart and with all his soul. And all the people 
promised with him.
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}Then the king commanded the high priest Hilkiah as well 
as the priests of lesser rank and all the gatekeepers to bring out 
all the objects which had been made for Baal, Asherah and for all 
the stars of heaven. He had them burned outside Jerusalem, in the 
idle land of Kidron, and had their ashes brought to Bethel.
{R}_{I}5_{/}The kings of Judah had appointed pagan priests who offered 
sacrifices in the sanctuaries on the hills, in the different 
cities of Judah and in the suburbs of Jerusalem. Josiah did away 
with them and with those who offered incense to Baal, to the sun, 
the moon, the stars and all the heavenly host. {R}_{I}6_{/}The Sacred 
Pillar that was in the House of Yahweh was brought out of 
Jerusalem and was taken to the brook Kidron, where it was burned 
and its ashes thrown on the public grave.
{R}_{I}7_{/}The king demolished the house of the effeminate men who 
dedicated themselves to prostitution (as was done in the cult of 
Asherah). This was within the courtyards of the House of Yahweh, 
and in this house too the women wove veils for Asherah.
{R}_{I}8_{/}Right after this he made all the priests from the cities of 
Judah come to Jerusalem, and he destroyed all the sanctuaries on 
the hills where they had offered sacrifice from Beersheba in the 
south to Geba in the north. He destroyed the Sanctuary of the 
Gates that was at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city 
governor. It was on the left side of the entrance gate to the 
city.
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}The priests who had served in the sanctuaries on the 
hills could not offer sacrifices in the House of Yahweh; they only 
ate the unleavened bread with the priests of Jerusalem.
{R}_{I}10_{/}The king had the place for burning human sacrifices in the 
valley of Ben-hinnom destroyed, so that no one could sacrifice his 
sons or daughters in the fire according to the ritual of Molech. 
{R}_{I}11_{/}The horses which the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun 
were removed from the entrance of the House of Yahweh; these were 
in the atrium, near the house of the palace official, 
Nathanmelech. And the chariots of the sun were burned. 
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}There were altars which the kings of Judah had built on 
the roof of the palace of Ahaza. There were also altars built by 
Manasseh in the two courtyards of the House of Yahweh. Josiah had 
them all destroyed and reduced to dust, which was thrown into the 
brook Kidron.
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}The king destroyed the sanctuaries on the hills facing 
Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Olives. Solomon, king of 
Israel, had built them for Ashtoreth the idol of the Sidonians, 
for Chemosh, the idol of Moab, and for Milcom, the idol of the 
Ammonites. [=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}The king broke in pieces the images of the 
false gods, cut down the sacred pillars, and filled the places in 
which these had been with human bones to make them unclean.
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}15_{/}There was also the sanctuary of Bethel, with the altar 
which Jeroboam, king of Israel, had made. This cult had been the 
sin of Israel. The king destroyed it. He set the sanctuary on fire 
and burned the sacred pillar. {R}_{I}16_{/}Looking around on all sides, 
Josiah saw the tombs on the mountain; he had the bones taken out 
of the tomb and burned on the altar. So the word of Yahweh was 
fulfilled which the man of God had proclaimed when Jeroboam was 
standing by the altar during a feast. Josiah noticed the tomb of 
this man of God, [=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}and he said, "What is that monument 
that I see?" The people of the city said to him, "That is the tomb 
of the man of God who came from Judah to announce what you have 
just done with the altar of Bethel." {R}_{I}18_{/}The king commanded, 
"Leave the tomb in peace, and let no one touch his bones." And his 
bones, together with the bones of the prophet of Samaria, were not 
touched.
{R}_{I}19_{/}Josiah also removed all the sanctuaries on the hills in the 
cities of Samaria. These sanctuaries had been made by the kings of 
Israel and they had provoked the anger of Yahweh. The king 
destroyed them and did to them as he had done to the temple of 
Bethel.
{R}_{I}20_{/}He slaughtered upon the altars all the priests of the 
sanctuaries on the hills who were found there, and he burned human 
bones on the altars. Then he returned to Jerusalem. 
{R}_{I}21_{/}The king gave this order to all the people, "Celebrate the 
Passover in honor of Yahweh, our God, as it is written in this 
Book of the Covenant."
{R}_{I}22_{/}A Passover like this had not been celebrated since the days 
of the Judges who had governed Israel, or during the time when the 
kings of Israel and the kings of Judah reigned. {R}_{I}23_{/}This 
Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of 
King Josiah. 
[=]_{R}_{I}24_{/}Josiah obeyed all the words of the Law written in the 
book which the priest Hilkiah had found in the House of Yahweh. He 
immediately did away with the mediums and seers, the small 
household gods and the idols, and all those loathsome things seen 
in the lands of Judah and Jerusalem.
[=]_{R}_{I}25_{/}There had never before been a king like him who returned 
to Yahweh with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his 
strength, observing all the Law of Moses, nor was another like him 
seen again.
{R}_{I}26_{/}In spite of this, Yahweh did not turn from the fire of his 
anger. He was angry with Judah because of all the evils Manasseh 
had done. [=]_{R}_{I}27_{/}So Yahweh declared, "I shall also cast Judah 
away from my presence as I have cast Israel; I shall no longer 
take Jerusalem into consideration, though it is the city I have 
chosen and there is the House of which I have said: My Name dwells 
here."
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}28_{/}The rest regarding Josiah and all that he did is written 
in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. {R}_{I}29_{/}In 
those days, the Pharaoh Neco crossed the river Euphrates and went 
to join the king of Asshur. King Josiah set out to confront him, 
but Neco killed him in Megiddo when he saw him. {R}_{I}30_{/}Josiah's 
servants brought his body in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem, 
and they buried him in his tomb. Then the people took Jehoahaz, 
son of Josiah, to anoint him and make him king in place of his 
father.

{N}JOSIAH'S SONS{/}

{R}_{I}31_{/}Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, 
and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother was 
Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. {I}32_{/}He did what 
displeases Yahweh, imitating his fathers. {R}_{I}33_{/}The Pharaoh Neco 
bound Jehoahaz in chains in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, since 
he did not want him to reign in Jerusalem. Then he imposed on the 
land a contribution of one hundred talents of silver and ten of 
gold. [=]_{R}_{I}34_{/}And he installed as king another son of Josiah, 
Eliakim, as the successor to his father, and changed his name to 
Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away and brought him to Egypt, 
where Jehoahaz died.
{I}35_{/}Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to the Pharaoh to pay the 
contribution which the Pharaoh himself exacted from him, through a 
tax imposed on all the land. Everyone had to pay his quota 
according to what he possessed. So Jehoiakim collected from all 
the people the gold and silver demanded by the Pharaoh.
{R}_{I}36_{/}Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, 
and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother was 
Zebidha, daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. {I}37_{/}He did what displeased 
Yahweh, imitating his fathers.

{N}NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S INVASION{/}

{1}24{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}In those days, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, invaded the 
land, and Jehoiakim became subject to him for three years, after 
which he rebelled. 
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Yahweh then sent against Jehoiakim, bands of Chaldeans, 
Arameans, Moabites and Ammonites. They raided the land of Judah 
and destroyed it according to the word Yahweh had spoken through 
his servants, the prophets.
{R}_{I}3_{/}All this happened only because Yahweh had ordered it so. He 
willed to cast the people far away from his presence because of 
the sins of Manasseh, and all the evils he had done. [=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}And 
also because of the innocent blood he had shed that filled 
Jerusalem. Because of all this, Yahweh would not pardon them.
{R}_{I}5_{/}The rest regarding Jehoiakim and all that he did is written 
in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. {I}6_{/}When 
Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoiachin succeeded him.
{R}_{I}7_{/}The king of Egypt did not leave his own land again because 
the king of Babylon had conquered all that belonged to the king of 
Egypt, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

{N}THE FIRST EXILE{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}8_{/}Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he succeeded his 
father, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother 
was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. {I}9_{/}Jehoiachin 
treated Yahweh badly, as his father had done.
{R}_{I}10_{/}At that time, the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
Babylon, came to attack Jerusalem, surrounding the city. 
{I}11_{/}Nebuchadnezzar came while the city was being besieged by his 
men.
{R}_{I}12_{/}Jehoiachin, king of Judah, surrendered together with his 
mother, his servants, his leaders and the palace officials. It was 
the eighth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. 
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Nebuchadnezzar captured them and he took away the 
treasures of the House of Yahweh and of the king's house. He also 
destroyed all the objects of gold which Solomon, king of Israel, 
had made for the sanctuary of Yahweh. So the word Yahweh had 
spoken, was fulfilled.
[=]_{I}14_{/}Nebuchadnezzar carried off into exile all the leaders and 
prominent men, the blacksmiths and locksmiths, all the men of 
valor fit for war. A total of ten thousand were exiled to Babylon. 
Only the poorest sector of the population was left. 
{I}15_{/}Nebuchaddnezzar also carried away Jehoiachin, with his 
mother, his wives, the ministers of the palace, and the prominent 
men of the land.
{R}_{I}16_{/}So all the prominent people, numbering seven thousand, the 
blacksmiths, numbering a thousand, and all the men fit for war 
were deported to Babylon by the king of Babylon.
{R}_{I}17_{/}He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king of Jerusalem, in 
place of Jehoiachin. And he changed his name to Zedekiah.
[=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}Zedekiah was twenty-one years old, and he reigned in 
Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, daughter of 
Jeremiah. {I}19_{/}He did what displeased Yahweh, as Jehoiakim had 
done; {R}_{I}20_{/}so the punishment of Yahweh fell on Jerusalem and 
Judah, until he cast them far away from his presence. And Zedekiah 
rebelled against the king of Babylon.

{N}THE CHALDEANS CONQUER AND DESTROY JERUSALEM{/}

{1}25{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day 
of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched with 
his entire army and laid siege to Jerusalem. They camped outside 
the city and built siege works all around it. {I}2_{/}The city was 
under siege up to the eleventh year of Zedekiah.
{I}3_{/}On the ninth day of the fourth month famine became a serious 
problem in the city, and throughout the land there was no bread 
for the people. {R}_{I}4_{/}When the city was opened by a breach in the 
wall, the Judean army fled through the gate between the two walls 
near the king's garden while the Chaldeans were still around the 
city and they fled towards the Arabah. {R}_{I}5_{/}The Chaldeans followed 
in hot pursuit of King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the 
plains of Jericho. All his army deserted and scattered.
{R}_{I}6_{/}The Chaldeans seized the king and led him away to Riblah in 
the territory of Hamath and there the king of Babylon passed 
sentence on him. {R}_{I}7_{/}There at Riblah the king of Babylon 
slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah in his presence. He then put out 
the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with a double bronze chain and 
took him to Babylon.
{R}_{I}8_{/}On the seventh day of the fifth month in the nineteenth year 
of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, commander of the 
bodyguard and servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem 
and {R}_{I}9_{/}set fire to the House of Yahweh and the royal palace as 
well as to all the houses in Jerusalem. {R}_{I}10_{/}The Chaldean army 
under the commander of the bodyguard completely demolished all the 
walls around Jerusalem.
[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Nebuzaradan, commander of the bodyguard, carried off 
into exile the last of the Jews left in the city, those who had 
deserted to the king of Babylon and the remainder of the artisans. 
{I}12_{/}But he left those among the very poor who were capable of 
working in vineyards and cultivating the soil.
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}The Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars, the 
stands and the bronze Sea in the House of Yahweh and carried off 
all this bronze to Babylon.
{I}14_{/}They also took the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, the spoons 
and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. {I}15_{/}The 
commander of the bodyguard took the basins, censers, sprinkling 
bowls, pots, lampstands, ladles and bowls - all that was made of 
gold or silver.
{R}_{I}16_{/}The two pillars, the Sea, the movable stands which King 
Solomon had made for the House of Yahweh - all this bronze was of 
immeasurable weight. {I}17_{/}The pillars were each eighteen cubits 
high. Each had a thickness of four fingers and was hollow. On top 
of each pillar was a bronze capital five cubits high, and above 
and around the capital there was filigree work with pomegranates 
made of bronze.
{I}18_{/}The commander of the bodyguard took captive Seraiah the chief 
priest and Zephaniah the next priest in rank, as well as three 
doorkeepers.
{R}_{I}19_{/}He also took from those in the city a eunuch in command of 
the fighting men, five personal advisers to the king who were 
discovered in the city, the commander's secretary, responsible for 
military conscription, and sixty of his men who were found in the 
city. {R}_{I}20_{/}Nebuzaradan took all these away to the king of Babylon 
at Riblah. {R}_{I}21_{/}There at Riblah in the territory of Hamath the 
king of Babylon had them put to death. So Judah was taken away 
captive from its own land.
[=]_{R}_{I}22_{/}As for the remnant of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar, 
king of Babylon, had left behind, he appointed Gedaliah, son of 
Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as their governor. [=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}When the 
commanders of the troops and their men heard that the king of 
Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they went to him at 
Mizpah. These were Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, Johanan, son of 
Kareah, Seraiah, son of Tanhumeth, from Natophah, Jaazaniah the 
Macaathite, with their men. {R}_{I}24_{/}Gedaliah told them and their men 
most solemnly, "Do not be afraid of submitting yourselves to the 
Chaldeans. Live in the country obeying the king of Babylon, and 
all will be well with you."
{R}_{I}25_{/}In the seventh month, however, Ishmael, son of Nethaniah son 
of Elishama, who belonged to the king's family, came with ten of 
his men and killed Gedaliah as well as the Judeans and the 
Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. [=]_{R}_{I}26_{/}Then all the 
people, from the greatest to the least, set out with the 
commanders of the troops and took refuge in Egypt, in fear of the 
Chaldeans.
{R}_{I}27_{/}On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month in the 
thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiakin king of Judah, Evil-
merodah, king of Babylon, in the year he came to the throne 
pardoned Jehoiakin king of Judah and released him from prison. 
{R}_{I}28_{/}He spoke kindly to him, and gave him more honorable 
treatment than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 
{R}_{I}29_{/}Jehoiakin put aside his prison garment and for the rest of 
his life ate at the king's table.
{R}_{I}30_{/}Day by day, for as long as he lived, he was maintained by 
the king of Babylon.

