Apr 16 - 2 Chronicles 32-34
2 Chronicles
1After these things, and after this manner of truth, Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians arrived. And entering Judah, he besieged the fortified cities, desiring to seize them2And when Hezekiah had seen this, specifically that Sennacherib had arrived, and that the entire force of the war was turning against Jerusalem3he took counsel with the rulers and with the most valiant men, so that they might obstruct the heads of the springs which were beyond the city. And with everyone discerning the same judgment about this4he gathered together a great multitude, and they obstructed all the springs, and the brook which was flowing through the midst of the land, saying: "Otherwise, the kings of the Assyrians might arrive and find an abundance of water.5Also, acting industriously, he built up the entire wall that had been broken apart. And he constructed towers upon it, and another wall outside it. And he repaired Millo, in the City of David. And he made all kinds of weapons and shields6And he appointed leaders of the warriors within the army. And he summoned them all to the wide street of the gate of the city. And he spoke to their heart, saying7"Act manfully and be strengthened. Do not be afraid. Neither should you dread the king of the Assyrians and the entire multitude that is with him. For many more are with us than with him8For with him is an arm of flesh; with us is the Lord our God, who is our helper, and who fights for us." And the people were strengthened by this type of words from Hezekiah, the king of Judah9After these things, Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, sent his servants to Jerusalem, (for he and his entire army were besieging Lachish) to Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and to all the people who were in the city, saying10"Thus says Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians: In whom do you have faith, as you sit besieged in Jerusalem11Does not Hezekiah deceive you, so that he would deliver you to die from hunger and thirst, by affirming that the Lord your God will free you from the hand of the king of the Assyrians12Is this not the same Hezekiah who destroyed his own high places and altars, and who instructed Judah and Jerusalem, saying: ‘You shall worship before one altar, and you shall burn incense upon it?13Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have the gods of the nations and all the lands prevailed so as to free their region from my hand14Who is there, out of all the gods of the nations that my fathers destroyed, who is able to rescue his people from my hand, so that now also your God would be able to rescue you from this hand15Therefore, let not Hezekiah deceive or delude you with vain persuasion. And you should not believe him. For if no god out of all the nations and kingdoms was able to free his people from my hand, and from the hand of my fathers, consequently neither will your God be able to rescue you from my hand.16Then too, his servants were speaking many other things against the Lord God, and against his servant Hezekiah17Also, he wrote letters full of blasphemy against the Lord God of Israel. And against him he said: "Just as the gods of other nations were unable to free their people from my hand, so also is the God of Hezekiah unable to rescue his people from this hand.18Moreover, he also shouted with a great clamor, in the language of the Jews, toward the people who were sitting upon the walls of Jerusalem, so that he might frighten them and so seize the city19And he was speaking against the God of Jerusalem, just as against the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are works of the hands of men20And Hezekiah the king, and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed against this blasphemy, and they cried out to heaven21And the Lord sent an Angel, who struck all the experienced men and warriors, and the leaders of the army of the king of the Assyrians. And he returned in disgrace to his own land. And when he had entered the house of his god, the sons who had gone forth from his loins killed him with the sword22And the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, and from the hand of all. And he presented to them peace on every side23And now many were bringing victims and sacrifices to the Lord in Jerusalem, and gifts to Hezekiah, the king of Judah. And after these things, he was exalted before all the nations24In those days, Hezekiah was sick, even unto death, and he prayed to the Lord. And he heeded him, and gave to him a sign25But he did not repay according to the benefits which he had received, for his heart was lifted up. And so wrath was brought against him, and against Judah and Jerusalem26And after this, he was humbled, because he had exalted his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And therefore the wrath of the Lord did not overwhelm them in the days of Hezekiah27Now Hezekiah was wealthy and very famous. And he gathered for himself many treasures of silver and gold and precious stones, of aromatics, and all kinds of weapons, and vessels of great price28and also repositories of grain, wine, and oil, and stalls for every beast of burden, and fencing for cattle29And he built for himself cities. For indeed, he had innumerable herds and flocks of sheep. For the Lord had given to him an exceedingly great substance30This same Hezekiah was the one who blocked the upper font of the waters of Gihon, and who diverted them down to the western part of the City of David. In all his works, he prosperously accomplished whatever he willed31Yet still, concerning the legates from the leaders of Babylon, who had been sent to him so that they might inquire about the portent which had happened upon the earth, God permitted him to be tempted, so that everything might be made known which was in his heart32Now the rest of the words of Hezekiah, and his mercies, have been written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel33And Hezekiah slept with his fathers. And they buried him above the sepulchers of the sons of David. And all of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, celebrated his funeral. And his son, Manasseh, reigned in his place
1Manasseh was twelve years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem2But he did evil before the Lord, in accord with all the abominations of the nations which the Lord overturned before the sons of Israel3And turning away, he repaired the high places, which had been demolished by his father, Hezekiah. And he constructed altars to the Baals, and made sacred groves. And he adored the entire army of heaven, and he served them4Also, he built altars in the house of the Lord, about which the Lord had said, "My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.5But he built these for the entire army of heaven, in the two courts of the house of the Lord6And he caused his sons to pass through fire in the Valley of the son of Hinnom. He observed dreams, followed divinations, served the occult arts, had with him magicians and enchanters, and worked many evils before the Lord, so that he provoked him7Also, he set up a graven image and molten statue in the house of God, about which God said to David, and to his son Solomon: "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name forever8And I will not cause the foot of Israel to be moved from the land which I delivered to their fathers. Yet this is so, only if they will take care to do what I have instructed them, by the hand of Moses, with the entire law and the ceremonies and the judgments.9And so Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did evil, more so than all the nations which the Lord had overturned before the face of the sons of Israel10And the Lord spoke to him and to his people, but they were not willing to pay attention11Therefore, he led over them the leaders of the army of the king of the Assyrians. And they captured Manasseh, and they led him, bound with chains and fetters, to Babylon12And after this, being in great anguish, he prayed to the Lord his God. And he did penance greatly before the God of his fathers13And he petitioned and begged him intently. And he heeded his prayer, and led him back to Jerusalem, into his kingdom. And Manasseh realized that the Lord himself was God14After these things, he built a wall outside the City of David, to the west of Gihon, at the steep valley, from the entrance to the fish gate, circling around as far as Ophel. And he raised it up greatly. And he appointed leaders of the army in all the fortified cities of Judah15And he took away the foreign gods, and the idol from the house of the Lord, and also the altars which he had made on the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem. And he cast all these things outside the city16Then he repaired the altar of the Lord, and he immolated upon it victims, and peace offerings, with praise. And he instructed Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel17Yet still the people were immolating on the high places, to the Lord their God18But the rest of the deeds of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and also the words of the seers who were speaking to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are contained in the words of the kings of Israel19Also, his prayer and its heeding, and all his sins and contempt, and the sites on which he built high places and made sacred groves and statues, before he repented, have been written in the words of Hozai20Then Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. And his son, Amon, reigned in his place21Amon was twenty-two years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem22And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done. And he immolated to all the idols that Manasseh had fabricated, and he served them23But he did not turn his face to the Lord, as his father Manasseh had turned himself. And he sinned much more grievously24And when his servants had conspired against him, they killed him in his own house25But the rest of the multitude of the people, having slain those who had struck down Amon, appointed his son, Josiah, as king in his place
1Josiah was eight years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem2And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and he walked in the ways of his father David. He did not turn away, neither to the right, nor to the left3Now in the eighth year of his reign, when he was still a boy, he began to seek the God of his father David. And in the twelfth year after he had begun to reign, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the sacred groves, and the idols, and the graven images4And in his sight, they destroyed the altars of the Baals, and they demolished the idols which had been set upon them. And then he cut down the sacred groves and crushed the graven images. And he scattered the fragments upon the tombs of those who had been accustomed to immolate to them5And after that, he burned the bones of the priests upon the altars of the idols. And so did he cleanse Judah and Jerusalem6Then too, in the cities of Manasseh, and of Ephraim, and of Simeon, even to Naphtali, he overturned everything7And when he had destroyed the altars and the sacred groves, and had broken the idols to pieces, and when all the profane shrines had been demolished from the entire land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem8And so, in the eighteenth year of his reign, having now cleansed the land and the temple of the Lord, he sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah, the ruler of the city, and Joah, the son of Joahaz, the historian, to repair the house of the Lord his God9And they went to Hilkiah, the high priest. And having accepted from him the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, and which the Levites and porters had gathered together from Manasseh, and Ephraim, and the entire remnant of Israel, and also from all of Judah, and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem10they delivered it into the hands of those who were in charge of the workers in the house of the Lord, so that they might repair the temple, and restore whatever was weak11And they gave it to the artisans and the stoneworkers, so that they might buy stones from the quarries, and wood for the joints of the building and for the upper floors the houses, which the kings of Judah had destroyed12And they did everything faithfully. Now the overseers of the workers were Jahath and Obadiah, from the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, from the sons of Kohath, who were supervising the work. All were Levites who knew how to play musical instruments13Truly, scribes and teachers, from among the Levites who were porters, were over those who were carrying burdens for various uses14And when they carried out the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lord by the hand of Moses15And he said to Shaphan, the scribe: "I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord." And he delivered it to him16Then he took the volume to the king, and he reported to him, saying: "Behold, everything that you entrusted to your servants is completed17They have melted together the silver that was found in the house of the Lord. And it has been given to the overseers of the artisans and craftsmen for various works18After this, Hilkiah the priest gave to me this book." And when he had read it in the presence of the king19and he had heard the words of the law, he tore his garments20And he instructed Hilkiah, and Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Abdon, the son of Micah, and also Shaphan, the scribe, and Asaiah, the servant of the king, saying21"Go, and pray to the Lord for me, and for the remnant of Israel and Judah, concerning all the words of this book, which has been found. For the great fury of the Lord has rained down upon us, because our fathers did not keep the words of the Lord, to do all that has been written in this volume.22Therefore, Hilkiah, and those who had been sent with him by the king, went to Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the vestments. She was living in Jerusalem, in the second part. And they spoke to her the words which we explained above23And she responded to them: "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me24Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will lead in evils over this place, and over its inhabitants, with all the curses that have been written in this book, which they have read before the king of Judah25For they have abandoned me, and they have sacrificed to foreign gods, so that they provoked me to wrath by all the works of their hands. Therefore, my fury will rain down upon this place, and it will not be extinguished26To the king of Judah, who sent you to petition before the Lord, so shall you speak: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Since you listened to the words of this volume27and your heart was softened, and you humbled yourself in the sight of God concerning these things which have been said against this place and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and since, revering my face, you have torn your garments, and have wept before me: I also have heeded you, says the Lord28For now I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be brought into your sepulcher in peace. Neither shall your eyes see all the evil that I will lead in, over this place and over its inhabitants." And so they took back to the king all that she had said29And he, calling together all those greater by birth of Judah and Jerusalem30ascended to the house of the Lord, united with all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites, and all the people, from the least even to the greatest. And in their hearing, in the house of the Lord, the king read all the words of the volume31And standing up at his tribunal, he struck a covenant before the Lord, so that he would walk after him, and would keep his precepts and testimonies and justifications, with his whole heart and with his whole soul, and so that he would do the things that were written in that volume, which he had read32Also, concerning this, he bound by oath all who had been found in Jerusalem and Benjamin. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accord with the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers33Therefore, Josiah took away all the abominations from all the regions of the sons of Israel. And he caused all who were remaining in Israel to serve the Lord their God. During all his days, they did not withdraw from the Lord, the God of their fathers