And the food at his table, and all his servants seated there, and those who were waiting on him in their places, and their robes, and his wine-servants and their robes, and the burned offerings which he made in the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom!

Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on his throne, to be king for Jehovah thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do justice and righteousness.

(And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought sandal-wood and precious stones.

And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.

And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, How do ye advise to return answer to this people?

But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, who had grown up with him, that stood before him.

And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?

And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying, Thus shalt thou say to the people who have spoken to thee saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and lighten thou it for us, thus shalt thou say to them: My little finger is thicker than my father's loins;

As to the sons of Israel who are dwelling in the cities of Judah -- Rehoboam reigneth over them.

Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the men subject to taskwork; and the children of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

When Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

Further, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with Rehoboam from all their districts.

Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers.

who bore him these sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

After her he took Maacah the daughter (granddaughter) of Absalom, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

with a thousand and two hundred chariots, and with sixty thousand horsemen, and there is no number to the people who have come with him out of Egypt -- Lubim, Sukkiim, and Cushim --

And Shemaiah the prophet hath come in unto Rehoboam and the heads of Judah who have been gathered unto Jerusalem from the presence of Shishak, and saith to them, 'Thus said Jehovah, Ye have forsaken Me, and also, I have left you in the hand of Shishak;'

And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the couriers who kept the entrance of the king's house.

And Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of valor.

Even so, Nebat's son Jeroboam, who used to serve David's son Solomon, rose in rebellion against his own master!

and worthless (unprincipled, unethical) men gathered around him, useless and wicked men, who proved too strong for Rehoboam the son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young and timid, and could not assert himself against them.

'Have ye not cast out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make to you priests like the peoples of the lands? every one who hath come to fill his hand with a bullock, a son of the herd, and seven rams, even he hath been a priest to No-gods!

But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned (turned away from) Him. The sons of Aaron are ministering to the Lord as priests, and the Levites attend to their service.

By whom burned offerings and perfumes are sent up in smoke before the Lord every morning and every evening; and they put out the holy bread on its table and the gold support for the lights with its lights burning every evening; for we keep the orders given to us by the Lord our God, but you have gone away from him.

Now Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, who carried large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, who carried shields and drew bows, all courageous men.

And Asa calleth unto Jehovah his God, and saith, 'Jehovah! it is nothing with Thee to help, between the mighty and those who have no power; help us, O Jehovah, our God, for on Thee we have leant, and in Thy name we have come against this multitude; O Jehovah, our God thou art; let him not prevail with Thee -- mortal man!

and Asa and the people who are with him pursue them even to Gerar, and there fall of the Cushim, for they have no preserving, because they have been broken before Jehovah, and before His camp; and they bear away very much spoil,

They also attacked the tents of those who owned livestock and carried off lots of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

and in those times there is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles are on all the inhabitants of the lands,

Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him.

and every one who doth not seek for Jehovah, God of Israel, is put to death, from small unto great, from man unto woman.

And Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of Jehovah and of the king's house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who dwelt at Damascus, saying,

For, as touching Yahweh, seeing that , his eyes, are ever running to and fro throughout all the earth, to shew himself strong with them who are perfect toward himself, thou hast made thyself foolish over this, - for, from henceforth, there shall be with thee - wars.

And in the third year to his kingdom he sent to his chiefs to the son of power, and to the servant of Jehovah, and to him Remembered of Jehovah, and to the Gift of God, and to Who as God, to teach in the cities of Judah.

And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour.

From Benjamin, Eliada, a skilled warrior, led 200,000 men who were equipped with bows and shields,

Near him was Jehozabad, who was accompanied by 180,000 soldiers equipped for warfare.

These waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah.

and goeth down at the end of certain years unto Ahab to Samaria, and Ahab sacrificeth for him sheep and oxen in abundance, and for the people who are with him, and persuadeth him to go up unto Ramoth-Gilead.

But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord still here by whom we may inquire?”

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

And the messenger who hath gone to call for Micaiah hath spoken unto him, saying, 'Lo, the words of the prophets -- one mouth -- are good towards the king, and let, I pray thee, thy word be like one of theirs: and thou hast spoken good.'

And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.

And the king of Aram hath commanded the heads of the charioteers whom he hath, saying, 'Ye do not fight with small or with great, except with the king of Israel by himself.'

So when the chariot commanders observed Jehoshaphat, they said by mistake, "It's the king of Israel!" and they turned aside to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out to the LORD, who helped him, and God diverted them from him.

Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the ungodly and love those who hate the Lord and in doing so bring wrath from the Lord on yourself?

And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment.

and any strife that cometh in unto you of your brethren who are dwelling in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and command, statutes, and judgments, then ye have warned them and they become not guilty before Jehovah, and wrath hath not been on you and on your brethren; thus do ye do, and ye are not guilty.

“Note that Amariah, the chief priest, is over you in all matters related to the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all matters related to the king, and the Levites are officers in your presence. Be strong; may the Lord be with those who do what is good.”

Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea from Syria. Behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi).

who gathered to seek the Lord. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.

And he said, "O Yahweh, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Now you rule in all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand [are] power and might, and there is none [who can] resist against you.

Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;

O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

Ye shall not have to fight on this occasion: set yourselves, stand and see the salvation of Jehovah who is with you! Judah and Jerusalem, fear not nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them, and Jehovah will be with you.

And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed singers to Yahweh [who were] giving praise to the splendor of [his] holiness when they went out before the army. And they said, "Give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love [is] everlasting!"

And when they began the song of triumph and praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who had come against Judah, and they were smitten.

And Judah came against the watchtower of the wilderness. And they looked at the crowd, and behold, corpses were lying on the ground. There was none [who had] escaped.

And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the lands, when they had news of how the Lord made war on those who came against Israel.

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.

And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:

And Jehoram went over with his captains, and all the chariots with him; and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites who had surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots.

but hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot, like as the house of Ahab did, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house, who were better than thyself:

And Jehovah stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, who are near the Ethiopians;

And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the band of men who had come with the Arabs to the camp had murdered all the older sons. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, reigned.

And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

It came about that when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the leaders of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s [murdered] brothers ministering to Ahaziah, and he killed them.

And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom.

And Jehoshabeath daughter of the king taketh Joash son of Ahaziah, and stealeth him from the midst of the sons of the king who are put to death, and putteth him and his nurse into the inner part of the bed-chambers, and Jehoshabeath daughter of king Jehoram, wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she hath been sister of Ahaziah, hideth him from the face of Athaliah, and she hath not put him to death.

Seven years later, Jehoiada mustered up some courage and made a deal with the officers who commanded units of hundreds of soldiers, including Jehoram's son Azariah, Jehochanan's son Ishmael, Obed's son Azariah, Adaiah's son Maaseiah, and Zichri's son Elishaphat.

This is what you shall do: a third of you, of the priests and Levites who are resuming service on the Sabbath, shall be gatekeepers,

But let no one enter the house (temple) of the Lord except the priests and the Levites who minister; they may enter, for they are holy. And let all the people carefully observe the law of the Lord.

and the Levites have compassed the king round about, each with his weapon in his hand, and he who hath gone in unto the house is put to death; and be ye with the king in his coming in and in his going out.'

So the Levites and all Judah acted in accordance with everything that Jehoiada the priest had commanded; and every man took his men who were to resume duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss [any of] the divisions [from their duties].

And Athaliah heareth the voice of the people who are running, and who are praising the king, and she cometh in unto the people in the house of Jehovah,

She looked around, and there was the king, standing by his pillar at the gate, accompanied by officers and trumpeters who stood beside the king, along with all the people of the land rejoicing and sounding trumpets while singers lead the celebration with their musical instruments. Athaliah tore her robes and yelled "Treason! Treason!"

And Jehoiada the priest bringeth out the heads of the hundreds, inspectors of the force, and saith unto them, 'Take her out from within the rows, and he who hath gone after her is put to death by the sword;' for the priest said, 'Put her not to death in the house of Jehovah.'

Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.

Jehoiada stationed the gatekeepers [at the gates] of the house of the Lord, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean.

Joash was seven years old when he began to reign. He reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba.

who found two wives for him, so he fathered sons and daughters.

The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the Lord; and they would hire masons and carpenters (craftsmen) and also those who worked in iron and bronze to repair and restore the house of the Lord.

When they finished, they presented the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, who made articles for the Lord’s temple with it—articles for ministry and for making burnt offerings, and ladles and articles of gold and silver. They regularly offered burnt offerings in the Lord’s temple throughout Jehoiada’s life.

Now after the death of Jehoiada [the priest, who had hidden Joash], the officials of Judah came and bowed down to King Joash; then the king listened to them.

Then the Spirit of God came over Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God has said: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? Because you have abandoned (turned away from) the Lord, He has also abandoned (turned away from) you.’”

Now these [are] the ones who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath, the Ammonite, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith, the Moabite.

Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem.

And it came to pass when the kingdom was established unto him, that he killed his servants who had smitten the king his father.

and their sons he hath not put to death, but did as is written in the law, in the book of Moses, whom Jehovah commanded, saying, 'Fathers do not die for sons, and sons die not for fathers, but each for his own sin they die.'

Then Amaziah gathered Judah and assembled them according to ancestral house, according to commanders of thousands, and according to commanders of hundreds. He numbered those 20 years old or more for all Judah and Benjamin. He found there to be 300,000 choice men who could serve in the army, bearing spear and shield.

But go yourself, and be strong in war; God will not let you go down before those who are fighting against you; for God has power to give help or to send you down before your attackers.

The man of God answered, "The LORD has a lot more than that to give you!" So Amaziah sent the troops home who had arrived from Ephraim. They flew into a rage against Judah but left for home very angry.

But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth-horon, and smote of them three thousand, and took much spoil.

Wherefore the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, who said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which have not delivered their own people out of thy hand?

Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.

Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem.

And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.