New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Isaiah Encourages Hezekiah

1 And when King Hezekiah heardit,he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the Lord.

2 Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection; for children have come to birth and there is no strength todeliver.

4 Perhaps the Lordyour God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lordyour God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.'”

5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6 Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”‘”

Sennacherib Defies God

8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.

9 When he heardthemsay concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah saying,

10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be spared?

12 Did the gods of those nations which my fathers destroyed deliver them,evenGozan and Haran and Rezeph and the sons of Eden whowerein Telassar?

13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, andofHena and Ivvah?'”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lordand spread it out before the Lord.

15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lordand said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, who are enthronedabovethe cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

16 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.

17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands

18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.

19 Now, O Lordour God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.”

God’s Answer through Isaiah

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heardyou.’

21 This is the word that the Lordhas spoken against him:

‘She has despised you and mocked you,

The virgin daughter of Zion;

She has shakenherhead behind you,

The daughter of Jerusalem!

22 ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed?

And against whom have you raisedyourvoice,

And haughtily lifted up your eyes?

Against the Holy One of Israel!

23 ‘Through your messengers you have reproached the Lord,

And you have said, “With my many chariots

I came up to the heights of the mountains,

To the remotest parts of Lebanon;

And I cut down its tall cedarsandits choice cypresses.

And I entered its farthest lodging place, its thickest forest.

24 “I dugwellsand drank foreign waters,

And with the sole of my feet I dried up

All the rivers of Egypt.”

25 ‘Have you not heard?

Long ago I did it;

From ancient times I planned it.

Now I have brought it to pass,

That you should turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

26 ‘Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength,

They were dismayed and put to shame;

They were as the vegetation of the field and as the green herb,

As grass on the housetops is scorched before it is grown up.

27 ‘But I know your sitting down,

And your going out and your coming in,

And your raging against Me.

28 ‘Because of your raging against Me,

And because your arrogance has come up to My ears,

Therefore I will put My hook in your nose,

And My bridle in your lips,

And I will turn you back by the way which you came.

29 ‘Then this shall be the sign for you: you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

30 The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

31 For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal ofthe Lordwill perform this.

32 ‘Therefore thus says the Lordconcerning the king of Assyria, “He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it.

33 By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”‘ declares the Lord.

34 ‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.'”

35 Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lordwent out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead.

36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returnedhome,and lived at Nineveh.

37 It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/2KI/19-37a0862639dd1cff45ed8b1742d769c4.mp3?version_id=100—

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'”

2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying,

3 “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lordcame to him, saying,

5 “Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.

6 I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”‘”

7 Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took and laiditon the boil, and he recovered.

8 Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lordwill heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lordthe third day?”

9 Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lordwill do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?”

10 So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.”

11 Isaiah the prophet cried to the Lord, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

Hezekiah Shows Babylon His Treasures

12 At that time Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

13 Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.”

15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord.

17 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord.

18 ‘Some of your sons who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.'”

19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lordwhich you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Is it not so, if there will be peace and truth in my days?”

20 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

21 So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son became king in his place.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/2KI/20-47694303d2bf682ff04ebecb3c3d9a58.mp3?version_id=100—

Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah.

2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lorddispossessed before the sons of Israel.

3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.

4 He built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lordhad said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.”

5 For he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

6 He made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LordprovokingHim to anger.

7 Then he set the carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the Lordsaid 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 put My name forever.

8 And I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.”

9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom the Lorddestroyed before the sons of Israel.

The King’s Idolatries Rebuked

10 Now the Lordspoke through His servants the prophets, saying,

11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, having done wickedly more than all the Amorites did whowerebefore him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols;

12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringingsuchcalamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.

13 I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.

14 I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies;

15 because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day.'”

16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord.

17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin which he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

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

Amon Succeeds Manasseh

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s namewasMeshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

20 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done.

21 For he walked in all the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served and worshiped them.

22 So he forsook the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord.

23 The servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house.

24 Then the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

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

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/2KI/21-9f2acc825800fdcb15a92210924aae05.mp3?version_id=100—

Josiah Succeeds Amon

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s namewasJedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.

2 He did right in the sight of the Lordand walked in all the way of his father David, nor did he turn aside to the right or to the left.

3 Now in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of the Lordsaying,

4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may count the money brought in to the house of the Lordwhich the doorkeepers have gathered from the people.

5 Let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are in the house of the Lordto repair the damages of the house,

6 to the carpenters and the builders and the masons and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house.

7 Only no accounting shall be made with them for the money delivered into their hands, for they deal faithfully.”

The Lost Book

8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan who read it.

9 Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.”

10 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

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

12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant saying,

13 “Go, inquire of the Lordfor me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the Lordthat burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

Huldah Predicts

14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her.

15 She said to them, “Thus says the LordGod of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to me,

16 thus says the Lord, “Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants,evenall the words of the book which the king of Judah has read.

17 Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”‘

18 But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lordthus shall you say to him, ‘Thus says the LordGod of Israel, “Regardingthe words which you have heard,

19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lordwhen you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord.

20 “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”‘” So they brought back word to the king.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/2KI/22-da1cb023be4fa13fe26d3bf651c089a8.mp3?version_id=100—

Josiah’s Covenant

1 Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

2 The king went up to the house of the Lordand all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

3 The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with allhisheart and allhissoul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

Reforms under Josiah

4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the Lordall the vessels that were made for Baal, forAsherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.

5 He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven.

6 He brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lordoutside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and grounditto dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.

7 He also broke down the houses of themalecult prostitutes whichwerein the house of the Lord, where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah.

8 Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates whichwereat the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, whichwereon one’s left at the city gate.

9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lordin Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

10 He also defiledTopheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for Molech.

11 He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, whichwasin the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

12 The altars whichwereon the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, the king broke down; and hesmashed them there and threw their dust into the brook Kidron.

13 The high places whichwerebefore Jerusalem, whichwereon the right of the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled.

14 He broke in pieces thesacredpillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with human bones.

15 Furthermore, the altar thatwasat Bethelandthe high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down. Then he demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah.

16 Now when Josiah turned, he saw the graves thatwerethere on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burnedthemon the altar and defiled it according to the word of the Lordwhich the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

17 Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.”

18 He said, “Let him alone; let no one disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

19 Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places whichwerein the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking the Lord; and he did to them just as he had done in Bethel.

20 All the priests of the high places whowerethere he slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them; then he returned to Jerusalem.

Passover Reinstituted

21 Then the king commanded all the people saying, “Celebrate the Passover to the Lordyour God as it is written in this book of the covenant.”

22 Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah.

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

24 Moreover, Josiah removed the mediums and the spiritists and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord.

25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lordwith all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

26 However, the Lorddid not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.

27 The Lordsaid, “I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.'”

Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah

28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

29 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and whenPharaoh Necosaw him he killed him at Megiddo.

30 His servants drove his body in a chariot from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

32 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.

33 Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh

34 Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away and broughthimto Egypt, and he died there.

35 So Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to give the money at the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his valuation, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s namewasZebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

37 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/2KI/23-612786b5c7afbe66a62a9ce49e151d3d.mp3?version_id=100—

Babylon Controls Jehoiakim

1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servantforthree years; then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 The Lordsent against him bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lordwhich He had spoken through His servants the prophets.

3 Surely at the command of the Lordit came upon Judah, to removethemfrom His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,

4 and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lordwould not forgive.

5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Jehoiachin Reigns

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

7 The king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s namewasNehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

Deportation to Babylon

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.

11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it.

12 Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign.

13 He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lordhad said.

14 Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.

15 So he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16 All the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

Zedekiah Made King

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

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

19 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

20 For through the anger of the Lordthiscame about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/2KI/24-1c8b1172505cfcc191ffb9eb826cc961.mp3?version_id=100—

Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

1 Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it.

2 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

3 On the ninth day of thefourthmonth the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

4 Then the city was broken into, and all the men of warfledby night by way of the gate between the two walls beside the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah.

5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his army was scattered from him.

6 Then they captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and he passed sentence on him.

7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned and Plundered

8 Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.

9 He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire.

10 So all the army of the Chaldeans whowere withthe captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.

11 Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile.

12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

13 Now the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon.

14 They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the bronze vessels which were used intempleservice.

15 The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver.

16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord-the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.

17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three cubits, with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these with network.

18 Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three officers of the temple.

19 From the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and five of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.

20 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was led away into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor

22 Nowas forthe people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them.

23 When all the captains of the forces, they andtheirmen, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliahgovernor,they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.

24 Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”

25 But it came about in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

27 Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventhdayof the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison;

28 and he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings whowerewith him in Babylon.

29 Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life;

30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/2KI/25-60345f984b6f77204ab2ae74933be306.mp3?version_id=100—

David in Old Age

1 Now King David was old, advanced in age; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not keep warm.

2 So his servants said to him, “Let them seek a young virgin for my lord the king, and let her attend the king and become his nurse; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.”

3 So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

4 The girl was very beautiful; and she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not cohabit with her.

5 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen with fifty men to run before him.

6 His father had never crossed him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.

7 He had conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and following Adonijah they helped him.

8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

9 Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by thestone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants.

10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, and Solomon his brother.

Nathan and Bathsheba

11 Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not knowit?

12 So now come, please let me give you counsel and save your life and the life of your son Solomon.

13 Go at once to King David and say to him, ‘Have you not, my lord, O king, sworn to your maidservant, saying, “Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’

14 “Behold, while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”

15 So Bathsheba went in to the king in the bedroom. Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king.

16 Then Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself before the king. And the king said, “What do you wish?”

17 She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your maidservant by the Lordyour God,saying,’Surely your son Solomon shall be king after me and he shall sit on my throne.’

18 Now, behold, Adonijah is king; and now, my lord the king, you do not knowit.

19 He has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant.

20 As for you now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

21 Otherwise it will come about, as soon as my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered offenders.”

22 Behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.

23 They told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground.

24 Then Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?

25 For he has gone down today and has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons and the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest, and behold, they are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘Longlive King Adonijah!’

26 But me,evenme your servant, and Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and your servant Solomon, he has not invited.

27 Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

28 Then King David said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.

29 The king vowed and said, “As the Lordlives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,

30 surely as I vowed to you by the Lordthe God of Israel, saying, ‘Your son Solomon shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’; I will indeed do so this day.”

31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and prostrated herself before the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever.”

32 Then King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came into the king’s presence.

33 The king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

34 Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel, and blow the trumpet and say, ‘Longlive King Solomon!’

35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne and be king in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! Thus may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say.

37 As the Lordhas been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David!”

Solomon Anointed King

38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.

39 Zadok the priest then took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Longlive King Solomon!”

40 All the people went up after him, and the people were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth shook at their noise.

41 Now Adonijah and all the guests whowerewith him hearditas they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why is the city making such an uproar?”

42 While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Then Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a valiant man and bring good news.”

43 But Jonathan replied to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king.

44 The king has also sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule.

45 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise which you have heard.

46 Besides, Solomon has even taken his seat on the throne of the kingdom.

47 Moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!’ And the king bowed himself on the bed.

48 The king has also said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes seeit.'”

49 Then all the guests of Adonijah were terrified; and they arose and each went on his way.

50 And Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, and he arose, went and took hold of the horns of the altar.

51 Now it was told Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, for behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.'”

52 Solomon said, “If he is a worthy man, not one of his hairs will fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he will die.”

53 So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and prostrated himself before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/1KI/1-3ef5942bfdc0c4cb708454748766a4be.mp3?version_id=100—

David’s Charge to Solomon

1 As David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,

2 “I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man.

3 Keep the charge of the Lordyour God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn,

4 so that the Lordmay carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me intruth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

5 “Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt about his waist, and on his sandals on his feet.

6 So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.

7 But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for they assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

8 Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

9 Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.”

Death of David

10 Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.

11 The days that David reigned over Israelwereforty years: seven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem.

12 And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.”

14 Then he said, “I have somethingto sayto you.” And she said, “Speak.”

15 So he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel expected me to be king; however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord.

16 Now I am making one request of you; do notrefuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.”

17 Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”

18 Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”

Adonijah Executed

19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he had a throne set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.

20 Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”

21 So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.”

22 King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him also the kingdom-for he is my older brother-even for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!”

23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.

24 Now therefore, as the Lordlives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and who has made me a house as He promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.”

25 So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.

26 Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord Godbefore my father David, and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.”

27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Joab Executed

28 Now the news came to Joab, for Joab had followed Adonijah, although he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of the Lordand took hold of the horns of the altar.

29 It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall upon him.”

30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lordand said to him, “Thus the king has said, ‘Come out.'” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me.”

31 The king said to him, “Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause.

32 The Lordwill return his blood on his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not knowit:Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

33 So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever; but to David and his descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lordforever.”

34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness.

35 The king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.

Shimei Executed

36 Now the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place.

37 For on the day you go out and cross over the brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.”

38 Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

39 But it came about at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.”

40 Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.

41 It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.

42 So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lordand solemnly warn you, saying, ‘You will know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word which I have heard is good.’

43 Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I have laid on you?”

44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know all the evil which you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore the Lordshall return your evil on your own head.

45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lordforever.”

46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.

Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/1KI/2-8142cacf60c261bfc7299f4acb95a457.mp3?version_id=100—

Solomon’s Rule Consolidated

1 Then Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lordand the wall around Jerusalem.

2 The people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lorduntil those days.

3 Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

5 In Gibeon the Lordappeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask whatyou wishMe to give you.”

Solomon’s Prayer

6 Then Solomon said, “You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You intruth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, asit isthis day.

7 Now, O Lordmy God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.

8 Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.

9 So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

God’s Answer

10 It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.

11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice,

12 behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.

13 I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.

14 If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.”

15 Then Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

Solomon Wisely Judges

16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him.

17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while shewasin the house.

18 It happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house.

19 This woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on it.

20 So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.

21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne.”

22 Then the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman said, “No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.

23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.'”

24 The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

25 The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”

26 Then the woman whose childwasthe living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over her son and said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; dividehim!”

27 Then the king said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.”

28 When all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had handed down, they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/1KI/3-7f82dd3d14b26d5ab04e888c0ddf4cc1.mp3?version_id=100—