Day 198 of 730

¹Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and he did not do that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, like David his father;

²but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for the Baals.

³Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.

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

⁵Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they struck him, and carried away of his a great multitude of captives, and brought them to Damascus. He was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with a great slaughter.

⁶For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed in Judah one hundred twenty thousand in one day, all of them valiant men; because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers.

⁷Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the ruler of the house, and Elkanah who was next to the king.

⁸The children of Israel carried away captive of their brothers two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

⁹But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria, and said to them, "Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage which has reached up to heaven.

¹⁰Now you purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondservants and bondmaids for yourselves. Aren't there even with you trespasses of your own against the Lord your God?

¹¹Now hear me therefore, and send back the captives, that you have taken captive from your brothers; for the fierce wrath of the Lord is on you."

¹²Then some of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war,

¹³and said to them, "You shall not bring in the captives here: for you purpose that which will bring on us a trespass against the Lord, to add to our sins and to our trespass; for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel."

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

¹⁵The men who have been mentioned by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all who were naked among them, dressed them, gave them sandals, and gave them something to eat and to drink, anointed them, carried all the feeble of them on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.

¹⁶At that time king Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria to help him.

¹⁷For again the Edomites had come and struck Judah, and carried away captives.

¹⁸The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland, and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth Shemesh, and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Soco with its towns, and Timnah with its towns, Gimzo also and its towns: and they lived there.

¹⁹For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he had dealt wantonly in Judah, and trespassed severely against the Lord.

²⁰Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria came to him, and distressed him, but did not strengthen him.

²¹For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and out of the house of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria: but it did not help him.

²²In the time of his distress, he trespassed yet more against the Lord, this same king Ahaz.

²³For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which struck him; and he said, "Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, so I will sacrifice to them, that they may help me." But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.

²⁴Ahaz gathered together the vessels of God's house, and cut in pieces the vessels of God's house, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord; and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.

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

²⁶Now the rest of his acts, and all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

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

¹Hezekiah began to reign 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.

²He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

³He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.

⁴He brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the broad place on the east,

⁵and said to them, "Listen to me, you Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filthiness out of the holy place.

⁶For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs.

⁷Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.

⁸Therefore the wrath of the Lord was on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to be tossed back and forth, to be an astonishment, and a hissing, as you see with your eyes.

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

¹⁰Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us.

¹¹My sons, do not be negligent now; for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and that you should be his ministers, and burn incense."

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

¹³and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

¹⁴and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵They gathered their brothers, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.

¹⁶The priests went in to the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the Lord's temple into the court of the house of the Lord. The Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron.

¹⁷Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord; and they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days: and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

¹⁸Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within the palace, and said, "We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and the table of show bread, with all its vessels.

¹⁹Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign threw away when he trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord."

²⁰Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord.

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

²²So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: and they killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood on the altar: they killed also the lambs, and sprinkled the blood on the altar.

²³They brought near the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly; and they laid their hands on them:

²⁴and the priests killed them, and they made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel; for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

²⁵He set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; for the commandment was of the Lord by his prophets.

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

²⁷Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also, and the trumpets, together with the instruments of David king of Israel.

²⁸All the assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

²⁹When they had made an end of offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped.

³⁰Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. They sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

³¹Then Hezekiah answered, "Now you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord; come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord." The assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings.

³²The number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord.

³³The consecrated things were six hundred head of cattle and three thousand sheep.

³⁴But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: therefore their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was ended, and until the priests had sanctified themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.

³⁵Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and with the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order.

³⁶Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because of that which God had prepared for the people: for the thing was done suddenly.

¹Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.

²Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the north sides, the city of the great King.

³God has shown himself in her citadels as a refuge.

⁴For, behold, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together.

⁵They saw it, then they were amazed. They were dismayed. They hurried away.

⁶Trembling took hold of them there, pain, as of a woman in travail.

⁷With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish.

⁸As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God. God will establish it forever. Selah.

⁹We have thought about your loving kindness, God, in the midst of your temple.

¹⁰As is your name, God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of righteousness.

¹¹Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice, Because of your judgments.

¹²Walk about Zion, and go around her. Number its towers.

¹³Consider her defenses. Consider her palaces, that you may tell it to the next generation.

¹⁴For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death.

¹Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

²A good man shall obtain favor from the Lord, but he will condemn a man of wicked devices.

³A man shall not be established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

⁴A worthy woman is the crown of her husband, but a disgraceful wife is as rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked are about lying in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown, and are no more, but the house of the righteous shall stand.

⁸A man shall be commended according to his wisdom, but he who has a warped mind shall be despised.

⁹Better is he who is lightly esteemed, and has a servant, than he who honors himself, and lacks bread.

¹⁰A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹He who tills his land shall have plenty of bread, but he who chases fantasies is void of understanding.

¹²The wicked desires the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes.

¹³An evil man is trapped by sinfulness of lips, but the righteous shall come out of trouble.

¹⁴A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. The work of a man's hands shall be rewarded to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who is wise listens to counsel.

¹⁶A fool shows his annoyance the same day, but one who overlooks an insult is prudent.

¹⁷He who is truthful testifies honestly, but a false witness lies.

¹⁸There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals.

¹⁹Truth's lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only momentary.

²⁰Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, but joy comes to the promoters of peace.

²¹No mischief shall happen to the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who do the truth are his delight.

²³A prudent man keeps his knowledge, but the hearts of fools proclaim foolishness.

²⁴The hands of the diligent ones shall rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.

²⁵Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but a kind word makes it glad.

²⁶A righteous person is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷The slothful man doesn't roast his game, but the possessions of diligent men are prized.

²⁸In the way of righteousness is life; in its path there is no death.