Chapter III: Part 3

26:3. Ozias was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Jechelia of Jerusalem.

26:4. And he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Amasias his father had done.

26:5. And he sought the Lord in the days of Zacharias that understood and saw God: and as long as he sought the Lord, he directed him in all things.

26:6. Moreover he went forth and fought against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Geth, and the wall of Jabnia, and the wall of Azotus: and he built towns in Azotus, and among the Philistines.

26:7. And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians, that dwelt in Gurbaal, and against the Ammonites.

26:8. And the Ammonites gave gifts to Ozias: and his name was spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt for his frequent victories.

26:9. And Ozias built towers in Jerusalem over the gate of the corner, and over the gate of the valley, and the rest, in the same side of the wall, and fortified them.

26:10. And he built towers in the wilderness, and dug many cisterns, for he had much cattle both in the plains, and in the waste of the desert: he had also vineyards and dressers of vines in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he was a man that loved husbandry.

26:11. And the army of his fighting men, that went out to war, was under the hand of Jehiel the scribe, and Maasias the doctor, and under the hand of Henanias, who was one of the king's captains.

26:12. And the whole number of the chiefs by the families of valiant men were two thousand six hundred.

26:13. And the whole army under them three hundred and seven thousand five hundred: who were fit for war, and fought for the king against the enemy.

26:14. And Ozias prepared for them, that is, for the whole army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and slings to cast stones.

26:15. And he made in Jerusalem engines of diverse kinds, which he placed in the towers, and in the corners of the walls, to shoot arrows, and great stones: and his name went forth far abroad, for the Lord helped him, and had strengthened him.

26:16. But when he was made strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction, and he neglected the Lord his God: and going into the temple of the Lord, he had a mind to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

26:17. And immediately Azarias the priest going in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, most valiant men,

26:18. Withstood the king and said: It doth not belong to thee, Ozias, to burn incense to the Lord, but to the priests, that is, to the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated for this ministry: go out of the sanctuary, do not despise: for this thing shall not be accounted to thy glory by the Lord God.

26:19. And Ozias was angry, and holding in his hand the censer to burn incense, threatened the priests. And presently there rose a leprosy in his forehead before the priests, in the house of the Lord at the altar of incense.

26:20. And Azarias the high priest, and all the rest of the priests looked upon him, and saw the leprosy in his forehead, and they made haste to thrust him out. Yea himself also being frightened, hasted to go out, because he had quickly felt the stroke of the Lord.

26:21. And Ozias the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and he dwelt in a house apart being full of the leprosy, for which he had been cast out of the house of the Lord. And Joatham his son governed the king's house, and judged the people of the land.

26:22. But the rest of the acts of Ozias first and last were written by Isaias the son of Amos, the prophet.

26:23. And Ozias slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the field of the royal sepulchres, because he was a leper: and Joatham his son reigned in his stead.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 27

Joatham's good reign.

27:1. Joatham was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Jerusa the daughter of Sadoc.

27:2. And he did that which was right before the Lord, according to all that Ozias his father had done, only that he entered not into the temple of the Lord, and the people still transgressed.

27:3. He built the high gate of the house of the Lord, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.

27:4. Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Juda, and castles and towers in the forests.

27:5. He fought against the king of the children of Ammon, and overcame them, and the children of Ammon gave him at that time a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and as many measures of barley: so much did the children of Ammon give him in the second and third year.

27:6. And Joatham was strengthened, because he had his way directed before the Lord his God.

27:7. Now the rest of the acts of Joatham, and all his wars, and his works, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Juda.

27:8. He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

27:9. And Joatham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Achaz his son reigned in his stead.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 28

The wicked and unhappy reign of Achaz.

28:1. Achaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord as David his father had done,

28:2. But walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; moreover also he cast statues for Baalim.

28:3. It was he that burnt incense in the valley of Benennom, and consecrated his sons in the fire according to the manner of the nations, which the Lord slew at the coming of the children of Israel.

28:4. He sacrificed also, and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

28:5. And the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Syria, who defeated him, and took a great booty out of his kingdom, and carried it to Damascus: he was also delivered into the hands of the king of Israel, who overthrew him with a great slaughter.

28:6. For Phacee the son of Romelia slew of Juda a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord the God of their fathers.

28:7. At the same time Zechri a powerful man of Ephraim, slew Maasias the king's son, and Ezricam the governor of his house, and Elcana who was next to the king.

28:8. And the children of Israel carried away of their brethren two hundred thousand women, boys, and girls, and an immense booty: and they brought it to Samaria.

28:9. At that time there was a prophet of the Lord there, whose name was Oded: and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria, and said to them: Behold the Lord the God of your fathers being angry with Juda, hath delivered them into your hands, and you have butchered them cruelly, so that your cruelty hath reached up to heaven.

28:10. Moreover you have a mind to keep under the children of Juda and Jerusalem for your bondmen and bondwomen, which ought not to be done: for you have sinned in this against the Lord your God.

28:11. But hear ye my counsel, and release the captives that you have brought of your brethren, because a great indignation of the Lord hangeth over you.

28:12. Then some of the chief men of the sons of Ephraim, Azarias the son of Johanan, Barachias the son of Mosollamoth, Ezechias the son of Sellum, and Amasa the son of Adali, stood up against them that came from the war.

28:13. And they said to them: You shall not bring in the captives hither, lest we sin against the Lord. Why will you add to our sins, and heap up upon our former offences? for the sin is great, and the fierce anger of the Lord hangeth over Israel.

28:14. So the soldiers left the spoils, and all that they had taken, before the princes and all the multitude.

28:15. And the men, whom we mentioned above, rose up and took the captives, and with the spoils clothed all them that were naked: and when they had clothed and shod them, and refreshed them with meat and drink, and anointed them because of their labour, and had taken care of them, they set such of them as could not walk, and were feeble, upon beasts, and brought them to Jericho the city of palm trees to their brethren, and they returned to Samaria.

28:16. At that time king Achaz sent to the king of the Assyrians asking help.

28:17. And the Edomites came and slew many of Juda, and took a great booty.

28:18. The Philistines also spread themselves among the cities of the plains, and to the south of Juda: and they took Bethsames, and Aialon, and Gaderoth, and Socho, and Thamnan, and Gamzo, with their villages, and they dwelt in them.

28:19. For the Lord had humbled Juda because of Achaz the king of Juda, for he had stripped it of help, and had contemned the Lord.

For he had stripped it of help... That is, Achaz stripped the kingdom of Juda of the divine assistance by his wickedness, and by his introducing idolatry.

28:20. And he brought against him Thelgathphalnasar king of the Assyrians, who also afflicted him, and plundered him without any resistance.

28:21. And Achaz stripped the house of the Lord, and the house of the kings, and of the princes, and gave gifts to the king of the Assyrians, and yet it availed him nothing.

28:22. Moreover also in the time of his distress he increased contempt against the Lord: king Achaz himself by himself,

28:23. Sacrificed victims to the gods of Damascus that struck him, and he said: The gods of the kings of Syria help them, and I will appease them with victims, and they will help me; whereas on the contrary they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.

28:24. Then Achaz having taken away all the vessels of the house of God, and broken them, shut up the doors of the temple of God, and made himself altars in all the corners of Jerusalem.

28:25. And in all the cities of Juda he built altars to burn frankincense, and he provoked the Lord the God of his fathers to wrath.

28:26. But the rest of his acts, and all his works first and last are written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel.

28:27. And Achaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of Jerusalem: for they received him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel. And Ezechias his son reigned in his stead.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 29

Ezechias purifieth the temple, and restoreth religion.

29:1. Now Ezechias began to reign, when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Abia, the daughter of Zacharias.

29:2. And he did that which was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

29:3. In the first year and month of his reign he opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.

29:4. And he brought the priests and the Levites, and assembled them in the east street.

29:5. And he said to them: Hear me, ye Levites, and be sanctified, purify the house of the Lord the God of your fathers, and take away all filth out of the sanctuary.

29:6. Our fathers have sinned and done evil in the sight of the Lord God, forsaking him: they have turned away their faces from the tabernacle of the Lord, and turned their backs.

29:7. They have shut up the doors that were in the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burnt incense, nor offered holocausts in the sanctuary of the God of Israel.

29:8. Therefore the wrath of the Lord hath been stirred up against Juda and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, and to destruction, and to be hissed at, as you see with your eyes.

29:9. Behold, our fathers are fallen by the sword, our sons, and our daughters, and wives are led away captives for this wickedness.

29:10. Now therefore I have a mind that we make a covenant with the Lord the God of Israel, and he will turn away the wrath of his indignation from us.

29:11. My sons, be not negligent: the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, and to minister to him, and to worship him, and to burn incense to him.

29:12. Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azarias, of the sons of Caath: and of the sons of Merari, Cis the son of Abdi, and Azarias the son of Jalaleel. And of the sons of Gerson, Joah the son of Zemma, and Eden the son of Joah.

29:13. And of the sons of Elisaphan, Samri, and Jahiel. Also of the sons of Asaph, Zacharias, and Mathanias.

29:14. And of the sons of Heman, Jahiel, and Semei: and of the sons of Idithun, Semeias, and Oziel.

29:15. And they gathered together their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and went in according to the commandment of the king, and the precept of the Lord, to purify the house of God.

29:16. And the priests went into the temple of the Lord to sanctify it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found within to the entrance of the house of the Lord, and the Levites took it away, and carried it out abroad to the torrent Cedron.

29:17. And they began to cleanse on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the same month they came into the porch of the temple of the Lord, and they purified the temple in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the same month they finished what they had begun.

29:18. And they went in to king Ezechias, and said to him: We have sanctified all the house of the Lord, and the altar of holocaust, and the vessels thereof, and the table of proposition with all its vessels,

29:19. And all the furniture of the temple, which king Achaz in his reign had defiled, after his transgression; and behold they are all set forth before the altar of the Lord.

29:20. And king Ezechias rising early, assembled all the rulers of the city, and went up into the house of the Lord:

29:21. And they offered together seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats for sin, for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, for Juda: and he spoke to the priests the sons of Aaron, to offer them upon the altar of the Lord.

29:22. Therefore they killed the bullocks, and the priests took the blood, and poured it upon the altar; they killed also the rams, and their blood they poured also upon the altar, and they killed the lambs, and poured the blood upon the altar.

29:23. And they brought the he goats for sin before the king, and the whole multitude, and they laid their hand upon them:

29:24. And the priests immolated them, and sprinkled their blood before the altar for an expiation of all Israel: for the king had commanded that the holocaust and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

29:25. And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps according to the regulation of David the king, and of Gad the seer, and of Nathan the prophet: for it was the commandment of the Lord by the hand of his prophets.

29:26. And the Levites stood, with the instruments of David, and the priests with trumpets.

29:27. And Ezechias commanded that they should offer holocausts upon the altar: and when the holocausts were offered, they began to sing praises to the Lord, and to sound with trumpets, and divers instruments which David the king of Israel had prepared.

29:28. And all the multitude adored, and the singers, and the trumpeters, were in their office till the holocaust was finished.

29:29. And when the oblation was ended, the king, and all that were with him bowed down and adored.

29:30. And Ezechias and the princes commanded the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David, and Asaph the seer: and they praised him with great joy, and bowing the knee adored.

29:31. And Ezechias added, and said: You have filled your hands to the Lord, come and offer victims, and praises in the house of the Lord. And all the multitude offered victims, and praises, and holocausts with a devout mind.

29:32. And the number of the holocausts which the multitude offered, was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs.

29:33. And they consecrated to the Lord six hundred oxen, and three thousand sheep.

29:34. But the priests were few, and were not enough to flay the holocausts: wherefore the Levites their brethren helped them, till the work was ended, and priests were sanctified, for the Levites are sanctified with an easier rite than the priests.

29:35. So there were many holocausts, and the fat of peace offerings, and the libations of holocausts: and the service of the house of the Lord was completed.

29:36. And Ezechias, and all the people rejoiced because the ministry of the Lord was accomplished. For the resolution of doing this thing was taken suddenly.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 30

Ezechias inviteth all Israel to celebrate the pasch; the solemnity is kept fourteen days.

30:1. And Ezechias sent to all Israel and Juda: and he wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasses, that they should come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and keep the phase to the Lord the God of Israel,

30:2. For the king, taking counsel, and the princes, and all the assembly of Jerusalem, decreed to keep the phase the second month.

30:3. For they could not keep it in its time; because there were not priests enough sanctified, and the people was not as yet gathered together to Jerusalem.

The host of heaven... The sun, moon, and stars.

30:4. And the thing pleased the king, and all the people.

30:5. And they decreed to send messengers to all Israel from Bersabee even to Dan, that they should come, and keep the phase to the Lord the God of Israel in Jerusalem: for many had not kept it as it is prescribed by the law.

30:6. And the posts went with letters by commandment of the king, and his princes, to all Israel and Juda, proclaiming according to the king's orders: Ye children of Israel, turn again to the Lord the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Israel: and he will return to the remnant of you that have escaped the hand of the king of the Assyrians.

30:7. Be not like your fathers, and brethren, who departed from the Lord the God of their fathers, and he hath given them up to destruction, as you see.

30:8. Harden not your necks, as your fathers did: yield yourselves to the Lord, and come to his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified forever: serve the Lord the God of your fathers, and the wrath of his indignation shall be turned away from you.

30:9. For if you turn again to the Lord, your brethren, and children shall find mercy before their masters, that have led them away captive, and they shall return into this land: for the Lord your God is merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.

30:10. So the posts went speedily from city to city, through the land of Ephraim, and of Manasses, even to Zabulon, whilst they laughed at them and mocked them.

30:11. Nevertheless some men of Aser, and of Manasses, and of Zabulon, yielding to the counsel, came to Jerusalem.

30:12. But the hand of God was in Juda, to give them one heart to do the word of the Lord, according to the commandment of the king, and of the princes.

30:13. And much people were assembled to Jerusalem to celebrate the solemnity of the unleavened bread in the second month:

30:14. And they arose and destroyed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and took away all things in which incense was burnt to idols and cast them into the torrent Cedron.

30:15. And they immolated the phase on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites being at length sanctified offered holocausts in the house of the Lord.

30:16. And they stood in their order according to the disposition and law of Moses the man of God: but the priests received the blood which was to be poured out, from the hands of the Levites,

30:17. Because a great number was not sanctified: and therefore the Levites immolated the phase for them that came not in time to be sanctified to the Lord.

30:18. For a great part of the people from Ephraim, and Manasses, and Issachar, and Zabulon, that had not been sanctified, ate the phase otherwise than it is written: and Ezechias prayed for them, saying: The Lord who is good will shew mercy,

30:19. To all them, who with their whole heart, seek the Lord the God of their fathers: and will not impute it to them that they are not sanctified.

30:20. And the Lord heard him, and was merciful to the people.

30:21. And the children of Israel, that were found at Jerusalem, kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great joy, praising the Lord every day, the Levites also, and the priests, with instruments that agreed to their office.

30:22. And Ezechias spoke to the heart of all the Levites, that had good understanding concerning the Lord: and they ate during the seven days of the solemnity, immolating victims of peace offerings, and praising the Lord the God of their fathers.

30:23. And it pleased the whole multitude to keep other seven days: which they did with great joy.

30:24. For Ezechias the king of Juda had given to the multitude a thousand bullocks, and seven thousand sheep: and the princes had given the people a thousand bullocks, and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests was sanctified.

30:25. And all the multitude of Juda with the priests and Levites, and all the assembly, that came out of Israel; and the proselytes of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Juda were full of joy.

30:26. And there was a great solemnity in Jerusalem, such as had not been in that city since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel.

30:27. And the priests and the Levites rose up and blessed the people: and their voice was heard: and their prayer came to the holy dwelling place of heaven.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 31

Idolatry is abolished; and provisions made for the ministers.

31:1. And when these things had been duly celebrated, all Israel that were found in the cities of Juda, went out, and they broke the idols, and cut down the groves, demolished the high places, and destroyed the altars, not only out of all Juda and Benjamin, but out of Ephraim also and Manasses, till they had utterly destroyed them: then all the children of Israel returned to their possessions and cities.

31:2. And Ezechias appointed companies of the priests, and the Levites, by their courses, every man in his own office, to wit, both of the priests, and of the Levites, for holocausts, and for peace offerings, to minister, and to praise, and to sing in the gates of the camp of the Lord.

31:3. And the king's part was, that of his proper substance the holocaust should be offered always morning and evening, and on the sabbaths, and the new moons and the other solemnities, as it is written in the law of Moses.

31:4. He commanded also the people that dwelt in Jerusalem, to give to the priests, and the Levites their portion, that they might attend to the law of the Lord.

31:5. Which when it was noised abroad in the ears of the people, the children of Israel offered in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey: and brought the tithe of all things which the ground bringeth forth.

31:6. Moreover the children of Israel and Juda, that dwelt in the cities of Juda, brought in the tithes of oxen, and sheep, and the tithes of holy things, which they had vowed to the Lord their God: and carrying them all, made many heaps.

31:7. In the third month they began to lay the foundations of the heaps, and in the seventh month, they finished them.

31:8. And when Ezechias and his princes came in, they saw the heaps, and they blessed the Lord and the people of Israel.

31:9. And Ezechias asked the priests and the Levites, why the heaps lay so.

31:10. Azarias the chief priest of the race of Sadoc answered him, saying: Since the firstfruits began to be offered in the house of the Lord, we have eaten, and have been filled, and abundance is left, because the Lord hath blessed his people: and of that which is left is this great store which thou seest.

31:11. Then Ezechias commanded to prepare storehouses in the house of the Lord. And when they had done so,

31:12. They brought in faithfully both the firstfruits, and the tithes, and all they had vowed. And the overseer of them was Chonenias the Levite, and Semei his brother was the second,

31:13. And after him Jehiel, and Azarias, and Nahath, and Asael, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Jesmachias, and Mahath, and Banaias, overseers under the hand of Chonenias, and Semei his brother, by the commandment of Ezechias the king, and Azarias the high priest of the house of God, to whom all things appertained.

31:14. But Core the son of Jemna the Levite, the porter of the east gate, was overseer of the things which were freely offered to the Lord, and of the firstfruits and the things dedicated for the holy of holies.

31:15. And under his charge were Eden, and Benjamin, Jesue, and Semeias, and Amarias, and Sechenias, in the cities of the priests, to distribute faithfully portions to their brethren, both little and great:

31:16. Besides the males from three years old and upward, to all that went into the temple of the Lord, and whatsoever there was need of in the ministry, and their offices according to their courses, day by day.

31:17. To the priests by their families, and to the Levites from the twentieth year and upward, by their classes and companies.

31:18. And to all the multitude, both to their wives, and to their children of both sexes, victuals were given faithfully out of the things that had been sanctified.

31:19. Also of the sons of Aaron who were in the fields and in the suburbs of each city, there were men appointed, to distribute portions to all the males, among the priests and the Levites.

31:20. So Ezechias did all things which we have said in all Juda, and wrought that which was good, and right, and truth, before the Lord his God,

31:21. In all the service of the house of the Lord according to the law and the ceremonies, desiring to seek his God with all his heart, and he did it and prospered.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 32

Idolatry is abolished; and provisions made for the ministers.

32:1. And when these things had been duly celebrated, all Israel that were found in the cities of Juda, went out, and they broke the idols, and cut down the groves, demolished the high places, and destroyed the altars, not only out of all Juda and Benjamin, but out of Ephraim also and Manasses, till they had utterly destroyed them: then all the children of Israel returned to their possessions and cities.

32:2. And Ezechias appointed companies of the priests, and the Levites, by their courses, every man in his own office, to wit, both of the priests, and of the Levites, for holocausts, and for peace offerings, to minister, and to praise, and to sing in the gates of the camp of the Lord.

32:3. And the king's part was, that of his proper substance the holocaust should be offered always morning and evening, and on the sabbaths, and the new moons and the other solemnities, as it is written in the law of Moses.

32:4. He commanded also the people that dwelt in Jerusalem, to give to the priests, and the Levites their portion, that they might attend to the law of the Lord.

32:5. Which when it was noised abroad in the ears of the people, the children of Israel offered in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey: and brought the tithe of all things which the ground bringeth forth.

32:6. Moreover the children of Israel and Juda, that dwelt in the cities of Juda, brought in the tithes of oxen, and sheep, and the tithes of holy things, which they had vowed to the Lord their God: and carrying them all, made many heaps.

32:7. In the third month they began to lay the foundations of the heaps, and in the seventh month, they finished them.

32:8. And when Ezechias and his princes came in, they saw the heaps, and they blessed the Lord and the people of Israel.

32:9. And Ezechias asked the priests and the Levites, why the heaps lay so.

32:10. Azarias the chief priest of the race of Sadoc answered him, saying: Since the firstfruits began to be offered in the house of the Lord, we have eaten, and have been filled, and abundance is left, because the Lord hath blessed his people: and of that which is left is this great store which thou seest.

32:11. Then Ezechias commanded to prepare storehouses in the house of the Lord. And when they had done so,

32:12. They brought in faithfully both the firstfruits, and the tithes, and all they had vowed. And the overseer of them was Chonenias the Levite, and Semei his brother was the second,

32:13. And after him Jehiel, and Azarias, and Nahath, and Asael, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Jesmachias, and Mahath, and Banaias, overseers under the hand of Chonenias, and Semei his brother, by the commandment of Ezechias the king, and Azarias the high priest of the house of God, to whom all things appertained.

32:14. But Core the son of Jemna the Levite, the porter of the east gate, was overseer of the things which were freely offered to the Lord, and of the firstfruits and the things dedicated for the holy of holies.

32:15. And under his charge were Eden, and Benjamin, Jesue, and Semeias, and Amarias, and Sechenias, in the cities of the priests, to distribute faithfully portions to their brethren, both little and great:

32:16. Besides the males from three years old and upward, to all that went into the temple of the Lord, and whatsoever there was need of in the ministry, and their offices according to their courses, day by day.

32:17. To the priests by their families, and to the Levites from the twentieth year and upward, by their classes and companies.

32:18. And to all the multitude, both to their wives, and to their children of both sexes, victuals were given faithfully out of the things that had been sanctified.

32:19. Also of the sons of Aaron who were in the fields and in the suburbs of each city, there were men appointed, to distribute portions to all the males, among the priests and the Levites.

32:20. So Ezechias did all things which we have said in all Juda, and wrought that which was good, and right, and truth, before the Lord his God,

32:21. In all the service of the house of the Lord according to the law and the ceremonies, desiring to seek his God with all his heart, and he did it and prospered.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 33

Manasses for his manifold wickedness is led captive to Babylon: he repenteth, and is restored to his kingdom, and destroyeth idolatry: his successor Amon is slain by his servants.

33:1. Manasses was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

33:2. And he did evil before the Lord, according to all the abominations of the nations, which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel:

33:3. And he turned, and built again the high places which Ezechias his father had destroyed: and he built altars to Baalim, and made groves, and he adored all the host of heaven, and worshipped them.

The host of heaven... The sun, moon, and stars.

33:4. He built also altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said: In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.

33:5. And he built them for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

33:6. And he made his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of Benennom: he observed dreams, followed divinations, gave himself up to magic arts, had with him magicians, and enchanters: and he wrought many evils before the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

33:7. He set also a graven, and a molten statue in the house of God, of which God had said to David, and to Solomon his son: In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever.

33:8. And I will not make the foot of Israel to be removed out of the land which I have delivered to their fathers: yet so if they will take heed to do what I have commanded them, and all the law, and the ceremonies, and judgments by the hand of Moses.

33:9. So Manasses seduced Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to do evil beyond all the nations, which the Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of Israel.

33:10. And the Lord spoke to his people, and they would not hearken.

33:11. Therefore he brought upon them the captains of he army of the king of the Assyrians: and they took Manasses, and carried him bound with chains and fetters to Babylon.

33:12. And after that he was in distress he prayed to the Lord his God: and did penance exceedingly before the God of his fathers.

33:13. And he entreated him, and besought him earnestly: and he heard his prayer, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom, and Manasses knew that the Lord was God.

33:14. After this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon in the valley, from the entering in of the gate round about to Ophel, and raised it up to a great height: and he appointed captains of the army in all the fenced cities of Juda:

33:15. And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the Lord: the altars also which he had made in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and he cast them all out of the city.

33:16. And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed upon it victims, and peace offerings, and praise: and he commanded Juda to serve the Lord the God of Israel.

33:17. Nevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high places to the Lord their God.

33:18. But the rest of the acts of Manasses, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the Lord the God of Israel, are contained in the words of the kings of Israel.

33:19. His prayer also, and his being heard and all his sins, and contempt, and places wherein he built high places, and set up groves, and statues before he did penance, are written in the words of Hozai.

33:20. And Manasses slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house: and his son Amon reigned in his stead.

33:21. Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

33:22. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasses his father had done: he sacrificed to all the idols which Manasses his father had made, and served them.

33:23. And he did not humble himself before the lord, as Manasses his father had humbled himself, but committed far greater sin.

33:24. And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.

33:25. But the rest of the multitude of the people slew them that had killed Amon, and made Josias his son king in his stead.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 34

Josias destroyeth idolatry, repaireth the temple, and reneweth the covenant between God and the people.

34:1. Josias was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one and thirty years in Jerusalem.

34:2. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father: he declined not, neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

34:3. And in the eighth year of his reign, when he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of his father David: and in the twelfth year after he began to reign, he cleansed Juda and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the idols, and the graven things.

34:4. And they broke down before him the altars of Baalim, and demolished the idols that had been set upon them: and he cut down the groves and the graven things, and broke them in pieces: and strewed the fragments upon the graves of them that had sacrificed to them.

34:5. And he burnt the bones of the priests on the altars of the idols, and he cleansed Juda and Jerusalem.

34:6. And in the cities of Manasses, and of Ephraim, and of Simeon, even to Nephtali he demolished all.

34:7. And when he had destroyed the altars, and the groves, and had broken the idols in pieces, and had demolished all profane temples throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

34:8. Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land, and the temple of the Lord, he sent Saphan the son of Elselias, and Maasias the governor of the city, Joha the son of Joachaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.

34:9. And they came to Helcias the high priest: and received of him the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, and which the Levites and porters had gathered together from Manasses, and Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, and from all Juda, and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

34:10. Which they delivered into the hands of them that were over the workmen in the house of the Lord, to repair the temple, and mend all that was weak.

34:11. But they gave it to the artificers, and to the masons, to buy stones out of the quarries, and timber for the couplings of the building, and to rafter the houses, which the kings of Juda had destroyed.

34:12. And they did all faithfully. Now the overseers of the workmen were Jahath and Abdias of the sons of Merari, Zacharias and Mosollam of the sons of Caath, who hastened the work: all Levites skilful to play on instruments.

34:13. But over them that carried burdens for divers uses, were scribes, and masters of the number of the Levites, and porters.

34:14. Now when they carried out the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord, Helcias the priest found the book of the law of the Lord, by the hand of Moses.

34:15. And he said to Saphan the scribe: I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord: and he delivered it to him.

34:16. But he carried the book to the king, and told him, saying: Lo, all that thou hast committed to thy servants, is accomplished.

34:17. They have gathered together the silver that was found in the house of the Lord: and it is given to the overseers of the artificers, and of the workmen, for divers works.

34:18. Moreover Helcias the priest gave me this book. And he read it before the king.

34:19. And when he had heard the words of the law, he rent his garments:

34:20. And he commanded Helcias, and Ahicam the son of Saphan, and Abdon the son of Micha, and Saphan the scribe, and Asaa the king's servant, saying:

34:21. Go, and pray to the Lord for me, and for the remnant of Israel, and Juda, concerning all the words of this book, which is found: for the great wrath of the Lord hath fallen upon us, because our fathers have not kept the words of the Lord, to do all things that are written in this book.

34:22. And Helcias and they that were sent with him by the king, went to Olda the prophetess, the wife of Sellum the son of Thecuath, the son of Hasra keeper of the wardrobe: who dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second part: and they spoke to her the words above mentioned.

34:23. And she answered them: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Tell the man that sent you to me:

34:24. Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will bring evils upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, and all the curses that are written in this book which they read before the king of Juda.

34:25. Because they have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to strange gods, to provoke me to wrath with all the works of their hands, therefore my wrath shall fail upon this place, and shall not be quenched.

34:26. But as to the king of Juda that sent you to beseech the Lord, thus shall you say to him: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Because thou hast heard the words of this book,

34:27. And thy heart was softened, and thou hast humbled thyself in the sight of God for the things that are spoken against this place, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and reverencing my face, hast rent thy garments, and wept before me: I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.

34:28. For now I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be brought to thy tomb in peace: and thy eyes shall not see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and the inhabitants thereof. They therefore reported to the king all that she had said.

34:29. And he called together all the ancients of Juda and Jerusalem.

34:30. And went up to the house of the Lord, and all the men of Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites, and all the people from the least to the greatest. And the king read in their hearing, in the house of the Lord, all the words of the book.

34:31. And standing up in his tribunal, he made a covenant before the Lord to walk after him, and keep his commandments, and testimonies, and justifications with all his heart, and with all his soul, and to do the things that were written in that book which he had read.

34:32. And he adjured all that were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to do the same: and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of the Lord the God of their fathers.

34:33. And Josias took away all the abominations out of all the countries of the children of Israel and made all that were left in Israel, to serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived they departed not from the Lord the God of their fathers.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 35

Josias celebrateth a most solemn pasch. He is slain by the king of Egypt.

35:1. And Josias kept a phase to the Lord in Jerusalem, and it was sacrificed on the fourteenth day of the first month.

35:2. And he set the priests in their offices, and exhorted them to minister in the house of the Lord.

35:3. And he spoke to the Levites, by whose instruction all Israel was sanctified to the Lord, saying: Put the ark in the sanctuary of the temple, which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built: for you shall carry it no more: but minister now to the Lord your God, and to his people Israel.

35:4. And prepare yourselves by your houses, and families according to your courses, as David king of Israel commanded, and Solomon his son hath written.

35:5. And serve ye in the sanctuary by the families and companies of Levi.

35:6. And being sanctified kill the phase, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the words which the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses.

35:7. And Josias gave to all the people that were found there in the solemnity of the phase, of lambs and of kids of the flocks, and of other small cattle thirty thousand, and of oxen three thousand, all these were of the king's substance.

35:8. And his princes willingly offered what they had vowed, both to the people and to the priests and the Levites. Moreover Helcias, and Zacharias, and Jahiel rulers of the house of the Lord, gave to the priests to keep the phase two thousand six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen.

35:9. And Chonenias, and Semeias and Nathanael, his brethren, and Hasabias, and Jehiel, and Jozabad princes of the Levites, gave to the rest of the Levites to celebrate the phase five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen.

35:10. And the ministry was prepared, and the priests stood in their office: the Levites also in their companies, according to the king's commandment.

35:11. And the phase was immolated: and the priests sprinkled the blood with their hand, and the Levites flayed the holocausts:

35:12. And they separated them, to give them by the houses and families of every one, and to be offered to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses, and with the oxen they did in like manner.

35:13. And they roasted the phase with fire, according to that which is written in the law: but the victims of peace offerings they boiled in caldrons, and kettles, and pots, and they distributed them speedily among all the people.

35:14. And afterwards they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: for the priests were busied in offering of holocausts and the fat until night, wherefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron last.

35:15. And the singers the sons of Asaph stood in their order, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Idithun, the prophets of the king: and the porters kept guard at every gate, so as not to depart one moment from their service, and therefore their brethren the Levites prepared meats for them.

35:16. So all the service of the Lord was duly accomplished that day, both in keeping the phase and offering holocausts upon the altar of the Lord, according to the commandment of king Josias.

35:17. And the children of Israel that were found there, kept the phase at that time, and the feast of unleavened seven days.

35:18. There was no phase like to this in Israel, from the days of Samuel the prophet: neither did any of all the kings of Israel keep such a phase as Josias kept, with the priests, and the Levites, and all Juda, and Israel that were found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

35:19. In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias was this phase celebrated.

35:20. After that Josias had repaired the temple, Nechao king of Egypt came up to fight in Charcamis by the Euphrates: and Josias went out to meet him.

35:21. But he sent messengers to him, saying: What have I to do with thee, O king of Juda? I come not against thee this day, but I fight against another house, to which God hath commanded me to go in haste: forbear to do against God, who is with me, lest he kill thee.

35:22. Josias would not return, but prepared to fight against him, and hearkened not to the words of Nechao from the mouth of God, but went to fight in the field of Mageddo.

35:23. And there he was wounded by the archers, and he said to his servants: Carry me out of the battle, for I am grievously wounded.

35:24. And they removed him from the chariot into another, that followed him after the manner of kings, and they carried him away to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in the monument of his fathers, and all Juda and Jerusalem mourned for him,

35:25. Particularly Jeremias: whose lamentations for Josias all the singing men and singing women repeat unto this day, and it became like a law in Israel: Behold it is found written in the Lamentations.

35:26. Now the rest of the acts of Josias and of his mercies, according to what was commanded by the law of the Lord:

35:27. And his works first and last, are written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 36

The reigns of Joachaz, Joakim, Joachin, and Sedecias: the captivity of Babylon released at length by Cyrus.

36:1. Then the people of the land took Joachaz the son of Josias, and made him king instead of his father in Jerusalem.

36:2. Joachaz was three and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

36:3. And the king of Egypt came to Jerusalem, and deposed him, and condemned the land in a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.

36:4. And he made Eliakim his brother king in his stead, over Juda and Jerusalem: and he turned his name to Joakim: but he took Joachaz with him and carried him away into Egypt.

36:5. Joakim was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did evil before the Lord his God.

36:6. Against him came up Nabuchodonosor king of the Chaldeans, and led him bound in chains into Babylon.

36:7. And he carried also thither the vessels of the Lord, and put them in his temple.

36:8. But the rest of the acts of Joakim, and his abominations, which he wrought, and the things that were found in him, are contained in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel. And Joachin his son reigned in his stead.

36:9. Joachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Eight years old... He was associated by his father to the kingdom, when he was but eight years old; but after his father's death, when he reigned alone, he was eighteen years old. 4 Kings 24.8.

36:10. And at the return of the year, king Nabuchodonosor sent, and brought him to Babylon, carrying away at the same time the most precious vessels of the house of the Lord: and he made Sedecias his uncle king over Juda and Jerusalem.

36:11. Sedecias was one and twenty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

36:12. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God, and did not reverence the face of Jeremias the prophet speaking to him from the mouth of the Lord.

36:13. He also revolted from king Nabuchodonosor, who had made him swear by God: and he hardened his neck and his heart, from returning to the Lord the God of Israel.

36:14. Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people wickedly transgressed according to all the abominations of the Gentiles: and they defiled the house of the Lord, which he had sanctified to himself in Jerusalem.