2 Chronicles
2
Chronicles 1 (The Message)
1 Solomon son of David took a firm grip
on the reins of his kingdom. God was with him and gave him much help. 2 Solomon
addressed all Israel - the commanders and captains, the judges, every leader,
and all the heads of families. 3 Then Solomon and the entire company went to
the worship center at Gibeon - that's where the Tent of Meeting of God was, the
one that Moses the servant of God had made in the wilderness. 4 The Chest of
God, though, was in Jerusalem - David had brought it up from Kiriath Jearim, prepared
a special place for it, and pitched a tent for it. 5 But the Bronze Altar that
Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon, in its place before
the Tabernacle of God; and that is where Solomon and the congregation gathered
to pray. 6 Solomon worshiped God at the Bronze Altar in front of the Tent of
Meeting; he sacrificed a thousand Whole-Burnt-Offerings on it. 7 That night God
appeared to Solomon. God said, "What do you want from me? Ask." 8
Solomon answered, "You were extravagantly generous with David my father,
and now you have made me king in his place. 9 Establish, God, the words you
spoke to my father, for you've given me a staggering task, ruling this mob of
people. 10 Yes, give me wisdom and knowledge as I come and go among this people
- for who on his own is capable of leading these, your glorious people?"
11 God answered Solomon, "This is what has come out of your heart: You
didn't grasp for money, wealth, fame, and the doom of your enemies; you didn't
even ask for a long life. You asked for wisdom and knowledge so you could
govern well my people over whom I've made you king. 12 Because of this, you get
what you asked for - wisdom and knowledge. And I'm presenting you the rest as a
bonus - money, wealth, and fame beyond anything the kings before or after you
had or will have." 13 Then Solomon left the worship center at Gibeon and
the Tent of Meeting and went to Jerusalem. He set to work as king of Israel. 14
Solomon collected chariots and horses: 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses! He
stabled them in the special chariot-cities as well as in Jerusalem. 15 The king
made silver and gold as common as rocks, and cedar as common as the fig trees
in the lowland hills. 16 His horses were brought in from Egypt and Cilicia,
specially acquired by the king's agents. 17 Chariots from Egypt went for
fifteen pounds of silver and a horse for about three and three-quarters of a
pound of silver. Solomon carried on a brisk horse-trading business with the
Hittite and Aramean royal houses.
2
Chronicles 2 (The Message)
1 Solomon gave orders to begin
construction on the house of worship in honor of God and a palace for himself.
2 Solomon assigned 70,000 common laborers, 80,000 to work the quarries in the
mountains, and 3,600 foremen to manage the workforce. 3 Then Solomon sent this
message to King Hiram of Tyre: "Send me cedar logs, the same kind you sent
David my father for building his palace. 4 I'm about to build a house of
worship in honor of God, a holy place for burning perfumed incense, for setting
out holy bread, for making Whole-Burnt-Offerings at morning and evening
worship, and for Sabbath, New Moon, and Holy Day services of worship - the acts
of worship required of Israel. 5 "The house I am building has to be the
best, for our God is the best, far better than competing gods. 6 But who is
capable of building such a structure? Why, the skies - the entire cosmos! -
can't begin to contain him. And me, who am I to think I can build a house
adequate for God - burning incense to him is about all I'm good for! 7 I need
your help: Send me a master artisan in gold, silver, bronze, iron, textiles of
purple, crimson, and violet, and who knows the craft of engraving; he will
supervise the trained craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem that my father provided.
8 Also send cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon; I know you have
lumberjacks experienced in the Lebanon forests. I'll send workers to join your
crews 9 to cut plenty of timber - I'm going to need a lot, for this house I'm
building is going to be absolutely stunning - a showcase temple! 10 I'll
provide all the food necessary for your crew of lumberjacks and loggers:
130,000 bushels of wheat, 120,000 gallons of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive
oil." 11 Hiram king of Tyre wrote Solomon in reply: "It's plain that
God loves his people - he made you king over them!" 12 He wrote on,
"Blessed be the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, and who gave
King David a son so wise, so knowledgeable and shrewd, to build a temple for
God and a palace for himself. 13 I've sent you Huram-Abi - he's already on his
way - he knows the construction business inside and out. 14 His mother is from
Dan and his father from Tyre. He knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze,
iron, stone, and wood, in purple, violet, linen, and crimson textiles; he is
also an expert engraver and competent to work out designs with your artists and
architects, and those of my master David, your father. 15 "Go ahead and
send the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine you promised for my work crews. 16
We'll log the trees you need from the Lebanon forests and raft them down to
Joppa. You'll have to get the timber up to Jerusalem yourself." 17 Solomon
then took a census of all the foreigners living in Israel, using the same
census-taking method employed by his father. They numbered 153,600. 18 He
assigned 70,000 of them as common laborers, 80,000 to work the quarries in the
mountains, and 3,600 as foremen to manage the work crews.
2
Chronicles 3 (The Message)
1 So Solomon broke ground, launched
construction of the house of God in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, the place where
God had appeared to his father David. The precise site, the threshing floor of
Araunah the Jebusite, had been designated by David. 2 He broke ground on the
second day in the second month of the fourth year of his rule. 3 These are the
dimensions that Solomon set for the construction of the house of God: ninety
feet long and thirty feet wide. 4 The porch in front stretched the width of the
building, that is, thirty feet; and it was thirty feet high. 5 He paneled the
main hall with cypress and veneered it with fine gold engraved with palm tree
and chain designs. 6 He decorated the building with precious stones and gold
from Parvaim. 7 Everything was coated with gold veneer: rafters, doorframes, walls,
and doors. Cherubim were engraved on the walls. 8 He made the Holy of Holies a
cube, thirty feet wide, long, and high. It was veneered with 600 talents
(something over twenty-two tons) of gold. 9 The gold nails weighed fifty
shekels (a little over a pound). The upper rooms were also veneered in gold. 10
He made two sculptures of cherubim, gigantic angel-like figures, for the Holy
of Holies, both veneered with gold. 11 The combined wingspread of the
side-by-side cherubim (each wing measuring seven and a half feet) stretched
from wall to wall, thirty feet. 12 13 They stood erect facing the main hall. 14
He fashioned the curtain of violet, purple, and crimson fabric and worked a
cherub design into it. 15 He made two huge free-standing pillars, each fifty-two
feet tall, their capitals extending another seven and a half feet. 16 The top
of each pillar was set off with an elaborate filigree of chains, like
necklaces, from which hung a hundred pomegranates. 17 He placed the pillars in
front of The Temple, one on the right, and the other on the left. The right
pillar he named Jakin (Security) and the left pillar he named Boaz (Stability).
2
Chronicles 4 (The Message)
1 He made the Bronze Altar thirty feet
long, thirty feet wide, and ten feet high. 2 He made a Sea - an immense round
basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet high, and
forty-five feet in circumference. 3 Just under the rim, there were two parallel
bands of something like bulls, ten to each foot and a half. The figures were
cast in one piece with the Sea. 4 The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing
north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. All the bulls
faced outward and supported the Sea on their hindquarters. 5 The Sea was three
inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or a lily. It held about 18,000
gallons. 6 He made ten Washbasins, five set on the right and five on the left,
for rinsing the things used for the Whole-Burnt-Offerings. The priests washed
themselves in the Sea. 7 He made ten gold Lampstands, following the specified
pattern, and placed five on the right and five on the left. 8 He made ten
tables and set five on the right and five on the left. He also made a hundred
gold bowls. 9 He built a Courtyard especially for the priests and then the
great court and doors for the court. The doors were covered with bronze. 10 He
placed the Sea on the right side of The Temple at the southeast corner. 11 He
also made ash buckets, shovels, and bowls. And that about wrapped it up: Huram
completed the work he had contracted to do for King Solomon: 12 two pillars;
two bowl-shaped capitals for the tops of the pillars; two decorative filigrees
for the capitals; 13 four hundred pomegranates for the filigrees (a double row
of pomegranates for each filigree); 14 ten washstands with their basins; 15 one
Sea and the twelve bulls under it; 16 miscellaneous buckets, forks, shovels,
and bowls. 17 The king had them cast in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain
between Succoth and Zarethan. 18 These artifacts were never weighed - there
were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used. 19 Solomon was
also responsible for the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God: the
gold Altar; the tables that held the Bread of the Presence; 20 the Lampstands
of pure gold with their lamps, to be lighted before the Inner Sanctuary, the
Holy of Holies; 21 the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs (all solid gold); 22 the
gold wick trimmers, bowls, ladles, and censers; the gold doors of The Temple,
doors to the Holy of Holies, and the doors to the main sanctuary.
2
Chronicles 5 (The Message)
1 That completed the work King Solomon
did on The Temple of God. He then brought in the holy offerings of his father
David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the
treasury of God's Temple. Installing the Chest 2 Bringing all this to a climax,
Solomon got all the leaders together in Jerusalem - all the chiefs of tribes
and the family patriarchs - to move the Chest of the Covenant of God from Zion
and install it in The Temple. 3 All the men of Israel assembled before the king
on the feast day of the seventh month, the Feast of Booths. 4 When all the leaders
of Israel were ready, the Levites took up the Chest. 5 They carried the Chest,
the Tent of Meeting, and all the sacred things in the Tent used in worship. The
priests, all Levites, carried them. 6 King Solomon and the entire congregation
of Israel were there before the Chest, worshiping and sacrificing huge numbers
of sheep and cattle - so many that no one could keep track. 7 The priests
brought the Chest of the Covenant of God to its place in the Inner Sanctuary,
the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim. 8 The outspread wings of
the cherubim formed a canopy over the Chest and its poles. 9 The ends of the
poles were so long that they stuck out from the entrance of the Inner
Sanctuary, but were not noticeable further out - they're still there today. 10
There was nothing in the Chest itself but the two stone tablets that Moses had
placed in it at Horeb where God made a covenant with Israel after bringing them
up from Egypt. 11 The priests then left the Holy Place. All the priests there
were consecrated, regardless of rank or assignment; 12 and all the Levites who
were musicians were there - Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their families, dressed
in their worship robes; the choir and orchestra assembled on the east side of
the Altar and were joined by 120 priests blowing trumpets. 13 The choir and
trumpets made one voice of praise and thanks to God - orchestra and choir in
perfect harmony singing and playing praise to God: Yes! God is good! His loyal
love goes on forever! 14 The priests couldn't even carry out their duties
because of the cloud - the glory of God! - that filled The Temple of God.
2
Chronicles 6 (The Message)
1 Then Solomon said, God said he would
dwell in a cloud, 2 But I've built a temple most splendid, A place for you to
live in forever. 3 The king then turned to face the congregation that had come
together and blessed them: 4 "Blessed be God, the God of Israel, who spoke
personally to my father David. Now he has done what he promised when he said, 5
'From the day I brought my people Israel up from Egypt, I haven't set apart one
city among the tribes of Israel in which to build a temple to honor my Name, or
chosen one person to be the leader. 6 But now I have chosen both a city and a
person: Jerusalem for honoring my Name and David to lead my people Israel.' 7
"My father David very much wanted to build a temple honoring the Name of
God, the God of Israel, 8 but God told him, 'It was good that you wanted to
build a temple in my honor - most commendable! 9 But you are not the one to do it.
Your son, who will carry on your dynasty, will build it for my Name.' 10
"And now you see the promise completed. God has done what he said he would
do; I have succeeded David my father and now rule Israel; and I have built a
temple to honor God, the God of Israel, 11 and have secured a place for the
Chest that holds the Covenant of God, the covenant he made with the people of
Israel." 12 Before the entire congregation of Israel, Solomon took his
position at the Altar of God and stretched out his hands. 13 Solomon had made a
bronze dais seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high and
placed it inside the court; that's where he now stood. Then he knelt in full
view of the whole congregation, stretched his hands to heaven, 14 and prayed:
15 You kept your word to David my father, your promise. You did exactly what
you promised - every detail. The proof is before us today! 16 Keep it up, God,
O God of Israel! Continue to keep the promises you made to David my father when
you said, "You'll always have a descendant to represent my rule on
Israel's throne, on the one condition that your sons are as careful to live
obediently in my presence as you have." 17 O God, God of Israel, let this
all happen - confirm and establish it! 18 Can it be that God will actually move
into our neighborhood? Why, the cosmos itself isn't large enough to give you
breathing room, let alone this Temple I've built. 19 Even so, I'm bold to ask:
Pay attention to these my prayers, both intercessory and personal, O God, my
God. Listen to my prayers, energetic and devout, that I'm setting before you
right now. 20 Keep your eyes open to this Temple day and night, this place you
promised to dignify with your Name. And listen to the prayers that I pray in
this place. 21 And listen to your people Israel when they pray at this place.
Listen from your home in heaven and when you hear, forgive. 22 When someone
hurts a neighbor and promises to make things right, and then comes and repeats
the promise before your Altar in this Temple, 23 Listen from heaven and act;
judge your servants, making the offender pay for the offense And set the
offended free, dismissing all charges. 24 When your people Israel are beaten by
an enemy because they've sinned against you, but then turn to you and
acknowledge your rule in prayers desperate and devout in this Temple, 25 Listen
from your home in heaven; forgive the sin of your people Israel, return them to
the land you gave to them and their ancestors. 26 When the skies shrivel up and
there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, but then they
pray at this place, acknowledging your rule and quit their sins because you
have scourged them, 27 Listen from your home in heaven, forgive the sins of
your servants, your people Israel. Then start over with them; train them to
live right and well; Send rain on the land you gave as inheritance to your
people. 28 When disasters strike, famine or catastrophe, crop failure or
disease, locust or beetle, or when an enemy attacks their defenses - calamity
of any sort - 29 any prayer that's prayed from anyone at all among your people
Israel, their hearts penetrated by disaster, hands and arms thrown out for help
to this Temple, 30 Listen from your home in heaven, forgive and reward us:
reward each life and circumstance, For you know each life from the inside,
(you're the only one with such inside knowledge!), 31 So they'll live before
you in lifelong reverence and believing obedience on this land you gave our
ancestors. 32 And don't forget the foreigner who is not a member of your people
Israel but has come from a far country because of your reputation - people are
going to be attracted here by your great reputation, your wonderworking power -
and who come to pray to this Temple. 33 Listen from your home in heaven and honor
the prayers of the foreigner, So that people all over the world will know who
you are and what you're like, And live in reverent obedience before you, just
as your own people Israel do, So they'll know that you personally make this
Temple that I've built what it is. 34 When your people go to war against their
enemies at the time and place you send them and they pray to God toward the
city you chose and The Temple I've built to honor your Name, 35 Listen from
heaven to what they pray and ask for and do what is right for them. 36 When
they sin against you - and they certainly will; there's no one without sin! -
and in anger you turn them over to the enemy and they are taken off captive to
the enemy's land, whether far or near, 37 but then repent in the country of
their captivity and pray with changed hearts in their exile, "We've
sinned; we've done wrong; we've been most wicked," 38 and they turn back
to you heart and soul in the land of the enemy who conquered them, and pray to
you toward their homeland, the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city
you chose, and this Temple I have built to the honor of your Name, 39 Listen
from your home in heaven to their prayers desperate and devout; Do what is best
for them. Forgive your people who have sinned against you. 40 And now, dear
God, be alert and attentive to prayer, all prayer, offered in this place. 41
Up, God, enjoy your new place of quiet repose, you and your mighty covenant
Chest; Dress your priests up in salvation clothes, let your holy people celebrate
goodness. 42 And don't, God, back out on your anointed ones, keep in mind the
love promised to David your servant.
2
Chronicles 7 (The Message)
1 When Solomon finished praying, a bolt
of lightning out of heaven struck the Whole-Burnt-Offering and sacrifices and
the Glory of God filled The Temple. 2 The Glory was so dense that the priests
couldn't get in - God so filled The Temple that there was no room for the
priests! 3 When all Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the Glory of God
fill The Temple, they fell on their knees, bowed their heads, and worshiped,
thanking God: Yes! God is good! His love never quits! 4 Then the king and all
Israel worshiped, offering sacrifices to God. 5 King Solomon worshiped by
sacrificing 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep at the dedication of The Temple. 6
The priests were all on duty; the choir and orchestra of Levites that David had
provided for singing and playing anthems to the praise and love of God were all
there; across the courtyard the priests blew trumpets. All Israelites were on
their feet. 7 Solomon set apart the central area of the courtyard in front of
God's Temple for sacred use and there sacrificed the Whole-Burnt-Offerings,
Grain-Offerings, and fat from the Peace-Offerings - the Bronze Altar was too
small to handle all these offerings. 8 This is how Solomon kept the great
autumn Feast of Booths. For seven days there were people there all the way from
the far northeast (the Entrance to Hamath) to the far southwest (the Brook of
Egypt) - a huge congregation. 9 They started out celebrating for seven days,
and then did it for another seven days, a week for dedicating the Altar and
another for the Feast itself - two solid weeks of celebration! 10 On the
twenty-third day of the seventh month Solomon dismissed his congregation. They
left rejoicing, exuberant over all the good God had done for David and Solomon
and his people Israel. God's Confirmation 11 Solomon completed building The
Temple of God and the royal palace - the projects he had set his heart on
doing. Everything was done - success! Satisfaction! 12 God appeared to Solomon
that very night and said, "I accept your prayer; yes, I have chosen this
place as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship. 13 If I ever shut off the
supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a
plague on my people, 14 and my people, my God-defined people, respond by
humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on
their wicked lives, I'll be there ready for you: I'll listen from heaven,
forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. 15 From now on I'm alert
day and night to the prayers offered at this place. 16 Believe me, I've chosen
and sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it
forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always. 17 As for you, if you
live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action,
living the life I've set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and
judgments, 18 then I'll back your kingly rule over Israel - make it a sure
thing on a sure foundation. The same covenant guarantee I gave to David your
father I'm giving to you, namely, 'You can count on always having a descendant
on Israel's throne.' 19 "But if you or your sons betray me, ignoring my
guidance and judgments, taking up with alien gods by serving and worshiping
them, 20 then the guarantee is off: I'll wipe Israel right off the map and
repudiate this Temple I've just sanctified to honor my Name. And Israel will be
nothing but a bad joke among the peoples of the world. 21 And this Temple,
splendid as it now is, will become an object of contempt; tourists will shake
their heads, saying, 'What happened here? What's the story behind these ruins?'
22 Then they'll be told, 'The people who used to live here betrayed their God,
the very God who rescued their ancestors from Egypt; they took up with alien
gods, worshiping and serving them. That's what's behind this God-visited
devastation.'"
2
Chronicles 8 (The Message)
1 At the end of twenty years, Solomon
had quite a list of accomplishments. He had: built The Temple of God and his
own palace; 2 rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given him and colonized them
with Israelites; 3 marched on Hamath Zobah and took it; 4 fortified Tadmor in
the desert and all the store-cities he had founded in Hamath; 5 built the
fortress cities Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, complete with walls,
gates, and bars; 6 built Baalath and store-cities; built chariot-cities for his
horses. Solomon built impulsively and extravagantly - whenever a whim took him.
And in Jerusalem, in Lebanon - wherever he fancied. 7 The remnants from the
original inhabitants of the land (Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites,
Jebusites - all non-Israelites), 8 survivors of the holy wars, were rounded up
by Solomon for his gangs of slave labor. The policy is in effect today. 9 But
true Israelites were not treated this way; they were used in his army and
administration - government leaders and commanders of his chariots and
charioteers. 10 They were also the project managers responsible for Solomon's
building operations - 250 in all in charge of the workforce. 11 Solomon brought
Pharaoh's daughter from the City of David to a house built especially for her,
"Because," he said, "my wife cannot live in the house of David
king of Israel, for the areas in which the Chest of God has entered are
sacred." 12 Then Solomon offered Whole-Burnt-Offerings to God on the Altar
of God that he had built in front of The Temple porch. 13 He kept to the regular
schedule of worship set down by Moses: Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three
annual feasts of Unraised Bread (Passover), Weeks (Pentecost), and Booths. 14
He followed the practice of his father David in setting up groups of priests
carrying out the work of worship, with the Levites assigned to lead the sacred
music for praising God and to assist the priests in the daily worship; he
assigned security guards to be on duty at each gate - that's what David the man
of God had ordered. 15 The king's directions to the priests and Levites and
financial stewards were kept right down to the fine print - no innovations -
including the treasuries. 16 All that Solomon set out to do, from the
groundbreaking of The Temple of God to its finish, was now complete. 17 Then Solomon
went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18 Hiram sent him ships and
with them veteran sailors. Joined by Solomon's men they sailed to Ophir (in
east Africa), loaded on fifteen tons of gold, and brought it back to King
Solomon.
2 Chronicles 9 (The Message)
1 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's
reputation and came to Jerusalem to put his reputation to the test, asking all
the tough questions. She made a showy entrance - an impressive retinue of
attendants and camels loaded with perfume and much gold and precious stones.
She emptied her heart to Solomon, talking over everything she cared about. 2
And Solomon answered everything she put to him - nothing stumped him. 3 When
the queen of Sheba experienced for herself Solomon's wisdom and saw with her
own eyes the palace he had built, 4 the meals that were served, the impressive
array of court officials, the sharply dressed waiters, the cupbearers, and then
the elaborate worship extravagant with Whole-Burnt-Offerings at The Temple of
God, it all took her breath away. 5 She said to the king, "It's all true!
Your reputation for accomplishment and wisdom that reached all the way to my
country is confirmed. 6 I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for
myself; they didn't exaggerate! Such wisdom and elegance - far more than I
could ever have imagined. 7 Lucky the men and women who work for you, getting
to be around you every day and hear your wise words firsthand! 8 And blessed be
your God who has taken such a liking to you, making you king. Clearly, God's
love for Israel is behind this, making you king to keep a just order and
nurture a God-pleasing people." 9 She then gave the king four and a half
tons of gold and sack after sack of spices and precious stones. There hasn't
been a cargo of spices like the shipload the queen of Sheba brought to King
Solomon. 10 The ships of Hiram also imported gold from Ophir along with
fragrant sandalwood and expensive gems. 11 The king used the sandalwood for
fine cabinetry in The Temple of God and the royal palace, and for making harps
and dulcimers for the musicians. Nothing like that shipment of sandalwood has
been seen since. 12 King Solomon, for his part, gave the queen of Sheba all her
heart's desire - everything she asked for. She took away more than she brought.
Satisfied, she returned home with her train of servants. 13 Solomon received
twenty-five tons of gold annually. 14 This was above and beyond the taxes and
profit on trade with merchants and traders. All kings of Arabia and various and
assorted governors also brought silver and gold to Solomon. 15 King Solomon
crafted 200 body-length shields of hammered gold - about fifteen pounds of gold
to each shield 16 - and about 300 small shields about half that size. He stored
the shields in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 The king made a massive
throne of ivory with a veneer of gold. 18 The throne had six steps leading up
to it with an attached footstool of gold. The armrests on each side were
flanked by lions. 19 Lions, twelve of them, were placed at either end of the
six steps. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom. 20 King Solomon's
chalices and tankards were made of gold, and all the dinnerware and serving
utensils in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made
of silver; silver was considered common and cheap in the time of Solomon. 21
The king's ships, manned by Hiram's sailors, made a round trip to Tarshish
every three years, returning with a cargo of gold, silver, and ivory, apes and
peacocks. 22 King Solomon was richer and wiser than all the kings of the earth
- he surpassed them all. 23 Kings came from all over the world to be with
Solomon and get in on the wisdom God had given him. 24 Everyone who came
brought gifts - artifacts of gold and silver, fashionable robes and gowns, the
latest in weapons, exotic spices, horses, and mules - parades of visitors, year
after year. 25 Solomon collected horses and chariots. He had 4,000 stalls for
horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen in barracks in the chariot-cities and
in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the River Euphrates in the
east, throughout the Philistine country, and as far west as the border of
Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common as rocks and cedar as common as the
fig trees in the lowland hills. 28 He carried on a brisk horse-trading business
with Egypt and other places. 29 The rest of Solomon's life and rule, from start
to finish, one can read in the records of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of
Ahijah of Shiloh, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son
of Nebat. 30 Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. 31
Solomon died and was buried in the City of David his father. His son Rehoboam
was the next king.
2
Chronicles 10 (The Message)
1 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem where
all Israel had gathered to inaugurate him as king. 2 Jeroboam was then in
Egypt, where he had taken asylum from King Solomon; when he got the report of
Solomon's death, he came back. 3 Summoned by Israel, Jeroboam and all Israel
went to Rehoboam and said, 4 "Your father made life hard for us - worked
our fingers to the bone. Give us a break; lighten up on us and we'll willingly
serve you." 5 "Give me," said Rehoboam, "three days to
think it over; then come back." So the people left. 6 King Rehoboam talked
it over with the elders who had advised his father when he was alive:
"What's your counsel? How do you suggest that I answer the people?" 7
They said, "If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of
their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they'll end
up doing anything for you." 8 But he rejected the counsel of the elders
and asked the young men he'd grown up with who were now currying his favor, 9
"What do you think? What should I say to these people who are saying,
'Give us a break from your father's harsh ways - lighten up on us'?" 10
The young turks he'd grown up with said, "These people who complain, 'Your
father was too hard on us; lighten up' - well, tell them this: 'My little finger
is thicker than my father's waist. 11 If you think life under my father was
hard, you haven't seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I'll
beat you bloody with chains!'" 12 Three days later Jeroboam and the people
showed up, just as Rehoboam had directed when he said, "Give me three days
to think it over; then come back." 13 The king's answer was harsh and
rude. He spurned the counsel of the elders 14 and went with the advice of the
younger set: "If you think life under my father was hard, you haven't seen
the half of it: my father thrashed you with whips; I'll beat you bloody with
chains!" 15 Rehoboam turned a deaf ear to the people. God was behind all
this, confirming the message that he had given to Jeroboam son of Nebat through
Ahijah of Shiloh. 16 When all Israel realized that the king hadn't listened to
a word they'd said, they stood up to him and said, Get lost, David! We've had
it with you, son of Jesse! Let's get out of here, Israel, and fast! From now
on, David, mind your own business. 17 Rehoboam continued to rule only those who
lived in the towns of Judah. 18 When King Rehoboam next sent out Adoniram, head
of the workforce, the Israelites ganged up on him, pelted him with stones, and
killed him. King Rehoboam jumped in his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem as
fast as he could. 19 Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty
ever since.
2
Chronicles 11 (The Message)
1 When Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem
he called up the men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 of their best
soldiers, to go to war against Israel and recover the kingdom. 2 At the same
time the word of God came to Shemaiah, a holy man, 3 "Tell this to
Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, along with all the Israelites in Judah
and Benjamin, 4 This is God's word: Don't march out; don't fight against your
brothers the Israelites. Go back home, every last one of you; I'm in charge
here." And they did it; they did what God said and went home. 5 Rehoboam
continued to live in Jerusalem but built up a defense system for Judah all
around: 6 in Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath,
Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron - a
line of defense protecting Judah and Benjamin. 11 He beefed up the
fortifications, appointed commanders, and put in supplies of food, olive oil,
and wine. 12 He installed arms - large shields and spears - in all the forts,
making them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were secure for the time. 13 The
priests and Levites from all over Israel came and made themselves available to
Rehoboam. 14 The Levites left their pastures and properties and moved to Judah
and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had dismissed them from the
priesthood of God 15 and replaced them with his own priests to preside over the
worship centers at which he had installed goat and calf demon-idols. 16
Everyone from all the tribes of Israel who determined to seek the God of Israel
migrated with the priests and Levites to Jerusalem to worship there,
sacrificing to the God of their ancestors. 17 That gave a tremendous boost to
the kingdom of Judah. They stuck with Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years,
loyal to the ways of David and Solomon for this period. 18 Rehoboam married
Mahalath daughter of Jerimoth, David's son, and Abihail daughter of Eliab,
Jesse's son. 19 Mahalath bore him Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 Then he
married Maacah, Absalom's daughter, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and
Shelomith. 21 Maacah was Rehoboam's favorite wife; he loved her more than all his
other wives and concubines put together (and he had a lot - eighteen wives and
sixty concubines who produced twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters!). 22
Rehoboam designated Abijah son of Maacah as the "first son" and
leader of the brothers - he intended to make him the next king. 23 He was
shrewd in deploying his sons in all the fortress cities that made up his
defense system in Judah and Benjamin; he kept them happy with much food and
many wives.
2
Chronicles 12 (The Message)
1 By the time Rehoboam had secured his
kingdom and was strong again, he, and all Israel with him, had virtually
abandoned God and his ways. 2 In Rehoboam's fifth year, because he and the
people were unfaithful to God, Shishak king of Egypt invaded as far as
Jerusalem. 3 He came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 cavalry, and soldiers from
all over - the Egyptian army included Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians. 4 They
took the fortress cities of Judah and advanced as far as Jerusalem itself. 5
Then the prophet Shemaiah, accompanied by the leaders of Judah who had
retreated to Jerusalem before Shishak, came to Rehoboam and said, "God's
word: You abandoned me; now I abandon you to Shishak." 6 The leaders of
Israel and the king were repentant and said, "God is right." 7 When
God saw that they were humbly repentant, the word of God came to Shemaiah:
"Because they are humble, I'll not destroy them - I'll give them a break;
I won't use Shishak to express my wrath against Jerusalem. 8 What I will do,
though, is make them Shishak's subjects - they'll learn the difference between
serving me and serving human kings." 9 Then Shishak king of Egypt attacked
Jerusalem. He plundered the treasury of The Temple of God and the treasury of
the royal palace - he took everything he could lay his hands on. He even took
the gold shields that Solomon had made. 10 King Rehoboam replaced the gold
shields with bronze shields and gave them to the guards who were posted at the
entrance to the royal palace. 11 Whenever the king went to God's Temple, the
guards went with him carrying the shields, but they always returned them to the
guardroom. 12 Because Rehoboam was repentant, God's anger was blunted, so he
wasn't totally destroyed. The picture wasn't entirely bleak - there were some
good things going on in Judah. 13 King Rehoboam regrouped and reestablished his
rule in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king and continued
as king for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city God chose out of all the
tribes of Israel as the special presence of his Name. His mother was Naamah
from Ammon. 14 But the final verdict on Rehoboam was that he was a bad king -
God was not important to him; his heart neither cared for nor sought after God.
15 The history of Rehoboam, from start to finish, is written in the memoirs of
Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer that contain the family trees. There was
war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam the whole time. 16 Rehoboam died and was
buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Abijah ruled after him.
2
Chronicles 13 (The Message)
1 In the eighteenth year of the rule of
King Jeroboam, Abijah took over the throne of Judah. 2 He ruled in Jerusalem
three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. 3 Abijah
started out with 400,000 of his best soldiers; Jeroboam countered with 800,000
of his best. 4 Abijah took a prominent position on Mount Zemaraim in the hill
country of Ephraim and gave this speech: "Listen, Jeroboam and all Israel!
5 Don't you realize that God, the one and only God of Israel, established David
and his sons as the permanent rulers of Israel, ratified by a 'covenant of
salt' - God's kingdom ruled by God's king? 6 And what happened? Jeroboam, the
son of Solomon's slave Nebat, rebelled against his master. 7 All the riff-raff
joined his cause and were too much for Rehoboam, Solomon's true heir. Rehoboam
didn't know his way around - besides he was a real wimp; he couldn't stand up
against them. 8 "Taking advantage of that weakness, you are asserting
yourself against the very rule of God that is delegated to David's descendants
- you think you are so big with your huge army backed up by the golden-calf
idols that Jeroboam made for you as gods! 9 But just look at what you've done -
you threw out the priests of God, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made
priests to suit yourselves, priests just like the pagans have. Anyone who shows
up with enough money to pay for it can be a priest! A priest of No-God! 10
"But for the rest of us in Judah, we're sticking with God. We have not
traded him in for the latest model - we're keeping the tried and true priests
of Aaron to lead us to God and the Levites to lead us in worship 11 by
sacrificing Whole-Burnt-Offerings and aromatic incense to God at the daily
morning and evening prayers, setting out fresh holy bread on a clean table, and
lighting the lamps on the golden Lampstand every night. We continue doing what
God told us to in the way he told us to do it; but you have rid yourselves of
him. 12 "Can't you see the obvious? God is on our side; he's our leader. And
his priests with trumpets are all ready to blow the signal to battle. O Israel
- don't fight against God, the God of your ancestors. You will not win this
battle." 13 While Abijah was speaking, Jeroboam had sent men around to
take them by surprise from the rear: Jeroboam in front of Judah and the ambush
behind. 14 When Judah looked back, they saw they were attacked front and back.
They prayed desperately to God, the priests blew their trumpets, and the
soldiers of Judah shouted their battle cry. 15 At the battle cry, God routed
Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 The army of Israel
scattered before Judah; God gave them the victory. 17 Abijah and his troops
slaughtered them - 500,000 of Israel's best fighters were killed that day. 18
The army of Israel fell flat on its face - a humiliating defeat. The army of
Judah won hands down because they trusted God, the God of their ancestors. 19
Abijah followed up his victory by pursuing Jeroboam, taking the towns of
Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron with their surrounding villages. 20 Jeroboam never
did recover from his defeat while Abijah lived. Later on God struck him down
and he died. 21 Meanwhile Abijah flourished; he married fourteen wives and
ended up with a family of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 The rest of
the history of Abijah, what he did and said, is written in the study written by
Iddo the prophet.
2
Chronicles 14 (The Message)
1 Abijah died and was buried with his
ancestors in the City of David. His son Asa became the next king. For ten years
into Asa's reign the country was at peace. 2 Asa was a good king. He did things
right in God's eyes. 3 He cleaned house: got rid of the pagan altars and
shrines, smashed the sacred stone pillars, and chopped down the
sex-and-religion groves (Asherim). 4 He told Judah to center their lives in
God, the God of their fathers, to do what the law said, and to follow the
commandments. 5 Because he got rid of all the pagan shrines and altars in the
cities of Judah, his kingdom was at peace. 6 Because the land was quiet and
there was no war, he was able to build up a good defense system in Judah. God
kept the peace. 7 Asa said to his people, "While we have the chance and
the land is quiet, let's build a solid defense system, fortifying our cities
with walls, towers, gates, and bars. We have this peaceful land because we
sought God; he has given us rest from all troubles." So they built and
enjoyed prosperity. 8 Asa had an army of 300,000 Judeans, equipped with shields
and spears, and another 280,000 Benjaminites who were shield bearers and
archers. They were all courageous warriors. 9 Zerah the Ethiopian went to war
against Asa with an army of a million plus 300 chariots and got as far as
Mareshah. 10 Asa met him there and prepared to fight from the Valley of
Zephathah near Mareshah. 11 Then Asa prayed to God, "O God, you aren't
impressed by numbers or intimidated by a show of force once you decide to help:
Help us, O God; we have come out to meet this huge army because we trust in you
and who you are. Don't let mere mortals stand against you!" 12 God
defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah; the Ethiopians ran for their
lives. 13 Asa and his men chased them as far as Gerar; so many of the
Ethiopians were killed that there was no fight left in them - a massacre before
God and his troops; Judah carted off loads of plunder. 14 They devastated all
the towns around Gerar whose people were helpless, paralyzed by the fear of
God, and looted the country. 15 They also attacked herdsmen and brought back a
lot of sheep and camels to Jerusalem.
2
Chronicles 15 (The Message)
1 Then Azariah son of Obed, moved by
the Spirit of God, 2 went out to meet Asa. He said, "Listen carefully,
Asa, and listen Judah and Benjamin: God will stick with you as long as you
stick with him. If you look for him he will let himself be found; but if you
leave him he'll leave you. 3 For a long time Israel didn't have the real God,
nor did they have the help of priest or teacher or book. 4 But when they were
in trouble and got serious, and decided to seek God, the God of Israel, God let
himself be found. 5 At that time it was a dog-eat-dog world; life was
constantly up for grabs - no one, regardless of country, knew what the next day
might bring. 6 Nation battered nation, city pummeled city. God let loose every
kind of trouble among them. 7 "But it's different with you: Be strong.
Take heart. Payday is coming!" 8 Asa heard the prophecy of Azariah son of
Obed, took a deep breath, then rolled up his sleeves, and went to work: He
cleaned out the obscene and polluting sacred shrines from the whole country of
Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had taken in the hill country of
Ephraim. He spruced up the Altar of God that was in front of The Temple porch.
9 Then he called an assembly for all Judah and Benjamin, including those from
Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living there at the time (for many from
Israel had left their homes and joined forces with Asa when they saw that God
was on his side). 10 They all arrived in Jerusalem in the third month of the
fifteenth year of Asa's reign 11 for a great assembly of worship. From their
earlier plunder they offered sacrifices of 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep for the
worship. 12 Then they bound themselves in a covenant to seek God, the God of
their fathers, wholeheartedly, holding nothing back. 13 And they agreed that
anyone who refused to seek God, the God of Israel, should be killed, no matter
who it was, young or old, man or woman. 14 They shouted out their promise to
God, a joyful sound accompanied with blasts from trumpets and rams' horns. 15
The whole country felt good about the covenant promise - they had given their
promise joyfully from the heart. Anticipating the best, they had sought God -
and he showed up, ready to be found. God gave them peace within and without - a
most peaceable kingdom! 16 In his clean-up of the country, Asa went so far as
to remove his mother, Queen Maacah, from her throne because she had built a
shockingly obscene image of the sex goddess Asherah. Asa tore it down, smashed
it, and burned it up in the Kidron Valley. 17 Unfortunately he didn't get rid
of the local sex-and-religion shrines. But he was well-intentioned - his heart
was in the right place, loyal to God. 18 All the gold and silver vessels and
artifacts that he and his father had consecrated for holy use he installed in
The Temple of God. 19 There wasn't a trace of war up to the thirty-fifth year
of Asa's reign.
2
Chronicles 16 (The Message)
1 But in the thirty-sixth year of Asa's
reign, Baasha king of Israel attacked. He started it by building a fort at
Ramah and closing the border between Israel and Judah to keep Asa king of Judah
from leaving or entering. 2 Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of The
Temple of God and the royal palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram who
lived in Damascus, with this message: 3 "Let's make a treaty like the one
between our fathers. I'm showing my good faith with this gift of silver and
gold. Break your deal with Baasha king of Israel so he'll quit fighting against
me." 4 Ben-Hadad went along with King Asa and sent his troops against the
towns of Israel. They sacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the store-cities of
Naphtali. 5 When Baasha got the report, he quit fortifying Ramah. 6 Then King
Asa issued orders to his people in Judah to haul away the logs and stones
Baasha had used in the fortification of Ramah and used them himself to fortify
Geba and Mizpah. 7 Just after that, Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah
and said, "Because you went for help to the king of Aram and didn't ask
God for help, you've lost a victory over the army of the king of Aram. 8 Didn't
the Ethiopians and Libyans come against you with superior forces, completely
outclassing you with their chariots and cavalry? But you asked God for help and
he gave you the victory. 9 God is always on the alert, constantly on the
lookout for people who are totally committed to him. You were foolish to go for
human help when you could have had God's help. Now you're in trouble - one
round of war after another." 10 At that, Asa lost his temper. Angry, he
put Hanani in the stocks. At the same time Asa started abusing some of the
people. 11 A full account of Asa is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of
Judah. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa came down with a severe
case of foot infection. He didn't ask God for help, but went instead to the
doctors. 13 Then Asa died; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14
They buried him in a mausoleum that he had built for himself in the City of
David. They laid him in a crypt full of aromatic oils and spices. Then they had
a huge bonfire in his memory.
2
Chronicles 17 (The Message)
1 Asa's son Jehoshaphat was the next
king; he started out by working on his defense system against Israel. 2 He put
troops in all the fortress cities of Judah and deployed garrisons throughout
Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured. 3 God was
on Jehoshaphat's side because he stuck to the ways of his father Asa's early
years. He didn't fool around with the popular Baal religion - 4 he was a seeker
and follower of the God of his father and was obedient to him; he wasn't like
Israel. 5 And God secured the kingdom under his rule, gave him a firm grip on
it. And everyone in Judah showed their appreciation by bringing gifts.
Jehoshaphat ended up very rich and much honored. 6 He was single-minded in
following God; and he got rid of the local sex-and-religion shrines. 7 In the
third year of his reign he sent his officials - excellent men, every one of
them - Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah on a teaching
mission to the cities of Judah. 8 They were accompanied by Levites - Shemaiah,
Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and
Tob-Adonijah; the priests Elishama and Jehoram were also in the company. 9 They
made a circuit of the towns of Judah, teaching the people and using the Book of
The Revelation of God as their text. 10 There was a strong sense of the fear of
God in all the kingdoms around Judah - they didn't dare go to war against
Jehoshaphat. 11 Some Philistines even brought gifts and a load of silver to
Jehoshaphat, and the desert bedouin brought flocks - 7,700 rams and 7,700
goats. 12 So Jehoshaphat became stronger by the day, and constructed more and
more forts and store-cities - an age of prosperity for Judah! 13 He also had
excellent fighting men stationed in Jerusalem. 14 The captains of the military
units of Judah, classified according to families, were: Captain Adnah with
300,000 soldiers; 15 his associate Captain Jehohanan with 280,000; 16 his
associate Amasiah son of Zicri, a volunteer for God, with 200,000. 17 Officer
Eliada represented Benjamin with 200,000 fully equipped with bow and shield; 18
and his associate was Jehozabad with 180,000 armed and ready for battle. 19
These were under the direct command of the king; in addition there were the
troops assigned to the fortress cities spread all over Judah.
2
Chronicles 18 (The Message)
1 But even though Jehoshaphat was very
rich and much honored, he made a marriage alliance with Ahab of Israel. 2 Some
time later he paid a visit to Ahab at Samaria. Ahab celebrated his visit with a
feast - a huge barbecue with all the lamb and beef you could eat. But Ahab had
a hidden agenda; he wanted Jehoshaphat's support in attacking Ramoth Gilead. 3
Then Ahab brought it into the open: "Will you join me in attacking Ramoth
Gilead?" Jehoshaphat said, "You bet. I'm with you all the way; you
can count on me and my troops." 4 Then Jehoshaphat said, "But before
you do anything, ask God for guidance." 5 The king of Israel got the
prophets together - all 400 of them - and put the question to them:
"Should I attack Ramoth Gilead or should I hold back?" "Go for
it," they said. "God will hand it over to the king." 6 But
Jehoshaphat dragged his feet, "Is there another prophet of God around here
we can consult? Let's get a second opinion." 7 The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat,
"As a matter of fact, there is another. But I hate him. He never preaches
anything good to me, only doom, doom, doom - Micaiah son of Imlah."
"The king shouldn't talk about a prophet like that!" said
Jehoshaphat. 8 So the king of Israel ordered one of his men, "Quickly, get
Micaiah son of Imlah." 9 Meanwhile, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat
were seated on their thrones, dressed in their royal robes, resplendent in
front of the Samaria city gates. All the prophets were staging a prophecy-performance
for their benefit. 10 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had even made a set of iron
horns, and brandishing them, called out, "God's word! With these horns
you'll gore Aram until there's nothing left of them!" 11 All the prophets
chimed in, "Yes! Go for Ramoth Gilead! An easy victory! God's gift to the
king!" 12 The messenger who went to get Micaiah told him, "The
prophets have all said Yes to the king. Make it unanimous - vote Yes!" 13
But Micaiah said, "As sure as God lives, what God says, I'll say." 14
With Micaiah before him, the king asked him, "So, Micaiah - do we attack
Ramoth Gilead? Or do we hold back?" "Go ahead," he said,
"an easy victory! God's gift to the king." 15 "Not so
fast," said the king. "How many times have I made you promise under
oath to tell me the truth and nothing but the truth?" 16 "All
right," said Micaiah, "since you insist . . . I saw all of Israel
scattered over the hills, sheep with no shepherd. Then God spoke, 'These poor
people have no one to tell them what to do. Let them go home and do the best
they can for themselves.'" 17 The king of Israel turned to Jehoshaphat,
"See! What did I tell you? He never has a good word for me from God, only
doom." 18 Micaiah kept on, "I'm not done yet; listen to God's word: I
saw God enthroned, and all the Angel Armies of heaven standing at attention,
ranged on his right and his left. 19 And God said, "How can we seduce Ahab
into attacking Ramoth Gilead?" Some said this, and some said that. 20 Then
a bold angel stepped out, stood before God, and said, "I'll seduce
him." "And how will you do it?" said God. 21 "Easy,"
said the angel, "I'll get all the prophets to lie." "That should
do it," said God; "On your way - seduce him!" 22 "And that's
what has happened. God filled the mouths of your puppet prophets with seductive
lies. God has pronounced your doom." 23 Just then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah
came up and slapped Micaiah in the face, saying, "Since when did the
Spirit of God leave me and take up with you?" 24 Micaiah said,
"You'll know soon enough; you'll know it when you're frantically and
futilely looking for a place to hide." 25 The king of Israel had heard
enough: "Get Micaiah out of here! Turn him over to Amon the city
magistrate and to Joash the king's son 26 with this message: 'King's orders!
Lock him up in jail; keep him on bread and water until I'm back in one
piece.'" 27 Micaiah said, If you ever get back in one piece, I'm no
prophet of God. He added, When it happens, O people, remember where you heard
it! 28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went ahead and
attacked Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Wear
my kingly robe; I'm going into battle disguised." So the king of Israel
entered the battle in disguise. 30 Meanwhile, the king of Aram had ordered his chariot
commanders (there were thirty-two of them), "Don't bother with anyone
whether small or great; go after the king of Israel and him only." 31 When
the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "There he is! The king
of Israel!" and took after him. Jehoshaphat yelled out, 32 and the chariot
commanders realized they had the wrong man - it wasn't the king of Israel after
all. God intervened and they let him go. 33 Just then someone, without aiming,
shot an arrow into the crowd and hit the king of Israel in the chink of his
armor. The king told his charioteer, "Turn back! Get me out of here - I'm
wounded." 34 All day the fighting continued, hot and heavy. Propped up in
his chariot, the king watched from the sidelines. He died that evening.
2
Chronicles 19 (The Message)
1 But Jehoshaphat king of Judah got
home safe and sound. 2 Jehu, son of Hanani the seer, confronted King
Jehoshaphat: "You have no business helping evil, cozying up to God-haters.
Because you did this, God is good and angry with you. 3 But you're not all bad
- you made a clean sweep of the polluting sex-and-religion shrines; and you
were single-minded in seeking God." 4 Jehoshaphat kept his residence in
Jerusalem but made a regular round of visits among the people, from Beersheba in
the south to Mount Ephraim in the north, urging them to return to God, the God
of their ancestors. 5 And he was diligent in appointing judges in the land -
each of the fortress cities had its judge. 6 He charged the judges: "This
is serious work; do it carefully. You are not merely judging between men and
women; these are God's judgments that you are passing on. 7 Live in the fear of
God - be most careful, for God hates dishonesty, partiality, and bribery."
8 In Jerusalem Jehoshaphat also appointed Levites, priests, and family heads to
decide on matters that had to do with worship and mediating local differences.
9 He charged them: "Do your work in the fear of God; be dependable and
honest in your duties. 10 When a case comes before you involving any of your
fellow citizens, whether it seems large (like murder) or small (like matters of
interpretation of the law), you are responsible for warning them that they are
dealing with God. Make that explicit, otherwise both you and they are going to
be dealing with God's wrath. Do your work well or you'll end up being as guilty
as they are. 11 "Amariah the chief priest is in charge of all cases
regarding the worship of God; Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe
of Judah, is in charge of all civil cases; the Levites will keep order in the
courts. Be bold and diligent. And God be with you as you do your best."
2
Chronicles 20 (The Message)
1 Some time later the Moabites and
Ammonites, accompanied by Meunites, joined forces to make war on Jehoshaphat. 2
Jehoshaphat received this intelligence report: "A huge force is on its way
from beyond the Dead Sea to fight you. There's no time to waste - they're
already at Hazazon Tamar, the oasis of En Gedi." 3 Shaken, Jehoshaphat
prayed. He went to God for help and ordered a nationwide fast. 4 The country of
Judah united in seeking God's help - they came from all the cities of Judah to
pray to God. 5 Then Jehoshaphat took a position before the assembled people of
Judah and Jerusalem at The Temple of God in front of the new courtyard 6 and
said, "O God, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven above and
ruler of all kingdoms below? You hold all power and might in your fist - no one
stands a chance against you! 7 And didn't you make the natives of this land
leave as you brought your people Israel in, turning it over permanently to your
people Israel, the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived here
and built a holy house of worship to honor you, 9 saying, 'When the worst
happens - whether war or flood or disease or famine - and we take our place
before this Temple (we know you are personally present in this place!) and pray
out our pain and trouble, we know that you will listen and give victory.' 10
"And now it's happened: men from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir have shown
up. You didn't let Israel touch them when we got here at first - we detoured
around them and didn't lay a hand on them. 11 And now they've come to kick us
out of the country you gave us. 12 O dear God, won't you take care of them?
We're helpless before this vandal horde ready to attack us. We don't know what
to do; we're looking to you." 13 Everyone in Judah was there - little
children, wives, sons - all present and attentive to God. 14 Then Jahaziel was
moved by the Spirit of God to speak from the midst of the congregation.
(Jahaziel was the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the
son of Mattaniah the Levite of the Asaph clan.) 15 He said, "Attention
everyone - all of you from out of town, all you from Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat
- God's word: Don't be afraid; don't pay any mind to this vandal horde. This is
God's war, not yours. 16 Tomorrow you'll go after them; see, they're already on
their way up the slopes of Ziz; you'll meet them at the end of the ravine near
the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You won't have to lift a hand in this battle; just
stand firm, Judah and Jerusalem, and watch God's saving work for you take
shape. Don't be afraid, don't waver. March out boldly tomorrow - God is with
you." 18 Then Jehoshaphat knelt down, bowing with his face to the ground.
All Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping God. 19 The Levites (both
Kohathites and Korahites) stood to their feet to praise God, the God of Israel;
they praised at the top of their lungs! 20 They were up early in the morning,
ready to march into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were leaving, Jehoshaphat
stood up and said, "Listen Judah and Jerusalem! Listen to what I have to
say! Believe firmly in God, your God, and your lives will be firm! Believe in
your prophets and you'll come out on top!" 21 After talking it over with
the people, Jehoshaphat appointed a choir for God; dressed in holy robes, they
were to march ahead of the troops, singing, Give thanks to God, His love never
quits. 22 As soon as they started shouting and praising, God set ambushes
against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir as they were attacking Judah,
and they all ended up dead. 23 The Ammonites and Moabites mistakenly attacked
those from Mount Seir and massacred them. Then, further confused, they went at
each other, and all ended up killed. 24 As Judah came up over the rise, looking
into the wilderness for the horde of barbarians, they looked on a killing field
of dead bodies - not a living soul among them. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people
came to carry off the plunder they found more loot than they could carry off -
equipment, clothing, valuables. It took three days to cart it away! 26 On the
fourth day they came together at the Valley of Blessing (Beracah) and blessed
God (that's how it got the name, Valley of Blessing). 27 Jehoshaphat then led
all the men of Judah and Jerusalem back to Jerusalem - an exuberant parade. God
had given them joyful relief from their enemies! 28 They entered Jerusalem and
came to The Temple of God with all the instruments of the band playing. 29 When
the surrounding kingdoms got word that God had fought Israel's enemies, the
fear of God descended on them. 30 Jehoshaphat heard no more from them; as long
as Jehoshaphat reigned, peace reigned. 31 That about sums up Jehoshaphat's
reign over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king and ruled as
king in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah daughter of
Shilhi. 32 He continued the kind of life characteristic of his father Asa - no
detours, no dead-ends - pleasing God with his life. 33 But he failed to get rid
of the neighborhood sex-and-religion shrines - people continued to pray and
worship at these idolatrous god shops. 34 The rest of Jehoshaphat's life, from
start to finish, is written in the memoirs of Jehu son of Hanani, which are
included in the Royal Annals of Israel's Kings. 35 Late in life Jehoshaphat
formed a trading syndicate with Ahaziah king of Israel - which was very wrong
of him to do. 36 He went in as partner with him to build ocean-going ships at
Ezion Geber to trade with Tarshish. 37 Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah
preached against Jehoshaphat's venture: "Because you joined forces with
Ahaziah, God has shipwrecked your work." The ships were smashed and
nothing ever came of the trade partnership.
2
Chronicles 21 (The Message)
1 Jehoshaphat died and was buried in
the family cemetery in the City of David. Jehoram his son was the next king. 2
Jehoram's brothers were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah
- the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 3 Their father had lavished them with
gifts - silver, gold, and other valuables, plus the fortress cities in Judah.
But Jehoram was his firstborn son and he gave him the kingdom of Judah. 4 But
when Jehoram had taken over his father's kingdom and had secured his position,
he killed all his brothers along with some of the government officials. 5
Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king and ruled in Jerusalem for
eight years. 6 He imitated Israel's kings and married into the Ahab dynasty.
God considered him an evil man. 7 But despite that, because of his covenant
with David, God was not yet ready to destroy the descendants of David; he had,
after all, promised to keep a light burning for David and his sons. 8 During
Jehoram's reign, Edom revolted from Judah's rule and set up their own king. 9
Jehoram responded by setting out with his officers and chariots. Edom
surrounded him, but in the middle of the night he and his charioteers broke
through the lines and hit Edom hard. 10 Edom continues in revolt against Judah
right up to the present. Even little Libnah revolted at that time. The evidence
accumulated: Since Jehoram had abandoned God, the God of his ancestors, God was
abandoning him. 11 He even went so far as to build pagan sacred shrines in the
mountains of Judah. He brazenly led Jerusalem away from God, seducing the whole
country. 12 One day he got a letter from Elijah the prophet. It read,
"From God, the God of your ancestor David - a message: Because you have
not kept to the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and Asa your grandfather, kings
of Judah, 13 but have taken up with the ways of the kings of Israel in the
north, leading Judah and Jerusalem away from God, going step by step down the
apostate path of Ahab and his crew - why, you even killed your own brothers,
all of them better men than you! - 14 God is going to afflict your people, your
wives, your sons, and everything you have with a terrible plague. 15 And you
are going to come down with a terrible disease of the colon, painful and
humiliating." 16 The trouble started with an invasion. God incited the
Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Ethiopians to attack Jehoram. 17
They came to the borders of Judah, forced their way in, and plundered the place
- robbing the royal palace of everything in it including his wives and sons.
One son, his youngest, Ahaziah, was left behind. 18 The terrible and fatal
disease in his colon followed. After about two years he was totally incontinent
and died writhing in pain. 19 His people didn't honor him by lighting a great
bonfire, as was customary with his ancestors. 20 He was thirty-two years old
when he became king and reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. There were no
tears shed when he died - it was good riddance! - and they buried him in the
City of David, but not in the royal cemetery.
2
Chronicles 22 (The Message)
1 The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah,
Jehoram's youngest son, king. Raiders from the desert, who had come with the
Arabs against the settlement, had killed all the older sons. That's how Ahaziah
son of Jehoram king of Judah became king. 2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old
when he became king, but reigned only one year in Jerusalem. His mother was
Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri. 3 He lived and ruled just like the Ahab family
had done, his mother training him in evil ways. 4 God also considered him evil,
related by both marriage and sin to the Ahab clan. After the death of his
father, he attended the sin school of Ahab, and graduated with a degree in
doom. 5 He did what they taught him, went with Joram son of Ahab king of Israel
in the war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. Joram, wounded by the
Arameans, 6 retreated to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received in
Ramah in his war with Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah
paid a visit to Joram son of Ahab on his sickbed at Jezreel. 7 The fate of
Ahaziah when he went to visit was God's judgment on him. When Ahaziah arrived
at Jezreel, he and Joram met with Jehu son of Nimshi, whom God had already
authorized to destroy the dynasty of Ahab. 8 Jehu, already at work, executing
doom on the dynasty of Ahab, came upon the captains of Judah and Ahaziah's
nephews, part of the Ahaziah delegation, and killed them outright. 9 Then he
sent out a search party looking for Ahaziah himself. They found him hiding out
in Samaria and hauled him back to Jehu. And Jehu killed him. They didn't, though,
just leave his body there. Out of respect for his grandfather Jehoshaphat,
famous as a sincere seeker after God, they gave him a decent burial. But there
was no one left in Ahaziah's family capable of ruling the kingdom. 10 When
Ahaziah's mother Athaliah saw that her son was dead, she took over. She began
by massacring the entire royal family. 11 Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram,
took Ahaziah's son Joash, and kidnapped him from among the king's sons slated
for slaughter. She hid him and his nurse in a private room away from Athaliah.
So Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and Ahaziah's sister - she was also the
wife of Jehoiada the priest - saved Joash from the murderous Queen Athaliah. 12
He was there with her, hidden away for six years in The Temple of God.
Athaliah, oblivious to his existence, ruled the country.
2
Chronicles 23 (The Message)
1 In the seventh year the priest
Jehoiada decided to make his move and worked out a strategy with certain
influential officers in the army. He picked Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son
of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son
of Zicri as his associates. 2 They dispersed throughout Judah and called in the
Levites from all the towns in Judah along with the heads of families. They met
in Jerusalem. 3 The gathering met in The Temple of God. They made a covenant
there in The Temple. 4 Now this is what you must do: A third of you priests and
Levites who come on duty on the Sabbath are to be posted as security guards at
the gates; 5 another third will guard the palace; and the other third will
guard the foundation gate. All the people will gather in the courtyards of The
Temple of God. 6 No one may enter The Temple of God except the priests and
designated Levites - they are permitted in because they've been consecrated,
but all the people must do the work assigned them. 7 The Levites are to form a
ring around the young king, weapons at the ready. Kill anyone who tries to
break through your ranks. Your job is to stay with the king at all times and
places, coming and going." 8 All the Levites and officers obeyed the
orders of Jehoiada the priest. Each took charge of his men, both those who came
on duty on the Sabbath and those who went off duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada
the priest hadn't exempted any of them from duty. 9 Then the priest armed the
officers with spears and the large and small shields originally belonging to
King David that were stored in The Temple of God. 10 Well-armed, the guards
took up their assigned positions for protecting the king, from one end of The
Temple to the other, surrounding both Altar and Temple. 11 Then the priest
brought the prince into view, crowned him, handed him the scroll of God's
covenant, and made him king. As Jehoiada and his sons anointed him they
shouted, "Long live the king!" 12 Athaliah, hearing all the
commotion, the people running around and praising the king, came to The Temple
to see what was going on. 13 Astonished, she saw the young king standing at the
entrance flanked by the captains and heralds, with everybody beside themselves
with joy, trumpets blaring, the choir and orchestra leading the praise.
Athaliah ripped her robes in dismay and shouted, "Treason! Treason!"
14 Jehoiada the priest ordered the military officers, "Drag her outside -
and kill anyone who tries to follow her!" (The priest had said,
"Don't kill her inside The Temple of God.") 15 So they dragged her
out to the palace's horse corral and there they killed her. 16 Jehoiada now
made a covenant between himself and the king and the people: they were to be
God's special people. 17 The people poured into the temple of Baal and tore it
down, smashing altar and images to smithereens. They killed Mattan the priest
of Baal in front of the altar. 18 Jehoiada turned the care of God's Temple over
to the priests and Levites, the way David had directed originally. They were to
offer the Whole-Burnt-Offerings of God as set out in The Revelation of Moses,
and with praise and song as directed by David. 19 He also assigned security guards
at the gates of God's Temple so that no one who was unprepared could enter. 20
Then he got everyone together - officers, nobles, governors, and the people
themselves - and escorted the king down from The Temple of God, through the
Upper Gate, and placed him on the royal throne. 21 Everybody celebrated the
event. And the city was safe and undisturbed - Athaliah had been killed; no
more Athaliah terror.
2
Chronicles 24 (The Message)
1 Joash was seven years old when he
became king; he was king for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was
Gazelle (Zibiah). She was from Beersheba. 2 Taught and trained by Jehoiada the
priest, Joash did what pleased God throughout Jehoiada's lifetime. 3 Jehoiada
picked out two wives for him; he had a family of both sons and daughters. 4 The
time came when Joash determined to renovate The Temple of God. 5 He got the
priests and Levites together and said, "Circulate through the towns of
Judah every year and collect money from the people to repair The Temple of your
God. You are in charge of carrying this out." 6 But the Levites dragged
their feet and didn't do anything. 7 Then the king called in Jehoiada the chief
priest and said, "Why haven't you made the Levites bring in from Judah and
Jerusalem the tax Moses, servant of God and the congregation, set for the
upkeep of the place of worship? You can see how bad things are - wicked Queen
Athaliah and her sons let The Temple of God go to ruin and took all its sacred
artifacts for use in Baal worship." 8 Following the king's orders, they
made a chest and placed it at the entrance to The Temple of God. 9 Then they
sent out a tax notice throughout Judah and Jerusalem: "Pay the tax that
Moses the servant of God set when Israel was in the wilderness." 10 The
people and their leaders were glad to do it and cheerfully brought their money
until the chest was full. 11 Whenever the Levites brought the chest in for a
royal audit and found it to be full, the king's secretary and the official of
the chief priest would empty the chest and put it back in its place. Day after
day they did this and collected a lot of money. 12 The king and Jehoiada gave
the money to the managers of The Temple project; they in turn paid the masons
and carpenters for the repair work on The Temple of God. 13 The construction
workers kept at their jobs steadily until the restoration was complete - the
house of God as good as new! 14 When they had finished the work, they returned
the surplus money to the king and Jehoiada, who used the money for making
sacred vessels for Temple worship, vessels for the daily worship, for the
Whole-Burnt-Offerings, bowls, and other gold and silver liturgical artifacts.
15 He died at a ripe old age - 130 years old! 16 They buried him in the royal
cemetery because he had such a distinguished life of service to Israel and God
and God's Temple. 17 But after the death of Jehoiada things fell apart. The
leaders of Judah made a formal presentation to the king and he went along with
them. 18 Things went from bad to worse; they deserted The Temple of God and
took up with the cult of sex goddesses. An angry cloud hovered over Judah and
Jerusalem because of this sin. 19 God sent prophets to straighten them out,
warning of judgment. But nobody paid attention. 20 Then the Spirit of God moved
Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest to speak up: "God's word: Why have
you deliberately walked away from God's commandments? You can't live this way!
If you walk out on God, he'll walk out on you." 21 But they worked out a
plot against Zechariah, and with the complicity of the king - he actually gave
the order! - they murdered him, pelting him with rocks, right in the court of
The Temple of God. 22 That's the thanks King Joash showed the loyal Jehoiada,
the priest who had made him king. He murdered Jehoiada's son. Zechariah's last
words were, "Look, God! Make them pay for this!" 23 A year or so
later Aramean troops attacked Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem,
massacred the leaders, and shipped all their plunder back to the king in
Damascus. 24 The Aramean army was quite small, but God used them to wipe out
Joash's large army - their punishment for deserting God, the God of their
ancestors. Arameans implemented God's judgment against Joash. 25 They left
Joash badly wounded and his own servants finished him off - it was a palace
conspiracy, avenging the murder of the son of Jehoiada the priest. They killed
him in his bed. Afterward they buried him in the City of David, but he was not
honored with a grave in the royal cemetery. 26 The temple conspirators were
Zabad, whose mother was Shimeath from Ammon, and Jehozabad, whose mother was
Shimrith from Moab. 27 The story of his sons, the many sermons preached to
Joash, and the account of his repairs on The Temple of God can be found
contained in the commentary on the royal history. Amaziah, Joash's son, was the
next king.
2
Chronicles 25 (The Message)
1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old
when he became king and reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was
Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. 2 He lived well before God, doing the right thing for
the most part. But he wasn't wholeheartedly devoted to God. 3 When he had the
affairs of the kingdom well in hand, he executed the palace guard who had
assassinated his father the king. 4 But he didn't kill the sons of the
assassins - he was mindful of what God commanded in The Revelation of Moses,
that parents shouldn't be executed for their childrens' sins, nor children for
their parents'. We each pay personally for our sins. 5 Amaziah organized Judah
and sorted out Judah and Benjamin by families and by military units. Men twenty
years and older had to register - they ended up with 300,000 judged capable of
military service. 6 In addition he hired 100,000 soldiers from Israel in the
north at a cost of about four and a half tons of silver. 7 A holy man showed up
and said, "No, O king - don't let those northern Israelite soldiers into
your army; God is not on their side, nor with any of the Ephraimites. 8
Instead, you go by yourself and be strong. God and God only has the power to help
or hurt your cause." 9 But Amaziah said to the holy man, "But what
about all this money - these tons of silver I have already paid out to hire
these men?" "God's help is worth far more to you than that,"
said the holy man. 10 So Amaziah fired the soldiers he had hired from the north
and sent them home. They were very angry at losing their jobs and went home
seething. 11 But Amaziah was optimistic. He led his troops into the Valley of
Salt and killed 10,000 men of Seir. 12 They took another 10,000 as prisoners,
led them to the top of the Rock, and pushed them off a cliff. They all died in
the fall, smashed on the rocks. 13 But the troops Amaziah had dismissed from
his army, angry over their lost opportunity for plunder, rampaged through the
towns of Judah all the way from Samaria to Beth Horon, killing 3,000 people and
taking much plunder. 14 On his return from the destruction of the Edomites,
Amaziah brought back the gods of the men of Seir and installed them as his own
gods, worshiping them and burning incense to them. 15 That ignited God's anger;
a fiery blast of God's wrath put into words by a God-sent prophet: "What
is this? Why on earth would you pray to inferior gods who couldn't so much as
help their own people from you - gods weaker than Amaziah?" 16 Amaziah
interrupted him, "Did I ask for your opinion? Shut up or get thrown
out!" The prophet quit speaking, but not before he got in one last word:
"I have it on good authority: God has made up his mind to throw you out
because of what you've done, and because you wouldn't listen to me." 17
One day Amaziah sent envoys to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king
of Israel, challenging him to a fight: "Come and meet with me, I dare you.
Let's have it out face to face!" 18 Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah
king of Judah, "One day a thistle in Lebanon sent word to a cedar in
Lebanon, 'Give your daughter to my son in marriage.' But then a wild animal of
Lebanon passed by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it. 19 Just because
you've defeated Edom in battle, you now think you're a big shot. Go ahead and
be proud, but stay home. Why press your luck? Why bring defeat on yourself and
Judah?" 20 Amaziah wouldn't take no for an answer - God had already
decided to let Jehoash defeat him because he had defected to the gods of Edom.
21 So Jehoash king of Israel came on ahead and confronted Amaziah king of
Judah. They met at Beth Shemesh, a town of Judah. 22 Judah was thoroughly
beaten by Israel - all the soldiers straggled home in defeat. 23 Jehoash king
of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah,
at Beth Shemesh. But Jehoash didn't stop at that; he went on to attack
Jerusalem. He demolished the Wall of Jerusalem all the way from the Ephraim
Gate to the Corner Gate - a stretch of about six hundred feet. 24 He looted the
gold, silver, and furnishings - anything he found that was worth taking - from
both the palace and The Temple of God - and, for good measure, he took
hostages. Then he returned to Samaria. 25 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah
continued as king fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king
of Israel. 26 The rest of the life and times of Amaziah from start to finish is
written in the Royal Annals of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 During those last
days, after Amaziah had defected from God, they cooked up a plot against
Amaziah in Jerusalem, and he had to flee to Lachish. But they tracked him down
in Lachish and killed him there. 28 They brought him back on horseback and
buried him in Jerusalem with his ancestors in the City of David.
2 Chronicles 26 (The Message)
1 The people of Judah then took Uzziah,
who was only sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father
Amaziah. 2 The first thing he did after his father was dead and buried was to
recover Elath for Judah and rebuild it. 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he
became king and reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother was
Jecoliah from Jerusalem. 4 He behaved well in the eyes of God, following in the
footsteps of his father Amaziah. 5 He was a loyal seeker of God. He was well
trained by his pastor and teacher Zechariah to live in reverent obedience
before God, and for as long as Zechariah lived, Uzziah lived a godly life. And
God prospered him. 6 He ventured out and fought the Philistines, breaking into
the fortress cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He also built settlements
around Ashdod and other Philistine areas. 7 God helped him in his wars with the
Philistines, the Arabs in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites also paid
tribute. Uzziah became famous, his reputation extending all the way to Egypt.
He became quite powerful. 9 Uzziah constructed defense towers in Jerusalem at
the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and at the corner of the wall. 10 He also
built towers and dug cisterns out in the country. He had herds of cattle down
in the foothills and out on the plains, had farmers and vinedressers at work in
the hills and fields - he loved growing things. 11 On the military side, Uzziah
had a well-prepared army ready to fight. They were organized by companies under
the direction of Jeiel the secretary, Maaseiah the field captain, and Hananiah
of the general staff. 12 The roster of family leaders over the fighting men
accounted for 2,600. 13 Under them were reinforcement troops numbering 307,000,
with 500 of them on constant alert - a strong royal defense against any attack.
14 Uzziah had them well-armed with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and
slingshots. 15 He also installed the latest in military technology on the
towers and corners of Jerusalem for shooting arrows and hurling stones. He
became well known for all this - a famous king. Everything seemed to go his
way. 16 But then the strength and success went to his head. Arrogant and proud,
he fell. One day, contemptuous of God, he walked into The Temple of God like he
owned it and took over, burning incense on the Incense Altar. 17 The priest
Azariah, backed up by eighty brave priests of God, tried to prevent him. 18
They confronted Uzziah: "You must not, you cannot do this, Uzziah - only
the Aaronite priests, especially consecrated for the work, are permitted to
burn incense. Get out of God's Temple; you are unfaithful and a disgrace!"
19 But Uzziah, censer in hand, was already in the middle of doing it and angrily
rebuffed the priests. He lost his temper; angry words were exchanged - and
then, even as they quarreled, a skin disease appeared on his forehead. 20 As
soon as they saw it, the chief priest Azariah and the other priests got him out
of there as fast as they could. He hurried out - he knew that God then and
there had given him the disease. 21 Uzziah had his skin disease for the rest of
his life and had to live in quarantine; he was not permitted to set foot in The
Temple of God. His son Jotham, who managed the royal palace, took over the
government of the country. 22 The rest of the history of Uzziah, from start to
finish, was written by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 When Uzziah died,
they buried him with his ancestors in a field next to the royal cemetery. His
skin disease disqualified him from burial in the royal cemetery. His son Jotham
became the next king.
2
Chronicles 27 (The Message)
1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when
he became king; he reigned sixteen years at Jerusalem. His mother was Jerusha
the daughter of Zadok. 2 In God's eyes he lived a good life, following the path
marked out by his father Uzziah. Unlike his father, though, he didn't desecrate
The Temple of God. But the people pushed right on in their lives of corruption.
3 Jotham constructed the Upper Gate of The Temple of God, considerably extended
the Wall of the Ophel, 4 and built cities in the high country of Judah and
forts and towers down in the forests. 5 He fought and beat the king of the
Ammonites - that year the Ammonites turned over three and a quarter tons of
silver and about sixty-five bushels of wheat, and another sixty-five bushels of
barley. They repeated this for the next two years. 6 Jotham's strength was
rooted in his steady and determined life of obedience to God. 7 The rest of the
history of Jotham, including his wars and achievements, are all written in the
Royal Annals of the Kings of Israel and Judah. 8 He was twenty-five years old
when he became king; he reigned for sixteen years at Jerusalem. 9 Jotham died and
was buried in the City of David. His son Ahaz became the next king.
2
Chronicles 28 (The Message)
1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he
became king and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He didn't live right in the
eyes of God; he wasn't at all like his ancestor David. 2 Instead he followed in
the track of Israel in the north, even casting metal figurines for worshiping
the pagan Baal gods. 3 He participated in the outlawed burning of incense in
the Valley of Ben Hinnom and - incredibly! - indulged in the outrageous
practice of "passing his sons through the fire," a truly abominable
thing he picked up from the pagans God had earlier thrown out of the country. 4
He also joined in the activities of the neighborhood sex-and-religion shrines
that flourished all over the place. 5 God, fed up, handed him over to the king
of Aram, who beat him badly and took many prisoners to Damascus. God also let
the king of Israel loose on him and that resulted in a terrible slaughter: 6
Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 in one day, all of them first-class
soldiers, and all because they had deserted God, the God of their ancestors. 7
Furthermore, Zicri, an Ephraimite hero, killed the king's son Maaseiah, Azrikam
the palace steward, and Elkanah, second in command to the king. 8 And that
wasn't the end of it - the Israelites captured 200,000 men, women, and
children, besides huge cartloads of plunder that they took to Samaria. 9 God's
prophet Oded was in the neighborhood. He met the army when it entered Samaria
and said, "Stop right where you are and listen! God, the God of your
ancestors, was angry with Judah and used you to punish them; but you took
things into your own hands and used your anger, uncalled for and irrational, 10
to turn your brothers and sisters from Judah and Jerusalem into slaves. Don't
you see that this is a terrible sin against your God? 11 Careful now; do
exactly what I say - return these captives, every last one of them. If you
don't, you'll find out how real anger, God's anger, works." 12 Some of
their Ephraimite leaders - Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of
Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai - stood up
against the returning army 13 and said, "Don't bring the captives here!
We've already sinned against God; and now you are about to compound our sin and
guilt. We're guilty enough as it is, enough to set off an explosion of divine
anger." 14 So the soldiers turned over both the captives and the plunder
to the leaders and the people. 15 Personally designated men gathered the
captives together, dressed the ones who were naked using clothing from the
stores of plunder, put shoes on their feet, gave them all a square meal,
provided first aid to the injured, put the weak ones on donkeys, and then
escorted them to Jericho, the City of Palms, restoring them to their families.
Then they went back to Samaria. 16 At about that time King Ahaz sent to the
king of Assyria asking for personal help. 17 The Edomites had come back and
given Judah a bad beating, taking off a bunch of captives. 18 Adding insult to
injury the Philistines raided the cities in the foothills to the west and the
southern desert and captured Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, along with
Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo, with their surrounding villages, and moved in, making themselves
at home. 19 Arrogant King Ahaz, acting as if he could do without God's help,
had unleashed an epidemic of depravity. Judah, brought to its knees by God, was
now reduced to begging for a handout. 20 But the king of Assyria,
Tiglath-Pileser, wouldn't help - he came instead and humiliated Ahaz even more
by attacking and bullying him. 21 Desperate, Ahaz ransacked The Temple of God,
the royal palace, and every other place he could think of, scraping together
everything he could, and gave it to the king of Assyria - and got nothing in
return, not a bit of help. 22 But King Ahaz didn't learn his lesson - at the
very time that everyone was turning against him, he continued to be against
God! 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus. He had just been
defeated by Damascus; he thought, "If I worship the gods who helped
Damascus, those gods just might help me too." But things only went from
bad to worse: first Ahaz in ruins and then the country. 24 He cleaned out The
Temple of God of everything useful and valuable, boarded up the doors of The
Temple, and then went out and set up pagan shrines for his own use all over
Jerusalem. 25 And not only in Jerusalem, but all over Judah - neighborhood
shrines for worshiping any and every god on sale. And was God ever angry! 26
The rest of Ahaz's infamous life, all that he did from start to finish, is
written in the Royal Annals of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 When Ahaz
died, they buried him in Jerusalem, but he was not honored with a burial in the
cemetery of the kings. His son Hezekiah was the next king.
2
Chronicles 29 (The Message)
1 Hezekiah became king when he was
twenty-five years old and was king in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His
mother was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2 In God's opinion he was a good king;
he kept to the standards of his ancestor David. 3 In the first month of the
first year of his reign, Hezekiah, having first repaired the doors of The
Temple of God, threw them open to the public. 4 He assembled the priests and
Levites in the court on the east side 5 and said, "Levites, listen!
Consecrate yourselves and consecrate The Temple of God - give this much-defiled
place a good housecleaning. 6 Our ancestors went wrong and lived badly before
God - they discarded him, turned away from this house where we meet with God,
and walked off. 7 They boarded up the doors, turned out the lights, and
canceled all the acts of worship of the God of Israel in the holy Temple. 8 And
because of that, God's anger flared up and he turned those people into a public
exhibit of disaster, a moral history lesson - look and read! 9 This is why our
ancestors were killed, and this is why our wives and sons and daughters were
taken prisoner and made slaves. 10 "I have decided to make a covenant with
the God of Israel and turn history around so that God will no longer be angry
with us. 11 Children, don't drag your feet in this! God has chosen you to take
your place before him to serve in conducting and leading worship - this is your
life work; make sure you do it and do it well." 12 The Levites stood at
attention: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites;
Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merarites; Joah son of
Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershonites; 13 Shimri and Jeiel sons of
Elizaphan; Zechariah and Mattaniah sons of Asaph; 14 Jehiel and Shimei of the
family of Heman; Shemaiah and Uzziel of the family of Jeduthun. 15 They
presented themselves and their brothers, consecrated themselves, and set to
work cleaning up The Temple of God as the king had directed - as God directed!
16 The priests started from the inside and worked out; they emptied the place
of the accumulation of defiling junk - pagan rubbish that had no business in
that holy place - and the Levites hauled it off to the Kidron Valley. 17 They
began the Temple cleaning on the first day of the first month and by the eighth
day they had worked their way out to the porch - eight days it took them to
clean and consecrate The Temple itself, and in eight more days they had
finished with the entire Temple complex. 18 Then they reported to Hezekiah the
king, "We have cleaned up the entire Temple of God, including the Altar of
Whole-Burnt-Offering and the Table of the Bread of the Presence with their
furnishings. 19 We have also cleaned up and consecrated all the vessels which
King Ahaz had gotten rid of during his misrule. Take a look; we have repaired
them. They're all there in front of the Altar of God." 20 Then Hezekiah
the king went to work: He got all the leaders of the city together and marched
to The Temple of God. 21 They brought with them seven bulls, seven rams, seven
lambs, and seven he-goats to sacrifice as an Absolution-Offering for the royal
family, for the Sanctuary, and for Judah as a whole; he directed the Aaronite
priests to sacrifice them on the Altar of God. 22 The priests butchered the
bulls and then took the blood and sprinkled it on the Altar, and then the same
with the rams and lambs. 23 Finally they brought the goats up; the king and
congregation laid their hands upon them. 24 The priests butchered them and made
an Absolution-Offering with their blood at the Altar to atone for the sin of
all Israel - the king had ordered that the Whole-Burnt-Offering and the
Absolution-Offering be for all Israel. 25 The king ordered the Levites to take
their places in The Temple of God with their musical instruments - cymbals,
harps, zithers - following the original instructions of David, Gad the king's
seer, and Nathan the prophet; this was God's command conveyed by his prophets.
26 The Levites formed the orchestra of David, while the priests took up the
trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah gave the signal to begin: The Whole-Burnt-Offering
was offered on the Altar; at the same time the sacred choir began singing,
backed up by the trumpets and the David orchestra 28 while the entire
congregation worshiped. The singers sang and the trumpeters played all during
the sacrifice of the Whole-Burnt-Offering. 29 When the offering of the
sacrifice was completed, the king and everyone there knelt to the ground and
worshiped. 30 Then Hezekiah the king and the leaders told the Levites to finish
things off with anthems of praise to God using lyrics by David and Asaph the
seer. They sang their praises with joy and reverence, kneeling in worship. 31
Hezekiah then made this response: "The dedication is complete - you're
consecrated to God. Now you're ready: Come forward and bring your sacrifices
and Thank-Offerings to The Temple of God." 32 a generosity expressed in
seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs - all for
Whole-Burnt-Offerings for God! 33 The total number of animals consecrated for
sacrifice that day amounted to 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 They ran out of
priests qualified to slaughter all the Whole-Burnt-Offerings so their brother
Levites stepped in and helped out while other priests consecrated themselves
for the work. It turned out that the Levites had been more responsible in
making sure they were properly consecrated than the priests had been. 35
Besides the overflow of Whole-Burnt-Offerings there were also choice pieces for
the Peace-Offerings and lavish libations that went with the
Whole-Burnt-Offerings. The worship in The Temple of God was on a firm footing
again! 36 Hezekiah and the congregation celebrated: God had established a firm
foundation for the lives of the people - and so quickly!
2
Chronicles 30 (The Message)
1 Then Hezekiah invited all of Israel
and Judah, with personal letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to The Temple
of God in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to Israel's God. 2 The king and
his officials and the congregation in Jerusalem had decided to celebrate
Passover in the second month. 3 They hadn't been able to celebrate it at the
regular time because not enough of the priests were yet personally prepared and
the people hadn't had time to gather in Jerusalem. 4 Under these circumstances,
the revised date was approved by both king and people 5 and they sent out the
invitation from one end of the country to the other, from Beersheba in the
south to Dan in the north: "Come and celebrate the Passover to Israel's
God in Jerusalem." No one living had ever celebrated it properly. 6 The
king gave the orders, and the couriers delivered the invitations from the king
and his leaders throughout Israel and Judah. The invitation read: "O
Israelites! Come back to God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he
can return to you who have survived the predations of the kings of Assyria. 7
Don't repeat the sins of your ancestors who turned their backs on God, the God
of their ancestors who then brought them to ruin - you can see the ruins all
around you. 8 Don't be pigheaded as your ancestors were. Clasp God's
outstretched hand. Come to his Temple of holy worship, consecrated for all
time. Serve God, your God. You'll no longer be in danger of his hot anger. 9 If
you come back to God, your captive relatives and children will be treated
compassionately and allowed to come home. Your God is gracious and kind and
won't snub you - come back and he'll welcome you with open arms." 10 So
the couriers set out, going from city to city through the country of Ephraim
and Manasseh, as far north as Zebulun. But the people poked fun at them,
treated them as a joke. 11 But not all; some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun
weren't too proud to accept the invitation and come to Jerusalem. 12 It was
better in Judah - God worked powerfully among them to make it unanimous,
responding to the orders sent out by the king and his officials, orders backed
up by the word of God. 13 It turned out that there was a tremendous crowd of
people when the time came in the second month to celebrate the Passover
(sometimes called the Feast of Unraised Bread). 14 First they went to work and
got rid of all the pagan altars that were in Jerusalem - hauled them off and
dumped them in the Kidron Valley. 15 Then, on the fourteenth day of the second
month, they slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests and Levites weren't
ready; but now, embarrassed in their laziness, they consecrated themselves and
brought Whole-Burnt-Offerings to The Temple of God. 16 Ready now, they stood at
their posts as designated by The Revelation of Moses the holy man; the priests
sprinkled the blood the Levites handed to them. 17 Because so many in the
congregation had not properly prepared themselves by consecration and so were
not qualified, the Levites took charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs
so that they would be properly consecrated to God. 18 There were a lot of
people, especially those from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, who did
not eat the Passover meal because they had not prepared themselves adequately.
Hezekiah prayed for these as follows: "May God who is all good, pardon and
forgive 19 everyone who sincerely desires God, the God of our ancestors. Even -
especially! - these who do not meet the literal conditions stated for access to
The Temple." 20 God responded to Hezekiah's prayer and healed the people.
21 All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover (Feast of
Unraised Bread) for seven days, celebrated exuberantly. The Levites and priests
praised God day after day, filling the air with praise sounds of percussion and
brass. 22 Hezekiah commended the Levites for the superb way in which they had
led the people in the worship of God. 23 they all decided to keep going for
another seven days! So they just kept on celebrating, and as joyfully as they
began. 24 Hezekiah king of Judah gave 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for the
congregation's worship; the officials gave an additional 1,000 bulls and 10,000
sheep. And there turned out to be plenty of consecrated priests - qualified and
well-prepared. 25 The whole congregation of Judah, the priests and Levites, the
congregation that came in from Israel, and the resident aliens from both Israel
and Judah, were all in on the joyous celebration. 26 Jerusalem was bursting
with joy - nothing like this had taken place in Jerusalem since Solomon son of
David king of Israel had built and dedicated The Temple. 27 The priests and
Levites had the last word: they stood and blessed the people. And God listened,
listened as the ascending sound of their prayers entered his holy heaven.
2 Chronicles 31
(The Message)
1 After the Passover celebration, they
all took off for the cities of Judah and smashed the phallic stone monuments,
chopped down the sacred Asherah groves, and demolished the neighborhood
sex-and-religion shrines and local god shops. They didn't stop until they had
been all through Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Then they all went
back home and resumed their everyday lives. 2 Hezekiah organized the groups of
priests and Levites for their respective tasks, handing out job descriptions
for conducting the services of worship: making the various offerings, and
making sure that thanks and praise took place wherever and whenever God was
worshiped. 3 He also designated his personal contribution for the Whole-Burnt-Offerings
for the morning and evening worship, for Sabbaths, for New Moon festivals, and
for the special worship days set down in The Revelation of God. 4 In addition,
he asked the people who lived in Jerusalem to be responsible for providing for
the priests and Levites so they, without distraction or concern, could give
themselves totally to The Revelation of God. 5 As soon as Hezekiah's orders had
gone out, the Israelites responded generously: firstfruits of the grain
harvest, new wine, oil, honey - everything they grew. They didn't hold back,
turning over a tithe of everything. 6 They also brought in a tithe of their
cattle, sheep, and anything else they owned that had been dedicated to God.
Everything was sorted and piled in mounds. 7 They started doing this in the
third month and didn't finish until the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and his
leaders came and saw the extent of the mounds of gifts, they praised God and
commended God's people Israel. 9 Hezekiah then consulted the priests and Levites
on how to handle the abundance of offerings. 10 Azariah, chief priest of the
family of Zadok, answered, "From the moment of this huge outpouring of
gifts to The Temple of God, there has been plenty to eat for everyone with food
left over. God has blessed his people - just look at the evidence!" 11
Hezekiah then ordered storerooms to be prepared in The Temple of God. When they
were ready, 12 they brought in all the offerings of tithes and sacred gifts.
They put Conaniah the Levite in charge with his brother Shimei as assistant. 13
Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath,
and Benaiah were project managers under the direction of Conaniah and Shimei,
carrying out the orders of King Hezekiah and Azariah the chief priest of The
Temple of God. 14 Kore son of Imnah the Levite, security guard of the East
Gate, was in charge of the Freewill-Offerings of God and responsible for
distributing the offerings and sacred gifts. 15 Faithful support out in the
priestly cities was provided by Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and
Shecaniah. They were even-handed in their distributions to their coworkers (all
males thirty years and older) in each of their respective divisions 16 as they
entered The Temple of God each day to do their assigned work (their work was
all organized by divisions). 17 The divisions comprised officially registered
priests by family and Levites twenty years and older by job description. 18 The
official family tree included everyone in the entire congregation - their small
children, wives, sons, and daughters. The ardent dedication they showed in
bringing themselves and their gifts to worship was total - no one was left out.
19 The Aaronites, the priests who lived out on the pastures that belonged to
the priest-cities, had reputable men on hand to distribute regular rations to
every priest - everyone listed in the official family tree of the Levites. 20
Hezekiah carried out this work and kept it up everywhere in Judah. He was the
very best - good, right, and true before his God. 21 Everything he took up,
whether it had to do with worship in God's Temple or the carrying out of God's
Law and Commandments, he did well in a spirit of prayerful worship. He was a
great success.
2
Chronicles 32 (The Message)
1 And then, after this exemplary track
record, this: Sennacherib king of Assyria came and attacked Judah. He put the
fortified cities under siege, determined to take them. 2 When Hezekiah realized
that Sennacherib's strategy was to take Jerusalem, 3 he talked to his advisors
and military leaders about eliminating all the water supplies outside the city;
they thought it was a good idea. 4 There was a great turnout of people to plug
the springs and tear down the aqueduct. They said, "Why should the kings
of Assyria march in and be furnished with running water?" 5 Hezekiah also
went to work repairing every part of the city wall that was damaged, built
defensive towers on it, built another wall of defense further out, and
reinforced the defensive rampart (the Millo) of the old City of David. He also
built up a large store of armaments - spears and shields. 6 He then appointed
military officers to be responsible for the people and got them all together at
the public square in front of the city gate. 7 "Be strong! Take courage!
Don't be intimidated by the king of Assyria and his troops - there are more on
our side than on their side. 8 He only has a bunch of mere men; we have our God
to help us and fight for us!" Morale surged. Hezekiah's words put steel in
their spines. 9 Later on, Sennacherib, who had set up camp a few miles away at
Lachish, sent messengers to Jerusalem, addressing Judah through Hezekiah: 10
"A proclamation of Sennacherib king of Assyria: You poor people - do you
think you're safe in that so-called fortress of Jerusalem? You're sitting
ducks. 11 Do you think Hezekiah will save you? Don't be stupid - Hezekiah has
fed you a pack of lies. When he says, 'God will save us from the power of the
king of Assyria,' he's lying - you're all going to end up dead. 12 Wasn't it
Hezekiah who cleared out all the neighborhood worship shrines and told you,
'There is only one legitimate place to worship'? 13 Do you have any idea what I
and my ancestors have done to all the countries around here? Has there been a
single god anywhere strong enough to stand up against me? 14 Can you name one
god among all the nations that either I or my ancestors have ravaged that so
much as lifted a finger against me? So what makes you think you'll make out any
better with your god? 15 Don't let Hezekiah fool you; don't let him get by with
his barefaced lies; don't trust him. No god of any country or kingdom ever has
been one bit of help against me or my ancestors - what kind of odds does that
give your god?" 16 The messengers felt free to throw in their personal
comments, putting down both God and God's servant Hezekiah. 17 Sennacherib
continued to send letters insulting the God of Israel: "The gods of the
nations were powerless to help their people; the god of Hezekiah is no better,
probably worse." 18 The messengers would come up to the wall of Jerusalem
and shout up to the people standing on the wall, shouting their propaganda in
Hebrew, trying to scare them into demoralized submission. 19 They
contemptuously lumped the God of Jerusalem in with the handmade gods of other
peoples. 20 King Hezekiah, joined by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, responded
by praying, calling up to heaven. 21 God answered by sending an angel who wiped
out everyone in the Assyrian camp, both warriors and officers. Sennacherib was
forced to return home in disgrace, tail between his legs. When he went into the
temple of his god, his own sons killed him. 22 God saved Hezekiah and the
citizens of Jerusalem from Sennacherib king of Assyria and everyone else. And
he continued to take good care of them. 23 People streamed into Jerusalem
bringing offerings for the worship of God and expensive presents to Hezekiah
king of Judah. All the surrounding nations were impressed - Hezekiah's stock
soared. 24 Some time later Hezekiah became deathly sick. He prayed to God and
was given a reassuring sign. 25 But the sign, instead of making Hezekiah
grateful, made him arrogant. This made God angry, and his anger spilled over on
Judah and Jerusalem. 26 But then Hezekiah, and Jerusalem with him, repented of
his arrogance, and God withdrew his anger while Hezekiah lived. 27 Hezekiah
ended up very wealthy and much honored. He built treasuries for all his silver,
gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and valuables, 28 barns for the grain, new
wine, and olive oil, stalls for his various breeds of cattle, and pens for his
flocks. 29 He founded royal cities for himself and built up huge stocks of
sheep and cattle. God saw to it that he was extravagantly rich. 30 Hezekiah was
also responsible for diverting the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and
rerouting the water to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah succeeded
in everything he did. 31 But when the rulers of Babylon sent emissaries to find
out about the sign from God that had taken place earlier, God left him on his
own to see what he would do; he wanted to test his heart. 32 The rest of the
history of Hezekiah and his life of loyal service, you can read for yourself -
it's written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the Royal
Annals of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33 When Hezekiah died, they buried him
in the upper part of the King David cemetery. Everyone in Judah and Jerusalem
came to the funeral. He was buried in great honor. Manasseh his son was the
next king.
2 Chronicles 33 (The Message)
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he
became king. He ruled for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 In God's opinion he
was a bad king - an evil king. He reintroduced all the moral rot and spiritual
corruption that had been scoured from the country when God dispossessed the
pagan nations in favor of the children of Israel. 3 He rebuilt the
sex-and-religion shrines that his father Hezekiah had torn down, he built
altars and phallic images for the sex god Baal and the sex goddess Asherah and
worshiped the cosmic powers, taking orders from the constellations. 4 He built
shrines to the cosmic powers and placed them in both courtyards of The Temple
of God, 5 the very Jerusalem Temple dedicated exclusively by God's decree to
God's Name ("in Jerusalem I place my Name"). 6 He burned his own sons
in a sacrificial rite in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. He practiced witchcraft and
fortunetelling. He held sŽances and consulted spirits from the underworld. Much
evil - in God's view a career in evil. And God was angry. 7 As a last straw he
placed a carved image of the sex goddess Asherah that he had commissioned in
The Temple of God, a flagrant and provocative violation of God's well-known
command to both David and Solomon, "In this Temple and in this city
Jerusalem, my choice out of all the tribes of Israel, I place my Name -
exclusively and forever." 8 He had promised, "Never again will I let
my people Israel wander off from this land I've given to their ancestors. But
on this condition, that they keep everything I've commanded in the instructions
my servant Moses passed on to them." 9 But Manasseh led Judah and the
citizens of Jerusalem off the beaten path into practices of evil exceeding even
the evil of the pagan nations that God had earlier destroyed. 10 When God spoke
to Manasseh and his people about this, they ignored him. 11 Then God directed
the leaders of the troops of the king of Assyria to come after Manasseh. They
put a hook in his nose, shackles on his feet, and took him off to Babylon. 12 Now
that he was in trouble, he went to his knees in prayer asking for help - total
repentance before the God of his ancestors. 13 As he prayed, God was touched;
God listened and brought him back to Jerusalem as king. That convinced Manasseh
that God was in control. 14 After that Manasseh rebuilt the outside defensive
wall of the City of David to the west of the Gihon spring in the valley. It
went from the Fish Gate and around the hill of Ophel. He also increased its
height. He tightened up the defense system by posting army captains in all the
fortress cities of Judah. 15 He also did a good spring cleaning on The Temple,
carting out the pagan idols and the goddess statue. He took all the altars he
had set up on The Temple hill and throughout Jerusalem and dumped them outside
the city. 16 He put the Altar of God back in working order and restored
worship, sacrificing Peace-Offerings and Thank-Offerings. He issued orders to
the people: "You shall serve and worship God, the God of Israel." 17
But the people didn't take him seriously - they used the name "God"
but kept on going to the old pagan neighborhood shrines and doing the same old
things. 18 The rest of the history of Manasseh - his prayer to his God, and the
sermons the prophets personally delivered by authority of God, the God of
Israel - this is all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 19 His
prayer and how God was touched by his prayer, a list of all his sins and the
things he did wrong, the actual places where he built the pagan shrines, the installation
of the sex-goddess Asherah sites, and the idolatrous images that he worshiped
previous to his conversion - this is all described in the records of the
prophets. 20 When Manasseh died, they buried him in the palace garden. His son
Amon was the next king. 21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king.
He was king for two years in Jerusalem. 22 In God's opinion he lived an evil
life, just like his father Manasseh, 23 but he never did repent to God as
Manasseh repented. He just kept at it, going from one thing to another. 24 In
the end Amon's servants revolted and assassinated him - killed the king right
in his own palace. 25 The citizens in their turn then killed the king's
assassins. The citizens then crowned Josiah, Amon's son, as king.
2
Chronicles 34 (The Message)
1 Josiah was eight years old when he
became king. He ruled for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 He behaved well
before God. He kept straight on the path blazed by his ancestor David, not one
step to the left or right. 3 When he had been king for eight years - he was
still only a teenager - he began to seek the God of David his ancestor. Four
years later, the twelfth year of his reign, he set out to cleanse the
neighborhood of sex-and-religion shrines, and get rid of the sacred Asherah
groves and the god and goddess figurines, whether carved or cast, from Judah. 4
He wrecked the Baal shrines, tore down the altars connected with them, and
scattered the debris and ashes over the graves of those who had worshiped at
them. 5 He burned the bones of the priests on the same altars they had used
when alive. He scrubbed the place clean, Judah and Jerusalem, clean inside and
out. 6 The clean-up campaign ranged outward to the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim,
Simeon, and the surrounding neighborhoods - as far north as Naphtali. 7
Throughout Israel he demolished the altars and Asherah groves, pulverized the
god and goddess figures, chopped up the neighborhood shrines into firewood.
With Israel once more intact, he returned to Jerusalem. 8 One day in the
eighteenth year of his kingship, with the cleanup of country and Temple
complete, King Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the mayor of the
city, and Joah son of Joahaz the historian to renovate The Temple of God. 9
First they turned over to Hilkiah the high priest all the money collected by
the Levitical security guards from Manasseh and Ephraim and the rest of Israel,
and from Judah and Benjamin and the citizens of Jerusalem. 10 It was then put
into the hands of the foremen managing the work on The Temple of God 11 who
then passed it on to the workers repairing God's Temple - the carpenters,
construction workers, and masons - so they could buy the lumber and dressed
stone for rebuilding the foundations the kings of Judah had allowed to fall to
pieces. 12 The workmen were honest and diligent. Their foremen were Jahath and
Obadiah, the Merarite Levites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites
- these managed the project. The Levites - they were all skilled musicians - 13
were in charge of the common laborers and supervised the workers as they went
from job to job. The Levites also served as accountants, managers, and security
guards. 14 While the money that had been given for The Temple of God was being
received and dispersed, Hilkiah the high priest found a copy of The Revelation
of Moses. 15 He reported to Shaphan the royal secretary, "I've just found
the Book of God's Revelation, instructing us in God's way - found it in The
Temple!" He gave it to Shaphan, 16 who then gave it to the king. And along
with the book, he gave this report: "The job is complete - everything you
ordered done is done. 17 They took all the money that was collected in The
Temple of God and handed it over to the managers and workers." 18 And then
Shaphan told the king, "Hilkiah the priest gave me a book." Shaphan
proceeded to read it out to the king. 19 When the king heard what was written
in the book, God's Revelation, he ripped his robes in dismay. 20 And then he
called for Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the
royal secretary, and Asaiah the king's personal aide. 21 He ordered them all:
"Go and pray to God for me and what's left of Israel and Judah. Find out
what we must do in response to what is written in this book that has just been
found! God's anger must be burning furiously against us - our ancestors haven't
obeyed a thing written in this book of God, followed none of the instructions
directed to us." 22 Hilkiah and those picked by the king went straight to
Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of
Hasrah, who was in charge of the palace wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the
Second Quarter. The men consulted with her. 23 In response to them she said,
"God's word, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you here, 24 'God
has spoken, I'm on my way to bring the doom of judgment on this place and this
people. Every word written in the book read by the king of Judah will happen.
25 And why? Because they've deserted me and taken up with other gods; they've
made me thoroughly angry by setting up their god-making businesses. My anger is
raging white-hot against this place and nobody is going to put it out.' 26
"And also tell the king of Judah, since he sent you to ask God for
direction, God's comment on what he read in the book: 27 'Because you took
seriously the doom of judgment I spoke against this place and people, and
because you responded in humble repentance, tearing your robe in dismay and
weeping before me, I'm taking you seriously. God's word. 28 I'll take care of
you; you'll have a quiet death and be buried in peace. You won't be around to
see the doom that I'm going to bring upon this place and people.'" The men
took her message back to the king. 29 The king acted immediately, assembling
all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, 30 and then proceeding to The Temple of
God bringing everyone in his train - priests and prophets and people ranging
from the least to the greatest. Then he read out publicly everything written in
the Book of the Covenant that was found in The Temple of God. 31 The king stood
by his pillar and before God solemnly committed himself to the covenant: to
follow God believingly and obediently; to follow his instructions, heart and
soul, on what to believe and do; to confirm with his life the entire covenant,
all that was written in the book. 32 Then he made everyone in Jerusalem and
Benjamin commit themselves. And they did it. They committed themselves to the
covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. 33 Josiah did a thorough job of
cleaning up the pollution that had spread throughout Israelite territory and
got everyone started fresh again, serving and worshiping their God. All through
Josiah's life the people kept to the straight and narrow, obediently following
God, the God of their ancestors.
2
Chronicles 35 (The Message)
1 Josiah celebrated the Passover to God
in Jerusalem. They killed the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first
month. By popular choice, Jehoahaz son of Josiah was made king at Jerusalem,
succeeding his father. 2 He gave the priests detailed instructions and
encouraged them in the work of leading worship in The Temple of God. 3 He also
told the Levites who were in charge of teaching and guiding Israel in all
matters of worship (they were especially consecrated for this), "Place the
sacred Chest in The Temple that Solomon son of David, the king of Israel,
built. You don't have to carry it around on your shoulders any longer! Serve
God and God's people Israel. 4 Organize yourselves by families for your respective
responsibilities, following the instructions left by David king of Israel and
Solomon his son. 5 "Take your place in the sanctuary - a team of Levites
for every grouping of your fellow citizens, the laity. 6 Your job is to kill
the Passover lambs, then consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs so that
everyone will be able to keep the Passover exactly as God commanded through
Moses." 7 Josiah personally donated 30,000 sheep, lambs, and goats and
3,000 bulls - everything needed for the Passover celebration was there. 8 His
officials also pitched in on behalf of the people, including the priests and
the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, leaders in The Temple of God, gave
2,600 lambs and 300 bulls to the priests for the Passover offerings. 9 Conaniah,
his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, along with the Levitical chiefs Hashabiah,
Jeiel, and Jozabad, donated 5,000 lambs and 500 bulls to the Levites for the
Passover offerings. 10 Preparations were complete for the service of worship;
the priests took up their positions and the Levites were at their posts as
instructed by the king. 11 They killed the Passover lambs, and while the
priests sprinkled the blood from the lambs, the Levites skinned them out. 12
Then they set aside the Whole-Burnt-Offering for presentation to the family
groupings of the people so that each group could offer it to God following the
instructions in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 They
roasted the Passover lamb according to the instructions and boiled the
consecrated offerings in pots and kettles and pans and promptly served the
people. 14 After the people had eaten the holy meal, the Levites served
themselves and the Aaronite priests - the priests were busy late into the night
making the offerings at the Altar. 15 The Asaph singers were all in their
places following the instructions of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the
king's seer. The security guards were on duty at each gate - the Levites also
served them because they couldn't leave their posts. 16 Everything went without
a hitch in the worship of God that day as they celebrated the Passover and the
offering of the Whole-Burnt-Offering on the Altar of God. It went just as
Josiah had ordered. 17 The Israelites celebrated the Passover, also known as the
Feast of Unraised Bread, for seven days. 18 The Passover hadn't been celebrated
like this since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings had done it.
But Josiah, the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were there that
week, plus the citizens of Jerusalem - they did it. 19 In the eighteenth year
of the rule of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated. 20 Some time later,
after Josiah's reformation of The Temple, Neco king of Egypt marched out toward
Carchemish on the Euphrates River on his way to war. Josiah went out to fight
him. 21 Neco sent messengers to Josiah saying, "What do we have against
each other, O king of Judah? I haven't come to fight against you but against
the country with whom I'm at war. God commanded me to hurry, so don't get in my
way; you'll only interfere with God, who is on my side in this, and he'll
destroy you." 22 But Josiah was spoiling for a fight and wouldn't listen
to a thing Neco said (in actuality it was God who said it). Though King Josiah
disguised himself when they met on the plain of Megiddo, 23 archers shot him
anyway. The king said to his servants, "Get me out of here - I'm badly
wounded." 24 So his servants took him out of his chariot and laid him down
in an ambulance chariot and drove him back to Jerusalem. He died there and was
buried in the family cemetery. Everybody in Judah and Jerusalem attended the
funeral. 25 Jeremiah composed an anthem of lament for Josiah. The anthem is
still sung by the choirs of Israel to this day. The anthem is written in the
Laments. 26 The rest of the history of Josiah, his exemplary and devout life,
conformed to The Revelation of God. 27 The whole story, from start to finish,
is written in the Royal Annals of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
2
Chronicles 36 (The Message)
1 2
Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to rule. He was king in
Jerusalem for a mere three months. 3 The king of Egypt dethroned him and forced
the country to pay him nearly four tons of silver and seventy-five pounds of
gold. 4 Neco king of Egypt then made Eliakim, Jehoahaz's brother, king of Judah
and Jerusalem, but changed his name to Jehoiakim; then he took Jehoahaz back
with him to Egypt. 5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to rule;
he was king for eleven years in Jerusalem. In God's opinion he was an evil
king. 6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made war against him, and bound him in
bronze chains, intending to take him prisoner to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also
took things from The Temple of God to Babylon and put them in his royal palace.
8 The rest of the history of Jehoiakim, the outrageous sacrilege he committed
and what happened to him as a consequence, is all written in the Royal Annals
of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiachin his son became the next king. 9
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king. But he ruled for only
three months and ten days in Jerusalem. In God's opinion he was an evil king.
10 In the spring King Nebuchadnezzar ordered him brought to Babylon along with
the valuables remaining in The Temple of God. Then he made his uncle Zedekiah a
puppet king over Judah and Jerusalem. 11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when
he started out as king. He was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. 12 As far as
God was concerned, he was just one more evil king; there wasn't a trace of
contrition in him when the prophet Jeremiah preached God's word to him. 13 Then
he compounded his troubles by rebelling against King Nebuchadnezzar, who
earlier had made him swear in God's name that he would be loyal. He became set
in his own stubborn ways - he never gave God a thought; repentance never
entered his mind. 14 The evil mindset spread to the leaders and priests and
filtered down to the people - it kicked off an epidemic of evil, repeating the
abominations of the pagans and polluting The Temple of God so recently
consecrated in Jerusalem. 15 God, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent
warning messages to them. Out of compassion for both his people and his Temple
he wanted to give them every chance possible. 16 But they wouldn't listen; they
poked fun at God's messengers, despised the message itself, and in general
treated the prophets like idiots. God became more and more angry until there
was no turning back - 17 God called in Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who came
and killed indiscriminately - and right in The Temple itself; it was a ruthless
massacre: young men and virgins, the elderly and weak - they were all the same
to him. 18 And then he plundered The Temple of everything valuable, cleaned it
out completely; he emptied the treasuries of The Temple of God, the treasuries
of the king and his officials, and hauled it all, people and possessions, off
to Babylon. 19 He burned The Temple of God to the ground, knocked down the wall
of Jerusalem, and set fire to all the buildings - everything valuable was
burned up. 20 Any survivor was taken prisoner into exile in Babylon and made a
slave to Nebuchadnezzar and his family. The exile and slavery lasted until the
kingdom of Persia took over. 21 This is exactly the message of God that
Jeremiah had preached: the desolate land put to an extended sabbath rest, a
seventy-year Sabbath rest making up for all the unkept Sabbaths. 22 In the
first year of Cyrus king of Persia - this fulfilled the message of God preached
by Jeremiah - God moved Cyrus king of Persia to make an official announcement
throughout his kingdom; he wrote it out as follows: 23 "From Cyrus king of
Persia a proclamation: God, the God of the heavens, has given me all the
kingdoms of the earth. He has also assigned me to build him a Temple of worship
at Jerusalem in Judah. All who belong to God's people are urged to return - and
may your God be with you! Move forward!"
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