Good News Translation (GNT)

The King Asks Isaiah’s Advice

1 As soon as King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes in grief, put on sackcloth, and went to the Temple of the Lord.

2 He sent Eliakim, the official in charge of the palace, Shebna, the court secretary, and the senior priests to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They also were wearing sackcloth.

3 This is the message which he told them to give Isaiah: “Today is a day of suffering; we are being punished and are in disgrace. We are like a woman who is ready to give birth, but is too weak to do it.

4 The Assyrian emperor has sent his chief official to insult the living God. May the Lord your God hear these insults and punish those who spoke them. So pray to God for those of our people who survive.”

5 When Isaiah received King Hezekiah’s message,

6 he sent back this answer: “The Lord tells you not to let the Assyrians frighten you with their claims that he cannot save you.

7 The Lord will cause the emperor to hear a rumor that will make him go back to his own country, and the Lord will have him killed there.”

The Assyrians Send Another Threat

8 The Assyrian official learned that the emperor had left Lachish and was fighting against the nearby city of Libnah; so he went there to consult him.

9 Word reached the Assyrians that the Egyptian army, led by King Tirhakah of Ethiopia,was coming to attack them. When the emperor heard this, he sent a letter to King Hezekiah of Judah

10 to tell him, “The god you are trusting in has told you that you will not fall into my hands, but don’t let that deceive you.

11 You have heard what an Assyrian emperor does to any country he decides to destroy. Do you think that you can escape?

12 My ancestors destroyed the cities of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and killed the people of Betheden who lived in Telassar, and none of their gods could save them.

13 Where are the kings of the cities of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”

14 King Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went to the Temple, placed the letter there in the presence of the Lord,

15 and prayed, “O Lord, the God of Israel, seated on your throne above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky.

16 Now, Lord, look at what is happening to us. Listen to all the things that Sennacherib is saying to insult you, the living God.

17 We all know, Lord, that the emperors of Assyria have destroyed many nations, made their lands desolate,

18 and burned up their gods—which were no gods at all, only images of wood and stone made by human hands.

19 Now, Lord our God, rescue us from the Assyrians, so that all the nations of the world will know that only you, O Lord, are God.”

Isaiah’s Message to the King

20 Then Isaiah sent a message telling King Hezekiah that in answer to the king’s prayer

21 the Lord had said, “The city of Jerusalem laughs at you, Sennacherib, and makes fun of you.

22 Whom do you think you have been insulting and ridiculing? You have been disrespectful to me, the holy God of Israel.

23 You sent your messengers to boast to me that with all your chariots you had conquered the highest mountains of Lebanon. You boasted that there you cut down the tallest cedars and the finest cypress trees and that you reached the deepest parts of the forests.

24 You boasted that you dug wells and drank water in foreign lands and that the feet of your soldiers tramped the Nile River dry.

25 “Have you never heard that I planned all this long ago? And now I have carried it out. I gave you the power to turn fortified cities into piles of rubble.

26 The people who lived there were powerless; they were frightened and stunned. They were like grass in a field or weeds growing on a roof when the hot east wind blasts them.

27 “But I know everything about you, what you do and where you go. I know how you rage against me.

28 I have received the report of that rage and that pride of yours, and now I will put a hook through your nose and a bit in your mouth, and take you back by the same road you came.”

29 Then Isaiah said to King Hezekiah, “Here is a sign of what will happen. This year and next you will have only wild grain to eat, but the following year you will be able to plant your grain and harvest it, and plant vines and eat grapes.

30 Those in Judah who survive will flourish like plants that send roots deep into the ground and produce fruit.

31 There will be people in Jerusalem and on Mount Zion who will survive, because the Lord is determined to make this happen.

32 “And this is what the Lord has said about the Assyrian emperor: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot a single arrow against it. No soldiers with shields will come near the city, and no siege mounds will be built around it.

33 He will go back by the same road he came, without entering this city. I, the Lord, have spoken.

34 I will defend this city and protect it, for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David.’”

35 That night an angel of the Lord went to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 soldiers. At dawn the next day there they lay, all dead!

36 Then the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib withdrew and returned to Nineveh.

37 One day, when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords and then escaped to the land of Ararat. Another of his sons, Esarhaddon, succeeded him as emperor.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2KI/19-f0269da1ccb75f4e19745e035ea1f950.mp3?version_id=68—

King Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

1 About this time King Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and said to him, “The Lord tells you that you are to put everything in order, because you will not recover. Get ready to die.”

2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed:

3 “Remember, Lord, that I have served you faithfully and loyally and that I have always tried to do what you wanted me to.” And he began to cry bitterly.

4 Isaiah left the king, but before he had passed through the central courtyard of the palace the Lord told him

5 to go back to Hezekiah, ruler of the Lord’s people, and say to him, “I, the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and in three days you will go to the Temple.

6 I will let you live fifteen years longer. I will rescue you and this city Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria. I will defend this city, for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David.”

7 Then Isaiah told the king’s attendants to put on his boil a paste made of figs, and he would get well.

8 King Hezekiah asked, “What is the sign to prove that the Lord will heal me and that three days later I will be able to go to the Temple?”

9 Isaiah replied, “The Lord will give you a sign to prove that he will keep his promise. Now, would you prefer to have the shadow on the stairway go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?”

10 Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy to have the shadow go forward ten steps!Have it go back ten steps.”

11 Isaiah prayed to the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back ten stepson the stairwayset up by King Ahaz.

Messengers from Babylonia

12 About that same time the king of Babylonia, Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, heard that King Hezekiah had been sick, so he sent him a letter and a present.

13 Hezekiah welcomed the messengers and showed them his wealth—his silver and gold, his spices and perfumes, and all his military equipment. There was nothing in his storerooms or anywhere in his kingdom that he did not show them.

14 Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?”

Hezekiah answered, “They came from a very distant country, from Babylonia.”

15 “What did they see in the palace?”

“They saw everything. There is nothing in the storerooms that I didn’t show them.”

16 Isaiah then told the king, “The Lord Almighty says that

17 a time is coming when everything in your palace, everything that your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylonia. Nothing will be left.

18 Some of your own direct descendants will be taken away and made eunuchs to serve in the palace of the king of Babylonia.”

19 King Hezekiah understood this to mean that there would be peace and security during his lifetime, so he replied, “The message you have given me from the Lord is good.”

The End of Hezekiah’s Reign

20 Everything else that King Hezekiah did, his brave deeds, and an account of how he built a reservoir and dug a tunnel to bring water into the city, are all recorded inThe History of the Kings of Judah.

21 Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh succeeded him as king.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2KI/20-e87a48769f7e58b50a7a28197f020aba.mp3?version_id=68—

King Manasseh of Judah

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-five years. His mother was Hephzibah.

2 Following the disgusting practices of the nations whom the Lord had driven out of the land as his people advanced, Manasseh sinned against the Lord.

3 He rebuilt the pagan places of worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he built altars for the worship of Baal and made an image of the goddess Asherah, as King Ahab of Israel had done. Manasseh also worshiped the stars.

4 He built pagan altars in the Temple, the place that the Lord had said was where he should be worshiped.

5 In the two courtyards of the Temple he built altars for the worship of the stars.

6 He sacrificed his son as a burnt offering. He practiced divination and magic and consultedfortunetellers and mediums. He sinned greatly against the Lord and stirred up his anger.

7 He placed the symbol of the goddess Asherah in the Temple, the place about which the Lord had said to David and his son Solomon: “Here in Jerusalem, in this Temple, is the place that I have chosen out of all the territory of the twelve tribes of Israel as the place where I am to be worshiped.

8 And if the people of Israel will obey all my commands and keep the whole Law that my servant Moses gave them, then I will not allow them to be driven out of the land that I gave to their ancestors.”

9 But the people of Judah did not obey the Lord, and Manasseh led them to commit even greater sins than those committed by the nations whom the Lord had driven out of the land as his people advanced.

10 Through his servants the prophets the Lord said,

11 “King Manasseh has done these disgusting things, things far worse than what the Canaanites did; and with his idols he has led the people of Judah into sin.

12 So I, the Lord God of Israel, will bring such a disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that everyone who hears about it will be stunned.

13 I will punish Jerusalem as I did Samaria, as I did King Ahab of Israel and his descendants. I will wipe Jerusalem clean of its people, as clean as a plate that has been wiped and turned upside down.

14 I will abandon the people who survive, and will hand them over to their enemies, who will conquer them and plunder their land.

15 I will do this to my people because they have sinned against me and have stirred up my anger from the time their ancestors came out of Egypt to this day.”

16 Manasseh killed so many innocent people that the streets of Jerusalem were flowing with blood; he did this in addition to leading the people of Judah into idolatry, causing them to sin against the Lord.

17 Everything else that Manasseh did, including the sins he committed, is recorded inThe History of the Kings of Judah.

18 Manasseh died and was buried in the palace garden, the garden of Uzza, and his son Amon succeeded him as king.

King Amon of Judah

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for two years. His mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz from the town of Jotbah.

20 Like his father Manasseh, he sinned against the Lord;

21 he imitated his father’s actions, and he worshiped the idols that his father had worshiped.

22 He rejected the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and disobeyed the Lord’s commands.

23 Amon’s officials plotted against him and assassinated him in the palace.

24 The people of Judah killed Amon’s assassins and made his son Josiah king.

25 Everything else that Amon did is recorded inThe History of the Kings of Judah.

26 Amon was buried in the tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah succeeded him as king.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2KI/21-8d0576475ede54bb5708226f8d400267.mp3?version_id=68—

King Josiah of Judah

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from the town of Bozkath.

2 Josiah did what was pleasing to the Lord; he followed the example of his ancestor King David, strictly obeying all the laws of God.

The Book of the Law Is Discovered

3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the court secretary Shaphan, the son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, to the Temple with the order:

4 “Go to the High Priest Hilkiah and get a report on the amount of money that the priests on duty at the entrance to the Temple have collected from the people.

5 Tell him to give the money to the men who are in charge of the repairs in the Temple. They are to pay

6 the carpenters, the builders, and the masons, and buy the timber and the stones used in the repairs.

7 The men in charge of the work are thoroughly honest, so there is no need to require them to account for the funds.”

8 Shaphan delivered the king’s order to Hilkiah, and Hilkiah told him that he had found the book of the Law in the Temple. Hilkiah gave him the book, and Shaphan read it.

9 Then he went back to the king and reported: “Your servants have taken the money that was in the Temple and have handed it over to the men in charge of the repairs.”

10 And then he said, “I have here a book that Hilkiah gave me.” And he read it aloud to the king.

11 When the king heard the book being read, he tore his clothes in dismay,

12 and gave the following order to Hilkiah the priest, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, to Achbor son of Micaiah, to Shaphan, the court secretary, and to Asaiah, the king’s attendant:

13 “Go and consult the Lord for me and for all the people of Judah about the teachings of this book. The Lord is angry with us because our ancestors have not done what this book says must be done.”

14 Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to consult a woman named Huldah, a prophet who lived in the newer part of Jerusalem. (Her husband Shallum, the son of Tikvah and grandson of Harhas, was in charge of the Temple robes.) They described to her what had happened,

15 and she told them to go back to the king and give him

16 the following message from the Lord: “I am going to punish Jerusalem and all its people, as written in the book that the king has read.

17 They have rejected me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and so have stirred up my anger by all they have done. My anger is aroused against Jerusalem, and it will not die down.

18 As for the king himself, this is what I, the Lord God of Israel, say: You listened to what is written in the book,

19 and you repented and humbled yourself before me, tearing your clothes and weeping, when you heard how I threatened to punish Jerusalem and its people. I will make it a terrifying sight, a place whose name people will use as a curse. But I have heard your prayer,

20 and the punishment which I am going to bring on Jerusalem will not come until after your death. I will let you die in peace.”

The men returned to King Josiah with this message.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2KI/22-9329f220b72d84319c42604f9628eb5a.mp3?version_id=68—

Josiah Does Away with Pagan Worship

1 King Josiah summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem,

2 and together they went to the Temple, accompanied by the priests and the prophets and all the rest of the people, rich and poor alike. Before them all the king read aloud the whole book of the covenant which had been found in the Temple.

3 He stood by the royal column and made a covenant with the Lord to obey him, to keep his laws and commands with all his heart and soul, and to put into practice the demands attached to the covenant, as written in the book. And all the people promised to keep the covenant.

4 Then Josiah ordered the High Priest Hilkiah, his assistant priests, and the guards on duty at the entrance to the Temple to bring out of the Temple all the objects used in the worship of Baal, of the goddess Asherah, and of the stars. The king burned all these objects outside the city near Kidron Valley and then had the ashes taken to Bethel.

5 He removed from office the priests that the kings of Judah had ordained to offer sacrificeson the pagan altars in the cities of Judah and in places near Jerusalem—all the priests who offered sacrifices to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars.

6 He removed from the Temple the symbol of the goddess Asherah, took it out of the city to Kidron Valley, burned it, pounded its ashes to dust, and scattered it over the public burying ground.

7 He destroyed the living quarters in the Temple occupied by the temple prostitutes.(It was there that women wove robes used in the worship of Asherah.)

8 He brought to Jerusalem the priests who were in the cities of Judah, and throughout the whole country he desecrated the altars where they had offered sacrifices. He also tore down the altars dedicated to the goat demons near the gate built by Joshua, the city governor, which was to the left of the main gate as one enters the city.

9 Those priests were not allowed to serve in the Temple, but they could eat the unleavened bread provided for their fellow priests.

10 King Josiah also desecrated Topheth, the pagan place of worship in Hinnom Valley, so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter as a burnt offering to the god Molech.

11 He also removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the worship of the sun, and he burned the chariots used in this worship. (These were kept in the temple courtyard, near the gate and not far from the living quarters of Nathan Melech, a high official.)

12 The altars which the kings of Judah had built on the palace roof above King Ahaz’ quarters, King Josiah tore down, along with the altars put up by King Manasseh in the two courtyards of the Temple; he smashed the altars to bitsand threw them into Kidron Valley.

13 Josiah desecrated the altars that King Solomon had built east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Olives,for the worship of disgusting idols—Astarte the goddess of Sidon, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Molech the god of Ammon.

14 King Josiah broke the stone pillars to pieces, cut down the symbols of the goddess Asherah, and the ground where they had stood he covered with human bones.

15 Josiah also tore down the place of worship in Bethel, which had been built by King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin. Josiah pulled down the altar, broke its stones into pieces,and pounded them to dust; he also burned the image of Asherah.

16 Then Josiah looked around and saw some tombs there on the hill; he had the bones taken out of them and burned on the altar. In this way he desecrated the altar, doing what the prophet had predicted long before during the festival as King Jeroboam was standing by the altar. King Josiah looked around and saw the tomb of the prophetwho had made this prediction.

17 “Whose tomb is that?” he asked.

The people of Bethel answered, “It is the tomb of the prophet who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done to this altar.”

18 “Leave it as it is,” Josiah ordered. “His bones are not to be moved.”

So his bones were not moved, neither were those of the prophet who had come from Samaria.

19 In every city of Israel King Josiah tore down all the pagan places of worship which had been built by the kings of Israel, who thereby aroused the Lord’s anger. He did to all those altars what he had done in Bethel.

20 He killed all the pagan priests on the altars where they served, and he burned human bones on every altar. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Celebrates the Passover

21 King Josiah ordered the people to celebrate the Passover in honor of the Lord their God, as written in the book of the covenant.

22 No Passover like this one had ever been celebrated by any of the kings of Israel or of Judah, since the time when judges ruled the nation.

23 Now at last, in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, the Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem.

Other Changes Made by Josiah

24 In order to enforce the laws written in the book that the High Priest Hilkiah had found in the Temple, King Josiah removed from Jerusalem and the rest of Judah all the mediums and fortunetellers, and all the household gods, idols, and all other pagan objects of worship.

25 There had never been a king like him before, who served the Lord with all his heart, mind, and strength, obeying all the Law of Moses; nor has there been a king like him since.

26 But the Lord’s fierce anger had been aroused against Judah by what King Manasseh had done, and even now it did not die down.

27 The Lord said, “I will do to Judah what I have done to Israel: I will banish the people of Judah from my sight, and I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and the Temple, the place I said was where I should be worshiped.”

The End of Josiah’s Reign

28 Everything else that King Josiah did is recorded inThe History of the Kings of Judah.

29 While Josiah was king, King Neco of Egypt led an army to the Euphrates River to help the emperor of Assyria. King Josiah tried to stop the Egyptian army at Megiddo and was killed in battle.

30 His officials placed his body in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where he was buried in the royal tombs.

The people of Judah chose Josiah’s son Joahaz and anointed him king.

King Joahaz of Judah

31 Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for three months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from the city of Libnah.

32 Following the example of his ancestors, he sinned against the Lord.

33 His reign ended when King Neco of Egypt took him prisoner in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, and made Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold as tribute.

34 King Neco made Josiah’s son Eliakim king of Judah as successor to Josiah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Joahaz was taken to Egypt by King Neco, and there he died.

King Jehoiakim of Judah

35 King Jehoiakim collected a tax from the people in proportion to their wealth, in order to raise the amount needed to pay the tribute demanded by the king of Egypt.

36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from the town of Rumah.

37 Following the example of his ancestors, Jehoiakim sinned against the Lord.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2KI/23-b589a0cb1a3aa78209e9f689bf74069f.mp3?version_id=68—

1 While Jehoiakim was king, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia invaded Judah, and for three years Jehoiakim was forced to submit to his rule; then he rebelled.

2 The Lord sent armed bands of Babylonians, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites against Jehoiakim to destroy Judah, as the Lord had said through his servants the prophets that he would do.

3 This happened at the Lord’s command, in order to banish the people of Judah from his sight because of all the sins that King Manasseh had committed,

4 and especially because of all the innocent people he had killed. The Lord could not forgive Manasseh for that.

5 Everything that Jehoiakim did is recorded inThe History of the Kings of Judah.

6 Jehoiakim died, and his son Jehoiachin succeeded him as king.

7 The king of Egypt and his army never marched out of Egypt again, because the king of Babylonia now controlled all the territory that had belonged to Egypt, from the Euphrates River to the northern border of Egypt.

King Jehoiachin of Judah

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for three months. His mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem.

9 Following the example of his father, Jehoiachin sinned against the Lord.

10 It was during his reign that the Babylonian army, commanded by King Nebuchadnezzar’s officers, marched against Jerusalem and besieged it.

11 During the siege Nebuchadnezzar himself came to Jerusalem,

12 and King Jehoiachin, along with his mother, his sons, his officers, and the palace officials, surrendered to the Babylonians. In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign he took Jehoiachin prisoner

13 and carried off to Babylon all the treasures in the Temple and the palace. As the Lord had foretold, Nebuchadnezzar broke up all the gold utensils which King Solomon had made for use in the Temple.

14 Nebuchadnezzar carried away as prisoners the people of Jerusalem, all the royal princes, and all the leading men, ten thousand in all. He also deported all the skilled workers, including the blacksmiths, leaving only the poorest of the people behind in Judah.

15 Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon as a prisoner, together with Jehoiachin’s mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of Judah.

16 Nebuchadnezzar deported all the important men to Babylonia, seven thousand in all, and one thousand skilled workers, including the blacksmiths, all of them able-bodied men fit for military duty.

17 Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah king of Judah and changed his name to Zedekiah.

King Zedekiah of Judah

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from the city of Libnah.

19 King Zedekiah sinned against the Lord, just as King Jehoiakim had done.

20 The Lord became so angry with the people of Jerusalem and Judah that he banished them from his sight.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2KI/24-a2656a6e332c5b8870d2ba7c2a32a7b1.mp3?version_id=68—

The Fall of Jerusalem

1 Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, and so Nebuchadnezzar came with all his army and attacked Jerusalem on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign. They set up camp outside the city, built siege walls around it,

2 and kept it under siege until Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

3 On the ninth day of the fourth monthof that same year, when the famine was so bad that the people had nothing left to eat,

4 the city walls were broken through. Although the Babylonians were surrounding the city, all the soldiers escaped during the night. They left by way of the royal garden, went through the gateway connecting the two walls, and fled in the direction of the Jordan Valley.

5 But the Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah, captured him in the plains near Jericho, and all his soldiers deserted him.

6 Zedekiah was taken to King Nebuchadnezzar, who was in the city of Riblah, and there Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him.

7 While Zedekiah was looking on, his sons were put to death; then Nebuchadnezzar had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, placed him in chains, and took him to Babylon.

The Destruction of the Temple

8 On the seventh day of the fifth month of the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, Nebuzaradan, adviser to the king and commander of his army, entered Jerusalem.

9 He burned down the Temple, the palace, and the houses of all the important people in Jerusalem,

10 and his soldiers tore down the city walls.

11 Then Nebuzaradan took away to Babylonia the people who were left in the city, the remaining skilled workers,and those who had deserted to the Babylonians.

12 But he left in Judah some of the poorest people, who owned no property, and put them to work in the vineyards and fields.

13 The Babylonians broke in pieces the bronze columns and the carts that were in the Temple, together with the large bronze tank, and they took all the bronze to Babylon.

14 They also took away the shovels and the ash containers used in cleaning the altar, the tools used in tending the lamps, the bowls used for catching the blood from the sacrifices, the bowls used for burning incense, and all the other bronze articles used in the Temple service.

15 They took away everything that was made of gold or silver, including the small bowls and the pans used for carrying live coals.

16 The bronze objects that King Solomon had made for the Temple—the two columns, the carts, and the large tank—were too heavy to weigh.

17 The two columns were identical: each one was 27 feet high, with a bronze capital on top, 4½ feet high. All around each capital was a bronze grillwork decorated with pomegranates made of bronze.

The People of Judah Are Taken to Babylonia

18 In addition, Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, took away as prisoners Seraiah the High Priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank, and the three other important Temple officials.

19 From the city he took the officer who had been in command of the troops, five of the king’s personal advisers who were still in the city, the commander’s assistant, who was in charge of military records, and sixty other important men.

20 Nebuzaradan took them to the king of Babylonia, who was in the city of Riblah

21 in the territory of Hamath. There the king had them beaten and put to death.

So the people of Judah were carried away from their land into exile.

Gedaliah, Governor of Judah

22 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, governor of Judah, and placed him in charge of all those who had not been taken away to Babylonia.

23 When the Judean officers and soldiers who had not surrendered heard about this, they joined Gedaliah at Mizpah. These officers were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth from the town of Netophah, and Jezaniah from Maacah.

24 Gedaliah said to them, “I give you my word that there is no need for you to be afraid of the Babylonian officials. Settle in this land, serve the king of Babylonia, and all will go well with you.”

25 But in the seventh month of that year, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, a member of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men, attacked Gedaliah, and killed him. He also killed the Israelites and Babylonians who were there with him.

26 Then all the Israelites, rich and poor alike, together with the army officers, left and went to Egypt, because they were afraid of the Babylonians.

Jehoiachin Is Released from Prison

27 In the year that Evilmerodach became king of Babylonia, he showed kindness to King Jehoiachin of Judah by releasing him from prison. This happened on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year after Jehoiachin had been taken away as prisoner.

28 Evilmerodach treated him kindly and gave him a position of greater honor than he gave the other kings who were exiles with him in Babylonia.

29 So Jehoiachin was permitted to change from his prison clothes and to dine at the king’s table for the rest of his life.

30 Each day, for as long as he lived, he was given a regular allowance for his needs.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2KI/25-bce7c422b97ef69c5b6d1d25b9c037f0.mp3?version_id=68—

King David in His Old Age

1 King David was now a very old man, and although his servants covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm.

2 So his officials said to him, “Your Majesty, let us find a young woman to stay with you and take care of you. She will lie close to you and keep you warm.”

3 A search was made all over Israel for a beautiful young woman, and in Shunem they found such a woman named Abishag, and brought her to the king.

4 She was very beautiful, and waited on the king and took care of him, but he did not have intercourse with her.

Adonijah Claims the Throne

5-6 Now that Absalom was dead, Adonijah, the son of David and Haggith, was the oldest surviving son. He was a very handsome man. David had never reprimanded him about anything, and he was ambitious to be king. He provided for himself chariots, horses, and an escort of fifty men.

7 He talked with Joab (whose mother was Zeruiah) and with Abiathar the priest, and they agreed to support his cause.

8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s bodyguards were not on Adonijah’s side.

9 One day Adonijah offered a sacrifice of sheep, bulls, and fattened calves at Snake Rock, near the spring of Enrogel. He invited the other sons of King David and the king’s officials who were from Judah to come to this sacrificial feast,

10 but he did not invite his half brother Solomon or Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the king’s bodyguards.

Solomon Is Made King

11 Then Nathan went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, and asked her, “Haven’t you heard that Haggith’s son Adonijah has made himself king? And King David doesn’t know anything about it!

12 If you want to save your life and the life of your son Solomon, I would advise you to

13 go at once to King David and ask him, ‘Your Majesty, didn’t you solemnly promise me that my son Solomon would succeed you as king? How is it, then, that Adonijah has become king?’”

14 And Nathan added, “Then, while you are still talking with King David, I will come in and confirm your story.”

15 So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. He was very old, and Abishag, the young woman from Shunem, was taking care of him.

16 Bathsheba bowed low before the king, and he asked, “What do you want?”

17 She answered, “Your Majesty, you made me a solemn promise in the name of the Lord your God that my son Solomon would be king after you.

18 But Adonijah has already become king, and you don’t know anything about it.

19 He has offered a sacrifice of many bulls, sheep, and fattened calves, and he invited your sons, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of your army to the feast, but he did not invite your son Solomon.

20 Your Majesty, all the people of Israel are looking to you to tell them who is to succeed you as king.

21 If you don’t, as soon as you are dead, my son Solomon and I will be treated as traitors.”

22 She was still speaking, when Nathan arrived at the palace.

23 The king was told that the prophet was there, and Nathan went in and bowed low before the king.

24 Then he said, “Your Majesty, have you announced that Adonijah would succeed you as king?

25 This very day he has gone and offered a sacrifice of many bulls, sheep, and fattened calves. He invited all your sons, Joab the commander of your army,and Abiathar the priest, and right now they are feasting with him and shouting, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’

26 But he did not invite me, sir, or Zadok the priest or Benaiah or Solomon.

27 Did Your Majesty approve all this and not even tell your officials who is to succeed you as king?”

28 King David said, “Ask Bathsheba to come back in”—and she came and stood before him.

29 Then he said to her, “I promise you by the living Lord, who has rescued me from all my troubles,

30 that today I will keep the promise I made to you in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, that your son Solomon would succeed me as king.”

31 Bathsheba bowed low and said, “May my lord the king live forever!”

32 Then King David sent for Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah. When they came in,

33 he said to them, “Take my court officials with you; have my son Solomon ride my own mule, and escort him down to Gihon Spring,

34 where Zadok and Nathan are to anoint him as king of Israel. Then blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

35 Follow him back here when he comes to sit on my throne. He will succeed me as king, because he is the one I have chosen to be the ruler of Israel and Judah.”

36 “It shall be done,” answered Benaiah, “and may the Lord your God confirm it!

37 As the Lord has been with Your Majesty, may he also be with Solomon and make his reign even more prosperous than yours.”

38 So Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal bodyguards put Solomon on King David’s mule and escorted him to Gihon Spring.

39 Zadok took the container of olive oil which he had brought from the Tent of the Lord’s presence, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet, and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!”

40 Then they all followed him back, shouting for joy and playing flutes, making enough noise to shake the ground.

41 As Adonijah and all his guests were finishing the feast, they heard the noise. And when Joab heard the trumpet, he asked, “What’s the meaning of all that noise in the city?”

42 Before he finished speaking, Jonathan, the son of the priest Abiathar, arrived. “Come on in,” Adonijah said. “You’re a good man—you must be bringing good news.”

43 “I’m afraid not,” Jonathan answered. “His Majesty King David has made Solomon king.

44 He sent Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal bodyguards to escort him. They had him ride on the king’s mule,

45 and Zadok and Nathan anointed him as king at Gihon Spring. Then they went into the city, shouting for joy, and the people are now in an uproar. That’s the noise you just heard.

46 Solomon is now the king.

47 What is more, the court officials went in to pay their respects to His Majesty King David and said, ‘May your God make Solomon even more famous than you, and may Solomon’s reign be even more prosperous than yours.’ Then King David bowed in worship on his bed

48 and prayed, ‘Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has today made one of my descendants succeed me as king, and has let me live to see it!’”

49 Then Adonijah’s guests were afraid, and they all got up and left, each going his own way.

50 Adonijah, in great fear of Solomon, went to the Tent of the Lord’s presence and took hold of the corners of the altar.

51 King Solomon was told that Adonijah was afraid of him and that he was holding on to the corners of the altar and had said, “First, I want King Solomon to swear to me that he will not have me put to death.”

52 Solomon replied, “If he is loyal, not even a hair on his head will be touched; but if he is not, he will die.”

53 King Solomon then sent for Adonijah and had him brought down from the altar. Adonijah went to the king and bowed low before him, and the king said to him, “You may go home.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/1KI/1-edbfceaf311c6d94bb6ead9a9d7027c6.mp3?version_id=68—

David’s Last Instructions to Solomon

1 When David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions:

2 “My time to die has come. Be confident and determined,

3 and do what the Lord your God orders you to do. Obey all his laws and commands, as written in the Law of Moses, so that wherever you go you may prosper in everything you do.

4 If you obey him, the Lord will keep the promise he made when he told me that my descendants would rule Israel as long as they were careful to obey his commands faithfully with all their heart and soul.

5 “There is something else. You remember what Joab did to me by killing the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. You remember how he murdered them in time of peace as revenge for deaths they had caused in time of war. He killed innocent men,and now I bear the responsibility for what he did, and I sufferthe consequences.

6 You know what to do; you must not let him die a natural death.

7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai from Gilead and take care of them, because they were kind to me when I was fleeing from your brother Absalom.

8 “There is also Shimei son of Gera, from the town of Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me bitterly the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he met me at the Jordan River, I gave him my solemn promise in the name of the Lord that I would not have him killed.

9 But you must not let him go unpunished. You know what to do, and you must see to it that he is put to death.”

The Death of David

10 David died and was buried in David’s City.

11 He had been king of Israel for forty years, ruling seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

12 Solomon succeeded his father David as king, and his royal power was firmly established.

The Death of Adonijah

13 Then Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, went to Bathsheba, who was Solomon’s mother. “Is this a friendly visit?” she asked.

“It is,” he answered,

14 and then he added, “I have something to ask of you.”

“What is it?” she asked.

15 He answered, “You know that I should have become king and that everyone in Israel expected it. But it happened differently, and my brother became king because it was the Lord’s will.

16 And now I have one request to make; please do not refuse me.”

“What is it?” Bathsheba asked.

17 He answered, “Please ask King Solomon—I know he won’t refuse you—to let me have Abishag, the young woman from Shunem, as my wife.”

18 “Very well,” she answered. “I will speak to the king for you.”

19 So Bathsheba went to the king to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king stood up to greet his mother and bowed to her. Then he sat on his throne and had another one brought in on which she sat at his right.

20 She said, “I have a small favor to ask of you; please do not refuse me.”

“What is it, mother?” he asked. “I will not refuse you.”

21 She answered, “Let your brother Adonijah have Abishag as his wife.”

22 “Why do you ask me to give Abishag to him?” the king asked. “You might as well ask me to give him the throne too. After all, he is my older brother, and Abiathar the priest and Joab are on his side!”

23 Then Solomon made a solemn promise in the Lord’s name, “May God strike me dead if I don’t make Adonijah pay with his life for asking this!

24 The Lord has firmly established me on the throne of my father David; he has kept his promise and given the kingdom to me and my descendants. I swear by the living Lord that Adonijah will die this very day!”

25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Adonijah.

Abiathar’s Banishment and Joab’s Death

26 Then King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to your country home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not have you put to death now, for you were in charge of the Lord’s Covenant Box while you were with my father David, and you shared in all his troubles.”

27 Then Solomon dismissed Abiathar from serving as a priest of the Lord, and so made come true what the Lord had said in Shiloh about the priest Eli and his descendants.

28 Joab heard what had happened. (He had supported Adonijah, but not Absalom.) So he fled to the Tent of the Lord’s presence and took hold of the corners of the altar.

29 When the news reached King Solomon that Joab had fled to the Tent and was by the altar, Solomon sent a messenger to Joab to ask him why he had fled to the altar. Joab answered that he had fled to the Lord because he was afraid of Solomon. So King Solomon sent Benaiahto kill Joab.

30 He went to the Tent of the Lord’s presence and said to Joab, “The king orders you to come out.”

“No,” Joab answered. “I will die here.”

Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said.

31 “Do what Joab says,” Solomon answered. “Kill him and bury him. Then neither I nor any other of David’s descendants will any longer be held responsible for what Joab did when he killed innocent men.

32 The Lord will punish Joab for those murders, which he committedwithout my father David’s knowledge. Joab killed two innocent men who were better men than he: Abner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa, commander of the army of Judah.

33 The punishment for their murders will fall on Joab and on his descendants forever. But the Lord will always give success to David’s descendants who sit on his throne.”

34 So Benaiah went to the Tent of the Lord’s presence and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the open country.

35 The king made Benaiah commander of the army in Joab’s place and put Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.

The Death of Shimei

36 Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself here in Jerusalem. Live in it and don’t leave the city.

37 If you ever leave and go beyond Kidron Brook, you will certainly die—and you yourself will be to blame.”

38 “Very well, Your Majesty,” Shimei answered. “I will do what you say.” So he lived in Jerusalem a long time.

39 Three years later, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to the king of Gath, Achish son of Maacah. When Shimei heard that they were in Gath,

40 he saddled his donkey and went to King Achish in Gath, to find his slaves. He found them and brought them back home.

41 When Solomon heard what Shimei had done,

42 he sent for him and said, “I made you promise in the Lord’s name not to leave Jerusalem. And I warned you that if you ever did, you would certainly die. Did you not agree to it and say that you would obey me?

43 Why, then, have you broken your promise and disobeyed my command?

44 You know very well all the wrong that you did to my father David. The Lord will punish you for it.

45 But he will bless me, and he will make David’s kingdom secure forever.”

46 Then the king gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Shimei. Solomon was now in complete control.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/1KI/2-7be52f8e6c4d79ff655c8e76de24b38c.mp3?version_id=68—

Solomon Prays for Wisdom

1 Solomon made an alliance with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. He brought her to live in David’s City until he had finished building his palace, the Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.

2 A temple had not yet been built for the Lord, and so the people were still offering sacrifices at many different altars.

3 Solomon loved the Lord and followed the instructions of his father David, but he also slaughtered animals and offered them as sacrifices on various altars.

4 On one occasion he went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices because that was where the most famous altar was. He had offered hundreds of burnt offerings there in the past.

5 That night the Lord appeared to him in a dream and asked him, “What would you like me to give you?”

6 Solomon answered, “You always showed great love for my father David, your servant, and he was good, loyal, and honest in his relation with you. And you have continued to show him your great and constant love by giving him a son who today rules in his place.

7 O Lord God, you have let me succeed my father as king, even though I am very young and don’t know how to rule.

8 Here I am among the people you have chosen to be your own, a people who are so many that they cannot be counted.

9 So give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?”

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this,

11 and so he said to him, “Because you have asked for the wisdom to rule justly, instead of long life for yourself or riches or the death of your enemies,

12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you more wisdom and understanding than anyone has ever had before or will ever have again.

13 I will also give you what you have not asked for: all your life you will have wealth and honor, more than that of any other king.

14 And if you obey me and keep my laws and commands, as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”

15 Solomon woke up and realized that God had spoken to him in the dream. Then he went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the Lord’s Covenant Box and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. After that he gave a feast for all his officials.

Solomon Judges a Difficult Case

16 One day two prostitutes came and presented themselves before King Solomon.

17 One of them said, “Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a baby boy at home while she was there.

18 Two days after my child was born, she also gave birth to a baby boy. Only the two of us were there in the house—no one else was present.

19 Then one night she accidentally rolled over on her baby and smothered it.

20 She got up during the night, took my son from my side while I was asleep, and carried him to her bed; then she put the dead child in my bed.

21 The next morning, when I woke up and was going to nurse my baby, I saw that it was dead. I looked at it more closely and saw that it was not my child.”

22 But the other woman said, “No! The living child is mine, and the dead one is yours!”

The first woman answered back, “No! The dead child is yours, and the living one is mine!”

And so they argued before the king.

23 Then King Solomon said, “Each of you claims that the living child is hers and that the dead child belongs to the other one.”

24 He sent for a sword, and when it was brought,

25 he said, “Cut the living child in two and give each woman half of it.”

26 The real mother, her heart full of love for her son, said to the king, “Please, Your Majesty, don’t kill the child! Give it to her!”

But the other woman said, “Don’t give it to either of us; go on and cut it in two.”

27 Then Solomon said, “Don’t kill the child! Give it to the first woman—she is its real mother.”

28 When the people of Israel heard of Solomon’s decision, they were all filled with deep respect for him, because they knew then that God had given him the wisdom to settle disputes fairly.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/1KI/3-a46374da8b83b0d1d1a02401d812f652.mp3?version_id=68—