Chapter 28

Ahaz Succeeds Jotham in Judah

1 aAhaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and bhe did not do right in the sight of the Lord as David his father had done.

2 aBut he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also bmade molten images for the Baals.

3 Moreover, ahe burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom and bburned his sons in fire, caccording to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel.

4 He sacrificed and aburned incense on the high places, on the hills and under every green tree.

Judah Is Invaded

5 Wherefore, athe Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram; and they 1defeated him and carried away from him a great number of captives and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who 2inflicted him with heavy casualties.

6 For aPekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers.

7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king.

8 aThe sons of Israel carried away captive of btheir brethren 200,000 women, sons and daughters; and they 1took also a great deal of spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

9 But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and ahe went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, bwas angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage cwhich has even reached heaven.

10 “Now you are proposing to asubjugate for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, do you not have transgressions of your own against the Lord your God?

11 “Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives awhom you captured from your brothers, bfor the burning anger of the Lord is against you.”

12 Then some of the heads of the sons of Ephraim—Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—arose against those who were coming from the battle,

13 and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here, for you are proposing to bring upon us guilt against the Lord adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great so that His burning anger is against Israel.”

14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the officers and all the assembly.

15 Then athe men who were designated by name arose, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil; and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and bgave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, cthe city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria.

Compromise with Assyria

16 aAt that time King Ahaz sent to the 1kings of Assyria for help.

17 aFor again the Edomites had come and attacked Judah and carried away captives.

18 aThe Philistines also had invaded the cities of the 1lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and they settled there.

19 For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of aIsrael, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the Lord.

20 So aTilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him.

21 aAlthough Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the Lord and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

22 Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz abecame yet more unfaithful to the Lord.

23 aFor he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had 1defeated him, and said, “bBecause the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they became the 2downfall of him and all Israel.

24 Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he acut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he bclosed the doors of the house of the Lord and cmade altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.

25 In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the Lord, the God of his fathers, to anger.

26 aNow the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

27 aSo Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of bIsrael; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 29

Hezekiah Succeeds Ahaz in Judah

1 aHezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

2 aHe did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.

3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he aopened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.

4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the square on the east.

Reforms Begun

5 Then he said to them, “Listen to me, O Levites. aConsecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out from the holy place.

6 “For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and have forsaken Him and aturned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and have 1turned their backs.

7 “They have also ashut the doors of the porch and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.

8 “Therefore athe wrath of the Lord was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of bhissing, as you see with your own eyes.

9 “For behold, aour fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

10 “Now it is in my heart ato make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us.

11 “My sons, do not be negligent now, for athe Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to minister to Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.”

12 Then the Levites arose: aMahath, the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the sons of bthe Kohathites; and from the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and from the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah;

13 and from the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and 1Jeiel; and from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

14 and from the sons of Heman, 1Jehiel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15 They assembled their brothers, aconsecrated themselves, and went in bto cleanse the house of the Lord, according to the commandment of the king cby the words of the Lord.

16 So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord they brought out to the court of the house of the Lord. Then the Levites received it to carry out to athe Kidron 1valley.

17 Now they began 1the consecration aon the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the porch of the Lord. Then they consecrated the house of the Lord in eight days, and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.

18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the whole house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all of its utensils, and the table of showbread with all of its utensils.

19 “Moreover, aall the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and consecrated; and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.”

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

20 Then King Hezekiah arose early and assembled the princes of the city and went up to the house of the Lord.

21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs and seven male goats afor a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. And he ordered the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord.

22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. They also slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar; they slaughtered the lambs also and asprinkled the blood on the altar.

23 Then they brought the male goats of the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and athey laid their hands on them.

24 The priests slaughtered them and purged the altar with their blood ato atone for all Israel, for the king ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.

25 aHe then stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with harps and with lyres, baccording to the command of David and of cGad the king’s seer, and of dNathan the prophet; for the command was from the Lord through His prophets.

26 The Levites stood with athe musical instruments of David, and bthe priests with the trumpets.

27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, athe song to the Lord also began with the trumpets, 1accompanied by the instruments of David, king of Israel.

28 While the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

29 Now at the completion of the burnt offerings, athe king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped.

30 Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and Asaph the seer. aSo they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah said, “aNow that you have 1consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and ball those who were 2willing brought burnt offerings.

32 The number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord.

33 The consecrated things were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep.

34 But the priests were too few, so that they were unable to skin all the burnt offerings; atherefore their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was completed and until the other priests had consecrated themselves. For bthe Levites were more 1conscientious to consecrate themselves than the priests.

35 There were also 1amany burnt offerings with bthe fat of the peace offerings and with cthe libations for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was established again.

36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.