THE HOLY
BIBLE
Douay-Rheims Version
THE
SECOND BOOK OF PARALIPOMENON
(ALSO
KNOWN AS THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES)
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 1 1 And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his
kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified
him to a high degree.
2 And Solomon gave orders to all Israel, to the captains of
thousands, and of hundreds, and to the rulers, and to the
judges of all Israel, and the heads of the families:
3 And he went with all the multitude to the high place of
Gabaon, where was the tabernacle of the covenant of the
Lord, which Moses the servant of God made, in the
wilderness.
4 For David had brought the ark of God from Cariathiarim to
the place, which he had prepared for it, and where he had
pitched a tabernacle for it, that is, in Jerusalem.
5 And the altar of brass, which Beseleel the son of Uri the
son of Hur had made, was there before the tabernacle of
the Lord: and Solomon and all the assembly sought it:
6 And Solomon went up thither to the brazen altar, before
the tabernacle of the covenant of the Lord, and offered
up on it a thousand victims.
7 And behold that night God appeared to him, saying: Ask
what thou wilt that I should give thee.
8 And Solomon said to God: Thou hast shewn great kindness
to my father David: and hast made me king in his stead.
9 Now therefore, O Lord God, let thy word be fulfilled,
which thou hast promised to David my father: for thou
hast made me king over thy great people, which is as
innumerable as the dust of the earth.
10 Give me wisdom and knowledge that I may come in and go
out before thy people: for who can worthily judge this
thy people, which is so great?
11 And God said to Solomon: Because this choice hath pleased
thy heart, and thou hast not asked riches, and wealth,
and glory, nor the lives of them that hate thee, nor many
days of life: but hast asked wisdom and knowledge, to be
able to judge my people, over which I have made thee
king,
12 Wisdom and knowledge are granted to thee: and I will give
thee riches, and wealth, and glory, so that none of the
kings before thee, nor after thee, shall be like thee.
13 Then Solomon came from the high place of Gabaon to
Jerusalem before the tabernacle of the covenant, and
reigned over Israel.
14 And he gathered to himself chariots and horsemen, and he
had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand
horsemen: and he placed them in the cities of the
chariots, and with the king in Jerusalem.
15 And the king made silver and gold to be in Jerusalem as
stones, and cedar trees as sycamores, which grow in the
plains in great multitude.
16 And there were horses brought him from Egypt, and from
Coa by the king's merchants, who went, and bought at a
price,
17 A chariot of four horses for six hundred pieces of
silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty: in like
manner market was made in all the kingdoms of the
Hethites, and of the kings of Syria.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 2
1 And Solomon determined to build a house to the name of
the Lord, and a palace for himself.
2 And he numbered out seventy thousand men to bear burdens,
and eighty thousand to hew stones in the mountains, and
three thousand six hundred to over- see them.
3 He sent also to Hiram king of Tyre, saying: As thou didst
with David my father, and didst send him cedars, to build
him a house, in which he dwelt:
4 So do with me that I may build a house to the name of the
Lord my God, to dedicate it to burn incense before him,
and to perfume with aromatical spices, and for the
continual setting forth of bread, and for the holocausts,
morning and evening, and on the sabbaths, and on the new
moons, and the solemnities of the Lord our God for ever,
which are commanded for Israel.
5 For the house which I desire to build, is great: for our
God is great above all gods.
6 Who then can be able to build him a worthy house? if
heaven, and the heavens of heavens cannot contain him:
who am I that I should be able to build him a house? but
to this end only, that incense may be burnt before him.
7 Send me therefore a skilful man, that knoweth how to work
in gold, and in silver, in brass, and in iron, in purple,
in scarlet and in blue, and that hath skill in engraving,
with the artificers, which I have with me in Judea and
Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.
8 Send me also cedars, and fir trees, and pine trees from
Libanus: for I know that thy servants are skilful in
cutting timber in Libanus, and my servants shall be with
thy servants,
9 To provide me timber in abundance. For the house which I
desire to build, is to be exceeding great, and glorious.
10 And I will give thy servants the workmen that are to cut
down the trees, for their food twenty thousand cores of
wheat, and as many cores of barley, and twenty thousand
measures of wine, and twenty thousand measures of oil.
11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent a letter to Solomon, saying:
Because the Lord hath loved his people, therefore he hath
made thee king over them.
12 And he added, saying: Blessed be the Lord the God of
Israel, who made heaven and earth, who hath given to king
David a wise and knowing son, endued with understanding
and prudence, to build a house to the Lord, and a palace
for himself.
13 I therefore have sent thee my father Hiram, a wise and
most skilful man,
14 The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, whose father
was a Tyrian, who knoweth how to work in gold, and in
silver, in brass, and in iron, and in marble, and in
timber, in purple also, and violet, and silk and scarlet:
and who knoweth to grave all sort of graving, and to
devise ingeniously all that there may be need of in the
work with thy artificers, and with the artificers of my
lord David thy father.
15 The wheat therefore, and the barley and the oil, and the
wine, which thou, my lord, hast promised, send to thy
servants.
16 And we will cut down as many trees out of Libanus, as
thou shalt want, and will convey them in floats by sea to
Joppe: and it will be thy part to bring them thence to
Jerusalem.
17 And Solomon numbered all the proselytes in the land of
Israel, after the numbering which David his father had
made, and they were found a hundred and fifty-three
thousand and six hundred.
18 And he set seventy thousand of them to carry burdens on
their shoulders, and eighty thousand to hew stones in the
mountains: and three thousand and six hundred to be
overseers of the work of the people.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 3
1 And Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in
Jerusalem, in mount Moria, which had been shewn to David
his father, in the place which David had prepared in the
thrashingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 And he began to build in the second month, in the fourth
year of his reign.
3 Now these are the foundations, which Solomon laid, to
build the house of God, the length by the first measure
sixty cubits, the breadth twenty cubits.
4 And the porch in the front, which was extended in length
according to the measure of the breadth of the house,
twenty cubits: and the height was a hundred and twenty
cubits: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5 And the greater house he ceiled with deal boards, and
overlaid them with plates of fine gold throughout: and he
graved in them palm trees, and like little chains
interlaced with one another.
6 He paved also the floor of the temple with most precious
marble, of great beauty.
7 And the gold of the plates with which he overlaid the
house, and the beams thereof, and the posts, and the
walls, and the doors was of the finest: and he graved
cherubims on the walls.
8 He made also the house of the holy of holies: the length
of it according to the breadth of the temple, twenty
cubits, and the breadth of it in like manner twenty
cubits: and he overlaid it with plates of gold, amounting
to about six hundred talents.
9 He made also nails of gold, and the weight of every nail
was fifty sicles: the upper chambers also he overlaid
with gold.
10 He made also in the house of the holy of holies two
cherubims of image work: and he overlaid them with gold.
11 The wings of the cherubims were extended twenty cubits,
so that one wing was five cubits long, and reached to the
wall of the house: and the other was also five cubits
long, and reached to the wing of the other cherub.
12 In like manner the wing of the other cherub, was five
cubits long, and reached to the wall: and his other wing
was five cubits long, and touched the wing of the other
cherub.
13 So the wings of the two cherubims were spread forth, and
were extended twenty cubits: and they stood upright on
their feet, and their faces were turned toward the house
without.
14 He made also a veil of violet, purple, scarlet, and silk:
and wrought in it cherubims.
15 He made also before the doors of the temple two pillars,
which were five and thirty cubits high: and their
chapiters were five cubits.
16 He made also as it were little chains in the oracle, and
he put them on the heads of the pillars: and a hundred
pomegranates, which he put between the little chains.
17 These pillars he put at the entrance of the temple, one
on the right hand, and the other on the left: that which
was on the right hand, he called Jachin: and that on the
left hand, Boot.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 4
1 He made also an altar of brass twenty cubits long, and
twenty cubits broad, and ten cubits high.
2 Also a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round
in compass: it was five cubits high, and a line of thirty
cubits compassed it round about.
3 And under it there was the likeness of oxen, and certain
engravings on the outside of ten cubits compassed the
belly of the sea, as it were with two rows.
4 And the oxen were cast: and the sea itself was set upon
the twelve oxen, three of which looked toward the north,
and other three toward the west: and other three toward
the south, and the other three that remained toward the
east, and the sea stood upon them: and the hinder parts
of the oxen were in- ward under the sea.
5 Now the thickness of it was a handbreadth, and the brim
of it was like the brim of a cup, or of a crisped lily:
and it held three thousand measures.
6 He made also ten lavers: and he see five on the right
hand, and five on the left, to wash in them all such
things as they mere to offer for holocausts: but the sea
was for the priests to wash in.
7 And he made ten golden candlesticks, according to the
form which they were commanded to be made by: and he set
them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on
the left.
8 Moreover also ten tables: and he set them in the temple,
five on the right side, and five on the left. Also a
hundred bowls of gold.
9 He made also the court of the priests, and a great hall,
and doors in the hall, which he covered with brass.
10 And he set the sea on the right side over against the
east toward the south.
11 And Hiram made caldrons, and fleshhooks, and bowls: and
finished all the king's work in the house of God:
12 That is to say, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the
chapiters, and the network, to cover the chapiters over
the pommels.
13 And four hundred pomegranates, and two wreaths of
network, so that two rows of pomegranates were joined to
each wreath, to cover the pommels, and the chapiters of
the pillars.
14 He made also bases, and lavers, which he set upon the
bases:
15 One sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;
16 And the caldrons, and fleshhooks, and bowls. All the
vessels did Hiram his father make for Solomon in the
house of the Lord of the finest brass.
17 In the country near the Jordan did the king cast them, in
a clay ground between Sochot and Saredatha.
18 And the multitude of vessels was innumerable, so that the
weight of the brass was not known.
19 And Solomon made all the vessels for the house of God,
and the golden altar, and the tables, upon which were the
leaves of proposition,
20 The candlesticks also of most pure gold with their lamps
to give light before the oracle, according to the manner.
21 And certain flowers, and lamps, and golden tongs: all
were made of the finest gold.
22 The vessels also for the perfumes, and the censers, and
the bowls, and the mortars, of pure gold. And he graved
the doors of the inner temple, that is, for the holy of
holies: and the doors of the temple without were of gold.
And thus all the work was finished which Solomon made in
the house of the Lord.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 5
1 Then Solomon brought in all the things that David his
father had vowed, the silver, and the gold, and all the
vessels he put among the treasures of the house of God.
2 And after this he gathered together the ancients of
Israel, and all the princes of the tribes, and the heads
of the families, of the children of Israel to Jerusalem,
to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the
city of David, which is Sion.
3 And all the men of Israel came to the king in the solemn
day of the seventh month.
4 And when all the ancients of Israel were come, the
Levites took up the ark,
5 And brought it in, together with all the furniture of the
tabernacle. And the priests with the Levites carried the
vessels of the sanctuary, which were in the tabernacle.
6 And king Solomon and all the assembly of Israel, and all
that were gathered together before the ark, sacrificed
rams, and oxen without number: so great was the multitude
of the victims.
7 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the
Lord into its place, that is, to the oracle of the
temple, into the holy of holies under the wings of the
cherubims:
8 So that the cherubims spread their wings over the place,
in which the ark was set, and covered the ark itself and
its staves.
9 Now the ends of the staves wherewith the ark was carried,
because they were some thing longer, were seen before the
oracle: but if a man were a little outward, he could not
see them. So the ark has been there unto this day.
10 And there was nothing else in the ark but the two tables
which Moses put there at Horeb when the Lord gave the law
to the children of Israel, at their coming out of Egypt.
11 Now when the priests were come out of the sanctuary, (for
all the priests that could be found there, mere
sanctified: and as yet at that time the courses and
orders of the ministries were not divided among them,)
12 Both the Levites and the singing men, that is, both they
that were under Asaph, and they that were under Heman,
and they that were under Idithun, with their sons, and
their brethren, clothed with fine linen, sounded with
cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, standing on the east
side of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty
priests, sounding with trumpets.
13 So when they all sounded together, both with trumpets,
and voice, and cymbals, and organs, and with divers kind
of musical instruments, and lifted up their voice on high
: the sound was heard afar off, so that when they began
to praise the Lord, and to say: Give glory to the Lord
for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever: the
house of God was filled with a cloud.
14 Nor could the priests stand and minister by reason of the
cloud. For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of
God.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 6
1 Then Solomon said: The Lord promised that he would dwell
in a cloud.
2 But I have built a house to his name, that he might dwell
there for ever.
3 And the king turned his face, and blessed all the
multitude of Israel (for all the multitude stood
attentive) and he said:
4 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who hath
accomplished in deed that which he spoke to David my
father, saying:
5 From the day that I brought my people out of the land of
Egypt, I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel,
for a house to be built in it to my name: neither chose
I any other man, to be the ruler of my people Israel.
6 But I chose Jerusalem, that my name might be there: and
I chose David to set him over my people Israel.
7 And whereas David my father had a mind to build a house
to the name of the Lord the God of Israel,
8 The Lord said to him: Forasmuch as it was thy will to
build a house to my name, thou hast done well indeed in
having such a will:
9 But thou shalt not build the house, but thy son, who
shall come out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my
name.
10 The Lord therefore hath accomplished his word which he
spoke: and I am risen up in the place of David my father,
and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised
: and have built a house to the name of the Lord God of
Israel.
11 And I have put in it the ark, wherein is the covenant of
the Lord, which he made with the children of Israel.
12 And he stood before the altar of the I Lord, in presence
of all the multitude of Israel, and stretched forth his
hands.
13 For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, and had set it in
the midst of the temple, which was five cubits long, and
five cubits broad, and three cubits high: and he stood
upon it: then kneeling down in the presence of all the
multitude of Israel, and lifting up his hands towards
heaven,
14 He said: O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee
in heaven nor in earth: who keepest covenant and mercy
with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their
hearts:
15 Who hast performed to thy servant David my father all
that thou hast promised him: and hast accomplished in
fact, what thou hast spoken with thy mouth, as also the
present time proveth.
16 Now then, O Lord God of Israel, fulfil to thy servant
David my father, whatsoever thou hast promised him,
saying: There shall not fail thee a man in my sight, to
sit upon the throne of Israel: yet so that thy children
take heed to their ways, and walk in my law, as thou hast
walked before me.
17 And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy word be established
which thou hast spoken to thy servant David.
18 Is it credible then that God should dwell with men on the
earth? If heaven and the heavens of heavens do not
contain thee, how much less this house, which I have
built?
19 But to this end only it is made, that thou mayest regard
the prayer of thy servant and his supplication, O Lord my
God: and mayest hear the prayers which thy servant
poureth out before thee.
20 That thou mayest open thy eyes upon this house day and
night, upon the place wherein thou hast promised that thy
name should be called upon,
21 And that thou wouldst hear the prayer which thy servant
prayeth in it: hearken then to the prayers of thy
servant, and of thy people Israel. Whosoever shall pray
in this place, hear thou from thy dwelling place, that
is, from heaven, and shew mercy.
22 If any man sin against his neighbour, and come to swear
against him, and bind himself with a curse before the
altar in this house:
23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do justice to thy
servants, so as to requite the wicked by making his
wickedness fall upon his own head, and to revenge the
just, rewarding him according to his justice.
24 If thy people Israel be overcome by their enemies, (for
they will sin against thee,) and being converted shall do
penance, and call upon thy name, and pray to thee in this
place,
25 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy
people Israel, and bring them back into the land, which
thou gavest to them, and their fathers.
26 If the heavens be shut up, and there fall no rain by
reason of the sine of the people, and they shall pray to
thee in this place, and confess to thy name, and be
converted from their sins, when thou dost afflict them,
27 Then hear thou from heaven, O Lord, and forgive the sine
of thy servants and of thy people Israel, and teach them
the good way, in which they may walk: and give rain to
thy land which thou hast given to thy people to possess.
28 If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence or
blasting, or mildew, or locusts, or caterpillars: or if
their enemies waste the country, and besiege the cities,
whatsoever scourge or infirmity shall be upon them:
29 Then if any of thy people Israel, knowing his own scourge
and infirmity shall pray, and shall spread forth his
hands in this house,
30 Hear thou from heaven, from thy high dwelling place, and
forgive, and render to every one according to his ways,
which thou knowest him to have in his heart: (for thou
only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)
31 That they may fear thee, and walk in thy ways all the
days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou
hast given to our fathers.
32 If the stranger also, who is not of thy people Israel,
come from a far country, for the sake of thy great name,
and thy strong hand, and thy stretched out arm, and adore
in this place:
33 Hear thou from heaven thy firm dwelling place, and do all
that which that stranger shall call upon thee for: that
all the people of the earth may know thy name, and may
fear thee, as thy people Israel, and may know, that thy
name is invoked upon this house, which I have built.
34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by the
way that thou shalt send them, and adore thee towards the
way of this city, which thou hast chosen, and the house
which I have built to thy name:
35 Then hear thou from heaven their prayers, and their
supplications, and revenge them.
36 And if they sin against thee (for there is no man that
sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver
them up to their enemies, and they lead them away captive
to a land either afar off, or near at hand,
37 And if they be converted in their heart in the land to
which they were led / captive, and do penance, and pray
to thee in the land of their captivity, saying: We have
sinned, we have done wickedly, we have dealt unjustly:
38 And return to thee with all their heart, and with all
their soul, in the land of their captivity, to which they
were led away, and adore thee towards the way of their
own land which thou gavest their fathers, and of the
city, which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have
built to thy name:
39 Then hear thou from heaven, that is, from thy firm
dwelling place, their prayers, and do judgment, and
forgive thy people, although they have sinned:
40 For thou art my God: let thy eyes, I beseech thee, be
open, and let thy ears be attentive to the prayer, that
is made in this place.
41 Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place,
thou and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord
God, put on salvation, and thy saints rejoice in good
things.
42 O Lord God, turn not away the face of thy anointed:
remember the mercies of David thy servant.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 7
1 And when Solomon had made an end of his prayer, Are came
down from heaven, and consumed the holocausts and the
victims: and the majesty of the Lord tilled the house.
2 Neither could the priests enter into the temple of the
Lord, because the majesty of the Lord had filled the
temple of the Lord.
3 Moreover all the children of Israel saw the fire coming
down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house: and
falling down with their faces to the ground, upon the
stone pavement, they adored and praised the Lord: because
he is good, because his mercy endureth for ever.
4 And the king and all the people sacrificed victims before
the Lord.
5 And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two
thousand oxen, and one hundred and twenty thousand rams:
and the king and all the people dedicated the house of
God.
6 And the priests stood in their offices: and the Levites
with the instruments of music of the Lord, which king
David made to praise the Lord: because his mercy endureth
for ever, singing the hymns of David by their ministry:
and the priests sounded with trumpets before them, and
all Israel stood.
7 Solomon also sanctified the middle of the court before
the temple of the Lord: for he offered there the
holocausts, and the fat of the peace offerings: because
the brazen altar, which he had made, could not hold the
holocausts and the sacrifices and the fat:
8 And Solomon kept the solemnity at that time seven days,
and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from
the entrance of Emath to the torrent of Egypt.
9 And he made on the eighth day a solemn assembly, because
he had kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and
had celebrated the solemnity seven days.
10 So on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he
sent away the people to their dwellings, joyful and glad
for the good that the Lord had done to David, and to
Solomon, and to all Israel his people.
11 And Solomon finished the house of the Lord, and the
king's house, and all that he had designed in his heart
to do, in the house of the Lord, and in his own house,
and he prospered.
12 And the Lord appeared to him by night, and said : I have
heard thy prayer, and I have chosen this place to myself
for a house of sacrifice.
13 If I shut up heaven, and there fall no rain, or if I give
orders, and command the locust to devour the land, or if
I send pestilence among my people:
14 And my people, upon whom my name is called, being
converted, shall make supplication to me, and seek out my
face, and do penance for their most wicked ways: then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sine and
will heal their land.
15 My eyes also shall be open, and my ears attentive to the
prayer of him that shall pray in this place.
16 For I have chosen, and have sanctified this place, that
my name may be there for ever, and my eyes and my heart
may remain there perpetually.
17 And as for thee, if thou walk before me, as David thy
father walked, and do according to all that I have
commanded thee, and keep my justices and my judgments :
18 I will raise up the throne of thy kingdom, as I promised
to David thy father, saying: There shall not fail thee a
man of thy stock to be ruler in Israel.
19 But if you turn away, and forsake my justices, and my
commandments which I have set before you, and shall go
and serve strange gods, and adore them,
20 I will pluck you up by the root out of my land which I
have given you: and this house which I have sanctified to
my name, I will cast away from before my face, and will
make it a byword, and an example among all nations.
21 And this house shall be for a proverb to all that pass
by, and they shall be astonished and say: Why hath the
Lord done thus to this land, and to this house?
22 And they shall answer: Because they forsook the Lord the
God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of
Egypt, and laid hold on strange gods, and adored them,
and worshipped them: therefore all these evils are come
upon them.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 8
1 And at the end of twenty years after Solomon had built
the house of the Lord and his own house:
2 He built the cities which Hiram had given to Solomon, and
caused the children of Israel to dwell there.
3 He went also into Emath Suba, and possessed it.
4 And he built Palmira in the desert, and he built other
strong cities in Emath.
5 And he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the
nether, walled cities with Rates and bars and locks.
6 Balaath also and all the strong cities that were
Solomon's, and all the cities of the chariots, and the
cities of the horsemen. All that Solomon had a mind, and
designed, he built in Jerusalem and in Libanus, and in
all the land of his dominion.
7 All the people that were left of the Hethites, and the
Amorrhites, and the Pherezites, and the Hevites, and the
Jebusites, that were not of the stock of Israel:
8 Of their children, and of the posterity, whom the
children of Israel had not slain, Solomon made to be the
tributaries, unto this day.
9 But of the children of Israel he set none to serve in the
king's works: for they were men of war, and chief
captains, and rulers of his chariots and horsemen.
10 And all the chief captains of king Solomon's army were
two hundred and fifty, who taught the people.
11 And he removed the daughter of Pharao from the city of
David, to the house which he had built for her. For the
king said: My wife shall not dwell in the house of David
king of Israel, for it is sanctified: because the ark of
the Lord came into it.
12 Then Solomon offered holocausts to the Lord upon the
altar of the Lord which he had built before the porch,
13 That every day an offering might be made on it according
to the ordinance of Moses, in the sabbaths, and on the
new moons, and on the festival days three times a year,
that is to say, in the feast of unleavened bread, and in
the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
14 And he appointed according to the order of David his
father the offices of the priests in their ministries:
and the Levites in their order to give praise, and
minister before the priests according to the duty of
every day: and the porters in their divisions by gate and
gate: for so David the man of God had commanded.
15 And the priests and Levites departed not from the king's
commandments, as to any thing that he had commanded, and
as to the keeping of the treasures.
16 Solomon had all charges prepared, from the day that he
founded the house of the Lord, until the day wherein he
finished it.
17 Then Solomon went to Asiongaber, and to Ailath, on the
coast of the Red Sea, which is in the land of Edom.
18 And Hiram sent him ships by the hands of his servants,
and skilful mariners, and they went with Solomon's
servants to Ophir, and they took thence four hundred and
fifty talents of gold, and brought it to king Solomon.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 9
1 And when the queen of Saba heard of the fame of Solomon,
she came to try him with hard questions at Jerusalem,
with great riches, and camels, which carried spices, and
abundance of gold, and precious stones. And when she was
come to Solomon, she proposed to him all that was in her
heart.
2 And Solomon explained to her all that she proposed: and
there was not any thing that he did not make clear unto
her.
3 And when she had seen these things, to wit, the wisdom of
Solomon, and the house which he had built,
4 And the meats of his table, and the dwelling places of
his servants, and the attendance of his officers, and
their apparel, his cupbearers also, and their garments,
and the victims which he offered in the house of the
Lord: there was no more spirit in her, she was so
astonished.
5 And she add to the king: The word is true which I heard
in my country of thy virtues and wisdom.
6 I did not believe them that told it, until I came, and my
eyes had seen, and I had proved that scarce one half of
thy wisdom had been told me: thou hast exceeded the same
with thy virtues.
7 Happy are thy men, and happy are thy servants, who stand
always before thee, and hear thy wisdom.
8 Blessed be the Lord thy God, who hath been pleased to set
thee on his throne, king of the Lord thy God. Because God
loveth Israel, and will preserve them for ever: therefore
hath he made thee king over them, to do judgment and
justice.
9 And she gave to the king a hundred and twenty talents of
gold, and spices in great abundance, and most precious
stones: there were no such spices as these which the
queen of Saba gave to king Solomon.
10 And the servants also of Hiram, with the servants of
Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and thyine trees, and
most precious stones:
11 And the king made of the thyine trees stairs in the house
of the Lord, and in the king's house, and harps and
psalteries for the singing men: never were there seen
such trees in the land of Juda.
12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Saba all that she
desired, and that she asked, and many more things than
she brought to him: so she returned, and went to her own
country with her servants.
13 And the weight of the gold, that was brought to Solomon
every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of
gold:
14 Beside the sum which the deputies of divers nations, and
the merchants were accustomed to bring, and all the kings
of Arabia, and the lords of the lands, who I brought gold
and silver to Solomon.
15 And king Solomon made two hundred golden spears, of the
sum of six hundred pieces of gold, which went to every
spear:
16 And three hundred golden shields of three hundred pieces
of gold, which went to the covering of every shield: and
the king put them in the armoury, which was compassed
with a wood.
17 The king also made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid
it with pure gold.
18 And six steps to go up to the throne, and a footstool of
gold, and two arms one on either side, and two lions
standing by the arms:
19 Moreover twelve other little lions standing upon the
steps on both sides: there was not such a throne in any
kingdom.
20 And all the vessels of the king's table were of gold, and
the vessels of the house of the forest of Libanus were of
the purest gold. For no account was made of silver in
those days.
21 For the king's ships went to Tharsis with the servants of
Hiram, once in three years: and they brought thence gold
and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
22 And Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the
earth for riches and glory.
23 And all the kings of the earth desired to see the face of
Solomon, that they might hear the wisdom which God had
given in his heart.
24 And every year they brought him presents, vessels of
silver and of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices,
and horses, and mules.
25 And Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and
twelve thousand chariots, and horsemen, and he placed
them in the cities of the chariots, and where the king
was in Jerusalem.
26 And he exercised authority over all the kings from the
river Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, and to
the borders of Egypt.
27 And he made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones:
and cedars as common as the sycamores, which grow in the
plains.
28 And horses were brought to him out of Egypt, and out of
all countries.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon first and last are
written in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the
boobs of Ahias the Silonite, and in the vision of Addo
the seer, against Jeroboam the son of Nabat.
30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty
years.
31 And he slept d with his fathers: and they buried him in
the city of David: and Roboam his son reigned in his
stead
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 10
1 And Roboam went to Sichem: for thither all Israel were
assembled, to make him king.
2 And when Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who was in Egypt,
(for he was fled thither from Solomon,) heard it,
forthwith he returned.
3 And they sent for him, and he came with all Israel, and
they spoke to Roboam, saying:
4 Thy father oppressed us with a most grievous yoke, do
thou govern us with a lighter hand than thy father, who
laid upon us a heavy servitude, and ease some thing of
the burden, that we may serve thee.
5 And he said to them: Come to me again after three days.
And when the people were gone,
6 He took counsel with the ancients, who had stood before
his father Solomon, while he yet lived, saying: What
counsel give you to me, that I may answer the people?
7 And they said to him: If thou please this people, and
soothe them with kind words, they will be thy servants
for ever.
8 But he forsook the counsel of the ancients, end began to
treat with the young men, that had been brought up with
him, and were in his train.
9 And he said to them: What seemeth good to you? or what
shall I answer this people, who have said to me: Ease the
yoke which thy father laid upon us?
10 But they answered as young men, and brought up with him
in pleasures, and said: Thus shalt thou speak to the
people, that said to thee: Thy father made our yoke
heavy, do thou ease it: thus shalt thou answer them: My
little finger is thicker than the loins of my father.
11 My father laid upon you a heavy yoke, and I will add more
weight to it: my father beat you with scourges, but I
will beat you with scorpions.
12 So Jeroboam, and all the people came to Roboam the third
day, as he commanded them.
13 And the king answered roughly, leaving the counsel of the
ancients.
14 And he spoke according to the advice of the young men :
My father laid upon you a heavy yoke, which I will make
heavier: my father beat you with scourges, but I will
beat you with scorpions.
15 And he condescended not to the people's requests: for it
was the will of God, that his word might be fulfilled
which he had spoken by the hand of Ahias the Silonite to
Jeroboam the son of Nabat.
16 And all the people upon the king's speaking roughly, said
thus unto him: We have no part in David, nor inheritance
in the son of Isai. Return to thy dwellings, O Israel,
and do thou, O David, feed thy own house. And Israel went
away to their dwellings.
17 But Roboam reigned over the children of Israel that dwelt
in the cities of Juda.
18 And king Roboam sent Aduram, who was over the tributes,
and the children of Israel stoned him, and he died: and
king Roboam made haste to gee up into his chariot, and
fled into Jerusalem.
19 And Israel revolted from the house of David unto this
day.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 11
1 And Roboam came to Jerusalem, and called together all the
house of Juda and of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore
thousand chosen men and warriors, to fight against
Israel, and to bring back his kingdom to him.
2 And the word of the Lord came to Semeias the man of God,
saying:
3 Speak to Roboam the son of Solomon the king of Juda, and
to all Israel, in Juda and Benjamin:
4 Thus saith the Lord: You shall not go up, nor fight
against your brethren: let every man return to his own
house, for by my will this thing has been done. And when
they heard the word of the Lord, they returned, and did
not go against Jeroboam,
5 And Roboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built walled cities in
Juda.
6 And he built Bethlehem, and Etam, and Thecue,
7 And Bethsur, and Socho, and Odollam,
8 And Geth, and Maresa, and Ziph,
9 And Aduram, and Lachis, and Azecha,
10 Saraa also, and Aialon, and Hebron, which are in Juda and
Benjamin, well fenced cities.
11 And when he had enclosed them with walls, he put in them
governors and storehouses of provisions, that is, of oil
and of wine.
12 Moreover in every city he made an armoury of shields and
spears, and he fortified them with great diligence, and
he reigned over Juda, and Benjamin,
13 And the priests and Levites, that were in all Israel,
came to him out of all their seats,
14 Leaving their suburbs, and their possessions, and passing
over to Juda, and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his
sons had cast them off, from executing the priestly
office to the Lord.
15 And he made to himself priests for the high places, and
for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.
16 Moreover out of all the tribes of Israel, whosoever gave
their heart to seek the Lord the God of Israel, came into
Jerusalem to sacrifice their victims be- fore the Lord
the God of their fathers.
17 And they strengthened the kingdom of Juda, and
established Roboam the son of Solomon for three years:
for they walked in the ways of David and of Solomon, only
three years.
18 And Roboam took to wife Mahalath, the daughter of
Jerimoth the son of David: and Abihail the daughter of
Eliab the son of Isai.
19 And they bore him sons Jehus, and Somorias, and Zoom.
20 And after her he married Maacha the daughter of Absalom,
who bore him Abia and Ethai, and Ziza, and Salomith.
21 And Roboam loved Maacha the daughter of Absalom above all
his wives, and concubines: for he had married eighteen
wives, and threescore concubines: and he beget eight and
twenty sons, and threescore daughters.
22 But he put at the head of them Abia the son of Maacha to
be the chief ruler over all his brethren: for he meant to
make him king,
23 Because he was wiser and mightier than all his sons, and
in all the countries of Juda, and of Benjamin, and in all
the walled cities: and he gave them provisions in
abundance, and he sought many wives.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 12
1 And when the kingdom of Roboam was strengthened and
fortified, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel
with him.
2 And in the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Sesac king
of Egypt came up against Jerusalem (because they had
sinned against the Lord)
3 With twelve hundred chariots and threescore thousand
horsemen: and the people were without number that came
with him out of Egypt, to wit, Libyans, and Troglodites,
and Ethiopians.
4 And he took the strongest cities in Juda, and came to
Jerusalem.
5 And Semeias the prophet came to Roboam, and to the
princes of Juda, that were gathered together in
Jerusalem, fleeing from Sesac, and he said to them : Thus
saith the Lord: You have left me, and I have left you in
the hand of Sesac.
6 And the princes of Israel, and the king, being in a
consternation, said: The Lord is just.
7 And when the Lord saw that they were humbled, the word of
the Lord came to Semeias, saying: Because they are
humbled, I will not destroy them, and I will give them a
little help, and my wrath shall not fall upon Jerusalem
by the hand of Sesac.
8 But yet they shall serve him, that they may know the
difference between my service, and the service of a
kingdom of the earth.
9 So Sesac king of Egypt departed from Jerusalem, taking
away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the
king's house, and he took all with him, and the golden
shields that Solomon had made,
10 Instead of which the king made brazen ones, and delivered
them to the captains of the shieldbearers, who guarded
the entrance of the palace.
11 And when the king entered into the house of the Lord, the
shieldbearers came and took them, and brought them back
again to their armoury.
12 But yet because they were humbled, the wrath of the Lord
turned away from them, and they were not utterly
destroyed: for even in Juda there were found good works.
13 King Roboam therefore was strengthened in Jerusalem, and
reigned: he was one and forty years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the
city which the Lord chose out of all the tribes of
Israel, to establish his name there: and the name of his
mother was Naama an Ammonitess.
14 But he did evil, and did not prepare his heart to seek
the Lord.
15 Now the acts of Roboam first and last are written in the
books of Semeias the prophet, and of Addo the seer, and
diligently recorded: and there was war between Roboam and
Jeroboam all their days.
16 And Roboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the
city of David. And Abia his son reigned in his stead.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 13
1 In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam, Abia reigned
over Juda.
2 Three years he reigned in Jerusalem, and his mother's
name was Michaia, the daughter of Uriel of Gabaa: and
there was war between Abia and Jeroboam.
3 And when Abia had begun battle, and had with him four
hundred thou- sand most valiant and chosen men, Jeroboam
put his army in array against him, eight hundred thousand
men, who were also chosen and most valiant for war.
4 And Abia stood upon mount Semeron, which was in Ephraim,
and said: Hear me, O Jeroboam, and all Israel:
5 Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave to David
the kingdom over Israel for ever, to him and to his sons
by a covenant of salt?
6 And Jeroboam the son of Nabat, the servant of Solomon the
son of David, rose up: m and rebelled against his lord.
7 And there were gathered to him vain men, and children of
Belial: and they prevailed against Roboam the son of
Solomon: for Roboam was unexperienced, and of a fearful
heart, and could not resist them.
8 And now you say that you are able to withstand the
kingdom of the Lord, which he possesseth by the sons of
David, and you have a great multitude of people, and
golden calves, which Jeroboam hath made you for gods.
9 And you have cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons
of Aaron, and the Levites: and you have made you priests,
like all the nations of the earth: whosoever cometh and
consecrateth his hand with a bullock of the herd, and
with seven rams, is made a priest of those who are no
gods.
10 But the Lord is our God, whom we forsake not, and the
priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron,
and the Levites are in their order.
11 And they offer holocausts to the Lord, every day, morning
and evening, and incense made according to the ordinance
of the law, and the leaves are set forth on a most clean
table, and there is with us the golden candlestick, and
the lamps thereof, to be lighted always in the evening:
for we keep the precepts of the Lord our God, whom you
have forsaken.
12 Therefore God is the leader in our army, and his priests
who sound with trumpets, and resound against you: O
children of Israel, fight not against the Lord the God of
your fathers, for it is not good for you.
13 While he spoke these things, Jeroboam caused an
ambushment to come about behind him. And while he stood
facing the enemies, he encompassed Juda. who perceived it
not, with his army.
14 And when Juda looked back, they saw the battle coming
upon them both before and behind, and they cried to the
Lord: and the priests began to sound with the trumpets.
15 And all the men of Juda shouted: and behold when they
shouted, God terrified Jeroboam, and all Israel that
stood against Abia and Juda.
16 And the children of Israel fled before Juda, and the Lord
delivered them into their hand.
17 And Abia and his people slew them with a great slaughter,
and there fell wounded of Israel five hundred thousand
valiant men.
18 And the children of Israel were brought down, at that
time, and the children of Juda were exceedingly
strengthened, because they had trusted in the Lord the
God of their fathers.
19 And Abia pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from
him, Bethel and her daughters, and Jesana with her
daughters, Ephron also and her daughters.
20 And Jeroboam was not able to resist any more, in the days
of Abia: and the Lord struck him, and he died.
21 But Abia, being strengthened in his kingdom, took
fourteen wives: and begot two and twenty sons, and
sixteen daughters.
22 And the rest of the acts of Abia, and of his ways and
works, are written diligently in the book of Addo the
prophet.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 14
1 And Abia slept with his fathers, and they buried him in
the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead:
in his days the land was quiet ten years.
2 And Asa did that which was good and pleasing in the sight
of his God, and he destroyed the altars of foreign
worship, and the high places.
3 And broke the statues, and cut down the groves.
4 And he commanded Juda to seek the Lord the God of their
fathers, and to do the law, and all the commandments.
5 And he took away out of all the cities of Juda the
altars, and temples, and reigned in peace.
6 He built also strong cities in Juda, for he was quiet,
and there had no wars risen in his time, the Lord giving
peace.
7 And he said to Juda: Let us build these cities, and
compass them with walls, and fortify them with towers,
and gates, and bars, while all is quiet from wars,
because we have sought the Lord the God of our fathers,
and he hath given us peace round about. So they built,
and there was no hinderance in building.
8 And Asa had in his army of men that bore shields and
spears of Juda three hundred thousand, and of Benjamin
that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred and eighty
thousand, all these were most valiant men.
9 And Zara the Ethiopian came out against them with his
army of ten hundred thousand men, and with three hundred
chariots: and he came as far as Maresa.
10 And Asa went out to meet him, and set his army in array
for battle in the vale of Sephata, which is near Maresa:
11 And he called upon the Lord God, and said: O Lord, there
is no difference with thee, whether thou help with few,
or with many: help us, O Lord our God: for with
confidence in thee, and in thy name, we are come against
this multitude. O Lord thou art our God, let not man
prevail against thee.
12 And the Lord terrified the Ethiopians before Asa and
Juda: and the Ethiopians fled.
13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them to
Gerara: and the Ethiopians fell even to utter
destruction, for the Lord slew them, and his army fought
against them, and they were destroyed. And they took
abundance of spoils,
14 And they took all the cities round about Gerara: for a
great fear was come upon all men: and they pillaged the
cities, and carried off much booty.
15 And they destroyed the sheepcotes, and took an infinite
number of cattle, and of camels: and returned to
Jerusalem.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 15
1 And the spirit of God came upon Azarias the son of Oded,
2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: Hear ye me,
Asa, and all Juda and Benjamin: The Lord is with you,
because you have been with him. If you seek him, you
shall find: but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
3 And many days shall pass in Israel without the true God,
and without a priest a teacher, and without the law.
4 And when in their distress they shall return to the Lord
the God of Israel, and shall seek him, they shall find
him.
5 At that time there shall be no peace to him that goeth
out and cometh in, but terrors on every side among all
the inhabitants of the earth.
6 For nation shall fight against nation, and city against
city, for the Lord will trouble them with all distress.
7 Do you therefore take courage, and let not your hands he
weakened: for there shall be a reward for your work.
8 And when Asa had heard the words, and the prophecy of
Azarias the son of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and
took away the idols out of all the land of Juda, and out
of Benjamin, and out of the cities of mount Ephraim,
which he had taken, and he dedicated the altar of the
Lord, which was before the porch of the Lord.
9 And he gathered together all Juda and Benjamin, and the
strangers with them of Ephraim, and Manasses, and Simeon:
for many were come over to him out of Israel, seeing that
the Lord his God was with him.
10 And when they were come to Jerusalem in the third month,
in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,
11 They sacrificed to the Lord in that day of the spoils,
and of the prey, that they had brought, seven hundred
oxen, and seven thousand rams.
12 And he went in to confirm as usual the covenant, that
they should seek the Lord the God of their fathers with
all their heart, and with all their soul.
13 And if any one, said he, seek not the Lord the God of
Israel, let him die, whether little or great, man or
woman.
14 And they swore to the Lord with a loud voice with joyful
shouting, and with sound of trumpet, and sound of comets,
15 All that mere in Juda with a curse: for with all their
heart they swore, and with all their will they sought
him, and they found him, and the Lord gave them rest
round about.
16 Moreover Maacha the mother of king Asa he deposed from
the royal authority, because she had made in a grove an
idol of Priapus: and he entirely destroyed it, and
breaking it into pieces, burnt it at the torrent Cedron.
17 But high places were left in Israel: nevertheless the
heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
18 And the things which his father had vowed, and he himself
had vowed, he brought into the house of the Lord, gold
and silver, and vessels of divers uses.
19 And there was no war unto the five and thirtieth year of
the kingdom of Asa.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 16
1 And in the six and thirtieth year of his kingdom, Baasa
the king of Israel came up against Juda, and built a wall
about Rama, that no one might safely go out or come in of
the kingdom of Asa.
2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures
of the house of the Lord, and of the king's treasures,
and sent to Benadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus,
saying:
3 There is a league between me and thee, as there was
between my father and thy father, wherefore I have sent
thee silver and gold, that thou mayst break thy league
with Baasa king of Israel, and make him depart from me.
4 And then Benadad heard this, he sent the captains of his
armies against the cities of Israel: and they took Ahion,
and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the walled cities of
Nephtali.
5 And when Baasa heard of it, he left off the building of
Rama, and interrupted his work.
6 Then king Asa took all Juda, and they carried away from
Rama the stones, and the timber that Baasa had prepared
for the building: and he built with them Gabaa, and
Maspha.
7 At that time Hanani the prophet came to Asa king of Juda,
and said to him: Because thou hast had confidence in the
king of Syria, and not in the Lord thy God, therefore
hath the army of the king of Syria escaped out of thy
hand.
8 Were not the Ethiopians, and the Libyans much more
numerous in chariots, and horsemen, and an exceeding
great multitude: yet because thou trustedst in the Lord,
he delivered them into thy hand?
9 For the eyes of the Lord behold all the earth, and give
strength to those who with a perfect heart trust in him.
Wherefore thou hast done foolishly, and for this cause
from this time wars shall arise against thee.
10 And Asa was angry with the seer, and commanded him to be
put in prison: for he was greatly enraged because of this
thing: and he put to death many of the people at that
time.
11 But the works of Asa the first and last are written in
the book of the kings of Juda and Israel.
12 And Asa fell sick in the nine and thirtieth year of his
reign, of a most violent pain in his feet, and yet in his
illness he did not seek the Lord, but rather trusted in
the skill of physicians.
13 And he slept with his fathers: and he died in the one and
fortieth year of his reign.
14 And they buried him in his own sepulchre, which he had
made for himself in the city of David: and they]aid him
on his bed full of spices and odoriferous ointments,
which were made by the art of the perfumers, and they
burnt them over him with very great pomp.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 17
1 And Josaphat his son reigned in his stead, and grew
strong against Israel.
2 And he placed numbers of soldiers in all the fortified
cities of Juda. And he put garrisons in the land of Juda,
and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had
taken.
3 And the Lord was with Josaphat, because he walked in the
first ways of David his father: and trusted not in
Baalim,
4 But in the God of his father, and walk in his
commandments, and not according to the sins of Israel.
5 And the Lord established the kingdom in his hand, and all
Juda brought presents to Josaphat: and he acquired
immense riches, and much glory.
6 And when his heart had taken courage for the ways of the
Lord, he took away also the high places and the groves
out of Juda.
7 And in the third year of his reign, he sent of his
princes Benhail, and Abdias, and Zacharias, and
Nathanael, and Micheas, to teach in the cities of Juda:
8 And with them the Levites, Semeias, end Nathanias, and
Zabadias, and Asael, and Semiramoth, and Jonathan, and
Adonias, and Tobias, and Thobadonias Levites, and with
them Elisama, and Joram priests.
9 And they taught the people in Juda, having with them the
book of the law of the Lord: and they went about all the
cities of Juda, and instructed the people.
10 And the fear of the Lord came upon all the kingdoms of
the lands that were round about Juda, and they durst not
make war against Josaphat.
11 The Philistines also brought presents to Josaphat, and
tribute in silver, and the Arabians brought him cattle,
seven thousand seven hundred rams, and as many he goats.
12 And Josaphat grew, and became exceeding great: and he
built in Juda houses like towers, and walled cities.
13 And he prepared many works in the cities of Juda: and he
had warriors, and valiant men in Jerusalem.
14 Of whom this is the number of the houses and families of
every one: in Juda captains of the army, Ednas the chief,
and with him three hundred thousand most valiant men.
15 After him Johanan the captain, and with him two hundred
and eighty thousand.
16 And after him was Amasias the son of Zechri, consecrated
to the Lord, and with him were two hundred thousand
valiant men.
17 After him was Eliada valiant in battle, and with him two
hundred thousand armed with bow and shield.
18 After him also was Jozabad, and with him a hundred and
eighty thousand ready for war.
19 All these were at the hand of the king, beside others,
whom he had put in the walled cities, in all Juda.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 18
1 Now Josaphat was rich and very glorious, and was joined
by affinity to Achab.
2 And he went down to him after some years to Samaria: and
Achab at his coming killed sheep and oxen in abundance
for him and the people that came with him: and he
persuaded him to go up to Ramoth Galaad.
3 And Achab king of Israel said to Josaphat king of Juda:
Come with me to Ramoth Galaad. And he answered him: Thou
art as I am, and my people as thy people, and we will be
with thee in the war.
4 And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I
beseech thee, at present the word of the Lord.
5 So the king of Israel gathered together of the prophets
four hundred men, and he said to them: Shall we go to
Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall we forbear ? But they
said: Go up, and God will deliver it into the king's
hand.
6 And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the
Lord, that we may inquire also of him?
7 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: There is one
man, of whom we may ask the will of the Lord: but I hate
him, for he never prophesieth good to me, but always
evil: and it is Micheas the son of Jemla. And Josaphat
said: Speak not thus, O king.
8 And the king of Israel called one of the eunuchs, and
said to him : Call quickly Micheas the son of Jemla.
9 Now the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, both
sat on their thrones, clothed in royal robes, and they
sat in the open court by the gate of Samaria, and all the
prophets prophesied before them.
10 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made him horns of iron,
and said: Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push
Syria, till thou destroy it.
11 And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, and said:
Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and thou shalt prosper, and the
Lord will deliver them into the king's hand.
12 And the messenger that went to call Micheas, said to him:
Behold the words of all the prophets with one mouth
declare good to the king: I beseech thee therefore let
not thy word disagree with them, and speak thou also good
success.
13 And Micheas answered him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever
my God shall say to me, that will I speak.
14 So he came to the king: and the king said to him:
Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or
forbear? And he answered him: Go up, for all shall
succeed prosperously, and the enemies shall be delivered
into your hands.
15 And the king said: I adjure thee again and again to say
nothing but the truth to me, in the name of the Lord.
16 Then he said: I saw all Israel scattered in the
mountains, like sheep without a shepherd : and the Lord
said: These have no masters: let every man return to his
own house in peace.
17 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell
thee that this man would not prophesy me any good, but
evil?
18 Then he said: Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord: I
saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of
heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left.
19 And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab king of
Israel, that he may go up and fall in Ramoth Galaad? And
when one spoke in this manner, and another otherwise:
20 There came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and
said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By
what means wilt thou deceive him?
21 And he answered: I will go out, and be a lying spirit in
the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou
shalt deceive, and shalt prevail: go out, and do so.
22 Now therefore behold the Lord hath put a spirit of lying
in the mouth of all thy prophets, and the Lord hath
spoken evil against thee.
23 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas
on the cheek and said: Which way went the spirit of the
Lord from me, to speak to thee?
24 And Micheas said :Thou thyself shalt see in that day,
when thou shalt go in from chamber to chamber, to hide
thyself.
25 And the king of Israel commanded, saying: Take Micheas,
and carry him to Amen the governor of the city, and to
Joas the son of Amelech,
26 And say: Thus saith the king: Put this fellow in prison,
and give him bread and water in a small quantity till I
return in peace.
27 And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath
not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all ye people.
28 So the king of Israel and Josaphat king of Juda went up
to Ramoth Galaad.
29 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: I will change my
dress, and so I will go to the battle, but put thou on
thy own garments. And the king of Israel having changed
his dress, went to the battle.
30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his
cavalry, saying: Fight ye not with small, or great, but
with the king of Israel only.
31 So when the captains of the cavalry saw Josaphat, they
said: This is the king of Israel. And they surrounded him
to attack him: but he cried to the Lord, and he helped
him, and turned them away from him.
32 For when the captains of the cavalry saw, that he was not
the king of Israel, they left him.
33 And it happened that one of the people shot an arrow at
a venture, and struck the king of Israel between the neck
and the shoulders, and he said to his chariot man: Turn
thy hand, and carry me out of the battle, for I am
wounded.
34 And the fight was ended that day: but the king of Israel
stood in his chariot against the Syrians until the
evening, and died at the sunset.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 19
1 And Josaphat king of Juda returned to his house in peace
to Jerusalem.
2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer met him, and said to
him: Thou helpest the ungodly, and thou art joined in
friendship with them that hate the Lord, and therefore
thou didst deserve indeed the wrath of the Lord:
3 But good works are found in thee, because thou hast taken
away the groves out of the land of Juda, and hast
prepared thy heart to seek the Lord the God of thy
fathers.
4 And Josaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again to
the people from Bersabee to mount Ephraim, and brought
them back to the Lord the God of their fathers.
5 And he set judges of the land in all the fenced cities of
Juda, in every place.
6 And charging the judges, he said: Take heed what you do:
for you exercise not the judgment of man, but of the
Lord: and whatsoever you judge, it shall redound to you.
7 Let the fear of the Lord be with you, and do all things
with diligence: for there is no iniquity with the Lord
our God, a nor respect of persons, nor desire of gifts.
8 In Jerusalem also Josaphat appointed Levites, and priests
and chiefs of the families of Israel, to judge the
judgment and the cause of the Lord for the inhabitants
thereof.
9 And he charged them, saying: Thus shall you do in the
fear of the Lord faithfully, and with a perfect heart.
10 Every cause that shall come to you of your brethren, that
dwell in their cities, between kindred and kindred,
wheresoever there is question concerning the law, the
commandment, the ceremonies, the justifications: shew it
them, that they may not sin against the Lord, and that
wrath may not come upon you and your brethren: and so
doing you shall not sin.
11 And Amarias the priest your high priest shell be chief in
the things which regard God: and Zabadias the son of
Ismahel, who is ruler in the house of Juda, shall be over
those matters which belong to the king's office : and you
have before you the Levites for masters, take courage and
do diligently, and the Lord will be with you in good
things.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 20
1 After this the children of Moab, and the children of
Ammon, and with them of the Ammonites, were gathered
together to fight against Josaphat.
2 And there came messengers, and told Josaphat, saying:
There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond
the sea, and out of Syria, and behold they are in
Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi.
3 And Josaphat being seized with fear betook himself wholly
to pray to the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all
Juda.
4 And Juda gathered themselves together to pray to the
Lord: and all came out of their cities to make
supplication to him.
5 And Josaphat stood in the midst of the assembly of Juda,
and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new
court,
6 And said: O Lord God of our fathers, thou art God in
heaven, and rulest over all the kingdoms and nations, in
thy hand is strength and power, and no one can resist
thee.
7 Didst not thou our God kill all the inhabitants of this
land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed
of Abraham thy friend for ever?
8 And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctuary to thy
name, saying:
9 If evils fall upon us, the sword of judgment, or
pestilence, or famine, we will stand in thy presence
before this house, in which thy name is called upon: and
we will cry to thee in our afflictions, and thou wilt
hear, and save us.
10 Now therefore behold the children of Ammon, and of Moab,
and mount Seir, through whose lands thou didst not allow
Israel to pass, when they came out of Egypt, but they
turned aside from them, and slew them not,
11 Do the contrary, and endeavour to cast us out of the
possession which thou hast delivered to us.
12 O our God, wilt thou not then judge them? as for us we
have not strength enough, to be able to resist this
multitude, which cometh violently upon us. But as we know
not what to do, we can only turn our eyes to thee.
13 And all Juda stood before the Lord with their little
ones, and their wives, and their children.
14 And Jahaziel the son of Zacharias, the son of Banaias,
the son of Jehiel, the son of Mathanias, a Levite of the
sons of Asaph, was there, upon whom the spirit of the
Lord came in the midst of the multitude,
15 And he said: Attend ye, all Juda, and you that dwell in
Jerusalem, and thou king Josaphat: Thus saith the Lord to
you: Fear ye not, and be not dismayed at this multitude:
for the battle is not yours, but God's.
16 To morrow you shall go down against them: for they will
come up by the ascent named Sis, and you shall find them
at the head of the torrent, which is over against the
wilderness of Jeruel.
17 It shall not be you that shall fight, but only stand with
confidence, and you shall see the help of the Lord over
you, O Juda, and Jerusalem: fear ye not, nor be you
dismayed: to morrow you shall go out against them, and
the Lord will be with you.
18 Then Josaphat, and Juda, and all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem fell hat on the ground before the Lord, and
adored him.
19 And the Levites of the sons of Caath, and of the sons of
Core praised the Lord the God of Israel with a loud
voice, on high.
20 And they rose early in the morning, and went out through
the desert of Thecua: and as they were marching, Josaphat
standing in the midst of them, said: Hear me, ye men of
Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in
the Lord your God, and you shall be secure: believe his
prophets, and all things shall succeed well.
21 And he gave counsel to the people, and appointed the
singing men of the Lord, to praise him by their
companies, and to go before the army, and with one voice
to say: Give glory to the Lord, for his mercy endureth
for ever.
22 And when they began to sing praises, the Lord turned
their ambushments upon themselves, that is to say, of the
children of Ammon, and of Moab, and of mount Seir, who
were come out to fight against Juda, and they were slain.
23 For the children of Ammon, and of Moab, rose up against
the inhabitants of mount Seir, to kill and destroy them:
and when they had made an end of them, they turned also
against one another, and destroyed one another.
24 And when Juda came to the watch tower, that looketh
toward the desert, they saw afar off all the country, for
a great space, full of dead bodies, and that no one was
left that could escape death.
25 Then Josaphat came, and all the people with him to take
away the spoils of the dead, and they found among the
dead bodies, stuff of various kinds, and garments, and
most precious vessels: and they took them for themselves,
insomuch that they could not carry all, nor in three days
take away the spoils, the booty was so great.
26 And on the fourth day they were assembled in the valley
of Blessing: for there they blessed the Lord, and
therefore they called that place the valley of Blessing
until this day.
27 And every man of Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
returned, and Josaphat at their head, into Jerusalem with
great joy, because the Lord had made them rejoice over
their enemies.
28 And they came into Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps,
and trumpets into the house of the Lord.
29 And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of
the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought
against the enemies of Israel.
30 And the kingdom of Josaphat was quiet, and God gave him
peace round about.
31 And Josaphat reigned over Juda, and he was five and
thirty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned
five and twenty years in Jerusalem: and the name of his
mother was Azuba the daughter of Selahi.
32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and departed
not from it, doing the things that were pleasing before
the Lord.
33 But yet he took not away the high places, and the people
had not yet turned their heart to the Lord the God of
their fathers.
34 But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, first and last, are
written in the words of Jehu the son of Hanani, which he
digested into the books of the kings of Israel.
35 After these things Josaphat king of Juda made friendship
with Ochozias king of Israel, whose works were very
wicked.
36 And he was partner with him in making ships, to go to
Tharsis: and they made the ships in Asiongaber.
37 And Eliezer the son of Dodau of Maresa prophesied to
Josaphat, saying: Because thou hast made a league with
Ochozias, the Lord hath destroyed thy works, and the
ships are broken, and they could not go to Tharsis.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 21
1 And Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with
them in the city of David: and Joram his son reigned in
his stead.
2 And he had brethren the sons of Josaphat, Azarias, and
Jahiel, and Zacharias, and Azaria, and Michael, and
Saphatias, all these were the sons of Josaphat king of
Juda.
3 And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of
gold, and pensions, with strong cities in Juda: but the
kingdom he gave to Joram, because he was the eldest.
4 So Joram rose up over the kingdom of his father: and when
he had established himself, he slew all his brethren with
the sword, and some of the princes of Israel.
5 Joram was two and thirty years old when he began to
reign: and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
6 And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the
house of Achab had done: for his wife was a daughter of
Achab, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.
7 But the Lord would not destroy the house of David:
because of the covenant which he had made with him: and
because he had promised to give a lamp to him, and to his
sons for ever.
8 In those days Edom revolted, from being subject to Juda,
and made themselves a king.
9 And Joram went over with his princes, and all his cavalry
with him, and rose in the night, and defeated the
Edomites who had surrounded him, and all the captains of
his cavalry.
10 However Edom revolted, from being under the dominion of
Juda unto this day: at that time Lobna also revolted,
from being under his hand. For he had forsaken the Lord
the God of his fathers:
11 Moreover he built also high places in the cities of Juda,
and he made the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit
fornication, and Juda to transgress.
12 And there was a letter brought him from Elias the
prophet, in which it was written: Thus saith the Lord the
God of David thy father: Because thou hast not walked in
the ways of Josaphat thy father nor in the ways of Asa
king of Juda,
13 But hast walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and
hast made Juda and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit
fornication, imitating the fornication of the house of
Achab, moreover also thou hast killed thy brethren, the
house of thy father, better men than thyself,
14 Behold the Lord will strike thee with a great plague,
with all thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and
all thy substance.
15 And thou shalt be sick of a very grievous disease of thy
bowels, till thy vital parts come out by little and
little every day.
16 And the Lord stirred up against Joram the spirit of the
Philistines, and of the Arabians, who border on the
Ethiopians.
17 And they came up into the land of Juda, and wasted it,
and they carried away all the substance that was found in
the king's house, his sons also, and his wives: so that
there was no son left him but Joachaz, who was the
youngest.
18 And besides all this the Lord struck him with an
incurable disease in his bowels.
19 And as day came after day, and time rolled on, two whole
years passed: then after being wasted with a long
consumption, so as to void his very bowels, his disease
ended with his life. And he died of a most wretched
illness, and the people did not make a funeral for him
according to the manner of burning, as they had done for
his ancestors.
20 He was two and thirty years old when he began his reign,
and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked
not rightly, and they buried him in the city of David:
but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 22
1 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ochozias his
youngest son king in his place: for the rovers of the
Arabians, who had broke in upon the camp, had killed all
that were his elder brothers. So Ochozias the son of
Joram king of Juda reigned.
2 Ochozias was forty-two years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned one year in Jerusalem, and the name of his
mother was Athalia the daughter of Amri.
3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Achab: for his
mother pushed him on to do wickedly.
4 So he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of
Achab did: for they were his counsellors after the death
of his father, to his destruction.
5 And he walked after their counsels. And he went with
Joram the son of Achab king of Israel, to fight against
Hazael king of Syria, at Ramoth Galaad : and the Syrians
wounded Joram.
6 And he returned to be healed in Jezrahel: for he received
many wounds in the foresaid battle. And Ochozias the son
of Joram king of Juda, went down to visit Joram the son
of Achab in Jezrahel where he lay sick.
7 For it was the will of God against Ochozias that he
should come to Joram: and when he was come should go out
also against Jehu the son of Namsi, whom the Lord had
anointed to destroy the house of Achab.
8 So when Jehu was rooting out the house of Achab, he found
the princes of Juda, and the sons of the brethren of
Ochozias, who served him, and he slew them.
9 And he sought for Ochozias himself, and took him lying
hid in Samaria: and when he was brought to him, he killed
him, and they buried him: because he was the son of
Josaphat, who had sought the Lord with all his heart. And
there was no more hope that any one should reign of the
race of Ochozias.
10 For Athalia his mother, seeing that her son was dead,
rose up, and killed all the royal family of the house of
Joram.
11 But Josabeth the king's daughter took Joas the son of
Ochozias, and stole him from among the king's sons that
were slain. And she hid him with his nurse in a
bedchamber: now Josabeth that hid him, was daughter of
king Joram, wife of Joiada the high priest, and sister of
Ochozias, and therefore Athalia did not kill him.
12 And he was with them hid in the house of God six years,
during which Athalia reigned over the land.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 23
1 And in the seventh year Joiada being encouraged, took the
captains of hundreds, to wit, Azarias the son of Jeroham,
and Ismahel the son of Johanan, and Azarias the son of
Obed, and Maasias the son of Adaias, and Elisaphat the
son of Zechri: and made a covenant with them.
2 And they went about Juda, and gathered together the
Levites out of all the cities of Juda, and the chiefs of
the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
3 And all the multitude made a covenant with the king in
the house of God: and Joiada said to them: Behold the
king's son shall reign, as the Lord hath said of the sons
of David.
4 And this is the thing that you shall do:
5 A third part of you that come to the sabbath, of the
priests, and of the Levites, and of the porters, shall be
at the gates: and a third part at the king's house: and
a third at the gate that is called the Foundation: but
let all the rest of the people be in the courts of the
house of the Lord.
6 And let no one come into the house of the Lord, but the
priests, and they that minister of the Levites: let them
only come in, because they are sanctified : and let all
the rest of the people keep the watches of the Lord.
7 And let the Levites be round about the king, every man
with his arms; (and if any other come into the temple,
let him be slain;) and let them be with the king, both
coming in, and going out.
8 So the Levites, and all Juda did according to all that
Joiada the high priest bad commanded: and they took every
one his men that were under him, and that came in by the
course of the sabbath, with those who had fulfilled the
sabbath, and were to go out. For Joiada the high priest
permitted not the companies to depart, which were
accustomed to succeed one another every week.
9 And Joiada the priest gave to the captains the spears,
and the shields, and targets of king David, which he had
dedicated in the house of the Lord.
10 And he set all the people with swords in their hands from
the right side of the temple, to the left side of the
temple, before the altar, and the temple, round about the
king.
11 And they brought out the king's son, and put the crown
upon him, and the testimony, and gave him the law to hold
in his hand, and they made him king: and Joiada the high
priest and his sons anointed him: and they prayed for
him, and said: God save the king.
12 Now when Athalia heard the noise of the people running
and praising the king, she came in to the people, into
the temple of the Lord.
13 And when she saw the king standing upon the step in the
entrance, and the princes, and the companies about him,
and all the people of the land rejoicing, and sounding
with trumpets, and playing on instruments of divers
kinds, and the voice of those that praised, she rent her
garments, and said: Treason, treason.
14 And Joiada the high priest going out to the captains, and
the chiefs of the army, said to them: Take her forth
without the precinct of the temple, and when she is
without let her be killed with the sword. For the priest
commanded that she should not be killed in the house of
the Lord.
15 And they laid hold on her by the neck: and when she was
come within the horse gate of the palace, they killed her
there.
16 And Joiada made a covenant between himself and all the
people, and the king, that they should be the people of
the Lord.
17 And all the people went into the house of Baal, and
destroyed it: and they broke down his altars and his
idols: and they slew Mathan the priest of Baal before the
altars.
18 And Joiada appointed overseers in the house of the Lord,
under the hands of the priests, and the Levites, whom
David had distributed in the house of the Lord: to offer
holocausts to the Lord, as it is written in the law of
Moses, with joy and singing, according to the disposition
of David.
19 He appointed also porters in the gates of the house of
the Lord, that none who was unclean in any thing should
enter in.
20 And he took the captains of hundreds, and the most
valiant men, and the chiefs of the people, and all the
people of the land, and they brought down the king from
the house of the Lord, and brought him through the upper
gate into the king's house, and set him on the royal
throne.
21 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was
quiet: but Athalia was slain with the sword.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 24
1 Joas was seven years old when he began to reign: and he
reigned forty years in Jerusalem : the name of his mother
was Sebia of Bersabee.
2 And he did that which is good before the Lord all the
days of Joiada the priest.
3 And Joiada took for him two wives, by whom he had sons
and daughters.
4 After this Joas had a mind to repair the house of the
Lord.
5 And he assembled the priests, and the Levites, and said
to them: Go out to the cities of Juda, and gather of all
Israel money to repair the temple of your God, from year
to year: and do this with speed: but the Levites were
negligent.
6 And the king called Joiada the chief, and said to him:
Why hast thou not taken care to oblige the Levites to
bring in out of Juda and Jerusalem the money that was
appointed by Moses the servant of the Lord for all the
multitude of Israel to bring into the tabernacle of the
testimony?
7 For that wicked woman Athalia, and her children have
destroyed the house of God, and adorned the temple of
Baal with all the things that had been dedicated in the
temple of the Lord.
8 And the king commanded, and they made a chest: and set it
by the gate of the house of the Lord on the outside.
9 And they made a proclamation in Juda and Jerusalem, that
every man should bring to the Lord the money which Moses
the servant of God appointed for all Israel, in the
desert.
10 And all the princes, and all the people rejoiced: and
going In they contributed and cast so much into the chest
of the Lord, that it was filled.
11 And when it was time to bring the chest before the king
by the hands of the Levites, (for they saw there was much
money,) the king's scribe, and he whom the high priest
had appointed went in: and they poured out the money that
was in the chest: and they carried back the chest to its
place: and thus they did from day to day, and there was
gathered an immense sum of money.
12 And the king and Joiada gave it to those who were over
the works of the house of the Lord: but they hired with
it stonecutters, and artificers of every kind of work to
repair the house of the Lord: and such as wrought in iron
and brass, to uphold what began to be falling.
13 And the workmen were diligent, and the breach of the
walls was closed up by their hands, and they set up the
house of the Lord in its former state, and made it stand
firm.
14 And when they had finished all the works, they brought
the rest of the money before the king and Joiada: and
with it were made vessels for the temple for the
ministry, and for holocausts and bowls, and other vessels
of gold and silver : and holocausts were offered in the
house of the Lord continually all the days of Joiada.
15 But Joiada grew old and was full of days, and died when
he was a hundred and thirty years old.
16 And they buried him in the city of David among the kings,
because he had done good to Israel, and to his house.
17 And after the death of Joiada, the princes of Juda went
in, and worshipped the king: and he was soothed by their
services and hearkened to them.
18 And they forsook the temple of the Lord the God of their
fathers, and served groves and idols, and wrath came upon
Juda and Jerusalem for this sin.
19 And he sent prophets to them to bring them back to the
Lord, and they would not give ear when they testified
against them.
20 The spirit of God then came upon Zacharias the son of
Joiada the priest, and he stood in the sight of the
people, and said to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Why
transgress you the commandment of the Lord which will not
be for your good, and have forsaken the Lord, to make him
forsake you?
21 And they gathered themselves together against him, and
stoned him at the king's commandment in the court of the
house of the Lord.
22 And king Joas did not remember the kindness that Joiada
his father had done to him, but killed his son. And when
he died, he said: The Lord see, and require it.
23 And when a year was come about, the army of Syria came up
against him: and they came to Juda and Jerusalem, end
killed all the princes of the people, and they sent all
the spoils to the king of Damascus.
24 And whereas there came a very small number of the
Syrians, the Lord delivered into their hands an infinite
multitude, because they had forsaken the Lord the God of
their fathers: and on Joas they executed shameful
judgments.
25 And departing they left him in diseases: and his servants
rose up him, for revenge of the blood of the son of
Joiada the priest, and they slew him in his bed, and he
died: and they buried him in the city of David, but not
in the sepulchres of the kings.
26 Now the men that conspired against him were Zabad the son
of Semmaath an Ammonitess, and Jozabad the son of
Semarith a Moabitess.
27 And concerning his sons, and the sum of money which was
gathered under him, and the repairing the house of God;
they are written more diligently in the book of kings:
and Amasias his son reigned in his stead.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 25
1 Amasias was five and twenty years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem,
the name of his mother was Joadan of Jerusalem.
2 And he did what was good in the sight of the Lord: but
yet not with a perfect heart.
3 And when he saw himself strengthened in his kingdom, he
put to death the servants that had slain the king his
father.
4 But he slew not their children, as it is written in the
book of the law of Moses, where the Lord commanded,
saying: The fathers shall not be slain for the children,
nor the children for their fathers, but every man shall
die for his own sin.
5 Amasias therefore gathered Juda together, and appointed
them by families, and captains of thousands and of
hundreds in all Juda, and Benjamin: and he numbered them
from twenty years old and upwards, and found three
hundred thousand young men that could go out to battle,
and could hold the spear and shield.
6 He hired also of Israel a hundred thousand valiant men,
for a hundred talents of silver.
7 But a man of God came to him, and said: O king, let not
the army of Israel go out with thee, for the Lord is not
with Israel, and all the children of Ephraim:
8 And if thou think that battles consist in the strength of
the army, God will make thee to be overcome by the
enemies: for it belongeth to God both to help, and to put
to flight.
9 And Amasias said to the man of God: What will then become
of the hundred talents which I have given to the soldiers
of Israeli and the man of God answered him: The Lord is
rich enough to be able to give thee much more than this.
10 Then Amasias separated the army, that came to him out of
Ephraim, to go home again: but they being much enraged
against Juda, returned to their own country.
11 And Amasias taking courage led forth his people, and went
to the vale of saltpits, and slew of the children of Seir
ten thousand.
12 And other ten thousand men the sons of Juda took, and
brought to the steep of a certain rock, and cast them
down headlong from the top, and they all were broken to
pieces.
13 But that army which Amasias had sent back, that they
should not go with him to battle, spread themselves among
the cities of Juda, from Samaria to Beth-horon, and
having killed three thousand took away much spoil.
14 But Amasias after he had slain the Edomites, set up the
gods of the children of Seir, which he had brought
thence, to be his gods, and adored them, and burnt
incense to them.
15 Wherefore the Lord being angry against Amasias, sent a
prophet to him, to say to him: Why hast thou adored gods
that have not delivered their own people out of thy hand?
16 And when he spoke these things, he answered him: Art thou
the king's counsellor? be quiet, lest I kill thee. And
the prophet departing, said: I know that God is minded to
kill thee, because thou hast done this evil, and moreover
hast not hearkened to my counsel.
17 Then Amasias king of Juda taking very bad counsel, sent
to Joas the son of Joachaz the son of Jehu, king of
Israel, saying: Come, let us see one another.
18 But he sent back the messengers, saying: The thistle that
is in Libanus, sent to the cedar in Libanus, saying: Give
thy daughter to my son to wife: and behold the beasts
that were in the wood of Libanus passed by, and trod down
the thistle.
19 Thou hast said: I have overthrown Edom, and therefore thy
heart is lifted up with pride : stay at home, why dost
thou provoke evil against thee, that both thou shouldst
fall and Juda with thee.
20 Amasias would not hearken to him, because it was the
Lord's will that he should be delivered into the hands of
enemies, because of the gods of Edom.
21 So Joas king of Israel went up, and they presented
themselves to be seen by one another: and Amasias king of
Juda was in Bethsames of Juda:
22 And Juda fell before Israel and they fled to their
dwellings.
23 And Joas king of Israel took Amasias king of Juda, the
son of Joas, the son Joachaz, in Bethsames, and brought
him to Jerusalem: and broke down the walls thereof from
the gate of Ephraim, to the gate of the corner, four
hundred cubits.
24 And he took all the gold, and silver, and all the
vessels, that he found in the house of God, and with
Obededom, and in the treasures of the king's house,
moreover also the sons of the hostages, he brought back
to Samaria.
25 And Amasias the son of Joas king of Juda lived, after the
death of Joas the son of Joachaz king of Israel, fifteen
years.
26 Now the rest of the acts of Amasias, the first and last,
are written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel.
27 And after he revolted from the Lord, they made a
conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. And he fled into
Lachis, and they sent, and killed him there.
28 And they brought him back upon horses, and buried him
with his fathers in the city of David.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 26
1 And all the people of Juda took his son Ozias, who was
sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of
Amasias his father.
2 He built Ailath, and restored it to the dominion of Juda,
after that the king slept with his fathers.
3 Ozias was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and
he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem: the name of
his mother was Jechelia of Jerusalem.
4 And he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord,
according to all that Amasias his father had done.
5 And he sought the Lord in the days of Zacharias that
understood and saw God: and as long as he sought the
Lord, he directed him in all things.
6 Moreover he went forth and fought against the
Philistines, and broke down the wall of Geth, and the
wall of Jabnia, and the wall of Azotus: and he built
towns in Azotus, and among the Philistines.
7 And God helped him against the Philistines, and against
the Arabians, that dwelt in Gurbaal, and against the
Ammonites.
8 And the ammonites gave gifts to Ozias: and his name was
spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt for his
frequent victories.
9 And Ozias built towers in Jerusalem over the gate of the
corner, and over the gate of the valley, and the rest, in
the same side of the wall, and fortified them.
10 And he built towers in the wilderness, and dug many
cisterns, for he had much cattle both in the plains, and
in the waste of the desert: he had also vineyards and
dressers of vines in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he
was a man that loved husbandry.
11 And the army of his fighting men, that went out to war,
was under the hand of Jehiel the scribe, and Maasias the
doctor, end under the hand of Henanias, who was one of
the king's captains.
12 And the whole number of the chiefs by the families of
valiant men were two thousand six hundred.
13 And the whole army under them three hundred and seven
thousand five hundred: who were fit for war, and fought
for the king against the enemy.
14 And Ozias prepared for them, that is, for the whole army,
shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and
bows, and slings to cast stones.
15 And he made in Jerusalem engines of diverse kinds, which
he placed in the towers, and in the corners of the walls,
to shoot arrows, and great stones: and his name went
forth far abroad, for the Lord helped him, and had
strengthened him.
16 But when he was made strong, his heart was lifted up to
his destruction, and he neglected the Lord his God: and
going into the temple of the Lord, he had a mind to burn
incense upon the altar of incense.
17 And immediately Azarias the priest going in after him,
and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, most valiant
men,
18 Withstood the king and said: It doth not belong to thee,
Ozias, to burn incense to the Lord, but to the priests,
that is, to the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated for
this ministry: go out of the sanctuary, do not despise:
for this thing shall not be accounted to thy glory by the
Lord God.
19 And Ozias was angry, and holding in his hand the censer
to burn incense, threatened the priests. And presently
there rose a leprosy in his forehead before the priests,
in the house of the Lord at the altar of incense.
20 And Azarias the high priest, and all the rest of the
priests looked upon him, and saw the leprosy in his
forehead, and they made haste to thrust him out. Yea
himself also being frightened, hasted to go out, because
he had quickly felt the stroke of the Lord.
21 And Ozias the king was a leper unto the day of his death,
and he dwelt in a house apart being full of the leprosy,
for which he had been cast out of the house of the Lord.
And Joatham his son governed the king's house, and judged
the people of the land.
22 But the rest of the acts of Ozias first and last were
written by Isaias the son of Amos, the prophet.
23 And Ozias slept with his fathers, and they buried him in
the field of the royal sepulchres, because he was a
leper: and Joatham his son reigned in his stead.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 27
1 Joatham was five and twenty years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: the
name of his mother was Jerusa the daughter of Sadoc.
2 And he did that which was right before the Lord,
according to all that Ozias his father had done, only
that he entered not into the temple of the Lord, and the
people still transgressed.
3 He built the high gate of the house of the Lord, and on
the wall of Ophel he built much.
4 Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Juda, and
castles and towers in the forests.
5 Ho fought against the king of the children of Ammon, and
overcame them, and the children of Ammon gave him at that
time a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand
measures of wheat, and as many measures of barley: so
much did the children of Ammon give him in the second and
third year.
6 And Joatham was strengthened, be- cause he had his way
directed before the Lord his God.
7 Now the rest of the acts of Joatham, and all his wars,
and his works, are written in the book of the kings of
Israel and Juda.
8 He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.
9 And Joatham slept with his fathers, and they buried him
in the city of David: and Achaz his son reigned in his
stead.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 28
1 Achaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: he did not that which
was right in the sight of the Lord as David his father
had done,
2 But walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; moreover
also he cast statues for Baalim.
3 It was he that burnt incense in the valley of Benennom,
and consecrated his sons in the fire according to the
manner of the nations, which the Lord slew at the coming
of the children of Israel.
4 He sacrificed also, and burnt incense in the high places,
and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 And the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the
king of Syria, who defeated him, and took a great booty
out of his kingdom, and carried it to Damascus: he was
also delivered into the hands of the king of Israel, who
overthrew him with a great slaughter.
6 For Phacee the son of Romelia slew of Juda a hundred and
twenty thousand in one day, all valiant men: because they
had forsaken the Lord the God of their fathers.
7 At the same time Zechri a powerful man of Ephraim, slew
Maasias the king's son, and Ezricam the governor of his
house, and Elcana who was next to the king.
8 And the children of Israel carried away of their brethren
two hundred thousand women, boys, and girls, and an
immense booty: and they brought it to Samaria.
9 At that time there was a prophet of the Lord there, whose
name was Oded: and he went out to meet the army that came
to Samaria, and said to them: Be- hold the Lord the God
of your fathers being angry with Juda, hath delivered
them into your hands, and you have butchered them
cruelly, so that your cruelty hath reached up to heaven.
10 Moreover you have a mind to keep under the children of
Juda and Jerusalem for your bondmen and bondwomen, which
ought not to be done : for you have sinned in this
against the Lord your God.
11 But hear ye my counsel, and release the captives that you
have brought of your brethren, because a great
indignation of the Lord hangeth over you.
12 Then some of the chief men of the sons of Ephraim,
Azarias the son of Johanan, Barachias the son of
Mosollamoth, Ezechias the son of Sellum, and Amasa the
son of Adali, stood up against them that came from the
war.
13 And they said to them: You shall not bring in the
captives hither, lest we sin against the Lord. Why will
you add to our sins, and heap up upon our former
offences? for the sin is great, and the fierce anger of
the Lord hangeth over Israel.
14 So the soldiers left the spoils, and all that they had
taken, before the princes and all the multitude.
15 And the men, whom we mentioned above, rose up and took
the captives, and with the spoils clothed all them that
were naked: and when they had clothed and shed them, and
refreshed them with meat and drink, and anointed them
because of their labour, and had taken care of them, they
set such of them as could not walk, and were feeble, upon
beasts, and brought them to Jericho the city of palm
trees to their brethren, and they returned to Samaria.
16 At that time king Achaz sent to the king of the Assyrians
asking help.
17 And the Edomites came and slew many of Juda, and took a
great booty.
18 The Philistines also spread themselves among the cities
of the plains, and to the south of Juda: and they took
Bethsames, and Aialon, and Gaderoth, and Socho, and
Thamnan, and Gamzo, with their villages, and they dwelt
in them.
19 For the Lord had humbled Juda because of Achaz the king
of Juda, for he had stripped it of help, and had
contemned the Lord.
20 And he brought, against him Thelgathphalnasar king of the
Assyrians, who also afflicted him, and plundered him
without any resistance.
21 And Achaz stripped the house of the Lord, and the house
of the kings, and of the princes, and gave gifts to the
king of the Assyrians, and yet it availed him nothing.
22 Moreover also in the time of his distress he increased
contempt against the Lord: king Achaz himself by himself,
23 Sacrificed victims to the gods of Damascus that struck
him, and he said: The gods of the kings of Syria help
them, and I will appease them with victims, and they will
help me; whereas on the contrary they were the ruin of
him, and of all Israel.
24 Then Achaz having taken away all the vessels of the house
of God, and broken them, shut up the doors of the temple
of God, and made himself altars in all the corners of
Jerusalem.
25 And in all the cities of Juda he built altars to burn
frankincense, and he provoked the Lord the God of his
fathers to wrath.
26 But the rest of his acts, and all his works first and
last are written in the book of the kings of Juda and
Israel.
27 And Achaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in
the city of Jerusalem: for they received him not into the
sepulchres of the kings of Israel. And Ezechias his son
reigned in his stead.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 29
1 Now Ezechias began to reign, when he was five and twenty
years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in
Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Abia, the daughter
of Zacharias.
2 And he did that which was pleasing in the sight of the
Lord, according to all that David his father had done.
3 In the first year and month of his reign he opened the
doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.
4 And he brought the priests and the Levites, and assembled
them in the east street.
5 And he said to them: Hear me, ye Levites, and be
sanctified, purify the house of the Lord the God of your
fathers, and take away all filth out of the sanctuary.
6 Our fathers have sinned and done evil in the sight of the
Lord God, forsaking him: they have turned away their
faces from the tabernacle of the Lord, and turned their
backs.
7 They have shut up the doors that were in tile porch, and
put out the lamps. and have not burnt incense, nor
offered holocausts in the sanctuary of the God of Israel.
8 Therefore the wrath of the Lord hath been stirred up
against Juda and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to
trouble, and to destruction, and to be hissed at, as you
see with your eyes.
9 Behold, our fathers are fallen by the sword, our sons,
and our daughters, and wives are led away captives for
this wickedness.
10 Now therefore I have a mind that we make a covenant with
the Lord the God of Israel, and he will turn away the
wrath of his indignation from us.
11 My sons, be not negligent: the Lord hath chosen you to
stand before him, and to minister to him, and to worship
him, and to burn incense to him.
12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and
Joel the son of Azarias, of the sons of Caath: and of the
sons of Merari, Cis the son of Abdi, and Azarias the son
of Jalaleel. And of the sons of Gerson, Joah the son of
Zemma, and Eden the son of Joah.
13 And of the sons of Elisaphan, Samri, and Jahiel. Also of
the sons of Asaph, Zacharias, and Mathanias.
14 And of the sons of Heman, Jahiel, and Semei: and of the
sons of Idithun, Semeias, and Oziel.
15 And they gathered together their brethren, and sanctified
themselves, and went in according to the commandment of
the king, and the precept of the Lord, to purify the
house of God.
16 And the priests went into the temple of the Lord to
sanctify it, and brought out all the uncleanness that
they found within to the entrance of the house of the
Lord, and the Levites took it away, and carried it out
abroad to the torrent Cedron.
17 And they began to cleanse on the first day of the first
month, and on the eighth day of the same month they came
into the porch of the temple of the Lord, and they
purified the temple in eight days, and on the sixteenth
day of the same month they finished what they had begun.
18 And they went is to king Ezechias, and said to him: We
have sanctified all the house of the Lord, and the altar
of holocaust, and the vessels thereof, and the table of
proposition with all its vessels,
19 And all the furniture of the temple, which king Achaz in
his reign had defiled, after his transgression; and
behold they are all set forth before the altar of the
Lord.
20 And king Ezechias rising early, assembled all the rulers
of the city, and went up into the house of the Lord:
21 And they offered together seven bullocks, and seven rams,
and seven lambs, and seven he goats for sin, for the
kingdom, for the sanctuary, for Juda: and he spoke to the
priests the sons of Aaron, to offer them upon the altar
of the Lord.
22 Therefore they killed the bullocks, and the priests took
the blood, and poured it upon the altar; they killed also
the rams, and their blood they poured also upon the
altar, and they killed the lambs, and poured the blood
upon the altar.
23 And they brought the he goats for sin before the king,
and the whole multitude, and they laid their hand upon
them:
24 And the priests immolated them, and sprinkled their blood
before the altar for an expiation of all Israel: for the
king had commanded that the holocaust and the sin
offering should be made for all Israel.
25 And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with
cymbals, and psalteries, and harps according to the
regulation of David the king, and of Gad the seer, and of
Nathan the prophet: for it was the commandment of the
Lord by the hand of his prophets.
26 And the Levites stood, with the instruments of David, and
the priests with trumpets.
27 And Ezechias commanded that they should offer holocausts
upon the altar: and when the holocausts were offered,
they began to sing praises to the Lord, and to sound with
trumpets, and divers instruments which David the king of
Israel had prepared.
28 And all the multitude adored, and the singers, and the
trumpeters, were in their office till the holocaust was
finished.
29 And when the oblation was ended, the king, and all that
were with him bowed down and adored.
30 And Ezechias and the princes commanded the Levites to
praise the Lord with the words of David, and Asaph the
seer: and they praised him with great joy, and bowing the
knee adored.
31 And Ezechias added, and said: You have filled your hands
to the Lord, come and offer victims, and praises in the
house of the Lord. And all the multitude offered victims,
and praises, and holocausts with a devout mind.
32 And the number of the holocausts which the multitude
offered, was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two
hundred lambs.
33 And they consecrated to the Lord six hundred oxen, and
three thousand sheep.
34 But the priests were few, and were not enough to flay the
holocausts: wherefore the Levites their brethren helped
them, till the work was ended, and priests were
sanctified, for the Levites are sanctified with an easier
rite than the priests.
35 So there were many holocausts, and the fat of peace
offerings, and the libations of holocausts: and the
service of the house of the Lord was completed.
36 And Ezechias, and all the people rejoiced because the
ministry of the Lord was accomplished. For the resolution
of doing this thing was taken suddenly.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 30
1 And Ezechias sent to all Israel and Juda: and he wrote
letters to Ephraim and Manasses, that they should come to
the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and keep the phase to
the Lord the God of Israel.
2 For the king, taking counsel, and the princes, and all
the assembly of Jerusalem, decreed to keep the phase the
second month.
3 For they could not keep it in its time; because there
were not priests enough sanctified, and the people was
not as yet gathered together to Jerusalem.
4 And the thing pleased the king, and all the people.
5 And they decreed to send messengers to all Israel from
Bersabee even to Dan, that they should come, and keep the
phase to the Lord the God of Israel in Jerusalem: for
many had not kept it as it is prescribed by the law.
6 And the posts went with letters by commandment of the
king, and his princes, to all Israel and Juda,
proclaiming according to the king's orders: Ye children
of Israel, turn again to the Lord the God of Abraham, and
of Isaac, and of Israel: and he will return to the
remnant of you that have escaped the hand of the king of
the Assyrians.
7 Be not like your fathers, and brethren, who departed from
the Lord the God of their fathers, and he hath given them
up to destruction, as you see.
8 Harden not your necks, as your fathers did: yield
yourselves to the Lord, and come to his sanctuary, which
he hath sanctified for ever: serve the Lord the God of
your fathers, and the wrath of his indignation shall be
turned away from you.
9 For if you turn again to the Lord: your brethren, and
children shall find mercy before their masters, that have
led them away captive, and they shall return into this
land: for the Lord your God is merciful, and will not
turn away his face from you, if you return to him.
10 So the posts went speedily from city to city, through the
land of Ephraim, and of Manasses, even to Zabulon, whilst
they laughed at them and mocked them.
11 Nevertheless some men of Aser, and of Manasses, and of
Zabulon, yielding to the counsel, came to Jerusalem.
12 But the hand of God was in Juda, to give them one heart
to do the word of the Lord, according to the commandment
of the king, and of the princes.
13 And much people were assembled to Jerusalem to celebrate
the solemnity of the unleavened bread in the second
month:
14 And they arose and destroyed the altars that were in
Jerusalem, and took sway all things in which incense was
burnt to idols, and cast them into the torrent Cedron.
15 And they immolated the phase on the fourteenth day of the
second month. And the priests and the Levites being at
length sanctified offered holocausts in the house of the
Lord.
16 And they stood in their order according to the
disposition, and law of Moses the man of God: but the
priests received the blood which was to be poured out,
from the hands of the Levites,
17 Because a great number was not sanctified: and therefore
the Levites immolated the phase for them that came not in
time to be sanctified to the Lord.
18 For a great part of the people from Ephraim, and
Manasses, and Issachar, and Zabulon, that had not been
sanctified, ate the phase otherwise than it is written:
and Ezechias prayed for them, saying: The Lord who is
good will shew mercy,
19 To all them, who with their whole heart, seek the Lord
the God of their fathers: and will not impute it to them
that they are not sanctified.
20 And the Lord heard him, and was merciful to the people.
21 And the children of Israel, that were found at Jerusalem,
kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great
joy, praising the Lord every day: the Levites also, and
the priests, with instruments that agreed to their
office.
22 And Ezechias spoke to the heart of all the Levites, that
had good understanding concerning the Lord: and they ate
during the seven days of the solemnity, immolating
victims of peace offerings, and praising the Lord the God
of their fathers.
23 And it pleased the whole multitude to keep other seven
days: which they did with great joy.
24 For Ezechias the king of Juda had given to the multitude
a thousand bullocks, and seven thousand sheep: and the
princes had given the people a thousand bullocks, and ten
thousand sheep: and a great number of priests was
sanctified.
25 And all the multitude of Juda with the priests and
Levites, and all the assembly, that came out of Israel;
and the proselytes of the land of Israel, and that dwelt
in Juda were full of joy.
26 And there was a great solemnity in Jerusalem, such as had
not been in that city since the time of Solomon the son
of David king of Israel.
27 And the priests and the Levites rose up and blessed the
people: and their voice was heard: and their prayer came
to the holy dwelling place of heaven.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 31
1 And when these things had been duly celebrated, all
Israel that were found in the cities of Juda, went out,
and they broke the idols, and cut down the groves.
demolished the high places, and destroyed the altars, not
only out of all Juda and Benjamin, but out of Ephraim
also and Manasses, till they had utterly destroyed them:
then all the children of Israel returned to their
possessions and cities.
2 And Ezechias appointed companies of the priests, and the
Levites, by their courses, every man in his own office,
to wit, both of the priests, and of the Levites, for
holocausts, and for peace offerings, to minister, and to
praise, and to sing in the gates of the camp of the Lord.
3 And the king's part was, that of his proper substance the
holocaust should be offered always morning and evening,
and on the sabbaths, and the new moons and the other
solemnities, as it is written in the law of Moses.
4 He commanded also the people that dwelt in Jerusalem, to
give to the priests, and the Levites their portion, that
they might attend to the law of the Lord.
5 Which when it was noised abroad in the ears of the
people, the children of Israel offered in abundance the
firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey: and
brought the tithe of all things which the ground bringeth
forth.
6 Moreover the children of Israel and Juda, that dwelt in
the cities of Juda, brought in the tithes of oxen, and
sheep, and the tithes of holy things, which they had
vowed to the Lord their God: and carrying them all, made
many heaps.
7 In the third month they began to lay the foundations of
the heaps, and in the seventh month, they finished them.
8 And when Ezechias and his princes came in, they saw the
heaps, and they blessed the Lord and the people of
Israel.
9 And Ezechias asked the priests and the Levites, why the
heaps lay so.
10 Azarias the chief priest of the race of Sadoc answered
him, saying: Since the firstfruits began to be offered in
the house of the Lord, we have eaten, and have been
filled, and abundance is left, because the Lord hath
blessed his people: and of that which is left is this
great store which thou seest.
11 Then Ezechias commanded to prepare storehouses in the
house of the Lord. And when they had done so,
12 They brought in faithfully both the firstfruits, and the
tithes, and all they had vowed. And the overseer of them
was Chonenias the Levite, and Semei his brother was the
second,
13 And after him Jehiel, and Azarias, and Nahath, and Asael,
and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Jesmachias, and
Mahath, and Banaias, overseers under the hand of
Chonenias, and Semei his brother, by the commandment of
Ezechias the king, and Azarias the high priest of the
house of God, to whom all things appertained.
14 But Core the son of Jemna the Levite, the porter of the
east gate, was overseer of the things which were freely
offered to the Lord, and of the firstfruits and the
things dedicated for the holy of holies.
15 And under his charge were Eden, and Benjamin, Jesue, and
Semeias, and Amarias, and Sechenias, in the cities of the
priests, to distribute faithfully portions to their
brethren, both little and great:
16 Besides the males from three years old and upward, to all
that went into the temple of the Lord, and whatsoever
there was need of in the ministry, and their offices
according to their courses, day by day.
17 To the priests by their families, and to the Levites from
the twentieth year and upward, by their classes and
companies.
18 And to all the multitude, both to their wives, and to
their children of both sexes, victuals were given
faithfully out of the things that had been sanctified.
19 Also of the sons of Aaron who were in the fields and in
the suburbs of each city, there were men appointed, to
distribute portions to all the males, among the priests
and the Levites.
20 So Ezechias did all things, which we have said in all
Juda, and wrought that which was good; and right, and
truth, before the Lord his God,
21 In all the service of the ministry of the house of the
Lord according to the law and the ceremonies, desiring to
seek his God with all his heart, and he did it and
prospered,
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 32
1 After these things, and this truth, Sennacherib king of
the Assyrians came and entered into Juda, and besieged
the fenced cities, desiring to take them.
2 And when Ezechias saw that Sennacherib was come, and that
the whole force of the war was turning against Jerusalem,
3 He took counsel with the princes, and the most valiant
men, to stop up the heads of the springs, that were
without the city: and as they were all of this mind,
4 He gathered together a very great multitude, and they
stopped up all the springs, and the brook, that ran
through the midst of the land, saying: Lest the kings of
the Assyrians should come, and And abundance of water.
5 He built up also with great diligence all the wall that
had been broken down, and built towers upon it, and
another wall without: and he repaired Mello in the city
of David, and made all sorts of arms and shields:
6 And he appointed captains of the soldiers of the army:
and he called them all together in the street of the gate
of the city, and spoke to their heart, saying:
7 Behave like men, and take courage: be not afraid nor
dismayed for the king of the Assyrians, nor for all the
multitude that is with him: for there are many more with
us than with him.
8 For with him is an arm of flesh: with us the Lord our
God, who is our helper, and fighteth for us. And the
people were encouraged with these words of Ezechias king
of Juda.
9 After this, Sennacherib king of the Assyrians sent his
servants to Jerusalem, (for he with all his army was
besieging Lachis,) to Ezechias king of Juda, and to all
the people that were in the city, saying:
10 Thus saith Sennacherib king of the Assyrians: In whom do
you trust, that you sit still besieged in Jerusalem?
11 Doth not Ezechias deceive you, to give you up to die by
hunger and thirst, affirming that the Lord your God shall
deliver you from the hand of the king of the Assyrians?
12 Is it not this same Ezechias, that hath destroyed his
high places, and his altars, and commanded Juda and
Jerusalem, saying: You shall worship before one altar,
and upon it you shall burn incense?
13 Know you not what I and my fathers have done to all the
people of the lands? have the gods of any nations and
lands been able to deliver their country out of my hand?
14 Who is there among all the gods of the nations, which my
fathers have destroyed, that could deliver his people out
of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you
out of this hand?
15 Therefore let not Ezechias deceive you, nor delude you
with a vain persuasion, and do not believe him. For if no
god of all the nations and kingdoms, could deliver his
people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers,
consequently neither shall your God be able to deliver
you out of my hand.
16 And many other things did his servants speak against the
Lord God, and against Ezechias his servant.
17 He wrote also letters full of blasphemy against the Lord
the God of Israel, and he spoke against him: As the gods
of other nations could not deliver their people out of my
hand, so neither can the God of Ezechias deliver his
people out of this hand.
18 Moreover he cried out with a loud voice, in the Jews'
tongue, to the people that sat on the walls of Jerusalem,
that he might frighten them, and take the city.
19 And he spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the
gods of the people of the earth, the works of the hands
of men.
20 And Ezechias the king, and Isaias the prophet the son of
Amos, prayed against this blasphemy, and cried out to
heaven.
21 And the Lord sent an angel who cut off all the stout men
and the warriors, and the captains of the army of the
king of the Assyrians: and he returned with disgrace into
his own country. And when he was come into the house of
his god, his sons that came out of his bowels, slew him
with the sword.
22 And the Lord saved Ezechias and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, out of the hand of Sennacherib king of the
Assyrians, and out of the hand of all, and gave them
treasures on every side.
23 Many also brought victims, and sacrifices to the Lord to
Jerusalem, and presents to Ezechias king of Juda: and he
was magnified thenceforth in the sight of all nations.
24 In those days Ezechias was sick even to death, and he
prayed to the Lord: and he heard him, and gave him a
sign.
25 But he did not render again according to the benefits
which he had received, for his heart was lifted up: and
wrath was enkindled against him, and against Juda and
Jerusalem.
26 And he humbled himself afterwards, because his heart had
been lifted up, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
and therefore the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in
the days of Ezechias.
27 And Ezechias was rich, and very glorious, and he gathered
himself great treasures of silver and of gold, and of
precious stones, of spices, and of arms, of all kinds,
and of vessels of great price.
28 Storehouses also of corn, of wine, and of oil, and stalls
for all beasts, and folds for cattle.
29 And he built himself cities: for he had docks of sheep,
and herds without number, for the Lord had given him very
much substance.
30 This same Ezechias was, he that stopped the upper source
of the waters of Gihon, and turned them away underneath
toward the west of the city of David : in ail his works
he did prosperously what he would.
31 But yet in the embassy of the princes of Babylon, that
were sent to him, to inquire of the wonder that had
happened upon the earth, God left him that he might be
tempted, and all things might be made known that were in
his heart.
32 Now the rest of the acts of Ezechias, and of his mercies
are written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel.
33 And Ezechias slept with his fathers, m and they buried
him above the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all
Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem celebrated his
funeral: and Manasses his son reigned in his stead.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 33
1 Manasses was twelve years old when he began to reign, and
he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
2 And he did evil before the Lord, according to all the
abominations of the nations, which the Lord cast out
before the children of Israel:
3 And he turned, and built again the high places which
Ezechias his father had destroyed: and he built altars to
Baalim, and made groves, and he adored all the host of
heaven, and worshipped them.
4 He built also altars in the house of the Lord, whereof
the Lord had said: In Jerusalem shall my name be for
ever.
5 And he built them for all the host of heaven in the two
courts of the house of the Lord.
6 And he made his sons to pass through the fire in the
valley of Benennom: he observed dreams, followed
divinations, gave himself up to magic arts, had with him
magicians, and enchanters: and he wrought many evils
before the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
7 He set also a graven, and a molten statue in the house of
God, of which God had said to David, and to Solomon his
son: In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen
out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for
ever.
8 And I will not make the foot of Israel to be removed out
of the land which I have delivered to their fathers: yet
so if they will take heed to do what I hare commanded
them, and all the law, and the ceremonies, and judgments
by the hand of Moses.
9 So Manasses seduced Juda, and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, to do evil beyond all the nations, which the
Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of
Israel.
10 And the Lord spoke to him, and to his people, and they
would not hearken.
11 Therefore he brought upon them the captains of the army
of the king of the Assyrians: and they took Manasses, and
carried him bound with chains and fetters to Babylon.
12 And after that he was in distress he prayed to the Lord
his God: and did penance exceedingly before the God of
his fathers.
13 And he entreated him, and besought him earnestly: and he
heard his prayer, and brought him again to Jerusalem into
his kingdom, and Manasses knew that the Lord was God.
14 After this he built a wall without the city of David, on
the west side of Gihon in the valley, from the entering
in of the fish gate round about to Ophel, and raised it
up to a great height: and he appointed captains of the
army in all the fenced cities of Juda:
15 And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of
the house of the Lord: the altars also which he had made
in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem,
and he cast them all out of the city.
16 And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed
upon it victims, and peace offerings, and praise: and he
commanded Juda to serve the Lord the God of Israel.
17 Nevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high
places to the Lord their God.
18 But the rest of the acts of Manasses, and his prayer to
his God, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in
the name of the Lord the God of Israel, are contained in
the words of the kings of Israel.
19 His prayer also, and his being heard, and all his sins,
and contempt, and places wherein he built high places,
and set up groves, and statues before he did penance, are
written in the words of Hozai.
20 And Manasses slept with his fathers. and they buried him
in his house: and his son Amen reigned in his stead.
21 Amen was two and twenty years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.
22 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasses his
father had done: and he sacrificed to all the idols which
Manasses his father had made, and served them.
23 And he did not humble himself before the Lord, as
Manasses his father had humbled himself, but committed
far greater sins.
24 And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in
his own house.
25 But the rest of the multitude of the people slew them
that had killed Amen, and made Josias his son king in his
stead.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 34
1 Josias was eight years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned one and thirty years in Jerusalem.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,
and walked in the ways of David his father: he declined
not, neither to the right hand, nor to the left.
3 And in the eighth year of his reign, when he was yet a
boy, he began to seek the God of his father David: and in
the twelfth year after he began to reign, he cleansed
Juda and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves,
and the idols, and the graven things.
4 And they broke down before him the altars of Baalim, and
demolished the idols that had been set upon them: and be
cut down the groves and the graven things, and broke them
in pieces: and strewed the fragments upon the graves of
them that had sacrificed to them.
5 And he burnt the bones of the priests on the altars of
the idols, and he cleansed Juda and Jerusalem.
6 And in the cities of Manasses, and of Ephraim, and of
Simeon, even to Nephtali he demolished all.
7 And when he had destroyed the altars, and the groves, and
had broken the idols in pieces, and had demolished all
profane temples throughout all the ]and of Israel, he
returned to Jerusalem.
8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had
cleansed the land, and the temple of the Lord, he sent
Saphan the son of Eselias, and Maasias the governor of
the city, Joha the son of Joachaz the recorder, to repair
the house of the Lord his God.
9 And they came to Helcias the high priest: and received of
him the money which had been brought into the house of
the Lord, and which the Levites and porters had gathered
together from Manasses, and Ephraim, and all the remnant
of Israel, and from all Juda, and Benjamin, and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem,
10 Which they delivered into the hands of them that were
over the workmen in the house of the Lord, to repair the
temple, and mend all that was weak.
11 But they gave it to the artificers, and to the masons, to
buy stones out of the quarries, and timber for the
couplings of the building, and to rafter the houses,
which the kings of Juda had destroyed.
12 And they did all faithfully. Now the overseers of the
workmen were Jahath and Abdias of the sons of Merari,
Zacharias and Mosollam of the sons of Caath, who hastened
the work: all Levites skilful to play on instruments.
13 But over them that carried burdens for divers uses, were
scribes, and masters of the number of the Levites, and
porters.
14 Now when they carried out the money that had been brought
into the temple of the Lord, Helcias the priest found the
book of the law of the Lord, by the hand of Moses.
15 And he said to Saphan the scribe: I have found the book
of the law in the house of the Lord: and he delivered it
to him.
16 But he carried the book to the king, and told him,
saying: Lo, all that thou hast committed to thy servants,
is accomplished.
17 They have gathered together the silver that was found in
the house of the Lord: and it is given to the overseers
of the artificers, and of the workmen, for divers works.
18 Moreover Helcias the priest gave me this book. And he
read it before the king.
19 And when he had heard the words of the law, he rent his
garments:
20 And he commanded Helcias, and Ahicam the son of Saphan,
and Abdon the son of Micha, and Saphan the scribe, and
Asaa the king's servant, saying:
21 Go, and pray to the Lord for me, and for the remnant of
Israel, and Juda, concerning all the words of this book,
which is found: for the great wrath of the Lord hath
fallen upon us, because our fathers have not kept the
words of the Lord, to do all things that are written in
this book.
22 And Helcias and they that were sent with him by the king,
went to Olda the prophetess, the wife of Sellum the son
of Thecuath, the son of Hasra keeper of the wardrobe: who
dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second part: and they spoke to
her the words above mentioned.
23 And she answered them: Thus saith the Lord the God of
Israel: Tell the man that sent you to me:
24 Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will bring evils upon this
place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, and all the
curses that are written in this book which they read
before the king of Juda.
25 Because they have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to
strange gods, to provoke me to wrath with all the works
of their hands, therefore my wrath shall fall upon this
place, and shall not be quenched.
26 But as to the king of Juda that sent you to beseech the
Lord, thus shall you say to him: Thus saith the Lord the
God of Israel: Because thou hast heard the words of this
book,
27 And thy heart was softened. and thou hast humbled thyself
in the sight of God for the things that are spoken
against this place, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
reverencing my face, hast rent thy garments, and wept
before me: I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.
28 For now I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt
be brought to thy tomb in peace: and thy eyes shall not
see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and
the inhabitants thereof. They therefore reported to the
king all that she had said.
29 And he called together all the ancients of Juda and
Jerusalem.
30 And went up to the house of the Lord, and all the men of
Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and
the Levites, and all the people from the least to the
greatest. And the king read in their hearing, in the
house of the Lord, all the words of the book.
31 And standing up in his tribunal, he made a covenant
before the Lord to walk after him, and keep his
commandments, and testimonies, and justifications with
all his heart, and with all his soul, and to do the
things that were written in that book which he had read.
32 And he adjured all that were found in Jerusalem and
Benjamin to do the same: and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
did according to the covenant of the Lord the God of
their fathers.
33 And Josias took away all the abominations out of all the
countries of the children of Israel: and made all that
were left in Israel, to serve the Lord their God. As long
as he lived they departed not from the Lord the God of
their fathers.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 35
1 And Josias kept a phase to the Lord in Jerusalem, and it
was sacrificed on the fourteenth day of the first month.
2 And he set the priests in their offices, and exhorted
them to minister in the house of the Lord.
3 And he spoke to the Levites, by whose instruction all
Israel was sanctified to the Lord, saying: Put the ark in
the sanctuary of the temple, which Solomon the son of
David king of Israel built : for you shall carry it no
more: but minister now to the Lord your God, and to his
people Israel.
4 And prepare yourselves by your houses, and families
according to your courses, as David king of Israel
commanded, and Solomon his son hath written.
5 And serve ye in the sanctuary by the families and
companies of Levi.
6 And being sanctified kill the phase, and prepare your
brethren, that they may do according to the words which
the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses.
7 And Josias gave to all the people that were found there
in the solemnity of the phase, of lambs and of kids of
the flocks, and of other small cattle thirty thousand,
and of oxen three thousand, all these were of the king's
substance.
8 And his princes willingly offered what they had vowed,
both to the people and to the priests and the Levites.
Moreover Helcias, and Zacharias, and Jahiel rulers of the
house of the Lord, gave to the priests to keep the phase
two thousand six hundred small cattle, and three hundred
oxen.
9 And Chonenias, and Semeias and Nathanael, his brethren,
and Hasabias, and Jehiel, and Jozabad princes of the
Levites, gave to the rest of the Levites to celebrate the
phase five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen.
10 And the ministry was prepared, and the priests stood in
their office: the Levites also in their companies,
according to the king's commandment.
11 And the phase was immolated: and the priests sprinkled
the blood with their hand, and the Levites flayed the
holocausts:
12 And they separated them to give them by the houses and
families of every one, and to be offered to the Lord, as
it is written in the book of Moses, and with the oxen
they did in like manner.
13 And they roasted the phase with fire, according to that
which is written in the law: but the victims of peace
offerings they boiled in caldrons, and kettles, and pots,
and they distributed them speedily among all the people.
14 And afterwards they made ready for themselves, and for
the priests: for the priests were busied in offering of
holocausts and the fat until night: wherefore the Levites
prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of
Aaron last.
15 And the singers the sons of Asaph stood in their order,
according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and
Heman, and Idithun the prophets of the king: and the
porters kept guard at every gate, so as not to depart one
moment from their service: and therefore their brethren
the Levites prepared meats for them.
16 So all the service of the Lord was duly accomplished that
day, both in keeping the phase, and offering holocausts
upon the altar of the Lord, according to the commandment
of king Josias.
17 And the children of Israel that were found there, kept
the phase at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread
seven days.
18 There was no phase like to this in Israel, from the days
of Samuel the prophet: neither did any of all the kings
of Israel keep such a phase as Josias kept, with the
priests, and the Levites, and all Juda, and Israel that
were found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias was this
phase celebrated.
20 After that Josias had repaired the temple, Nechao king of
Egypt came up to fight in Charcamis by the Euphrates: and
Josias went out to meet him.
21 But he sent messengers to him, saying: What have I to do
with thee, O king of Juda? I come not against thee this
day, but I fight against another house, to which God hath
commanded me to go in haste : forbear to do against God,
who is with me, lest he kill thee.
22 Josias would not return, but prepared to fight against
him, and hearkened not to the words of Nechao from the
mouth of God, I but went to fight in the field of
Mageddo.
23 And there he was wounded by the archers, and he said to
his servants: Carry me out of the battle, for I am
grievously wounded.
24 And they removed him from the chariot into another, that
followed him after the manner of kings, and they carried
him away to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in the
monument of his fathers, and all Juda and Jerusalem
mourned for him,
25 Particularly Jeremias: whose lamentations for Josias all
the singing men and singing women repeat unto this day,
and it became like a law in Israel: Behold it is found
written in the Lamentations.
26 Now the rest of the acts of Josias and of his mercies,
according to what was commanded by the law of the Lord:
27 And his works first and last, are written in the book of
the kings of Juda and Israel.
The Second Book of Paralipomenon, Chapter 36
1 Then the people of the land took Joachaz the son of
Josias, and made him king instead of his father in
Jerusalem.
2 Joachaz was three and twenty years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
3 And the king of Egypt came to Jerusalem, and deposed him,
and condemned the land in a hundred talents of silver,
and a talent of gold.
4 And he made Eliakim his brother king in his stead, over
Juda and Jerusalem: and he turned his name to Joakim: but
he took Joachaz with him, and carried him away into
Egypt.
5 Joakim was five and twenty years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he
did evil before the Lord his God.
6 Against him came up Nabuchodonosor king of the Chaldeans,
and led him bound in chains into Babylon.
7 And he carried also thither the vessels of the Lord, and
put them in his temple.
8 But the rest of the acts of Joakim, and his abominations,
which he wrought, and the things that were found in him,
are contained in the book of the kings of Juda and
Israel. And Joachin his son reigned in his stead.
9 Joachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and
he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he
did evil in the sight of the Lord.
10 And at the return of the year, king Nabuchodonosor sent,
and brought him to Babylon, carrying away at the same
time the most precious vessels of the house of the Lord:
and he made Sedecias his uncle king over Juda and
Jerusalem.
11 Sedecias was one and twenty years old when he began to
reign: and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12 And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God, and did
not reverence the face of Jeremias the prophet speaking
to him from the mouth of the Lord.
13 Re also revolted from king Nabuchodonosor, who had made
him swear by God: and he hardened his neck and his heart,
from returning to the Lord the God of Israel.
14 Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people
wickedly transgressed according to all the abominations
of the Gentiles: and they defiled the house of the Lord,
which he had sanctified to himself in Jerusalem.
15 And the Lord the God of their fathers sent to them, by
the hand of his messengers, rising early, and daily
admonishing them: because he spared his people and his
dwelling place.
16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his
words, and misused the prophets, until the wrath of the
Lord arose against his people, and there was no remedy.
17 For he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, and
he slew their young men with the sword in the house of
his sanctuary, he had no compassion on young man, or
maiden, old man or even him that stooped for age, but he
delivered them all into his hands.
18 And all the vessels of the house of the Lord, great and
small, and the treasures of the temple and of the king,
and of the princes he carried away to Babylon.
19 And the enemies set fire to the house of God, and broke
down the wall of Jerusalem, burnt all the towers, and
whatsoever was precious they destroyed.
20 Whosoever escaped the sword, was led into Babylon, and
there served the king and his sons till the reign of the
king of Persia.
21 That the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might
be fulfilled, and the land might keep her sabbaths: for
all the days of the desolation she kept a sabbath, till
the seventy years were expired.
22 But in the first year d of Cyrus king of the Persians, to
fulfil the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the
mouth of Jeremias, the Lord stirred up the heart of Cyrus
king of the Persians who commanded it to be proclaimed
through all his kingdom, and by writing also, saying:
23 Thus saith Cyrus king of the Persians: All the kingdoms
of the earth hath the Lord the God of heaven given to me,
and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem,
which is in Judea: who is there among you of all his
people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.
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