Kings 2 = (Ethiopic) Book of Kings 4

After the death of Ahab, the Moabites rebelled. And Ahaziah fell ill and lay in his bed in Samaria. And he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire for me of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this illness.” And they went to inquire of him. And the angel of the Lord called Elijah the Tishbite and said to him, “Arise, go, meet the messengers of the king of Samaria.” And he said to them, “Is there no God of Israel that you go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Is it not so?” Thus says the Lord: “Your bed in which you lie—you shall not rise from it; in that place you shall die.” And Elijah went and said to them accordingly. And those messengers came to him and said, “What has brought you?” And they said to him, “We met a man, and he said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Is there no God of Israel that you go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Is it not so? Your bed in which you lie—you shall not rise from it; there you shall die.’”’

And he said to them, “What does the man seem like who received you, and what is this matter that he told you?” And they said to him, “The man is hairy, and a girdle of leather is on his loins.” And he said to them, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” And again the king sent to him fifty men with their captain, and they went to him and found him dwelling on the top of a mountain. And the captain said to him, “The man of God, the king, summons you; come down.” And Elijah answered that captain and said to him, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and the fifty with you.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and the fifty with him. And again the king sent fifty men with their captain, and the captain summoned him and said to him, “The man of God summons you, the king; come down quickly.” And Elijah answered and said to him, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and the fifty with you.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and the fifty with him.

And a third time, the king sent fifty men with their commander, and that commander went to him a third time, and he knelt on his knees before Elijah and said to him, “Man of God, I have been sent to you; honor my life and the lives of your servants before your eyes. Behold, fire has come down from heaven and consumed those two former commanders and their men, each fifty. And now, honor my life before your eyes.” And the word of the Lord came to Elijah, and he said to him, “Go with him and do not be afraid of their faces.” And Elijah arose and went down with him and went to the king. And he spoke to him, and Elijah said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Why did you go to the lord of the oak tree, the god of Akaron? It is not like that. From your bed, in which you lie, you will not rise from it, for you will die.’” And he died by the word of the Lord that Elijah spoke to him.

And all the matter of Ahaziah, and all that he did, now this is what is written in the book of the prophets, the chronicles of the kings of Israel. And Jehoram, son of Ahab, reigned over Israel in Samaria for twelve years, in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. And he did evil before the Lord, and not only like his brother nor like his mother, but he set up an image of Baal like his father had done, and he broke them? And not only did he repeat the sin of the house of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit, but he did not abandon it, and he increased the wrath of the Lord upon the house of Ahab. IV Kings 2 2 And then, when the Lord took Elijah up into heaven, Elijah and Elisha went from Jericho. And Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, for the Lord is taking me as far as Bethel." And Elisha said to Elijah, "The Lord lives, and your soul lives, that I will not leave you." And he reached Bethel.

And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came to Elisha and said to him, “When you know that the Lord is taking your master up above your head,” and he said to them, “I know; be silent.” And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” And Elisha said to him, “Long live the Lord, and long live your soul, that He may not abandon you.” And they arrived at Jericho. And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “When you know that the Lord is taking your master up above your head,” and he said to them, “I know; be silent.” And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the region of the Jordan.” And Elisha said to him, “Long live the Lord, and long live your soul, that He may not abandon you.” And the two of them went. And fifty of the sons of the prophets went with them, and they stood at a distance opposite them, while the two of them stood at the Jordan.

And Elijah took his mantle and his staff and the skin of water from the Jordan, and the water stood before him and before him, and the two of them crossed over and stood on dry ground, and he dried them. And after that, when the two of them had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask of me what you desire that I do for you before I go up from you.” And Elisha said to Elijah, “Let the double portion of the Holy Spirit that is upon you be upon me.” And Elijah said, “You have asked a difficult thing; but if you see me when I go up from you, it shall be so for you; but if you do not see me, it shall not be so for you.” And while the two of them were walking and conversing, a chariot of fire and horses of fire came and entered between the two of them and separated them, and Elijah went up like a whirlwind and like one into heaven. And Elisha saw him and said, “Father, father, the strength of Israel and their might!” And after that he did not see him again, and he tore his garments and rent them in two.

And Elijah brought down his mantle, and it descended upon the head of Elisha, and Elisha entered, and he stood by the bank of the water of the Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah, which had descended above his head, and he sprinkled water with it, and he washed his face, and he said, “Where is the God of Elijah? And why, after that, did he sprinkle the water and wash his face, and stand, that which is before me and before me?” And Elisha passed by. And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho saw him as he came before them, and they said, “The Holy Spirit has entered upon Elijah, [upon] Elisha.” And they received him and prostrated themselves to him on the ground. And they said to him, “Behold, there are here with your servants fifty strong men, sons of might, who go to seek your master Joggi. The Spirit of the Lord found him and brought him down into the Jordan. And if not, into one of the mountains, and if not, into one of the valleys.” And Elisha said to them, “Send forth.

And they searched for him as far as the caves, and they sent fifty men, and they sought him for three days, but they did not find him. And Elisha was dwelling in Jericho, and he said to them, “Elisha said to you, ‘Send and do not go.’” And the men of that city said to Elisha, “Behold, the land of this city is good, as the Lord sees, but the water of the region is bad, and the women also are wicked.” And Elisha said to them, “Bring me a new earthenware vessel, and put salt into it, and bring it to him.” And Elisha went to the spring of water and cast that salt into it, and he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have healed this water, so that there is none who will die from it, and there is none who will be wicked from it.’” And from that time, after the healing, that water has been healed until this day, as Elisha spoke. And he went up from there to Bethel, and as he was going up on the road, he met some small children who were coming out of the city, and they began to mock him and said to him, “Go up, go up, baldhead!

And when he was sought behind him, and he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And after that, two bears came from the forest and killed forty-two of them. And from there he went to Mount Carmel, and from there he entered Samaria. IV Kings 3 3 And Joram, son of Ahab, reigned over Israel in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. And he did evil before the eyes of the Lord, and not only like his father nor like his mother, but he followed the likeness of Baal, which his father had done. He also repeated the sin of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, and he also did not cease. And Mesa, king of Moab, ravaged the city of Menochth, and gave one hundred thousand sheep of the flock and one hundred thousand she-goats. And after that, after the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. And Joram, that king, went out, having set out from Samaria, and he mustered the Israelites.

And he went to Ahab, to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, while saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me; will you come with me to fight against the Moabites?” And he said to him, “Yes, I will go up with you; I am like you, and you are like me; my people are like your people, and my horses are like your horses.” And he said to him, “By which road shall we go up?” And he said to him, “By the road of the wilderness of Edom.” And the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom went, and they journeyed seven days, while they traveled, and they dug water for the army and for their animals that were thirsty. And the king of Israel said, “Alas for us! Has the Lord brought us, three kings, to deliver us into the hands of the Moabites?” And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here, and we shall ask the word of the Lord from him?” And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “There is here Elisha son of Shaphat, the disciple of Elijah.

And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is upon him.” And the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and the king of Edom went down to him. And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What is this that is between me and you? Go to the prophets of your father.” And the king of Israel said, “Has not the Lord brought us three kings together, as he brought us into the hands of the Moabites?” And Elisha said to them, “The living God, the God of might, before whom I stand, is not the face of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, whom I have disgraced by my gaze.” And now, bring me a minstrel. And then, when the minstrel sang, the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Dig a trench in this river.’” For thus says the Lord: “You will not see its wind, and you will not see its rain, and this river will fill, and you will drink, you and your army and your livestock.

Is it a small thing in the sight of the Lord? And I have delivered the Moabites into your hands. And kill all their great men, and cut down all their good trees, and stop up all their springs of water. And break all their good vessels with stones. And when the land was morning, at the time when they offered sacrifice, water came from the border of Edom and filled all that land with water. And when the Moabites heard that these kings had gone up to fight against them, they raised up a wall around all their cities, saying, ‘Help us, all of you, with the goods of your fields,’ and they gathered and stood on the top of the mountain. And they advanced in the morning, and when the sun rose over that water, the Moabites saw before them red like blood—that water. And these kings said to one another, ‘This is the blood of war.’ And they killed their captives, and now give us to go and attack them.

And they saw the wonders of Israel, and Israel arose and killed the Moabites, and they destroyed Moab before the face of Israel, and they saw. And while they were seeing, they killed the Moabites. And they took five of their cities, and in all their territories good [things], and all the men of Israel gathered stones and filled [them], and they covered all their cisterns, and all their walls and their good trees they cut down, and they took the boundary of their land, and they besieged the men of Moab, and killed them. And when the king of Moab saw that they had killed [them], and when he saw that they had died, he took with him seven hundred men and went to fight the king of Edom, and he asked. And then he took his firstborn son who would reign after him, and he sacrificed him upon the wall, and Israel made a great repentance and were saved, and they returned to their land. 4 Kings 4 And a certain woman from among the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha and said, "Your servant, the fearer of the Lord, is my husband, and he died, and the creditor has come to take my two children to enslave them.

And Elisha said to her, "What do you desire that I do for you? Tell me, and what do you have in your house?" And she said to him, "I have nothing in my house except a little oil with which I anoint myself." And he said to her, "Go, borrow vessels from your neighbor." And she entered her house, and she shut her door upon herself and upon her children, and she poured that oil into the vessels. And when the vessels were full, she sealed them. And she went to her house, and she shut the door upon herself and upon her children, and they brought to her, and she poured. And she said to her children, "Bring me more vessels." And they said to her, "All the vessels are finished." And then the oil stood still. And she went and told the man of God. And Elisha said to her, "Go, sell, and pay your debt, and support me with the remainder. And with the oil that remains, save yourself and save your children." Then Elisha passed one day in Shunem, and there was a great woman there, and she set him to eat bread, for the famine was severe there, and she was distressed there to eat bread.

And the woman said to him, "The Lord is holy, and he always passes by us. Let us make for him a small chamber, a little place, and let us spread for him a bed, a seat, and a place to stand, and a table, so that when he passes by us, he may rest there." Then, one day, he came there and entered the chamber. And he said to Gehazi, his servant, "Call for me this Shunammite woman." And she was called and stood before him. And he said, "Behold, you have honored me with all this honor. What shall I do for you? Where is your complaint, whether to the king or to the angel?" And she said, "I dwell among my people; I live." And he said, "What shall we do for her?" And Gehazi, his servant, said, "She is a teacher, for she has no children, and she is old." And she was called and stood at the door. And Elisha said to her, "How many years will you still find children in your life?" And she said, "My lord, you have prophesied for your maidservant.

And after that, the woman conceived and gave birth to a son in the year of her life, on the day when Elisha spoke to her. And the child grew up and went to his father in the field. And he said to his father, "My head, my head!" And he said to his son, "Take him to his mother." And she placed him on her lap, upon her knees, until midday. And after that, when he died, she carried him up and placed him on the bed of the man of God, and covered him, and went out. And she called to the muleteer and said to him, "Call and send for me one of the servants and a donkey, for I am going to the man of God and will enter." And he said to her, "Why are you going to him today, when it is neither the new moon nor the Sabbath?" And she said to him, "Because I am in haste." And she mounted the donkey, and she said to her servant, "Arise, let us go, and do not hinder me, for I am going as I told you. Come, follow me, and let us go to the man of God on Mount Carmel.

And when Elisha saw that woman coming, he said to his servant Gehazi, "That woman is a Shunammite. Run now, meet her, and say to her, 'Peace to you. Is your husband well, and is your child well?'" And she said, "Well." And she arrived where Elisha was on the mountain, and she seized his feet. And Gehazi came to hinder her, and Elisha said, "Leave her, for she is troubled in her soul. And the Lord has hidden from me and has not told me." And she said to him, "Is it not what I asked for a son from my lord? Did I not say to you, 'Do not deceive me'?" And Elisha said to Gehazi, "Take my staff in your hand, and go. And if you meet a man, do not greet him; and if one greets you, do not answer him. And place my staff on the face of the child." And the mother of that child said, "As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." And Elisha arose and went with her. And Gehazi went before them, and he arrived quickly, and he placed his staff on the face of that child, but he did not revive him and did not hear him. And he entered and met him and told him, and he said, "The child has not arisen.

And Elisha entered the house and found the child dead, lying on the bed. And Elisha entered the house and closed the door upon the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. And he went up and lay down upon that child, and placed his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and lay down upon him, and the body of that child grew warm. And he arose and walked about in that house to and fro, and went up again and lay down upon that child, and did likewise until seven times; and after that, the eyes of that child opened. And Elisha called Gehazi and said to him, "Call that Shunammite woman." And he called, and she came to him, and Elisha said to her, "Take up your son now." And that woman came and bowed down to him and prostrated herself at his feet, and she took up the child and went out. And Elisha went to the land of Gilgal, and he found a famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets came and stood before him. And Elisha said to his servant, "Kindle a great fire, and cook for me, and feed the sons of the prophets.

And he went into the wilderness of Yeḥmel, the herb of the earth, and found a vineyard in the wilderness, and entered and plucked there the herb of the earth, and filled his garment, and put it into a pot, and cooked it, and he did not know what was in it. And then he brought it to them to eat, and when they had eaten, that cooked food was mixed together for all of them, and they said, “There is a taste in this pot, of the man of the Lord; and his request is eaten.” And Elisha said, “Bring a jar and put it into the pot.” And Elisha said to Gehazi, “Pour it out for the people, and let them eat. And then there is no evil that was found in that pot.” And a man came from Sarīra and brought to the man of the Lord from before his grain twenty loaves of bread and two measures, and he said to his servant, “Give them to these poor people, and let them eat.” And his servant said, “What shall I bring to these hundred men?” And he said, “Bring it to the people to eat, for thus says the Lord: ‘Let them eat and be satisfied.’

And they ate, and it remained, as the Lord said. IV Kings 5 5 Now Naaman, commander of the armies of Syria, was a great man before his lord, and he was honored, for by his hand the Lord had saved Syria, and he was a strong man and mighty, and he had leprosy. And when he came with Syria to war, and returned from the land of Israel, he took one young girl, and placed her with his wife. And she said to her mistress, "It is fitting that my lord go to the man of God, the prophet who is in Samaria, and he will heal him from this leprosy." And the woman went to him and told him, and she said to him, "Thus says this girl who is from the land of Israel." And the king of Syria said to Naaman, "Go, I will send a letter with you to the king of Israel." And he went and took with him ten talents of silver, and eight hundred gold pieces, and ten sets of garments. And he delivered the letter to the king of Israel, and his letter said, "When this letter reaches you, behold, I have sent to you Naaman, my servant, and heal him from his leprosy.

And then, when the king of Israel read that book, he tore his garments and said, “Is it not the Lord who am I, that I should kill and revive, that this man who is a leper should come to me and I should heal him from his leprosy? Behold, see how this man seeks a pretext for us.” And then, when Elisha heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he went to the king and said to him, “Why have you torn your garments? Let Naaman come to me, and you will know whether there is a prophet in Israel.” And Naaman went with horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha went to him, saying, “Go, immerse yourself seven times in the Jordan River, and your flesh will be joined and healed from your leprosy.” And Naaman was angry and came and said, “It seems to me that there is someone who will come out and stand before me and invoke the name of the Lord his God and lay his hand upon me and heal me.

leprosy? Are not the waters of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? Are not the rivers Abana and Pharpar better? Should I not go and bathe in them and be healed of my leprosy? And he went away rejoicing. And his servants came to him and said to him, "A great matter the prophet told you: do as he told you; go and bathe and be healed." And Naaman went and descended and immersed himself in the river Jordan seven times, as Elisha had told him, and he lived, and his flesh became like the flesh of a young child. And he entered to Elisha alone with all his retinue, and he arrived before him and stood before him and said to him, "Now I know that there is no god in all the earth except in Israel. And now I will take up his name from the hand of your servant." And Elisha said to him, "The living Lord before whom I stand, that I should not take and give him to take and woe to me if I do.

And he said to him, "Naaman, and if not, your servant will give him, by the measure of Gomor, two hundred pieces of silver, because your servant will not make a sacrifice to foreign gods from now on, except to the Lord alone, by your word." And because of this, the Lord will forgive your servant when he enters, my lord, the house of Reman, and bows down to him; there he will place his hand on my hand, and I too will bow down with him in the house of Reman when he bows down in the house of Raman. And the Lord will forgive your servant for this matter. And Elisha said to Naaman, "Go in peace," and he returned in peace from him to his land, Deblata. And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, said, "Now, my lord, mercy for Naaman the Syrian, and I did not take from him anything from what he brought to him. By the life of the Lord, as I run, I will go to him and take from him what was.

And he went, Gehazi, and he called to Naaman, and Naaman turned and saw him as he called to him from behind him, and he descended from within his chariot and entered and received him. And he said to him, "Peace to you, my lord. For your servant sent me to you." And he said to him, "Hear, when they arrived to me, two hundred from the mountain of Ephraim from among the company of the prophets, and I gave them a measure of silver and two garments, their covering." And Naaman said to him, "Take two measures." And he took and put them into the bag, and two garments, covering, two, and he added for him two from among the company, and they went before him. And they entered into the darkness, and then he met them and brought them into his house and sent those two hundred away. And then he entered and stood before his lord, and Elisha said to Gehazi, "From where are you?" And Gehazi said, "There is no place where your servant went, and nowhere." And Elisha said to him, "Is it not that my heart went with you? And when a man turned from upon his chariot and received you, and now you have taken gold, and now you have taken garments, and it will be for you for a vineyard of wine and for a vineyard of fruit and for a vineyard of oil and for my cattle and for my sheep and for my male servants and for my female servants.

And he said, "Let the leprosy of Naaman cleave to you and to your children forever." And at that time, Naaman took the leprosy of Gehazi, and Gehazi went out from before the face of Elisha, while all his flesh was white like snow. IV Kings 6 6 And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "Behold, this is our dwelling place where we dwell; before you, it is too small for us." "Let us go to the region of the Jordan, and let us cut down for ourselves one beam from here, and let us make for ourselves a dwelling place there, where we may dwell." And he said to them, "Go." And one of them said to him, "Come, you, with your servants." And he said to him, "Yes, I will come also." And he went with them, and they arrived at the bank of the Jordan, and they cut down trees. And as one was cutting a beam, the axehead slipped from its handle and fell into the water, and it seized its head and sank. And he said, "O Lord!" And this is hidden. And the man of God said to him, "Where did it fall?" And he showed him where it fell, and he cut a piece of wood and threw it there, and the iron axehead floated up.

And he said, "Take, now, your garment." And he put down his hand and took it. And the king of Syria gathered the Israelites and took counsel with his troops, and he said to them, "Let us go to the land of Felmon." And Elisha sent to the king of Israel, saying, "Beware, lest you go out into the land, for there the Syrians are hidden." And the king of Israel guarded that land for him, according to what Elisha told him, a hundred and twenty. And the soul of the king of Syria was troubled because of this matter, and he summoned his troops and said to them, "Do you know who will tell the king of Israel?" And one of his troops said to him, "Is it not, my lord, that Elisha the prophet, who is in Israel, he tells the king of Israel all your words and all that you speak within your chamber?" And he said to them, "Go, find out where he is, and send and bring him, and say to him, 'In Dothain.'" And he sent there horses and chariots and an army, and they arrived there at night and surrounded that city.

And his servant Elisha arose, and he rose and went out, and he saw the army, the chariots of the land of horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "My lord, what shall we do?" And Elisha said to him, "Do not fear; those who are with us are more numerous than they." And Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, uncover the eyes of this child, and let him see." And the Lord uncovered his eyes, and he saw all of it: the mountain of horses and chariots, fire encircling Elisha. And they went down to Elisha, and Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, "O Lord, restore this people." And He restored them, as Elisha had said. And Elisha said to them, "This is not his land, and this is not his path. Come, follow me to the man whom you seek. I will lead you." And he took them and led them to the land of Samaria. And Elisha said, "Uncover their eyes, O Lord, and let them see." And He uncovered their eyes, and they saw and realized that they were in the midst of Samaria.

And the king of Israel said to Elisha, "When I see them, shall I kill them or shall I enter?" And he said to him, "Do not kill them, for what is with your spear you have shot at them, and what is with your bow? But with your spear and with your bow you have shot at them, you will kill them. And bring near to them food and water before them, and let them eat and drink, and let them go to their lord." And he brought near to them in a moment, and they ate and drank, and he sent them, and they went to their lord, and they did not return again to Syria, their army, to the land of Israel. And then the son of Hadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his forces and went and besieged Samaria and stayed there. And there was a great famine within Samaria, and the Syrians were over them until the head of a donkey was fifty silver pieces, and a quarter of a hand of a measure of a kab of dove dung was fifty silver pieces. And the king of Israel, while he was sitting in the palace, looked out from the window and saw a woman, and she said to him, "Save me, O lord king of Israel.

And she said, "Shall the Lord save me? From where shall He save me? From the famine of wine and oil? Or from the famine of the field of grain?" And the king said to her, "What have you become?" And she said to him, "You said to me, 'This woman brought your son so that we might eat him today.' And we slaughtered my son and ate him. And after that, I said to you, 'On the morrow, bring your son also so that we might eat him,' and I hid my son." And when the king heard what that woman said to him, he tore his garments while walking in the midst of the copper market, and the people saw what the king wore upon his body within. And he said, "Thus may the Lord judge me, and thus may He kill me, if I enter the house of Elisha himself through his neck today." Now Elisha was dwelling in his house, and the nobles were dwelling with him. And the king sent one man from among those who stand before him, and before that messenger of the king reached him, Elisha said to the nobles, "When you see that the son of the murderer has sent, as they would cut off my head, arise before he arrives, close the door, and kill him, and leave him standing at the door, for the sound of his feet is behind me.

And while he was speaking with them, the king of Akko arrived and came down to him, and Elisha said, "Behold, this evil has come to me from the Lord, and what then shall I ask of the Lord?" IV Kings 7 7 And Elisha said to him, "Hear the word of the Lord, as the Lord says: 'A measure of flour of the time of the measure of the sabbath year shall be in a shekel, and two measures of barley shall be given in a shekel at the gate of Samaria.'" And that king who was called upon raised his hand and said to Elisha, "If the Lord sends down a rain of grain from heaven, will it not be as you say?" And Elisha said to him, "You will see it with your own eyes, and you will not taste it." And there were four lepers who went to the gate of the city and said among themselves, "What will sustain us here until we die? If we enter the city, we will die of famine, for the city is hungry; and if we remain here, we will die. And now let us go into the camp of the Syrians. If they spare us, we will live; and if they kill us, we will die.

And they arose in the darkness and entered the camp of the Syrians, and the Syrians arrived, and there was no one they found there, because the Lord had made the camp of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and the sound of horses and the sound of a great army. And the Syrians said among themselves, "Now the king of Israel has brought upon us the king of Kition and the king of Egypt, that they may destroy us." And they were afraid, and they arose and fled in the darkness, and they abandoned their camps and their horses and their mules as they were, and they saved themselves. And those who had come to the camp entered one tavern, and they ate and drank, and they took from there gold and silver and garments, and they went and entered a second camp, and they took from there as well, and they went and hid. And they said among themselves, "No, like this we should not do; this day is a blessed day, and if we are caught and remain until the evening, our sin will condemn us. Come now, let us go and plunder the king's house.

And they came and entered the camp of the Syrians, and they found and said, “We were within their camp, the Syrians, and there is no one we found there, no man, and there is no sound of a man there, except horses and mules, and their camp remained as it was.” And they came in the morning within and found the king’s house. And the king arose by night and said to his servants, “Do you not see how the Syrians have left us? They have known that we are hungry, and they have gone out from within their camp and hidden in the wilderness, saying, ‘They will go out from their land, and we will take them alive, and then we will enter their land.’” And one of his servants answered and said to him, “Let them take five horses from among those that remain here from all Israel, and let them go there and see.” And they took two swift horses and sent them, the king of Israel, to pursue the king of Syria, and he said to them, “Go, see.” And they went and pursued them as far as the bank of the Jordan, and they found their entire path filled with garments and vessels which the Syrians had cast off when they fled. And those who were sent returned and found the king of Israel.

And the people went out and plundered the Syrians, and the measure of sandals was doubled for one shekel, as the Lord said. And again for that one, one shekel. And the king sent for this one, and his deputy, whom the king had appointed over his hand, to stand in the gate, and the people brought him into the gate and stoned him, and he died, as the man of God had spoken, when he had said to him, “If you go to him.” And it happened as Elisha had told the king: again for that one, the measure of wheat was for one shekel, and the measure of sandals for one shekel, as he had said, because of the famine that occurred at the gate of Samaria. And that one and the deputy king answered and said to him, “If the Lord sends rain, the produce of the sky, will it not be as you say?” And Elisha said to him, “You will see it with your own eyes, and you will not forget it.” And it happened thus, and the people stoned him in the gate, and he died.

And Elisha said to that woman who had revived her son, "Arise and go, you and your household, and dwell where you were dwelling, for a famine will come upon the land by the will of the Lord." And after that, a famine came upon the land for seven years. And that woman arose and did as Elisha had told her, and she went to the land of the Philistines and dwelt there for seven years. And after the seven years had passed, that woman returned and entered from the land of the Philistines, and she went and complained to the king concerning her house and her fields. And the king inquired of Gehazi, the son of Elisha, the servant of the Lord, and said to him, "Tell me all the strange thing that Elisha did." And then, while he was telling the king how he had revived the child who had died, that woman who had been revived by Elisha as a child came and complained to the king concerning her house and her fields. And Gehazi said, "O king, this is that woman, and this is the child whom Elisha revived.

And the king asked, and she told him, and the king gave her one of his own garments, and said to him, "Bring in all her goods and all the produce of her fields from the time she left the land until now." And Elisha went to the land of Damascus, and anointed the son of Hadad, king of Syria, and told him and said to him, "A man of God has come here." And he said to Hazael, "Take a gift with you, and go, receive the man of God, and ask him for the word of God, whether I will live from this sickness of mine." And Hazael went and received him, and took a gift with him, and from among all the good things of the land of Damascus, and forty camels were loaded, and he went and arrived before him, and said to Elisha, "Your son, the son of Hadad, king of Syria, has sent me to you, saying, 'Will I live from this sickness of mine?'" And Elisha said to him, "Go, tell him, 'You will live,' but I have seen from God that he will die.

And he arrived before his face, and the man of God bowed down and wept. And Hazael said to him, "What do you bring to my lord?" And Elisha said to him, "I know how much you are, that you will destroy the children of Israel; you will burn their cities with fire, and you will kill their nobles with the sword, and you will dash their infants, and you will rip open their pregnant women." And Hazael said to him, "What am I, your servant, that I am like a dead dog, that I should do this thing?" And Elisha said to him, "The Lord showed me you, that you will rule over Syria." Then he departed from Elisha and went to his lord, and he said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" And he said, "He said to me, 'You will live, you will be healed.'" Then on the next day he took a coverlet and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, and he died; and Hazael reigned in his place. In the fifth year of the reign of Jehoram son of Ahab, king of Israel, and of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. [And Jehoram king of Judah] was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight winters in Jerusalem.

And he went in the ways of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for the daughter of Ahab would cause to enter and do evil deeds before the Lord. And the Lord did not wish to spare Judah because of what David had done, as he said to him, "There is a remnant for his son in all the days." And in his days, Edom rebelled, and they rose up against Judah, and they set up a king for themselves. And Jehoram went up into Sihor, and all his chariots with him, and he arose and killed those of Edom who had attacked him, and the commanders of their chariots, and then they fled and returned to their houses. And Edom rebelled, and they rose up against Judah until this day, and this is how they rebelled against them in those days. And all this was told to Jehoram, and all that he did, behold, this is what is written in the book of their prophets, the kings of Judah. And Jehoram slept with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Ahaziah his son reigned after him.

In the twelfth year of his reign, of Jehoram son of Ahab, king of Israel, reigned Ahaziah son of Jehoram, while he was twenty-two years old from his birth when he began to reign, and he reigned one winter for Israel, and the name of his mother was Athaliah, daughter of Zimri, king of Israel. And he went in the ways of the house of Ahab, and did evil before the Lord, like the house of Ahab. And he went with Jehoram son of Ahab to battle, as though to kill Hazael, king of Syria, but he fled in Ramoth of Gilead, and Syria wounded Jehoram. And Jehoram the king entered into Israel to be healed of the wound which Syria had inflicted upon him in Ramoth, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria; and Ahaziah son of Jehoram went down to see Jehoram son of Ahab in Israel, because he was ill. IV Kings 9 9 And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Gird your loins, and take a flask of oil with you, and go to Ramoth of Gilead.

And he entered there, and he anointed there Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi, and he entered and raised him from among his brothers, and brought him into the inner chamber of the house. And he took a horn of oil and poured it upon his head, and said to him thus: "Thus says the Lord, 'I have anointed you king over Israel.'" And then he opened the door and went out, and he stood. And he, the son of the prophet, went to Ramoth in Gilead. And he found the angels of the host dwelling there, and he said, "I have something to tell you, O angel." And he said, "Jehu, who among us?" And he said to him, "You, O angel." And he arose and entered the house, and poured oil upon his head, and said to him thus: "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel, so that you may destroy the house of Ahab, your lord, from before my face, and you shall avenge the blood of the prophets, my servants, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord from the hand of Jezebel.'

And from the whole house of Ahab, and they destroyed the house of Ahab until it was a wonder in the place of burial, and all the near ones who were, and all who remained of them in Israel. And I made the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. And for Jezebel, dogs will eat her in the land of Israel, and she will not find one who will bury her. And after that, he closed the door and went out. And Jehu went out to the feet of his lord, and they said to him, "Peace to you. Who is this man who came to you?" And he said to them, "Do you not know this man, that he is like you, a wanderer?" And they said to him, "You have lied. Tell us truly." And he said to them, "Jehu, to his feet, thus and thus he said to me, and he said to me, 'Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you king over Israel.'" And when they heard, they hastened and tore all their garments, and they tore for him where he dwelt in the upper room, and they blew the horn and said, "King Jehu.

And Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, went to Joram. And Joram was in Ramoth-Gilead; all Israel was guarding him from Hazael, king of Syria. And Joram, king of Israel, came to be healed from his wound which the Syrians had inflicted upon him when he fought with Hazael, king of Syria. And Jehu said to those who were with him, "Do you truly think that I have brought my life with you? Rise up now, for there is none who will save you, and there is none who will go out from your land." And he incited Israel. Then Jehu went quickly to Israel, and he descended. And Joram, king of Israel, was in Israel being healed from his wound which the Aramean Syrians had inflicted upon him at Ramoth when he fought with Hazael, king of Syria, for he was a strong man and mighty. And Ahaziah, king of Judah, descended to see Joram. And a watchman climbed up into the tower to see Israel, and he saw the army of those of Jehu as they were coming. And he said, "Behold, the army of the Hebrews! I am." And Joram said, "Let one swift horse go to receive them and say to them, 'Peace to you.'

And he sent one runner on horseback, and he met them and said to them, “Peace be to you. The king says to you.” And Jehu said to him, “What have you to do with peace? Come behind me.” And he told them that man of the eye, and he said to them, “He has arrived for you to them, and he did not enter.” And he sent a second runner on horseback, and he arrived to them and said to them, “Peace be to you. The king says.” And Jehu said to him, “What have you to do with peace? Come behind me.” And he told him that man of the eye, and he said to him, “He has arrived for you to them, and he did not delay. A guide will guide Jehu, son of Nimshi, for their other path.” And Joram said, “Come, let us go.” And they went with their chariots. And Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, both of them in their chariots, went, and they met Jehu, and they found him in the vineyard of Naboth the Israelite. And he said to him, “Peace to Jehu.” And Jehu said to him, “Indeed, Jehu, what have you to do with peace? Is it not the mourning for your mother Jezebel and her servants in abundance?

And Joram turned to flee, and he said to Ahaz, “You have betrayed us, Ahaz.” And he drew and bent his bow with his strength, and he shot Joram in the middle of his chest, and the arrow came out through his heart, and he fell on his knees. And Jehu said to Bidqah and his servant, “Throw him into the field of Naboth the Israelite, for I remember and you know that when we were young, we were orphans and we were raised with Ahab his father, and the Lord brought upon him what he said: ‘The blood of Naboth and the blood of his children I have seen yesterday,’ said the Lord, ‘and I will avenge it in this field,’ said the Lord. ‘And now take him and throw him into this field, as the Lord said.’” And when Ahaziah, king of Judah, saw, he fled by the road to Bethan, and Jehu pursued him and overtook him, and Jehu said, “I will not let him go,” and he killed him in his chariot while he was going up toward the city of Gath. “You are Eberlahem.” And from there he fled to Megiddo, and there his soul departed.

And they stabbed him, and he fell into his chariot, and they brought him into Jerusalem, and they buried him in his tomb in the city of David. And in the eleventh year of the reign of Joram, king of Israel, Ahaziah reigned over Judah. And Jehu went into Israel, and Jezebel heard, and she painted her eyes, and she adorned herself, and she braided her head, and she looked out from the window. And Jehu entered the city, and she said to him, “Peace to you, Zimri, the slayer of his master.” And he raised his face and saw her at the window, and he said, “Who are you, my friend, here with me?” And then the two eunuchs threw her down. And he said to them, “Trample her,” and they trampled her, and blood flowed to the trough and to the horses, and they drank it. And Jehu entered and ate and drank, and then he said, “Go, see this accursed woman, and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” And they went to bury her, and they found nothing but the palm of her hand and the soles of her feet.

And they found him, and they told him, and he said, "This is the word of the Lord which was in the hand of Elijah the Tishbite." And he said, "In the field of Israel, the dogs will devour Jezebel. [And the corpse of Jezebel will be] like the earth upon the face of the wilderness, in the valley of Israel, so that they will not devour her, nor will they anoint her." IV Kings 10 10 And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria, and he wrote [them] a letter, and he sent it into Samaria to the messengers of Samaria and to the elders and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab, and he wrote, saying: "Now, when this letter reaches you, the sons of your lord are with you, and his horses are with you, and his chariots are with you, and his cities are strong, and the produce of the field is abundant. And see for yourselves who is worthy, whom you desire from among the sons of your lord; set him upon the throne of his father, and fight for the house of your lord.

And they feared, one after another, and they said, "The Two Kings, his servant, stood before his face. How then shall we stand before his face?" And they said to him, "The magnates of his house and the magnates of the country and the nobles and their protectors, where are they?" while they said, "We are your servants, we, and what you have commanded us, we will do. And there is no man whom we serve. What you desire, do." And then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, "If you are to me, you will hear my word. Cut off the heads of the sons of your lord, and send them to me within Israel, to Jezreel at this time. And the sons of the king, seventy-two of them, are the strong ones of the country." And when the letter reached them, they took the sons of the king and killed the seventy-two of them, and they hung their heads on the trees of the fortress, and they sent them to him within Israel. And his messenger arrived and told him, and he said to him, "I have brought the heads of the sons of the king." And the king said to him, "Put them in the basket of the city gate in the morning.

And when it was morning, the king went out to the gate of the city and said to all the people, "You are saved. Behold, I have gone up to the house of my lords and killed them. Who killed them? Behold, these all." Behold, see how the word of the Lord does not fall to the ground, which the Lord had decreed against the house of Ahab in Israel, and the Lord accomplished all that he had decreed through the hand of his servant Elijah. And he killed all the men of the house of Ahab who remained in Israel, and all his strong ones, and all his counselors, and all his priests, and he left not one of them. And he arose and went to Samaria, and arrived at the house of the gate, to the nobles who were on the road. And he found them, the brothers of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and said to them, "Who are you?" And they said to him, "We are the brothers of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and we have come down to greet them, to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the nobles.

He commanded that they be taken alive, and he had them bound in the house of the gate, forty-two men, and not one of them escaped, nor a single person. And he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rechab on the road; he received him and blessed him and said to him, “Is your heart steadfast with me as my heart is steadfast with you?” And Jehonadab said, “Yes.” And he said to him, “If so, you have believed me, stretch out your hand to me.” And he stretched out his hand to him, and he raised him up to him into his chariot. And he said to him, “Come with me, and see how I am zealous for the Lord of Hosts.” And he took him with him into his chariot. And he entered Samaria and killed all the remnant of the people of Ahab who were in Samaria, until he had destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken to Elijah. And he, Jehu, smote all the people and said to them, “Ahab indeed was zealous for Baal, but I am not; I am more zealous for him than he.” And now, summon to me all the prophets of Baal and all his servants and all his priests, and let there be none who are left out, for the sacrifice of Baal is great, and all who come shall die; and I have appointed them that I may kill all the servants of Baal.

And he said to them, "Go, purify your sacrifice for Baal, and they went. And after that, he went throughout all the highways of Israel, and all the servants of Baal and all his prophets came. And not one man among them remained who did not come, and they burned all the house of Baal and filled the house of Baal with all its contents. And Jehu said to the keeper of the house of the treasury, "Bring out garments for all the servants of Baal," and he brought out for them what would cover them. And Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rechab entered the house of Baal, and he said to the servants of Baal, "Be divided and know which among you are servants of the Lord apart from yourselves; you alone are servants of Baal, and your sacrifice is not here." And Jehu commanded eighty men to stand at the door, and he said to them, "If one man among you escapes from these swords which I have brought against you, I myself will die in place of the one who escaped.

And after that, when they had finished making the sacrifice, he said to them, "Go to Baal's servants and his prophets, and kill them, and let none of them escape you." And they killed them with the sword and cast them out, both the servants and the prophets, and they burned the city. And they burned the house of Baal and all its vessels and all its garments. And they destroyed all the images of Baal. And from then on, they went to Baal, that is, the remnant of Israel. And only the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin, remained; they did not abandon it from before them, those two golden calves, one in Bethel and one in Dan. And the Lord said to him, "Because you have done well before my eyes and have done all that I had in my heart against the house of Ahab, until the fourth generation your descendants shall sit upon the throne of Israel." And he followed after that, to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he abandoned the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which had caused Israel to sin.

And when he had finished, the Lord began to kill Israel, and Hazael killed them throughout all their roads of Israel. From the morning of the Jordan and all the land of Gilead, of Gad and of Reuben and of Manasseh, from Aroer which is on the bank of the Arnon, of Gilead and Bashan. And all of them told Jehu, and all that he did, and all his army, and all that he killed—this is what is written in the book of their prophets of the kings of Israel. And Jehu slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and Jehoahaz his son reigned after him. And the years of the reign of Jehu over Israel in Samaria were 28. 4 Kings 11 11 And Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, when she saw that her son had died, she destroyed the royal lineage. Jehosheba, the daughter of the king [Jehoram, the sister of Ahaziah, for Jehoash the son of Ahaziah], took him; she stole him from among the king's servants who were killed, and from his nurses, and hid him inside the bedchamber from Athaliah, and she did not kill him.

And he gave her six years, and Athaliah reigned over the land for six years. And in the seventh year, Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders of the hundreds and the captains, and brought them to him into the house of the Lord, and they made a covenant of the Lord, and he made them swear before the Lord, and showed them Jehoiada, the son of the king. And he said to them, "Do thus: let a third of your hands be on guard on the Sabbath day, and guard the king's house, and stay in the inner court. And let a third of your hands be in the courtyard of the gate, staying on the side of the inner court, which is behind the queen, and guard and strengthen the house. And let two hands from among you be for everyone who goes out on the Sabbath day, and guard the house of the Lord where the king is. And all of you, shut in the king while you plunder the property of his field and everything that is within his courts, kill, and those who are with the king, they shall enter and go out." And the commanders did everything that Jehoiada the wise had commanded them, and they took all their people, and gathered all those who were on guard on the Sabbath day, and went to Jehoiada the priest.

And Jehoiada gave the commanders his armor, the armor of David, and the treasure of the field which was in the house of the Lord. And they stood and went up with the treasure of their field toward the right side of the house as far as the left side of the house, which is the sanctuary. And they crowned the king. And they brought out the king’s son and clothed him in the vestment of the ephod of fine linen, and girded him, and crowned him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the father, the king!” And Athaliah heard the sound of the people as they rejoiced, and she entered to the people at the house of the Lord. It was their custom that the king would stand and be anointed at the pillar according to their law, and before him they would blow the horn and the psalteries. And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew the horn; and Athaliah tore her garments and cried out and said, “Treason! Treason!” And Jehoiada the priest commanded the commanders and said to the officers of the army, “Bring her out from within the ranks, and all who follow her, kill them with the sword, for the priest commanded that she not be killed in the house of the Lord.

And they took it and carried it by the way of the horses of the house of the king, and they killed it there. And Jehoiada renewed the covenant in the midst of the house of the Lord and in the midst of the house of the king and in the midst of the people, that they might be the people of the Lord. And all the people of the land of the house of Baal cried out, and they broke it, and they overturned its altars, and they shattered its images in truth. And they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altar, and they appointed a priest of the treasury for the house of the Lord. And he took the nobles, the couriers, and the chiefs, and all the people of the land, and they brought out the king from the house of the Lord, and they took him by the way of the gate of their path to the house of the king, and they placed him upon the throne of the kings. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city remained peaceful. And they killed Athaliah with a sword in the house of the king. And Joash was seven years old when he reigned. IV Kings 12 12 In the seventh year of his reign, Jehu reigned, and Joash reigned for forty years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Abijah, daughter of Beersheba.

And Joash did righteousness before the Lord in all the days that Jehoiada the priest taught him. But only the houses of the gods did Joash neglect, and the people there continued to offer incense and make sacrifices in the house of the gods. And Joash said to the priests, “All the gold that is consecrated and brought into the house of the Lord, and the gold that is in the treasury, and all the gold that people bring by their own will into the house of the Lord— let the priests take for themselves every man from his work, and let them keep the treasury that is in his house.” And then, in the thirty-third year of the reign of Joash, when Joash saw that the priests had kept the treasury that was in his house, King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the priests, and said to them, “Why have you kept the treasury that is in the house? From now on, you shall take the gold for your work; for the treasury that is in the house, let them bring it in.” And the priests agreed that they would no longer take the gold of the people’s offering, and that they would keep the treasury that was in the house.

And Jehoiada the priest took one chest and sealed it and placed it beside the altar in the house of the treasury of the house of the Lord, and the priests brought all the gold that was found in the house of the Lord by his measure. And when they saw that the gold that was found in the chest was abundant, the scribe of the king and the priests went up and weighed the gold and brought it down, all of them, the gold that they found in the house of the Lord. And he commanded that they take the treasury of the house of the Lord, and the gold that would come in for repairs would be for them to give to the carpenters of wood and to the stonecutters who build the house of the Lord; and to the masons and to the hewers of stone, with which they would cut hewn stone and timber of juniper, with which they would repair the foundation within the house of the Lord, and for all the repairs of the house of the Lord, with which they would repair; without the vessels of silver that they would make for the house of the Lord, and the lamps and the censers and all the vessels of gold and silver that would come in for the house of the Lord.

He commanded that they bring to him those who perform the work, and that they guard the house of the Lord. And they did not count those hands that take the gold and bring it out for their work, because of their faith. And the gold that is for sin and for repentance, which enters the house of the Lord, belongs to the priests. And in those days, Hazael, king of Syria, went up and fought against Gath, and he took Gath and gathered it and sent. Hazael sent an army to go up to Jerusalem before him. And Jehoash, king of Judah, took all the holy things that his fathers Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had consecrated, and that he himself had consecrated, and all the gold that was found in the treasury of the house of the Lord and in the house of the king. And he sent to Hazael, king of Syria, and Hazael went and left Jerusalem. And all the story of Jehoash and all that he did, this is what is written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah.

And his servants rose up, and they counted for him all the measure of the treasury, and they killed Jehoash in the house of the mill which is within the desert. And they did not remember, and they did not spare, and they did not bury him. These are his servants who killed him, and he died, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And Amaziah his son reigned after him. IV Kings 13 13 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu reigned in Samaria for seventeen winters. And he did evil before the Lord, and he went and repeated the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to err, and he did not abandon it. And the Lord was kindled in wrath against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael, king of Syria, and into the hand of the son of Hadad, the son of Hazael, for all the days. And Jehoahaz prayed before the Lord, because he saw the affliction of Israel, because the king of Syria had oppressed them.

And the Lord sent salvation to Israel, and he brought them out from the hand of the Syrians, and the children of Israel dwelt in their houses as before. But they did not forget the sin of the house of Jeroboam, which had caused Israel to stumble, and they followed her, and the curse of Amni stood in Samaria. For there was no people left for Jehoahaz except fifty horses and ten chariots and a hundred foot soldiers, for the king of Syria had killed all of them, and had seized them, and had driven them out like dust. And all the story of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and all his might, now this is written in the book of the prophets of the times of the kings of Israel. And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Jehoash his son reigned after him. In the thirty-seventh year of the reign of Jehoash, king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz reigned over Israel in Samaria for sixteen years. And he did evil before the Lord, and he did not forget all the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which had caused Israel to stumble, and he followed her.

And all his story, and all that he did, and all his power, now this is written in the book of the prophets, in the times of the kings of Israel. And he slept with his fathers, and the second Jeroboam reigned, and he sat upon his throne in Samaria with the children of Israel. And Elisha was sick with his long illness, by which he was to die, and Joash, king of Israel, came down to him and wept before him and said, "Father, father, the chariots of Israel and their horses." And Elisha said to him, "Take your bow and your arrows." And he said to the king, "Draw your bow and shoot your arrows." And Joash drew and bent his bow in his hand, and Elisha placed his hand over the hand of the king. And he said to him, "Loosen the bowstring toward the east," and he loosened it. And Elisha said to him, "Shoot." And he shot. And Elisha said to him, "Shoot the salvation of the Lord." And he shot the destruction of the Syrians, and he killed the Syrians from the river to the border.

And Elisha said to him, “Take the bow and shoot into the ground.” And the king shot an arrow and let it go. And the man of God was angry and said to him, “If you had shot seven, and not six, you would have killed them, the Syrians, and would have destroyed them. But now you will kill only three of the Syrians.” And Elisha died, and they buried him. And in that same year, the Moabites raided their land. And while they were burying Elisha, they brought another man to bury. And when they saw that they were raiding, they threw the corpse of that man into the tomb of Elisha. And that corpse fell upon the corpse of Elisha, and that corpse covered the corpse of Elisha. And that man lived and arose and stood on his feet. And Hazael oppressed Israel throughout all the days of Joash. And the Lord had mercy on them and had compassion on them because of the covenant which He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And the Lord did not wish to destroy them, nor did He cast them from before His face.

And Hazael, king of Syria, died, and Adad, his son, reigned in his stead. And Joash, son of Jehoahaz, became angry and went and took the cities of Adad, son of Hazael, which Jehoahaz, his father, had taken, and when he fought against him, he killed him three times, and Joash went and took the cities of Israel. IV Kings 14 14 And in the second year of the reign of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, reigned. Twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. And he did what was right before the eyes of the Lord, and not only as David, his father, had done, but he did everything as Joash, his father, had done. And as for the temples of the gods, he restored them, and the peoples there renewed them, offering sacrifices and making offerings in the temples of the gods. And when his kingdom was established, he killed his servants who had killed his father.

And their children, those who killed him, he killed them, for thus it is written in the book of the law of Moses, as the Lord commanded, and he said: "Fathers shall not die for the sin of their children, nor shall children die for the sin of their fathers; each one shall die for his own sin." And he killed the Edomites, one hundred thousand men, and he pursued them until he destroyed them, while killing them, and he named it "Kill them all" until this day. And after that, Amaziah sent messengers to Joash, son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us see each other face to face." And Joash said to Amaziah, king of Judah, "I have a thornbush in the forest of Lebanon; go to the cedar tree in Lebanon," saying, "Give my son your daughter in marriage, and the wild beasts of the forest came from Lebanon and killed the thornbush." "Because you have killed the Edomites, your heart has become proud, and you are arrogant in your dwelling; why do you boast in your wickedness? While we are here, you will be destroyed, you and Judah with you.

And when Amaziah heard, Joash, king of Israel, went up and met with Amaziah, king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh in the land of Judah, and they faced each other. And Judah fell before Israel, and they smote them and entered their houses. And as for Amaziah, the son of Joash, Joash, king of Israel, seized him at Beth-shemesh and entered Jerusalem and slew him within the precincts of Jerusalem, within the gate of Ephraim, and dragged him as far as the gate of the ear, four hundred cubits. And he took the gold and silver and all the treasure that was found in the house of the Lord and that was in the treasury of the king's house, and he took the sons of the Philistines who had gathered with him, and he entered and returned to Samaria. And all this matter of Joash and all his might, and how he fought with Amaziah, king of Judah—behold, this is what is written in the book of their prophets, the kings of Israel. And Joash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned after him.

And Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, lived. And after the death of the son of Joash, king of Israel, fifteen years. And all their account is concerning Amaziah, and all that he did, behold, this is what is written in the book of the prophets of the kings of Judah. And they set a tribute of men upon Jerusalem, and he fled from there to Lachish. And to the king of Lachish he went, and he betrayed him and killed him there. And they brought his corpse on horses and buried him in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. And all the people of Judah took Azariah, his son, while he was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of Amaziah, his father. And he built Elam and gathered Judah after the king slept with his fathers. And in the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam, son of Joash, reigned over Israel in Samaria for forty-one years.

And he did evil before the Lord, and he did not abandon all his sins, Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel astray. It was he who set up the calves for Israel from the border of Hamath to the Sea of Arabia, as the Lord, the God of Israel, said, as was spoken by the hand of his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet in Gath-hepher. For the Lord saw the sufferings of Israel, very bitter, and they were oppressed and rejected and sinned, and he who would guide them was lacking for Israel. And the Lord decreed that he would destroy the seed of Israel from under heaven and save them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash. And all the valor of Jeroboam, and all his deeds, and all his strength, and all his battles, and how he gathered Hamath and Damascus from among Israel for Judah—behold, this is what is written in the book of their prophets, the kings of Israel. And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, with the kings of Israel, and his son Azariah reigned after him.

In the twenty-seventh year of his reign, Jeroboam king of Israel [reigned; Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah reigned]. And in the sixteenth year of Azariah, from when he began to reign, he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did righteousness before the eyes of the Lord, as his father Amaziah had done. And as for the houses of the gods, he restored them; he renewed the people there to offer incense and to sacrifice in the houses of the gods. And the Lord smote the king, and he was afflicted with leprosy until the time of his death; and he reigned from the house of confinement, and Jonathan the son of the king guarded his house and judged the peoples of the land. And all the account of Azariah and all that he did is this which is written in the book of the prophets of the kings of Judah. And Azariah slept with his fathers in the city of David, and Jonathan his son reigned after him.

And in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months. And he did evil before the eyes of the Lord, as his fathers had done, and he did not abandon the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. And Shallum son of Jabesh rose up against him, and he killed him, and Shallum reigned in his stead. And all the account of Zechariah is as it is written in the book of the prophets of the kings of Israel. And this is the word of the Lord to Jehu, who said, “Until the fourth generation, they shall sit upon the throne of Israel.” And so it happened. And Shallum son of Jabesh reigned. In the thirty-ninth year of the reign of Azariah king of Judah, Shallum reigned for thirty days in Samaria. And Menahem son of Gadi rose up from Tirzah and went to Samaria and killed Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria.

And all the story of Shalum and his rule, which was above, this is what is written in the book of their prophets, the kings of Israel. And then Menahem killed them of Tirzah, and all who were in Tirzah, and all their families, and those from Tirzah who had [exiled] him, and all who were in it, and their nobles he destroyed. And in the thirty-ninth year of the reign of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi reigned over Israel for ten years in Samaria. And he did evil before the eyes of the Lord, and he did not abandon all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. And in his days, Pul king of Persia came up into that land, and Menahem gave to Pul one thousand talents of silver, that he might be allied with him. And Menahem commanded Israel to give much silver to the king of Persia, to contribute to him each man fifty shekels, and the king of Persia entered and dwelt in that land.

And all the story of Menahem and all that he did, this is what is written in the book of their prophets, the kings of Israel. And Menahem slept with his fathers. And in the fiftieth year of the reign of Azariah, king of Judah, reigned Pekahiah, son of Menahem, over Israel in Samaria, two years. And he did evil before the eyes of the Lord, and he did not abandon the sin of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. And Pekah, son of Remaliah, rose up against him, and he rose up and killed him in Samaria before the king's house, together with Argob and together with the lion, and with him fifty men from among four hundred, and he killed him and reigned in his place. And all the story of Pekahiah and all that he did, this is what is written in the book of their prophets, the kings of Israel. And in the fifty-second year of the reign of Azariah, king of Judah, reigned Pekah, son of Remaliah, over Israel in Samaria, twenty years.

And he did evil before the eyes of the Lord, and he did not abandon his sin, that of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. In the days of Pekah, Tiglath-Pileser, king of Persia, came and took Nain, Abel, Beth-shemesh, Anathoth, Cenez, Asor, Gilead of Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali, and he carried them off to the land of Persia. And Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah and killed him, and he reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jonathan son of Azariah. And all the story of Pekah and all that he did, this is what is written in the book of their prophets, the kings of Israel. In the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham son of Azariah, king of Judah, reigned. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.

And he did evil before the eyes of the Lord, all as Azariah his father had done. But only the house of the gods did he build, and the people continued to sacrifice and burn incense in the houses of the gods, and he himself built the gate of the house of the Lord above me. And all his story is told to Jotham, and all that he did, now this is what is written in the book of these kings of Judah. And after this, the Lord began to send Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah son of Remaliah, into Jerusalem. And Jotham slept with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Ahaz his son reigned after him. IV Kings 16 16 In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham, king of Judah, reigned. And in the first year when Ahaz reigned, and for sixteen years he reigned in Jerusalem, and he did evil before the eyes of the Lord his God, and he was not faithful like David his father.

And he went in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, king of Israel, and he sacrificed his son by fire to all the gods of the peoples whom the Lord had removed from before the face of Israel. And he sacrificed and burned incense for them in the houses of the gods and in the high places and under every green tree. And at that time, having finished, Rezon king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up against Jerusalem to do battle with them, and they fought against Ahaz and asked for his surrender. And on that day, Rezon king of Syria brought Elath to Syria and drove out the Jews from Elath, and the men of Edom entered into Elath and dwelt there until this day. And Ahaz sent envoys to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Persia, saying, "I am your servant and your son; come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who have risen up against me.

And Ahaz took the gold, silver, and bronze that was found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent it to the king of Assyria as tribute. And the king of Assyria said to him, “Woe!” And the king of Assyria went up to Damascus, took them, turned them back, and killed Rezin. And Ahaz the king went and received Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, in Damascus, and there he saw the sacrifice in Damascus. And Ahaz the king sent to Uriah the priest, showing him that sacrifice and the ordinance of all its ritual. And Uriah the priest built an altar, all as the king Ahaz had sent to him from Damascus. And the king saw that altar and went up into it. And he burned incense, poured libation, brought forth, and sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice of peace upon the altar. And the altar, which was of bronze before the Lord, he removed from before the house of the Lord, from the middle of the altar, and placed it to the south of the altar.

And Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, and said to him, “On the altar which is great, place the morning sacrifice and the evening sacrifice, and the king’s offering, and his sacrifice, and the sacrifice of all the people, and their offerings, and their oblations, and all the blood of the sacrifice, and all the blood of their offerings; they shall pour them upon it. And the altar of bronze shall be for the morning of the morning.” And Uriah the priest did all as Ahaz the king commanded. And the king removed all the vessels of bronze, and he took from them the middle and the basin, and he brought them down from upon the bronze oxen which were beneath, and he made a stone basin. The foundation of the basin he laid within the house of the Lord, and the entrance of the king and the entrance of the people he brought into the house of the Lord from before the face of the king of Persia. And all this was told to Ahaz, and all that he did; now this is what is written in the book of the prophets of the kings of Judah. And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Hezekiah his son reigned after him.

In the twelfth year of the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah reigned in Samaria over Israel for nine years. And he did evil before the eyes of the Lord, just as the kings of Israel who were before him. And Shalmaneser, king of Persia, went up and subdued Hoshea, and he made him a servant and brought tribute to him. And the king of Persia was angry because he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and he did not bring tribute to the king of Persia in that year, and the king of Persia fought him and bound him in a house of prison. And the king of Persia went up into all the land, and he went up into Samaria and fought for three years. And in the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea, the king of Persia took Samaria and carried away the Israelites to the land of Persia, and he placed them in Alah and in Abor, the river of Gozan, and in the mountains of Media.

And the children of Israel angered the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they did not fear the Lord and their God, but other gods. And they walked in the law of the peoples whom the Lord had removed from before the face of the children of Israel, and all that the kings of Israel did, and all that the children of Israel devised, which the Lord their God did not desire, and they built for themselves houses of gods in all their cities, from their fortresses for the men of the eye as far as the city of Qəṣr. And they made for themselves images and worshipped, and they planted groves in all the high mountains and hills and under every green tree. And they placed there, in all the houses of their gods, as the peoples whom the Lord had removed from before their face, and they made altars and set them up as if to please the Lord.

And they bowed down to gods, which the Lord had said to them, "Do not do what I have forbidden for the Lord." And the Lord contended with Israel and with Judah through all his prophets, while all of them listened, and he said to them, "Turn from your evil ways, and keep my ways and my commandments and my judgments and all my law which I commanded your fathers, and all that I established for them with my servants the prophets." But they did not listen, and they hardened their ears from the ears of their fathers. And all the covenant which he had made with them, they did not keep, and they became vain, and they were vain, and they became peoples who turned aside from what the Lord had commanded them, as if they did not do like them. And they abandoned the commandment of the Lord their God, and they made for themselves two calves of gold, and they made for them images of wood, and they worshipped every power of heaven and the gods of Baal. And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters in fire, and they practiced divination and sorcery, and they were polluted, as they do evil before the Lord, and as they provoke him.

And the Lord was angry repeatedly against Israel, and He cast them out from before His face, and none remained except the tribe of Judah alone. And Judah kept the commandment of the Lord their God, and they walked in the footsteps of Israel, who had done and abandoned the Lord. And the Lord was angry against all the seed of Israel, and He struck them and delivered them into the hands of those who would plunder them, until He cast them out from before His face. And there was none from the house of David without Israel, and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king, and they caused Israel to abandon the Lord and to fall into great error. And the children of Israel followed all the sins of Jeroboam, which he committed, and they did not abandon him. Until the Lord cast Israel out from before His face, as the Lord had spoken through the hand of all His servants the prophets; and Israel fled from their land to the land of Persia until this day.

And the king of Persia took them from Babylon—Achunta, and from Ela, and from Emat, and Sepharahim—and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the children of Israel, and they inherited Samaria and divided it among themselves, and they dwelt in its cities. And after that, in the beginning of their dwelling, they feared the Lord, and the Lord sent lions against them, and they killed them. And he said to the king of Persia, “These peoples whom you have brought and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of that land.” And he sent lions against them, and they devoured them and killed them because they did not know the law of the god of that land. And the king of Persia commanded that they bring one priest from among the Jews, and that he go and settle with them and teach them the law of the god of the land. And they brought one priest from among those who had returned from Samaria, and they settled him in Bethel, and that priest taught them to fear the Lord.

And they made, each according to their peoples, their gods, and placed them in the houses of the gods that the people of Samaria had made, each according to their peoples and their cities, wherein they dwelt. And the people of Babylon made Sakkut-Benahon, and the people of Kutu made Ergeth, and the people of Emat made Esemat. And the people of Eweon made Eblazer, and Tarketh, and Lefron, before the eunuchs, their sons, the husbands of Adramelek and Enemelak, the gods of Sepharim. And those ones feared the Lord, and they placed their gods in the houses of Samaria, each according to their peoples, each of their cities. And they feared the Lord, while their gods were worshipped according to the law of the peoples who had turned aside there until this day. And those ones fear them, and they do for themselves according to their law that they learn, and according to the law of the Lord and his commandment that he commanded the children of Jacob and named them Israel. And the Lord made a covenant with them, and commanded them, and said to them: Do not fear foreign gods, and do not bow down to them, and do not worship them, and do not turn aside to them.

Except for the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and his high arm, fear him, worship him, and bow down to him. And keep all his judgments, his law, and his commandments which he wrote for you, that you may observe them all the days of your life, and do not fear other gods. And do not forget the covenant that was made with you, and do not fear other gods. Except for the Lord your God, fear him, and he will save you from all your enemies. And do not imitate their law, as they do. And these peoples dwelt, fearing the Lord, and they were zealous for their gods, and their children and their children's children, as their fathers did, they did, until today. IV Regum 18 18 And in the third year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz, king of Judah, reigned. He was twenty-five years old when he reigned, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Habu, daughter of Zechariah.

And he did righteousness before the eyes of the Lord, and all that David his father did. And he destroyed the houses of the gods and broke all the images, and he tore down their altars, and the serpent of the earth that Moses made, for until that day the children of Israel were serving it and calling it Něstāli, by the Lord God of Israel. But he trusted in the Lord, and there was none like him among the kings of Judah nor among those before him. And he followed the Lord and did not turn aside, and he kept his commandment that he commanded fully. And the Lord was with him in all that he did, and he humbled the king of Persia, and they did not bow down to him. And he killed the Philistines as far as Gaza and as far as its borders, from the face of the people of the eye as far as the land of Egypt. And in the fourth year of the reign of Hezekiah, and the seventh of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser, king of Persia, went up against Samaria.

And he destroyed them in the third year, in the sixth year of the reign of Hezekiah, and in the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea, king of Israel, he carried off Samaria. And the king of Persia turned Samaria into the land of Persia and settled them in Ela and in the Abior of the river Gozor and in the plains of Media. For they had not heeded the word of the Lord their God and had abandoned his covenant, all that he had commanded Moses, his servant of the Lord, and they refused to act. And in the fourteenth year of the reign of Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Persia, marched against the great cities of Judah and took them. And Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent messengers to the king of Persia in Lachish, saying, "What have I done wrong that you have entered and abandoned me? What you have besieged me, I will pay tribute." And the king of Persia imposed upon Hezekiah, king of Judah, three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave all the gold that was found in the house of the Lord and that in the treasuries of the king's house.

And this Hezekiah broke the seal of the house of the Lord and closed it with gold, the seats of the columns, and gave it to the king of Persia. And the king of Persia sent Tartan, Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish with many of his troops to Hezekiah the king in Jerusalem. And they went up and arrived at Jerusalem and stood at the water conduit of the upper pool on the road to the fuller's field. And they summoned Hezekiah, and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the steward, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the recorder went out to them. And Rabshakeh said to them, "Say to Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of Persia: 'What is this in which you trust? In your words and your counsel, and not in the strength of battle? And now, in whom have you trusted that you have rebelled against me?'" "And now you have trusted in a broken reed, a broken reed in Egypt, which, if a man leans on it, it breaks and the splinter enters his hand. Likewise is Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to all who trust in him.

And this which says, "In the Lord my God I trusted," is it not he who built Hezekiah his houses and his altars? And he said to the Jews and to Jerusalem, "Before the altar, worship in Jerusalem." And now, "Go to my lord the king of Persia, and I will give you 2,000 horses, and bring those who can bear his yoke." And how can you bring the face of one angel, a servant of my lord, from among those who are afflicted? And I trusted in Egypt, in chariots and in horses. And now, is it not without the command of the Lord that we have entered this land to kill him? The Lord said to us, "Enter this land and kill him." And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, "Speak in the language of your servants, for we hear; and do not speak to us in Hebrew. Why do you speak in a language that the people who are on the wall hear?" And Rabshakeh said to them, "Is it not to your lord that my lord sent me? Is it not what he said to these enemies who dwell on the wall, that they should eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?

And Raphasqis stood and addressed them in the Hebrew language, and said to them, “Hear the word of the great king of Persia. Thus says the king: ‘Did not Hezekiah deceive you by his words? He cannot save you from my hand. And did not Hezekiah cause you to trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will save you,” and cannot the king of Persia take this city? Do not listen to Hezekiah. Thus says the king of Persia: ‘Make peace with me, and come out to me, and all of you will drink and eat, and you will eat your own bread and drink the water of your cisterns, until I come and bring you into a land like your own land, a land of wine, grain, cattle, and pasture, and you will live and not die. And do not listen to Hezekiah, for he deceives you and says to you, “The Lord will save you.”’ Is there among the gods of the nations one who has saved their lands from the hand of the king of Persia?

Where are the gods of Emeth and Arphad? And where is the god of Sepharhaim, that he might save us, as he saved Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods has saved a land from my hand? And they were silent and did not answer him, for the king had commanded them not to answer. And Eliakim, son of Helcias, the governor, and Samnas the scribe, and Joas, son of Saphen, the recorder, went to Hezekiah, with their garments rent, and told him the words of Raphasqis. IV Kings 19 19 And when King Hezekiah heard, he rent his garments, and put on sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. And he went to Eliakim the governor, and to Samnas the scribe, and to the chief priests, with sackcloth on, to Ussias the prophet, son of Amos. And he said to him, “This day is a day of my affliction, and a day of my rejection and my punishment, for a sickness has seized me because of her who is to give birth, and she has no strength.

How then does it happen that the Lord God hears the prayer of the blasphemer, all that he spoke? For you, O King of Persia, your Lord, how does he blaspheme against the living God and mock him with words? For the Lord your God has heard and prayed for us who remain. And the king’s servants came to Uzziah. And Uzziah said to them, “Tell your lord thus: The Lord God said, ‘I am afraid before the face of this thing which you have heard, which the servants of the King of Persia have blasphemed.’” Now I will send a spirit upon them, and they will hear the news and return to their land, and I will kill them in their land with weapons. And the blasphemer returned and found the king fighting with the Medes, for he had heard that they had withdrawn from Lachish. And he heard concerning the King of Ethiopia, and they said to him, “Now he has gone out to fight with you, and he has prepared for you.” And he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying:

How then does it happen that the Lord God hears the prayer of the blasphemer, all that he spoke? For you, O King of Persia, your Lord, how does he blaspheme against the living God and mock him with words? For the Lord you trusted, who told you, “Enter Jerusalem into the hand of the King of Persia”? You yourself have heard all that the kings of Persia did, and all the sorceries by which they deceived. Are there among the gods of the peoples whom we have slain any who saved them? And those whom my fathers slew—Gozan, Karan, Raphes, son of Sedekin—those who are in the Taelestem? Where is the King of Arphad and the King of Emath? Where are Lepharu, Enan, and Agugewe? And Hezekiah took from the hands of the apostles the book, and read, and ascended into the house of the Lord, and Hezekiah prostrated himself before the Lord. And he said, “O Lord, God of Israel, who dwells above the cherubim, you are the Lord, alone above all the kingdoms of the world, and you made heaven and earth. Incline your ear and hear me, and open your eyes and see, and hear the voice of Sennacherib, who blasphemes against you, the living Lord.

If he had believed, O Lord, he would have destroyed the kings of Persia for the nations, and he would have burned their gods with fire, for they are not gods, for they are the work of human hands; they are wood and stone, and he would have destroyed them. And now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, and let all the kings of the earth know that you alone are the Lord God. And to you, O Isaiah, son of Amoz, before Hezekiah, while he was saying thus: The Lord God, the God of my strength, the God of Israel, said, "I have heard what you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib, king of Persia." And this is the word that the Lord spoke over her: "He has mocked you and derided you, O Daughter of Zion, and he has bowed his head over you, O Daughter of Jerusalem." Whom have you mocked, and over whom have you exalted your mouth? Look at the heavens with your eyes, where the Holy One of Israel is, who is in the hands of his angels.

And you, you cried out, O Lord, and you said, "With my many chariots I will ascend to the heavens, and into the mountains of the forests, the mountains of Lebanon, and I cut down great cedars and fine cypresses, and I reached the midst of the wilderness. And I rested, and I drank water of a strange place, and I dried up every valley and stream with the sole of my foot. And I made him and brought him, and immediately I raised him from the region of Ekkeseyom of Makimon, the strong cities. And those who dwell within them, their hands withered, and they were amazed and ashamed, and they became like grass of the wilderness, and like a blade of grass, and like grass of the threshing-floor, and like a seedling before the wind that stands. And you entered and you went out, and I knew your anger, that you were angry with me. And your wrath ascended into my nostrils, and indeed my nostrils into your face, and into the midst of your lips, and if you had sought the path by which you came. And this is his miracle: he ate of the year's harvest, the grain of the night that sprouts, and another year of what sprouted, and for three years, sowing and reaping and planting vines and eating its fruit.

And the house of Judah that remained, its root was below, and it produced its fruit above. For from Jerusalem the remnant that was saved from Mount Zion went up; they made an altar to the Lord for this purpose. And likewise, as the Lord said concerning the king of Persia, "He shall not enter this land," the Lord said, "He shall not break through the hedge there, nor approach the property of his field, nor cover the land." By the road by which he came he shall return, and he shall not enter this land, said the Lord. And he strengthened this land because of David, my servant. Then the angel of the Lord went out and killed from among the Persians 185,000; and when they arose in the morning, they found all of them destroyed. And they arose and fled and went, and the king of Persia came and dwelt in Nineveh. And while he was worshipping in his temple, Sidrach, Adramelech, and Seroser, his sons, killed him with a sword and cut him up. Those are the land of Ararat and the kingdom of Honarthzan, and his son Hiyanthes.

And this is what Hezekiah did, and he approached death. And Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, "Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you will die and not live." And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, praising him: "O Lord, remember that I walked before you in righteousness, and with a whole heart I did good deeds." And Hezekiah wept a great weeping. And Isaiah came into the middle courtyard, and the Lord commanded him and said to him, "Go and say to Hezekiah, the king of my people, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. Now I will add for you; until three days you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add to your years fifteen years, and I will save you from the hand of the king of Persia and from this land; strengthen yourself for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.'

And he said to him, "Take a fig-cake, and rub it on the sore, and it will be where it is inflamed and heal." And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and I will go up to the house of the Lord until the third hour?" And Isaiah said, "This is the sign from the Lord: that the Lord will fulfill the word which he spoke: the shadow will descend ten steps when the sun enters ten steps." And Hezekiah said, "The shadow will go back behind him ten steps." And Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and the shadow went back behind him ten steps. And after this, Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and gifts to Hezekiah, because he heard that Hezekiah had been ill. And Hezekiah rejoiced at him, and showed him all his treasures: gold and silver and incense and precious oil and household goods and everything that was found in his treasury; and there was nothing that Hezekiah did not show him of what was in his house and all his possessions.

And Isaiah the prophet went to Hezekiah the king, and said to him, "What is it that these ambassadors have spoken, and from where have they come to you?" And Hezekiah said to him, "They have come to me from a distant land, from Babylon." And he said to him, "What have you shown them?" And he said to him, "They have seen everything that is in my house, and also they have seen what is in my treasuries." And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, and they will take away everything that is in your house, and everything that your fathers have stored up until this day, and they will carry it to Babylon, and there will be nothing left, says the Lord. And they will take your children, those whom you have begotten, and they will make them eunuchs for the house of the king of Babylon." And Hezekiah said to him, "The Lord has prophesied well, and there will be peace in my days." And all the account of Hezekiah, and all his might, and all that he did with the horn and the channel of water, and that he brought water into this city—this is what is written in the book of the prophets of the kings of Judah.

And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Manasseh his son reigned after him. IV Kings 21 21 When Manasseh was twelve years old, he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Haphsiba. And he did evil before the eyes of the Lord, like the abominations of the peoples whom the Lord had cast out from before the face of the children of Israel. And he destroyed the houses of the gods which Hezekiah his father had built, and he made an altar for Baal, and he made high places of groves, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and he worshipped every host of heaven, and he bowed down to them. And he built an altar within the house of the Lord, saying, "The Lord is within Jerusalem; I will place my name." And he built an altar for the host of heaven within the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he caused his son to pass through fire, and he made him a soothsayer and a diviner, and he did sorcery and divination, and he multiplied the works of evil before the eyes of the Lord, and he provoked him.

And he set up an idol of Mercy in the house which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, in this house of Jerusalem which I have chosen from among all the people of Israel, to place my name there forever. And the feet of Israel shall not again be removed from the land which I gave to their fathers, if they hear all that I have commanded them, which Moses my servant told them. But they did not hear me, and Manasseh led them astray to do evil before the eyes of the Lord, and they multiplied in wickedness more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the faces of the children of Israel. And the Lord spoke through the hands of his servants the prophets, and said: Because Manasseh, king of Judah, has done evil and abominable deeds more than all that the Amorites of old did, and they have sinned, and the men of Judah with their servants. And thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring evil upon Jerusalem and upon Judah, so that all who hear it will cover both their ears.

And he imposed upon Jerusalem the tribute of Samaria and the taxes of the house of Ahab, and he made Jerusalem like unto a harlot, that she might be adorned with harlotry more than her adornment, and that she might be prostituted in her face. And he destroyed the remnant of my people and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and they drove them out and scattered them, their enemies. For they did evil before my eyes, and they provoked me from the time I brought their fathers out of Egypt until this day. And the pure blood of Manasseh, which he shed from the entrance of Jerusalem to its extremity, because of his sin which he caused Judah to commit, and he committed sin before the eyes of the Lord. And all the story of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sins which he committed, behold, this is written in the book of the prophets of the kings of Judah. And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of the house of Uzza, and his son Amon reigned after him.

And in the twenty-second year of Amon, when he reigned, and two years he reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Meserem, daughter of Arusa, who was from Heseval. And he did evil before the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh did. And he went in the path in all that his father went, and he worshipped the gods that his father worshipped, and he bowed down to them. And he abandoned the Lord, the God of his fathers, and he did not go in the path of the Lord. And his servants conspired against Amon and killed the king in his house. And the people of the land killed all those who conspired against the king in Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah, his son, king in his stead. And all the deeds of Amon that he did, this is what is written in the book of the prophets of the kings of Judah. And they buried him in his tomb in the garden of Oza, and Josiah, his son, reigned in his stead. IV Regum 22 22 And in the eighth year of Josiah, when he reigned, and thirty-one years he reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Yihudya, daughter of Edona, who was from Basurot.