# verses

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Yet I have reserved [for me] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.


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So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat who was plowing with twelve yoke [of oxen] before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him, and cast his mantle upon him.


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And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said to him, Go back again, for what have I done to thee?


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And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered to


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And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. And there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.


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And the king of Israel answered and said, It is according to thy saying, my lord, O king, I am thine, and all that I have.


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And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Ben-hadad, saying, I indeed sent to thee, saying, Thou shall deliver to me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy sons.


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But I will send my servants to thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants. And it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it a


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Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeks mischief, for he sent to me for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I did not deny him


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Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou sent for to thy servant at the first I will do, but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.


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And Ben-hadad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.


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And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him who girds on [his armor] boast himself as he who puts it off.


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And it came to pass, when [Ben-hadad] heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, Set [yourselves in array]. And they set [themselves in array] against the city.


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And, behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel, and said, Thus says LORD, Have thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day, and thou shall know that I am LORD.


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And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus says LORD, By the young men of the rulers of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, Thou.


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Then he mustered the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two. And after them he mustered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, being seven thousand.


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And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him.


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And the young men of the rulers of the provinces went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out from Samaria.


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And he said, Whether they come out for peace, take them alive, or whether they come out for war, taken them alive.


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So these went out of the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them.


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And they killed everyone his man. And the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. And Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen.


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And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.


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And the prophet came near to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen thyself. And mark, and see what thou do, for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.


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And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their god is a god of the hills, therefore they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.


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And do this thing: Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their place.


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And number thee an army, like the army that thou have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. And we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened to their voice, and did


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And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.


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And the sons of Israel were mustered, and were supported, and went against them. And the sons of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids, but the Syrians filled the country.


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And a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus says LORD, Because the Syrians have said, LORD is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great multitude


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And they encamped one opposite the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined. And the sons of Israel killed of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day.


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But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.


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And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps


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So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and [put] ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad says, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother.


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Now the men observed diligently whether anything would come from him. And they quickly caught it, and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him, and he caused him to come up


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And [Ben-hadad] said to him, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore, and thou shall make streets for thee in Damascus as my father made in Samaria. And I, [said Ahab], will let thee go with this covenant. So


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And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said by the word of LORD to his fellow, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.


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Then said he to him, Because thou have not obeyed the voice of LORD, behold, as soon as thou are departed from me, a lion shall kill thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and killed him.


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Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him.


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So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes.


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And as the king passed by, he cried out to the king, and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle, and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man. If by any means he is missing,


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And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So shall thy judgment be, thyself have decided it.


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And he hastened, and took the headband away from his eyes, and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.


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And he said to him, Thus says LORD, Because thou have let go out of thy hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.


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And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, near by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.


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And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs because it is near to my house. And I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it, or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee th


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And Naboth said to Ahab, LORD forbid it of me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee.


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And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him, for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid himself down upon his bed, and tu


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And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me thy vineyard for money, or else, if it please thee, I will give thee [another] vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give thee my vineyar


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And Jezebel his wife said to him, Do thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.


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So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his city, [and] who dwelt with Naboth.


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And set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou cursed God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him to death.


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And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.


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And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him. And the base fellows bore witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth cursed God and the king. Then they carried him forth o


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And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not al


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And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.


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Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwells in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth where he has gone down to take possession of it.


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And thou shall speak to him, saying, Thus says LORD, Have thou killed and also taken possession? And thou shall speak to him, saying, Thus says LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, eve


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And Ahab said to Elijah, Have thou found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found thee because thou have sold thyself to do that which is evil in the sight of LORD.


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Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away and will cut off from Ahab every man-child, and he who is shut up and he who is left at large in Israel.


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And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah for the provocation with which thou have provoked me to anger, and have made Israel to sin.


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He who dies of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat, and he who dies in the field shall the birds of the heavens eat.


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(But there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in the sight of LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.


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And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did whom LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.)


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And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.


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See thou how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.


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And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.


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And the king of Israel said to his servants, Know ye that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we are still, and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?


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And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou are, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.


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Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, for LORD will deliver it into the hand of the k


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And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the kin


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Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets were prophesying before them.


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And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for him horns of iron, and said, Thus says LORD, With these thou shall push the Syrians until they be consumed.


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And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper, for LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.


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And the messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets [declare] good to the king with one mouth. Let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak thou good.


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And when he came to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go up and prosper, and LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.


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And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of LORD?


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And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And LORD said, These have no master, let them return every man to his house in peace.


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And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?


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And [Micaiah] said, Therefore hear thou the word of LORD. I saw LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.


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And LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.


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And LORD said to him, With what? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shall entice him, and shall also prevail. Go forth, and do so.


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Now therefore, behold, LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and LORD has spoken evil concerning thee.


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Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way did the Spirit of LORD go from me to speak to thee?


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And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shall see on that day when thou shall go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.


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And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son,


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and say, Thus says the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction until I come in peace.


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And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, LORD has not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, ye peoples, all of you.


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And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and go into the battle, but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.


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Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel.


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And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel, and they turned aside to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out.


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And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.


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And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armor. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army, for I am severely wounded.


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And the battle increased that day. And the king was propped up in his chariot against the Syrians. And he died at evening, and the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom of the chariot.


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And there went a cry throughout the army about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his country.


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And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (now the harlots washed themselves [there]), according to the word of LORD which he spoke.


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Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?


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Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.


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And he walked in all the way of Asa his father. He turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of LORD. However the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high pla


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Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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And he put away out of the land the remnant of the sodomites, who remained in the days of his father Asa.


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Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber.


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Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.


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And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.


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Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, how he made Israel to sin.


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And he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger LORD, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.


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And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick. And he sent messengers, and said to them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this sickness.


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But the agent of LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?


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Now therefore thus says LORD, Thou shall not come down from the bed where thou have gone up, but shall surely die. And Elijah departed.


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And they said to him, There came up a man to meet us, and said to us, Go, turn again to the king that sent you, and say to him, Thus says LORD, Is it because there is no God in Israel that thou send to inquire of Baal-zebub, the go


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And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and girt with a belt of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.


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Then [the king] sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and, behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he spoke to him, O man of God, the king has said, Come down.


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And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.


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And again he sent to him another captain of fifty and his fifty. And he answered and said to him, O man of God, thus has the king said, Come down quickly.


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And Elijah answered and said to them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.


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And again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said to him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the


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Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and consumed the two former captains of fifty with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in thy sight.


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And the agent of LORD said to Elijah, Go down with him; do not be afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him to the king.


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And he said to him, Thus says LORD, Inasmuch as thou have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore thou shall not come down from the bed w


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So he died according to the word of LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram began to reign in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because he had no son.


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Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?


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And it came to pass, when LORD would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.


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And Elijah said to Elisha, Remain here, I pray thee, for LORD has sent me as far as Bethel. And Elisha said, As LORD lives, and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.


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And the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said to him, Do thou know that LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yes, I know it; hold ye your peace.


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And Elijah said to him, Elisha, remain here, I pray thee, for LORD has sent me to Jericho. And he said, As LORD lives, and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.


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And the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said to him, Do thou know that LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yes, I know it; hold ye your peace.


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And Elijah said to him, Remain here, I pray thee, for LORD has sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As LORD lives, and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And the two went on.


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And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood opposite them afar off. And the two stood by the Jordan.


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And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two went over on dry ground.


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And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee before I am taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.


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And he said, Thou have asked a hard thing. [Nevertheless], if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so to thee, but if not, it shall not be so.


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And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, [there appeared] a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which divided them both apart. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.


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And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen of it! And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.


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He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan.


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And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and struck the waters, and said, Where is LORD, the God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided here and there, and Elisha went over.


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And when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.


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And they said to him, Behold now, there are fifty strong men with thy servants. Let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the Spirit of LORD has taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he


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And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. Therefore they sent fifty men. And they sought three days, but did not find him.


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And they came back to him while he remained at Jericho. And he said to them, Did I not say to you, Do not go?


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And the men of the city said to Elisha, Behold, we pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the ground barren.


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And he went forth to the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein, and said, Thus says LORD, I have healed these waters. There shall not be from there any more death or barren land.


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And he went up from there to Bethel. And as he was going up by the way, there came forth young lads out of the city, and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, thou baldhead; go up, thou baldhead.


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And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of LORD. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tore forty-two lads of them.


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Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, but not like his father and like his mother, for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made.


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Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart therefrom.


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Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master. And he rendered to the king of Israel the wool of a hundred thousand lambs, and of a hundred thousand rams.


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And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up. I am as thou are, my people as thy people, my horses a


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So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom. And they made a circuit of seven days' journey, and there was no water for the army, nor for the beasts that followed them.


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And the king of Israel said, Alas! For LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.


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But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of LORD, that we may inquire of LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.


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And Jehoshaphat said, The word of LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.


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And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him, No, for LORD has called these three kings together t


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And Elisha said, As LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.


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But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of LORD came upon him.


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For thus says LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water, and ye shall drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts.


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And this is but a light thing in the sight of LORD. He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.


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And ye shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.


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And it came to pass in the morning, about the time of offering the oblation, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.


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Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings came up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all that were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood on the border.


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And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood.


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And they said, This is blood. The kings are surely destroyed, and they have smitten each man his fellow. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.


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And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them, and they went forward into the land smiting the Moabites.


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And they beat down the cities. And on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it. And they stopped all the fountains of water, and felled all the good trees, until in Kir-hareseth [only] they left the sto


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And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too hard for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not.


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Then he took his eldest son who should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there was great wrath against Israel, and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.


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Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead, and thou know that thy servant feared LORD, and the creditor has come to take my two children to him to be bo


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And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what have thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid has not anything in the house except a pot of oil.


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Then he said, Go, borrow for thee vessels abroad from all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.


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And thou shall go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels, and thou shall set aside that which is full.


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So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons. They brought [the vessels] to her, and she poured out.


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And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said to her, There is no more a vessel. And the oil halted.


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Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons from the rest.


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And it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem where there was a prominent woman. And she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as often as he passed by he turned in there to eat bread.


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And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God who passes by us continually.


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Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber on the wall. And let us set a bed for him there, and a table, and a seat, and a candlestick. And it shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in there.


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And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.


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And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, thou have been caring for us with all this care. What is to be done for thee? Would thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the army? And she answered, I dwell among my own p


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And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Truly she has no son, and her husband is old.


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And he said, At this season, when the time comes round, thou shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid.


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And the woman conceived, and bore a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said to her.


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And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.


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And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut [the door] upon him, and went out.


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And she called to her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the servants, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.


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And he said, Why will thou go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.


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Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward. Do not restrain my riding unless I bid thee.


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So she went, and came to the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the Shunammite.


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Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say to her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.


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And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away, but the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her, and LORD has hid it from me, and has n


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Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way. If thou meet any man, do not salute him, and if any salute thee, do not answer him again. And lay my staff upon the face of the child.


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And the mother of the child said, As LORD lives, and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.


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And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child, but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child has not awakened.


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And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands. And he stretched himself upon him, and the flesh of the child grew warm.


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Then he returned, and walked in the house once to and fro, and went up, and stretched himself upon him. And the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.


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And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, Take up thy son.


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Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground. And she took up her son, and went out.


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And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And there was a dearth in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. And he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.


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And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered wild gourds from it, his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage, for they did not know them.


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So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat of it.


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But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot, and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.


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And a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, Give to the people that they may eat.


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And his servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? But he said, Give to the people that they may eat, for thus says LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave of it.


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Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, [but he was] a leper.


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And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden, and she waited on Naaman's wife.


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And she said to her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal him of his leprosy.


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And a man went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maiden who is of the land of Israel.


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And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand [pieces] of gold, and ten changes of raiment.


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And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now when this letter has come to thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee that thou may heal him of his leprosy.


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And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he tore his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to heal a man of his leprosy? But consider, I pray you, and see ho


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And it was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Why have thou torn thy clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Is


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And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shall be clean.


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But Naaman was angry, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper.


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Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.


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And his servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, would thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he says to thee, Wash, and be clean?


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Then went he down, and dipped [himself] seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh came again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.


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And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him. And he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, take a present from thy se


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But he said, As LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it, but he refused.


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And Naaman said, If not, yet, I pray thee, let there be given to thy servant two mules' burden of dirt, for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to LORD.


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In this thing LORD pardon thy servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, LORD pardon thy serva


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But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. As LORD lives, I will run after him, and take something from him.


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So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he alighted from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?


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And he said, All is well. My master has sent me, saying, Behold, even now there come to me from the hill-country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of r


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And Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his servants, and they bore them before him.


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And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house, and he let the men go, and they departed.


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But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, From where did thou come, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went nowhere.


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And he said to him, Did not my heart go [with thee] when the man turned from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and men-servants and m


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The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cling to thee, and to thy seed forever. And he went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.


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And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell before thee is too confined for us.


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Let us go, we pray thee, to the Jordan, and every man take a beam from there, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.


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But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water. And he cried, and said, Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.


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And the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in there, and made the iron to float.


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Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel, and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.


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And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou not pass such a place, for the Syrians are coming down there.


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And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of. And he saved himself there, not once nor twice.


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And the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled for this thing, and he called his servants, and said to them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?


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And one of his servants said, No, my lord, O king, but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel tells the king of Israel the words that thou speak in thy bedchamber.


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And he said, Go and see where he is that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.


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Therefore he sent there horses, and chariots, and a great army. And they came by night, and encompassed the city about.


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And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an army with horses and chariots was round about the city. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! What shall we do?


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And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.


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And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.


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And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them to Samaria.


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And it came to pass, when they came into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men that they may see. And LORD opened their eyes, and they saw. And, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.


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And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them?


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And he answered, Thou shall not smite them. Would thou smite those whom thou have taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.


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And he prepared great provision for them. And when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.


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And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up, and besieged Samaria.


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And there was a great famine in Samaria. And, behold, they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty [pieces] of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five [pieces] of silver.


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And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.


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And he said, If LORD does not help thee, from where shall I help thee? Out of the threshing-floor, or out of the winepress?


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And the king said to her, What troubles thee? And she answered, This woman said to me, Give thy son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.


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So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, Give thy son that we may eat him. And she has hid her son.


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And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes (now he was passing by upon the wall). And the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth inside upon his flesh.


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Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.


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But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And [the king] sent a man from before him, but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, Do ye see how this son of a murderer has sent to tak


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And while he was yet talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him, and he said, Behold, this evil is of LORD. Why should I wait for LORD any longer?


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And Elisha said, Hear ye the word of LORD. Thus says LORD, Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour shall be [sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.


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Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if LORD should make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shall see it with thine eyes, but shall not eat of it.


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Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate, and they said one to another, Why do we sit here until we die?


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If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall to the army of the Syrians. If they save us alive, we shall


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And they rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians. And when they came to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no man there.


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For LORD had made the army of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great army. And they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and


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Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their donkeys, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.


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And when these lepers came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drank, and carried from there silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it. And they came back, and entered into another tent,


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Then they said one to another, We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we keep silent. If we delay till the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household


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So they came and called to the porter of the city. And they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but the horses tied, and the donkeys tied, and the tents


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And the king arose in the night, and said to his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When t


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And one of his servants answered and said, Let, I pray thee, some men take five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; behold, they are as all the


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Therefore they took two chariots with horses. And the king sent after the army of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.


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And they went after them to the Jordan. And, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.


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And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was [sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of LORD.


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And the king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate. And the people trampled upon him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.


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And it came to pass, as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.


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And that captain answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shall see it with thine eyes, but shall not eat of it.


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Now Elisha had spoken to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wherever thou can sojourn, for LORD has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land seve


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And the woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God. And she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.


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And it came to pass at the end of seven years, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines, and she went forth to cry to the king for her house and for her land.


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Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha has done.


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And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored to life him who was dead, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O


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And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.


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And Elisha came to Damascus, and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick. And it was told him, saying, The man of God has come here.


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And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness?


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So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recov


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And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, Thou shall surely recover. However LORD has shown me that he shall surely die.


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And he settled his countenance steadfastly [upon him], until he was ashamed. And the man of God wept.


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And Hazael said, Why do thou weep my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou will do to the sons of Israel: their strongholds thou will set on fire, and their young men thou will kill with the sword, and will dash


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And Hazael said, But what is thy servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, LORD has shown me that thou shall be king over Syria.


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Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, What did Elisha say to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou would surely recover.


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And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took the coverlet, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died. And Hazael reigned in his stead.


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And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.


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And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife. And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD.


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However LORD would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give to him a lamp for his sons always.


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Then Joram passed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him. And he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites that encompassed him about, and the captains of the chariots. And the people fled to their tents.


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And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.


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In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.


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Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of Israel.


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And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, as did the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.


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And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram.


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And king Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab


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And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.


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And when thou come there, look out there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brothers, and carry him to an inner chamber.


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Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus says LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and delay not.


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And when he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting. And he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, To which of us all? And he said, To thee, O captain.


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And he arose, and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, Thus says LORD, the God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of LORD, even over Israel.


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And thou shall smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.


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For the whole house of Ahab shall perish. And I will cut off from Ahab every man-child, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel.


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And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.


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And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.


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Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord, and one said to him, Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to thee? And he said to them, Ye know the man and what his talk was.


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And they said, It is not true; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, Thus says LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel.


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Then they hastened, and every man took his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, Jehu is king.


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So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.


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But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If this be your mind, then let none escape and go forth out of the city to


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So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah came down to see Joram.


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Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace?


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So one went on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What have thou to do with peace? Turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he does not come b


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Then he sent out a second on horseback who came to them, and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What have thou to do with peace? Turn thee behind me.


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And the watchman told, saying, He came to them, and does not come back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.


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And Joram said, Make ready. And they made his chariot ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and found him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.


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And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?


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And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and smote Joram between his arms. And the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.


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Then [Jehu] said to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, LORD laid this burden upon him:


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Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, says LORD, and I will requite thee in this plot, says LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plot [of ground], according to the word of LORD.


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But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. [And they smote him] at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled t


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And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David.


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And when Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window.


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And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? Who? And two or three eunuchs looked out to him.


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And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down. And some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses. And he trampled her under foot.


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And when he came in, he ate and drank, and he said, Now see to this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is a king's daughter.


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And they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.


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Therefore they came back, and told him. And he said, This is the word of LORD, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel,


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and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.


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Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and to those who brought up [the sons of] Ahab, saying,


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And now as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, also a fortified city, and armor,


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look ye out for the best and fittest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.


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But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, the two kings did not stand before him. How then shall we stand?


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And he who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those who brought up [the sons], sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shall bid us. We will not make any man king


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Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be on my side, and if ye will hearken to my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king's sons,


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And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and killed them, even seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezreel.


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And a messenger came, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.


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And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye are righteous. Behold, I conspired against my master, and killed him. But who smote all these?


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Know now that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of LORD, which LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for LORD has done that which he spoke by his servant Elijah.


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So Jehu smote all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left to him none remaining.


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And he arose and departed, and went to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing-house of the shepherds in the way,


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Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah, and we go down to salute the sons of the king and the sons of the queen.


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And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and killed them at the pit of the shearing-house, even forty-two men; neither did he leave any of them.


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And when he was departed from there, he came upon on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. And he saluted him, and said to him, Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, g


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And when he came to Samaria, he smote all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the word of LORD, which he spoke to Elijah.


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And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much.


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Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests. Let none be lacking, for I have a great sacrifice [to do] to Baal. Whoever shall be lacking, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtlet


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And Jehu sent through all Israel. And all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled from one end to another.


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And he said to him who was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought forth for them vestments.


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And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal. And he said to the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.


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And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt-offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for him eighty men outside, and said, If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape, [he who lets him go], his life shall be for the life of h


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And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and kill them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword. And the


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And they broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it an out-house to this day.


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However from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, Jehu did not depart from after them, [namely], the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.


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And LORD said to Jehu, Because thou have done well in executing that which is right in my eyes, [and] have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, thy sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne o


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But Jehu did not take heed to walk in the law of LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin.


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In those days LORD began to cut off from Israel. And Hazael smote them in all the borders of Israel,


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from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.


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Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?


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And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.


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Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal seed.


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But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons who were slain, even him and his nurse, [and put them] in the bedchamber. And they hid him f


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And in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the captains over hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and brought them to him into the house of LORD. And he made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house o


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And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house;


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and a third part shall be at the gate Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard. So shall ye keep the watch of the house, and be a barrier.


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And the two companies of you, even all who go forth on the Sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of LORD around the king.


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And ye shall encompass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand. And he who comes within the ranks, let him be slain. And be ye with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in.


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And the captains over hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And every man took his men, those who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the pr


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And the priest delivered to the captains over hundreds the spears and shields that had been king David's, which were in the house of LORD.


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And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, by the king round about.


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Then he brought out the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and [gave him] the testimony. And they made him king, and anointed him. And they clapped their hands, and said, Live, O king.


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And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard [and of] the people, she came to the people into the house of LORD.


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And she looked, and, behold, the king stood by the pillar, as the manner was, and the captains and the trumpets by the king. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes, and cried, Tre


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And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, Have her forth between the ranks, and kill with the sword the man who follows her. For the priest said, Let her not be slain i


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So they made way for her. And she went by the way of the horses' entry to the king's house, and there was she slain.


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And Jehoiada made a covenant between LORD and the king and the people, that they should be LORD's people; between the king also and the people.


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And all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and broke it down. They broke in pieces his altars and his images thoroughly, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over


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And he took the captains over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he


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So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And they had slain Athaliah with the sword at the king's house.


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Joash began to reign in the seventh year of Jehu. And he reigned forty years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba.


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And Joash did that which was right in the eyes of LORD all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.


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However the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.


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And Joash said to the priests, All the money of the hallowed things that is brought into the house of LORD, in current money, the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, and all the money that it come in any man's heart to


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let the priests take it to them, every man from his acquaintance, and they shall repair the broken parts of the house wherever any breach shall be found.


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But it was so, that in the twenty-third year of king Joash the priests had not repaired the broken parts of the house.


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Then king Joash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the [other] priests, and said to them, Why do ye not repair the broken parts of the house? Now therefore take no [more] money from your acquaintance, but deliver it for the br


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And the priests consented that they should take no [more] money from the people, neither repair the broken parts of the house.


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But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as a man comes into the house of LORD. And the priests who kept the threshold put in it all the money that was


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And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of LORD.


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And they gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of LORD. And they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked upon the house of LORD,


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and to the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the broken parts of the house of LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.


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But there were not made for the house of LORD cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of LORD,


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Moreover they did not reckon with the men into whose hand they delivered the money to give to those who did the work, for they dealt faithfully.


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The money for the trespass-offerings, and the money for the sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of LORD; it was the priests'.


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Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it. And Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.


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And Joash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house o


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Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and smote Joash at the house of Millo, [on the way] that goes down to Silla.


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For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.


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In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] seventeen years.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin. He did not depart from it.


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And the anger of LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, continually.


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And Jehoahaz besought LORD, and LORD hearkened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how that the king of Syria oppressed them.


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(And LORD gave Israel a savior, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians, and the sons of Israel dwelt in their tents as beforetime.


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Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin, but walked therein. And the Asherah also remained in Samaria.)


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For he did not leave to Jehoahaz of the people except fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria destroyed them, and made them like the dust in threshing.


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Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?


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And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Joash his son reigned in his stead.


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In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] sixteen years.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, but he walked therein.


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Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?


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And Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat upon his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.


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Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness of which he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him, and said, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen of it!


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And he said to the king of Israel, Put thy hand upon the bow. And he put his hand [upon it]. And Elisha laid his hands upon the king's hands.


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And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, LORD's arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Syria, for thou shall smite the Syrians in Aphek till thou have con


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And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stopped.


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And the man of God was angry with him, and said, Thou should have smitten five or six times. Then thou would have smitten Syria till thou had consumed it, whereas now thou shall smite Syria but thrice.


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And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.


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And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band, and they cast the man into the sepulcher of Elisha. And as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.


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But LORD was gracious to them, and had compassion on them, and had respect to them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither did he cast them from his presence as yet.


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And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz again took out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times Joash smote him, and recovered the cities of Israel.


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In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah began to reign.


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He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem.


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And he did that which was right in the eyes of LORD, yet not like David his father. He did according to all that Joash his father had done.


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And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he killed his servants who had slain the king his father,


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but he did not put to death the sons of the murderers, according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, as LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death


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He killed ten thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war, and called the name of it Joktheel, to this day.


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Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look each other in the face.


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And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife. And a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed b


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Thou have indeed smitten Edom, and thy heart has lifted thee up. Glory by it, and abide at home, for why should thou meddle to [thy] hurt, that thou should fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?


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But Amaziah would not hear. So Jehoash king of Israel went up. And he and Amaziah king of Judah looked each other in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.


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And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cu


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And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.


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Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?


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And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. And Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead.


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And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel.


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Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. And he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish, and killed him there.


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And they brought him upon horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.


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And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah.


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In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, [and reigned] forty-one years.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.


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He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of LORD, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher.


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For LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter, for there was none shut up nor left at large, neither was there any helper for Israel.


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And LORD did not say that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.


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Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, [which had belonged] to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of th


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And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son reigned in his stead.


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In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign.


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He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.


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And he did that which was right in the eyes of LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.


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And LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house. And Jotham the king's son was over the household, judging the people of the land.


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Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And Jotham his son reigned in his stead.


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In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.


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And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and killed him, and reigned in his stead.


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Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.


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This was the word of LORD which he spoke to Jehu, saying, Thy sons to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel. And so it came to pass.


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Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned the space of a month in Samaria.


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And Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and killed him, and reigned in his stead.


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Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.


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Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the borders of it, from Tirzah, because they did not open to him, therefore he smote it. And all the women in it who were with child he ripped up.


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In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, [and reigned] ten years in Samaria.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD. He did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.


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The king of Assyria came against the land Pul. And Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.


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And Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land.


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Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?


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In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] two years.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.


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And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the castle of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh. And fifty men of the Gileadites with him were there. And he killed him, and reign


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Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.


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In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] twenty years.


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In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali. And he carried them captive to As


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And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and killed him, and reigned in his stead in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.


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Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.


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In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign.


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He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.


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And he did that which was right in the eyes of LORD. He did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.


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However the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of LORD.


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Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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In those days LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.


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And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.


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In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.


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Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do that which was right in the eyes of LORD his God, like David his father.


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But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. Yes, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom LORD cast out from before the sons of Israel.


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And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.


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Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war, and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.


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At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath. And the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there to this day.


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So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son. Come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.


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And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.


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And the king of Assyria hearkened to him. And the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried [the people of] it captive to Kir, and killed Rezin.


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And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus. And king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the form of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship


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And Urijah the priest built an altar. According to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Urijah the priest made it until the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus.


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And when the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar. And the king drew near to the altar, and offered thereon.


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And he burnt his burnt-offering and his meal-offering, and poured his drink-offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace-offerings, upon the altar.


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And the brazen altar, which was before LORD, he brought from the forefront of the house, from between his altar and the house of LORD, and put it on the north side of his altar.


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And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt-offering, and the evening meal-offering, and the king's burnt-offering, and his meal-offering, with the burnt-offering of all the people


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And king Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases, and removed the laver from off them, and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stone.


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And the covered place for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry outside, he turned from the house of LORD, because of the king of Assyria.


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Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.


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In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, [and reigned] nine years.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him.


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Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him. And Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute.


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And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound hi


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Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.


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In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.


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And it was so, because the sons of Israel had sinned against LORD their God who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,


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and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom LORD cast out from before the sons of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made.


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And the sons of Israel did things secretly that were not right against LORD their God. And they built for them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.


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and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as the nations did whom LORD carried away before them. And they wrought wicked things to provoke LORD to anger.


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Yet LORD testified to Israel, and to Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent


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Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but stiffened their neck, like the neck of their fathers who did not believed in LORD their God.


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And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified to them. And they followed vanity, and became vain, and [went] after the nations that were round about them, c


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And they forsook all the commandments of LORD their God, and made for them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.


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And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of LORD to provoke him to anger.


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Therefore LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight. There was none left but only the tribe of Judah.


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Also Judah did not keep the commandments of LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.


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And LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.


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For he tore Israel from the house of David. And they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from following LORD, and made them sin a great sin.


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And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did. They did not depart from them


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until LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he spoke by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria to this day.


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And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel. And they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the


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And so it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear LORD. Therefore LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.


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Therefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou have carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria know not the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and, behold, they k


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Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry there one of the priests whom ye brought from there, and let them go and dwell there. And let him teach them the law of the god of the land.


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So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear LORD.


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However every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.


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And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,


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and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. And the Sepharvites burnt their sons in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.


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So they feared LORD, and made for them priests of the high places from among themselves, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.


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They feared LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.


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To this day they do after the former manner. They do not fear LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law or after the commandment which LORD commanded the sons of Jacob, whom he named Is


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with whom LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them.


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But LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, him ye shall fear, and to him ye shall bow yourselves, and to him ye shall sacrifice.


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And the statutes and the ordinances, and the law and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore. And ye shall not fear other gods.


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So these nations feared LORD, and served their graven images, their sons likewise, and their son's sons, as did their fathers, so do they to this day.


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Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.


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He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.


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And he did that which was right in the eyes of LORD, according to all that David his father had done.


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He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah, and he broke in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made. For to those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it, and he called it Nehushtan.


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He trusted in LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor [among those] who were before him.


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For he clung to LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept his commandments, which LORD commanded Moses.


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And LORD was with him. Wherever he went forth he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and did not serve him.


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He smote the Philistines to Gaza and the borders of it, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.


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And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.


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And at the end of three years they took it. Samaria was taken in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel.


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And the king of Assyria carried Israel away to Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes,


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because they did not obey the voice of LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of LORD commanded, and would not hear it, nor do it.


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Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them.


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And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended. Return from me. That which thou put on me I will bear. And the king of Assyria appointed to Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of


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And Hezekiah gave [him] all the silver that was found in the house of LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house.


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At that time Hezekiah cut off [the gold from] the doors of the temple of LORD, and [from] the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.


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And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army to Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they came up, they came and stood by the conduit of the


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And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.


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And Rabshakeh said to them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this in which thou trust?


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Thou say (but they are but vain words), [There is] counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom do thou trust that thou have rebelled against me?


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Now, behold, thou trust upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man leans it will go into his hand, and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust on him.


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But if ye say to me, We trust in LORD our God, is that not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?


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Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.


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How then can thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?


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Have I now come up without LORD against this place to destroy it? LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.


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Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language, for we understand it. And do not speak with us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people


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But Rabshakeh said to them, Has my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? [Has he] not [sent me] to the men who sit on the wall, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own urine with you?


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Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spoke, saying, Hear ye the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.


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Thus says the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand.


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Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in LORD, saying, LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.


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Do not hearken to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me. And eat ye every man of his vine, and every man of his fig tree, and drink ye every man the waters of his own cistern,


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until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and of honey, that ye may live, and not die. And do not hearken to Hezekiah when he per


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Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?


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Who are they among all the gods of the countries that have delivered their country out of my hand, that LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?


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But the people were silent, and did not answer him a word, for the king's commandment was, saying, Do not answer him.


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Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.


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And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of LORD.


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And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests (covered with sackcloth) to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.


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And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy, for the sons have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring forth.


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It may be that LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which LORD thy God has heard. Therefore lift up thy prayer for the remn


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And Isaiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus says LORD, Do not be afraid of the words that thou have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.


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Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear news, and shall return to his own land. And I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.


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So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.


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And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he comes out to fight against thee, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,


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Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Do not let thy God in whom thou trust deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.


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Behold, thou have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly. And shall thou be delivered?


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Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden that were in Telassar?


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Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?


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And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it. And Hezekiah went up to the house of LORD, and spread it before LORD.


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And Hezekiah prayed before LORD, and said, O LORD, the God of Israel, who sits [above] the cherubim, thou are the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. Thou have made heaven and earth.


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Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear. Open thine eyes, O LORD, and see. And hear the words of Sennacherib, with which he has sent for him to defy the living God.


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and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them.


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Now therefore, O LORD our God, save thou us, I beseech thee, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou LORD are God alone.


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Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says LORD, the God of Israel, Whereas thou have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.


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This is the word that LORD has spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion has despised thee and laughed thee to scorn. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee.


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Whom have thou defied and blasphemed? And against whom have thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? [Even] against the Holy One of Israel.


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By thy messengers thou have defied LORD, and have said, With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon. And I will cut down the tall cedars of it, and the choice f


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I have dug and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt.


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Have thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? Now I have brought it to pass, that thou should be to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.


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Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded. They were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as grain blasted before it is grown up.


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Because of thy raging against me, and because thine arrogance has come up into my ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou came.


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And this shall be the sign to thee: Ye shall eat this year that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs of the same. And in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of it.


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And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.


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For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion those who shall escape. The zeal of LORD shall perform this.


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Therefore thus says LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come to this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it.


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By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come to this city, says LORD.


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And it came to pass that night, that the agent of LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred eighty-five thousand. And when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.


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And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer smote him with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.


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In those days Hezekiah was sick to death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, Thus says LORD, Set thy house in order, for thou shall die, and not live.


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Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept greatly.


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And it came to pass, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of LORD came to him, saying,


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Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the prince of my people, Thus says LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will heal thee. On the third day thou shall go up to the house of LORD.


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And I will add to thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. And I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.


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And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign that LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of LORD the third day?


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And Isaiah said, This shall be the sign to thee from LORD, that LORD will do the thing that he has spoken: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?


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And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go forward ten steps. No, but let the shadow return backward ten steps.


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And Isaiah the prophet cried to LORD, and he brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.


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At that time Berodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.


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And Hezekiah hearkened to them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was no


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Then Isaiah the prophet came to king Hezekiah, and said to him, What did these men say, and from where did they come to thee? And Hezekiah said, They have come from a far country, even from Babylon.


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And he said, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah answered, They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.


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Behold, the days come that all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store to this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says LORD.


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And of thy sons who shall issue from thee, whom thou shall beget, they shall take away. And they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.


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Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of LORD which thou have spoken is good. He said moreover, Is it not so, if peace and truth shall be in my days?


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Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.


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For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed. And he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.


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And he made his son to pass through the fire, and practiced augury, and used enchantments, and dealt with psychics, and with sorcery. He wrought much evil in the sight of LORD to provoke him to anger.


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And he set the graven image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which LORD 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, I will put my name for


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Neither will I cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses


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But they did not hearken. And Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than did the nations whom LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel.


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Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols,


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therefore thus says LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I bring such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle.


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And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab. And I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.


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And I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies. And they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies,


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because they have done that which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt even to this day.


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Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin with which he made Judah to sin in doing that which was evil in the sight of LORD.


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Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his stead.


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Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.


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And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them.


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But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against king Amon. And the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.


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Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.


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And he did that which was right in the eyes of LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.


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And it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of LORD, saying,


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Go up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may sum the money which is brought into the house of LORD, which the keepers of the threshold have gathered of the people.


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And let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of LORD. And let them give it to the workmen who are in the house of LORD, to repair the broken parts of the house,


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to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house.


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However there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, for they dealt faithfully.


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And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan, and he read it.


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And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of t


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And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has delivered to me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.


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And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he tore his clothes.


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And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,


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Go ye, inquire of LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found, for great is the wrath of LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened to the words o


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So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quart


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Thus says LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of it, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read.


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Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.


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But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus says LORD, the God of Israel: As concerning the words which thou have heard,


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because thy heart was tender, and thou humbled thyself before LORD when thou heard what I spoke against this place, and against the inhabitants of it, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and have torn thy clothes, and


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Therefore, behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shall be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.


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And the king went up to the house of LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their ears all the words


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And the king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before LORD to walk after LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all [his] heart, and all [his] soul, to confirm the words of this coven


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And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for a


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And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and


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And he brought out the Asherah from the house of LORD, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people.


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And he broke down the houses of the sodomites that were in the house of LORD where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.


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And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the ga


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Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.


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And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.


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And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs. And he burned the chariots of the sun with f


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And the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of LORD, the king broke down, and beat [them] down from the


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And the king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh th


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And he broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.


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Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down. And he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and bu


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And as Josiah turned himself, he noticed the sepulchers that were there in the mount. And he sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchers, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of LORD which the ma


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Then he said, What monument is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulcher of the man of God who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou have done against the altar of Bethel.


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And he said, Let him be; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.


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And Josiah also took away all the houses of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke [LORD] to anger. And he did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.


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And he killed all the priests of the high places that were there, upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them. And he returned to Jerusalem.


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And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the Passover to LORD your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant.


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Surely such a Passover was not kept from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah.


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Moreover Josiah put away the psychics, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written i


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And there was no king before him like him, who turned to LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither arose any like him after him.


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Notwithstanding, LORD did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, with which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.


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And LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.


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Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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In his days Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates, and king Josiah went against him. And [Pharaoh-necoh] killed him at Megiddo when he had seen him.


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And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulcher. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his


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Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.


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And Pharaoh-necoh put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem. And he put the land to a tribute of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.


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And Pharaoh-necoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt, and died there.


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And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold from the people of the land, of every one according to his t


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Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.


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In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.


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And LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the sons of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of LORD, which he spoke by his


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Surely at the commandment of LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,


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and also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and LORD would not pardon.


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Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?


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And the king of Egypt did not come again any more out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.


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Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.


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At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.


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And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers. And the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.


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And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of LORD, as LORD had said.


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And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the rulers, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the blacksmiths. None remained except the poorest sort of the people of the land.


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And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. And the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the chief men of the land, he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.


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And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the blacksmiths a thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.


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And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, [Jehoiachin's] father's brother, king is his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.


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Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.


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For it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah through the anger of LORD, until he had cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.


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And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it. And they built forts


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On the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.


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Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war [fled] by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about), and [the king] went by t


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But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. And all his army was scattered from him.


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Then they took the king, and carried him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And they gave judgment upon him.


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And they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.


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Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.


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And he burnt the house of LORD, and the king's house. And all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, he burnt with fire.


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And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were [with] the captain of the guard, broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about.


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And the remnant of the people that were left in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the remnant of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive.


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And the pillars of brass that were in the house of LORD, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.


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And they took away the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered.


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And the captain of the guard took away the firepans, and the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver.


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The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of LORD, the brass of all these vessels was without weight.


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The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was upon it. And the height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass. And the second pillar h


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And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold.


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And he took an officer out of the city who was set over the men of war; and five men of those who saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe, the captain of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and si


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And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.


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And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.


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And as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over them.


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Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah


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And Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said to them, Fear not because of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.


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But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, so that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him


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And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces, arose, and came to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.


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And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lift


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And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,


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and changed his prison garments. And [Jehoiachin] ate bread before him continually all the days of his life,


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and for his allowance. There was a continual allowance given him from the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.


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And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raama, and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba, and Dedan.


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The sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech.


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And to Eber were born two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided. And his brother's name was Joktan.


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These are their generations: the first-born of Ishmael, Nebaioth, then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,


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And the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bore Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan: Sheba, and Dedan.


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The sons of Shobal: Alian, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon: Aiah, and Anah.


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Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel: Bela the son of Beor. And the name of his city was Dinhabah.


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And Baal-hanan died, and Hadad reigned in his stead. And the name of his city was Pai, and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab.


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The sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, which three were born to him of Shua's daughter the Canaanitess. And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of LORD, and he killed him.


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And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three.


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And Caleb the son of Hezron begot [sons] of Azubah [his] wife, and of Jerioth. And these were her sons: Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon.


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And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he took [to wife] when he was sixty years old, and she bore for him Segub.


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And Geshur and Aram took the towns of Jair from them, with Kenath, and the villages of it, even sixty cities. All these were the sons of Machir the father of Gilead.


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And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephrathah, then Abijah, Hezron's wife bore for him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.


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And the sons of Jerahmeel the first-born of Hezron were Ram the first-born, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, Ahijah.


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Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha.


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And the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were Mesha his first-born, who was the father of Ziph, and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron.


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She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbena, and the father of Gibea. And the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.


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These were the sons of Caleb. The sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim,


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and the families of Kiriath-jearim: The Ithrites, and the Puthites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites.


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The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, and the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites.


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And the families of scribes who dwelt at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.


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Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the first-born, Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess;


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the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;


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Six were born to him in Hebron, and he reigned there seven years and six months. And in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years,


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and these were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bathsheba the daughter of Ammiel;


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And the sons of Josiah: the first-born Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum.


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And the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel, and Shimei. And the sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam, and Hananiah; and Shelomith was their sister;


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And the sons of Hananiah: Pelatiah, and Jeshaiah; the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shecaniah.


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And the sons of Shecaniah: Shemaiah. And the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, and Igal, and Bariah, and Neariah, and Shaphat, six.


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And the sons of Elioneai: Hodaviah, and Eliashib, and Pelaiah, and Akkub, and Johanan, and Delaiah, and Anani, seven.


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And Reaiah the son of Shobal begot Jahath. And Jahath begot Ahumai and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites.


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And these were [the sons of] the father of Etam: Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi;


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and Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.


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And Naarah bore for him Ahuzzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah.


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And Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. And his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bore him with sorrow.


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And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that thy hand might be with me, and that thou would keep me from evil, that it not be to my sorrow! And God granted him t


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And Eshton begot Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah.


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And Meonothai begot Ophrah. And Seraiah begot Joab the father of Ge-harashim, for they were craftsmen.


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And the sons of Ezrah: Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon. And she bore Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.


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And his wife the Jewess bore Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.


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And the sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.


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And the sons of Shimon: Amnon, and Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi: Zoheth, and Ben-zoheth.


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The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of those who worked fine linen, of the house of Ashbea;


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and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. And the records are ancient.


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These were the potters, and the inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They dwelt there with the king for his work.


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And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many sons, neither did all their family multiply like the sons of Judah.


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and at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-biri, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities to the reign of David.


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And all their villages that were round about the same cities, to Baal. These were their habitations, and they have their genealogy.


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and Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah--


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And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.


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And they found lush and good pasture, and the land was wide and quiet and peaceable, for those who dwelt there formerly were of Ham.


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And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the Meunim who were found there, and destroyed them utterly to this day, and dwelt in their stead because there was pasture there for


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And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.


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And the sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel (for he was the first-born, but, inasmuch as he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, and so the genealogy is not to be reckone


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Now Judah prevailed above his brothers, and the ruler came from him, but the birthright was Joseph's.)


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Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive. He was ruler of the Reubenites.


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And his brothers by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,


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and Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even to Nebo and Baal-meon.


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And eastward he dwelt even to the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates, because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.


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And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand, and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the [land] east of Gilead.


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And their brothers of their fathers' houses: Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jacan, and Zia, and Eber, seven.


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These were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz.


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And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in its towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, as far as their borders.


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All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.


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The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty, who were able to


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And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them, for they cried to God in the battle, and he was entreated by them because they put their trust in him.


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And they took away their cattle: of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of donkeys two thousand, and of men a hundred thousand.


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For there fell many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their stead until the captivity.


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And the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land. They increased from Bashan to Baal-hermon and Senir and mount Hermon.


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And these were the heads of their fathers' houses: even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, heads of their fathers' houses.


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And they trespassed against the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God destroyed before them.


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And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought the


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And the sons of Amram: Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron: Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.


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and Johanan begot Azariah, (he it is who executed the priest's office in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem),


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And Jehozadak went [into captivity] when LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.


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The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.


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And these are those whom David set over the service of song in the house of LORD, after the ark had rest.


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And they ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon had built the house of LORD in Jerusalem, and they served in their office according to their order.


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And these are those who served, and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,


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And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea,


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And on the left hand their brothers the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,


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And their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.


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But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of burnt-offering, and upon the altar of incense, for all the work of the most holy place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded


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Now these are their dwelling-places according to their encampments in their borders, to the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites (for theirs was the [first] lot),


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And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge, Hebron, Libnah also with its suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa with its suburbs,


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And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Geba with its suburbs, and Allemeth with its suburbs, and Anathoth with its suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.


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And to the rest of the sons of Kohath [were given] by lot, out of the family of the tribe, out of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities.


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And to the sons of Gershom, according to their families, out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.


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To the sons of Merari [were given] by lot, according to their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.


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And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the sons of Judah, and out of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, these cities which are mentioned by name.


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And some of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their borders out of the tribe of Ephraim.


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And they gave to them the cities of refuge, Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim with its suburbs, also Gezer with its suburbs,


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And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its suburbs, and Bileam with its suburbs, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath.


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To the sons of Gershom [were given] out of the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, and Ashtaroth with its suburbs.


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And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, and Hammon with its suburbs, and Kiriathaim with its suburbs.


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To the rest of [the Levites], the sons of Merari, [were given] out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its suburbs, Tabor with its suburbs.


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And beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, [were given them] out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its suburbs, and Jahzah with its suburbs,


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And the sons of Tola: Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, [namely], of Tola, mighty men of valor in their generations. Their number in the days of David was twenty-two


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And the sons of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Isshiah, five; all of them chief men.


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And with them, by their generations, after their fathers' houses, were bands of the army for war, thirty-six thousand, for they had many wives and sons.


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And their brothers among all the families of Issachar, mighty men of valor, reckoned in all by genealogy, were eighty-seven thousand.


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And the sons of Bela: Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of fathers' houses, mighty men of valor. And they were reckoned by genealogy twenty-two thousand and thirty-four.


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And the sons of Becher: Zemirah, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jeremoth, and Abijah, and Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher.


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And they were reckoned by genealogy, after their generations, heads of their fathers' houses, mighty men of valor, twenty thousand and two hundred.


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And the sons of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tarshish, and Ahishahar.


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All these were sons of Jediael, according to the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valor, seventeen thousand and two hundred, who were able to go forth in the army for war.


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The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess bore. She bore Machir the father of Gilead.


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And Machir took a wife of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister's name was Maacah, and the name of the second was Zelophehad. And Zelophehad had daughters.


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And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh. And the name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem.


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And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eleadah his son, and Tahath his son,


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and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in the land killed, because they came down to take away their cattle.


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And he went in to his wife, and she conceived, and bore a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house.


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And their possessions and habitations were Bethel and the towns of it, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns of it, also Shechem and the towns of it, to Azzah and the towns of it,


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and by the borders of the sons of Manasseh, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the sons of Joseph the son of Israel.


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All these were the sons of Asher, heads of the fathers' houses, choice and mighty men of valor, chief of the rulers. And the number of them reckoned by genealogy for service in war was twenty-six thousand men.


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And these are the sons of Ehud. These are the heads of fathers of the inhabitants of Geba, and they carried them captive to Manahath:


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And Shaharaim begot sons in the field of Moab after he had sent them away; Hushim and Baara were his wives.


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and Beriah, and Shema (who were heads of fathers of the inhabitants of Aijalon who put the inhabitants of Gath to flight)


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And Mikloth begot Shimeah. And they also dwelt with their brothers in Jerusalem, opposite their brothers.


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And Ner begot Kish, and Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal.


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And Ahaz begot Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah begot Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri, and Zimri begot Moza,


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And Azel had six sons whose names are these: Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.


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And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor, archers, and had many sons, and sons' sons, a hundred and fifty. All these were of the sons of Benjamin.


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So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies. And, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. And Judah was carried away captive to Babylon for their transgression.


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Now the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.


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And in Jerusalem dwelt of the sons of Judah, and of the sons of Benjamin, and of the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh:


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Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the sons of Perez the son of Judah.


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and Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah,


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and their brothers, according to their generations, nine hundred and fifty-six. All these men were heads of fathers by their fathers' houses.


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and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God,


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and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer,


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and their brothers, heads of their fathers' houses, a thousand and seven hundred and sixty, very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.


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And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari,


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and Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph,


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and Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites.


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And the porters: Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brothers (Shallum was the chief),


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who formerly [served] in the king's gate eastward. They were the porters for the camp of the sons of Levi.


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And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brothers, of his father's house, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent. And their fathers had been over t


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All these who were chosen to be porters in the thresholds were two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer ordained in their office of trust.


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So they and their sons had the oversight of the gates of the house of LORD, even the house of the tent, by wards.


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And their brothers, in their villages, were to come in every seven days from time to time to be with them;


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for the four chief porters, who were Levites, were in an office of trust, and were over the chambers and over the treasuries in the house of God.


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And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge [of it] was upon them, and to them pertained the opening of it morning by morning.


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And certain of them had charge of the vessels of service, for by count were these brought in and by count were these taken out.


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Some of them were also appointed over the furniture, and over all the vessels of the sanctuary, and over the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices.


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And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the first-born of Shallum the Korahite, had the office of trust over the things that were baked in pans.


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And some of their brothers, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the showbread to prepare it every Sabbath.


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And these are the singers, heads of fathers of the Levites, [who dwelt] in the chambers [and were] free [from other service], for they were employed in their work day and night.


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These were heads of fathers of the Levites, throughout their generations, chief men; these dwelt at Jerusalem.


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And Mikloth begot Shimeam. And they also dwelt with their brothers in Jerusalem, opposite their brothers.


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And Azel had six sons, whose names are these: Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan: these were the sons of Azel.


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And the Philistines followed hard after Saul and after his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.


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And the battle went hard against Saul, and the archers overtook him. And he was wounded because of the archers.


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Then Saul said to his armor bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon i


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And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities, and fled. And the Philistines came and dwelt in them.


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And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa.


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And they stripped him, and took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about to carry the news to their idols, and to the people.


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all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.


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So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against LORD, because of the word of LORD, which did not keep, and also because he asked counsel of a spiritist, to inquire [thereby],


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and did not inquire of LORD. Therefore he killed him, and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.


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Then all Israel gathered themselves to David to Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.


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In times past, even when Saul was king, it was thou who led out and brought in Israel. And LORD thy God said to thee, Thou shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shall be ruler over my people Israel.


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So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron. And David made a covenant with them in Hebron before LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of LORD by Samuel.


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And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (the same is Jebus), and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there.


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And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shall not come in here. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.


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And David said, Whoever smites the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief.


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And he built the city round about, from Millo even round about. And Joab repaired the rest of the city.


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Now these are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who showed themselves strong with him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of LORD concerning Israel.


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And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: Jashobeam, the son of a Hachmonite, the chief of the thirty. He lifted up his spear against three hundred and killed them at one time.


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He was with David at Pasdammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a plot of ground full of barley. And the people fled from before the Philistines.


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And they stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and killed the Philistines. And LORD saved them by a great victory.


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And three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David into the cave of Adullam. And the army of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.


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And David longed, and said, Oh that a man would give me water to drink of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!


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And the three broke through the army of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David. But David would not drink of it, but poured it out to LORD,


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and said, My God forbid it of me, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy? For with [the jeopardy of] their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These thin


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And Abishai, the brother of Joab, he was chief of the three, for he lifted up his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name among the three.


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Of the three, he was more famous than the two, and was made their captain. However he did not attain to the [first] three.


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Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, he killed the two [sons of] Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.


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And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high. And in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam. And he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed hi


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Behold, he was more famous than the thirty, but he did not attain to the [first] three. And David set him over his guard.


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Also the mighty men of the armies: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,


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Now these are those who came to David to Ziklag while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men, his helpers in war.


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They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow. They were of Saul's brothers of Benjamin.


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The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite, and Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth, and Beracah, and Jehu the Anathothite,


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and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty, and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite,


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And of the Gadites there separated themselves to David to the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swi


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These of the sons of Gad were captains of the army. He who was least was equal to a hundred, and the greatest to a thousand.


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These are those who went over the Jordan in the first month when it had overflowed all its banks. And they put to flight all those of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west.


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And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, If ye have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart shall be knit to you, but if [ye be come] to betray me to my adversaries, seeing there is no wrong in my hands, th


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Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the thirty, [and he said], We are thine, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse. Peace, peace be to thee, and peace be to thy helpers, for thy God helps thee. Then David receive


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From Manasseh also there fell away some to David when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle. But they did not help them, for the lords of the Philistines sent him away upon advisement, saying, He will fall away to his


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As he went to Ziklag, there came to him from Manasseh, Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zillethai, captains of thousands who were of Manasseh.


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And they helped David against the band of rovers, for they were all mighty men of valor, and were captains in the army.


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For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great host, like the host of God.


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And these are the numbers of the heads of those who were armed for war, who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of LORD.


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And Jehoiada was the leader of [the house of] Aaron. And with him were three thousand and seven hundred,


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And of the sons of Benjamin, the brothers of Saul, three thousand, for hitherto the greatest part of them had kept their allegiance to the house of Saul.


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And of the sons of Ephraim twenty thousand and eight hundred, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers' houses.


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And of the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were mentioned by name, to come and make David king.


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And of the sons of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do, the heads of them were two hundred. And all their brothers were at their commandment.


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Of Zebulun, such as were able to go out in the army, who could set the battle in array, with all manner of instruments of war, fifty thousand, and who could order [the battle array, and were] not of double heart.


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And of Asher, such as were able to go out in the army, who could set the battle in array, forty thousand.


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And on the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, a hundred and twenty thousand.


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All these being men of war, who could order the battle array, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel. And all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king.


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And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers had made preparation for them.


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Moreover those who were near to them, [even] as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on donkeys, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, provisions of meal, cakes of figs, and clusters of raisins, and wine, and


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And David said to all the assembly of Israel, If it seems good to you, and if it be of LORD our God, let us send abroad everywhere to our brothers who are left in all the land of Israel, with whom the priests and Levites are in the


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And let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not inquire from it in the days of Saul.


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And all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.


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So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor [the brook] of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.


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And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, [that is] to Kiriath-jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, LORD who sits [above] the cherubim that is called by the Name.


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And they carried the ark of God upon a new cart, [and brought it] out of the house of Abinadab. And Uzza and Ahio drove the cart.


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And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, even with songs, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.


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And when they came to the threshing-floor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled.


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And the anger of LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him because he put forth his hand to the ark. And there he died before God.


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And David was displeased, because LORD had broken forth upon Uzza. And he called that place Perez-uzza, to this day.


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So David did not move the ark to him into the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.


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And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months. And LORD blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that he had.


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And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and masons, and carpenters, to build for him a house.


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And David perceived that LORD had established him king over Israel, for his kingdom was exalted on high for his people Israel's sake.


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And these are the names of the children whom he had in Jerusalem: Shammua, and Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon,


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And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went out against them.


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And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will thou deliver them into my hand? And LORD said to him, Go up, for I will deliver them into thy hand.


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So they came up to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there. And David said, God has broken my enemies by my hand like the breach of waters. Therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim.


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And David inquired again of God. And God said to him, Thou shall not go up after them. Turn away from them, and come upon them opposite the mulberry trees.


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And it shall be, when thou hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shall go out to battle. For God has gone out before thee to smite the army of the Philistines.


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And David did as God commanded him, and they smote the army of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gezer.


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And [David] made for him houses in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it.


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Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, for LORD has them chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister to him forever.


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And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it.


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And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab.


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And said to them, Ye are the heads of the fathers of the Levites. Sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brothers, that ye may bring up the ark of LORD, the God of Israel, to [the place] that I have prepared for it.


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For because ye did not at the first, LORD our God made a breach upon us, because we did not seek him according to the ordinance.


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So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of LORD, the God of Israel.


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And the sons of the Levites bore the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of LORD.


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And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brothers the singers, with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding aloud and lifting up the voice with joy.


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So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel. And of his brothers, Asaph the son of Berechiah. And of the sons of Merari their brothers, Ethan the son of Kushaiah.


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And with them their brothers of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the po


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And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries set to Alamoth.


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And Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps set to the Sheminith, to lead.


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And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was over the song. He instructed about the song because he was skilful.


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And Shebaniah, and Joshaphat, and Nethanel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, blew the trumpets before the ark of God. And Obed-edom and Jehiah were porters for the ark.


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So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of LORD out of the house of Obed-edom with joy.


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And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of LORD, that they sacrificed seven bullocks and seven rams.


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And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites who bore the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song [with] the singers. And David had upon him an ephod of linen.


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Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, sounding aloud with psalteries and harps.


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And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the window, and saw king David dancing and playing. And she despised him in her heart.


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And they brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it. And they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God.


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And when David had made an end of offering the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of LORD.


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And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a portion [of flesh], and a cake of raisins.


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And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of LORD, and to celebrate and to thank and praise LORD, the God of Israel:


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Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with psalteries and with harps, and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud,


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and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.


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Ascribe to LORD the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come before him. Worship LORD in holy array.


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Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice. And let them say among the nations, LORD reigns.


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And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation. And gather us together and deliver us from the nations, to give thanks to thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise.


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Blessed be LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. And all the people said, Amen, and praised LORD.


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So he left there, before the ark of the covenant of LORD, Asaph and his brothers, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required,


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and Obed-edom with their sixty-eight brothers. And Obed-edom the son of Jeduthun and Hosah [were] to be porters,


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and Zadok the priest, and his brothers the priests, before the tabernacle of LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon,


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to offer burnt-offerings to LORD upon the altar of burnt-offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of LORD, which he commanded to Israel.


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And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to LORD because his loving kindness [is] forever.


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And with them Heman and Jeduthun [with] trumpets and cymbals for those who should sound aloud, and [with] instruments for the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate.


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And it came to pass, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of LORD [dwells] under curtains.


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For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel, to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from [one] tabernacle [to another].


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In all places wherein I have walked with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people, saying, Why have ye not built for me a house of cedar?


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Now therefore thus thou shall say to my servant David, Thus says LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, that thou should be prince over my people Israel.


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And I have been with thee wherever thou have gone, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee. And I will make thee a name like the name of the great ones who are on the earth.


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And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more. Neither shall the sons of wickedness waste them any more, as at the first,


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and [as] from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I will subdue all thine enemies. Moreover I tell thee that LORD will build for thee a house.


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And it shall come to pass, when thy days are fulfilled that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee, who shall be of thy sons. And I will establish his kingdom.


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I will be his father, and he shall be my son. And I will not take my loving kindness away from him as I took it from him who was before thee.


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But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.


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Then David the king went in, and sat before LORD. And he said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that thou have brought me thus far?


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And this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God. But thou have spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O LORD God.


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What can David [say] yet more to thee concerning the honor which is done to thy servant? For thou know thy servant.


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O LORD, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, thou have wrought all this greatness, to make known all [these] great things.


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O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.


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And what one nation on the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to himself for a people, to make thee a name by great and awesome things, in driving out nations from before thy people whom thou redeemed out of E


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And now, O LORD, let the word that thou have spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, be established forever, and do as thou have spoken.


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And let thy name be established and magnified forever, saying, LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel, and the house of David thy servant is established before thee.


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For thou, O my God, have revealed to thy servant that thou will build him a house. Therefore thy servant has found [in his heart] to pray before thee.


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and now it has pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee; for thou, O LORD, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.


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And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines.


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And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah to Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates.


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And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen. And David hocked all the chariot horses, but reserved from them for a hundred chariots.


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And when the Syrians of Damascus came to aid Hadarezer king of Zobah, David smote of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men.


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Then David put [garrisons] in Syria of Damascus. And the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. And LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.


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And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.


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And from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadarezer, David took very much brass, with which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.


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he sent Hadoram his son to king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadarezer and smitten him (for Hadarezer had wars with Tou), and [he had with him] all manner of vessels of gold and silver and b


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These also king David dedicated to LORD, with the silver and the gold that he carried away from all the nations: from Edom, and from Moab, and from the sons of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.


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And he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.


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and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests, and Shavsha was scribe,


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and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and the sons of David were chief about the king.


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And it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead.


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And David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon


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But the rulers of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, Do thou think that David honors thy father, in that he has sent comforters to thee? Have not his servants come to thee to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?


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So Hanun took David's servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.


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And they came and informed David about the men. And he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Remain at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.


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And when the sons of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the sons of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Arammaacah, and out o


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So they hired for them thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. And the sons of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.


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And the sons of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the gate of the city. And the kings that came were by themselves in the field.


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And the rest of the company he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother, and they put themselves in array against the sons of Ammon.


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And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee.


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Be of good courage, and let us act the man for our people, and for the cities of our God. And LORD do that which seems good to him.


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So Joab and the company that were with him drew near before the Syrians to the battle, and they fled before him.


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And when the sons of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.


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And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the army of Hadarezer at their head.


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And it was told David. And he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with h


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And the Syrians fled before Israel. And David killed of the Syrians [the men of] seven thousand chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the army.


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And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with David, and served him, neither would the Syrians help the sons of Ammon any more.


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And it came to pass, at the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out [to battle], that Joab led forth the army, and wasted the country of the sons of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah, but David remained at J


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And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it. And it was set upon David's head, and he brought forth the spoil of the city, exceedingly much.


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And he brought forth the people that were therein, and cut [them] with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. And thus David did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.


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And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai of the sons of the giant, and they were subdued.


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And there was again war with the Philistines. And Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.


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And there was again war at Gath, where was a man of great stature whose fingers and toes were twenty-four, six [on each hand], and six [on each foot]. And he also was born to the giant.


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These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.


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And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know the sum of them.


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And Joab said, LORD make his people a hundred times as many as they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? Why does my lord require this thing? Why will he be a cause of guilt to Israel?


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Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.


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And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people to David. And all those of Israel were a million and a hundred thousand men who drew a sword. And Judah was four hundred seventy thousand men who drew a sword.


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And David said to God, I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly.


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Go and speak to David, saying, Thus says LORD, I offer thee three things. Choose thee one of them, that I may do it to thee.


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either three years of famine, or three months to be consumed before thy foes while the sword of thine enemies overtakes thee, or else three days the sword of LORD, even pestilence in the land, and the agent of LORD destroying throu


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And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait. Let me fall, I pray, into the hand of LORD, for his mercies are very great, and let me not fall into the hand of man.


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And God sent an agent to Jerusalem to destroy it. And as he was about to destroy, LORD beheld, and he relented of the evil, and said to the destroying agent, It is enough. Now halt thy hand. And the agent of LORD was standing by th


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And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the agent of LORD standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.


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And David said to God, Is it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? Even I it is who have sinned and done very badly. But these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be against me, and agains


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Then the agent of LORD commanded Gad to say to David that David should go up, and rear an altar to LORD in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.


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And Ornan turned back, and saw the [heavenly] agent, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.


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And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.


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Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place of this threshing-floor, that I may build thereon an altar to LORD. For the full price thou shall give it me, that the plague may be stopped from the people.


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And Ornan said to David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes. Lo, I give [thee] the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal-offering. I gi


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And king David said to Ornan, No, but I will truly buy it for the full price. For I will not take that which is thine for LORD, nor offer a burnt-offering without cost.


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And David built there an altar to LORD, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and called upon LORD. And he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering.


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At that time, when David saw that LORD had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.


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For the tabernacle of LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt-offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.


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But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid because of the sword of the agent of LORD.


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And David commanded to gather together the sojourners that were in the land of Israel. And he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.


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And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the couplings, and brass in abundance without weight,


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and cedar trees without number. For the Sidonians and those of Tyre brought cedar trees in abundance to David.


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And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries. I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepa


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And David said to Solomon his son, As for me, it was in my heart to build a house to the name of LORD my God.


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But the word of LORD came to me, saying, Thou have shed blood abundantly, and have made great wars. Thou shall not build a house to my name because thou have shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.


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Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest. And I will give him rest from all his enemies round about, for his name shall be Solomon. And I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.


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He shall build a house for my name. And he shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.


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Now, my son, LORD be with thee, and prosper thou, and build the house of LORD thy God as he has spoken concerning thee.


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Only LORD give thee discretion and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, so that thou may keep the law of LORD thy God.


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Then thou shall prosper, if thou observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel. Be strong, and of good courage. Fear not, neither be dismayed.


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Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a million talents of silver, and of brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance. Also I have prepared timber and


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Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all men who are skilful in every manner of work.


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Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and LORD be with thee.


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Is not LORD your God with you? And has he not given you rest on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before LORD, and before his people.


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Now set your heart and your soul to seek after LORD your God. Arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the


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And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward. And their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.


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Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of LORD. And six thousand were officers and judges,


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and four thousand were porters, and four thousand praised LORD with the instruments which I made, [David said], to praise therewith.


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The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers of Ladan.


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And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah had not many sons. Therefore they became a fathers' house in one reckoning.


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The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was separated that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, forever, to burn incense before LORD, to minister to him, and to bless in his name, forever.


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And the sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.


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The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.


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And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only. And their brothers the sons of Kish took them [to wife].


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These were the sons of Levi after their fathers' houses, even the heads of the fathers of those of them that were counted, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the house of LORD, from twenty ye


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For David said, LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.


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And also the Levites shall no more have need to carry the tabernacle and all the vessels of it for the service of it.


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For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God, also


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for the showbread, and for the fine flour for a meal-offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all manner of measure and size.


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And to offer all burnt-offerings to LORD, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before LORD.


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And that they should keep the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the service of the house of LORD.


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And the divisions of the sons of Aaron [were these]. The sons of Aaron: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.


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But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no sons. Therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office.


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And David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their ordering in their service.


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And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar. And [thus] were they divided: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen heads of fathers' houses, and of the sons of Ithamar, according to thei


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Thus they were divided by lot, one sort with another. For there were rulers of the sanctuary, and rulers for God, both of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.


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And Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the scribe, who was of the Levites, wrote them in the presence of the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers of the priests and


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This was the ordering of them in their service, to come into the house of LORD according to the ordinance [given] to them by Aaron their father, as LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him.


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And of the rest of the sons of Levi: Of the sons of Amram, Shubael. Of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.


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And the sons [of Hebron]: Jeriah [the chief], Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth.


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And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites after their fathers' houses.


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These likewise cast lots even as their brothers the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers of the priests and of the Levites, the fathers of the chief even as those o


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Moreover David and the captains of the army set apart for the service certain of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals. And the number of those who did t


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of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asharelah, the sons of Asaph, under the hand of Asaph, who prophesied after the order of the king.


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Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising LORD.


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Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamtiezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth.


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All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.


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All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God; Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman being under the order of the king.


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And the number of them, with their brothers who were instructed in singing to LORD, even all who were skilful, was two hundred eighty-eight.


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And they cast lots for their offices, all alike, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.


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Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph, the second to Gedaliah (he and his brothers and sons were twelve),


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For the divisions of the porters: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.


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And Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the first-born, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,


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And Obed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the first-born, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethanel the fifth,


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Also sons were born to Shemaiah his son, who ruled over the house of their father, for they were mighty men of valor.


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The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, Elzabad, whose brothers were valiant men, Elihu, and Semachiah.


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All these were of the sons of Obed-edom, they and their sons and their brothers, able men in strength for the service, sixty-two of Obed-edom.


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Also Hosah, of the sons of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the first-born, yet his father made him chief),


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Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth. All the sons and brothers of Hosah were thirteen.


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Of these were the divisions of the porters, even of the chief men, having offices like their brothers to minister in the house of LORD.


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And they cast lots, the small as well as the great, according to their fathers' houses for every gate.


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And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a discreet counselor, they cast lots, and his lot came out northward.


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To Shuppim and Hosah westward, by the gate of Shallecheth, at the causeway that goes up, watch against watch.


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Eastward were six Levites, four a day northward, four a day southward, and for the store-house two by two.


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And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things.


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The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the fathers belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli.


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And his brothers: of Eliezer [came] Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomoth his son.


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This Shelomoth and his brothers were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the heads of the fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated.


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And all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had dedicated, whoever had dedicated anything, it was under the hand of Shelomoth, and of his brothers.


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Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were for the outer business over Israel, for officers and judges.


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Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brothers, men of valor, a thousand and seven hundred, had the oversight of Israel beyond the Jordan westward, for all the business of LORD, and for the service of the king.


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Of the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even of the Hebronites, according to their generations by fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valor at Jaz


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And his brothers, men of valor, were two thousand and seven hundred, heads of fathers, whom king David made overseers over the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites, for every matter pertaining to God, a


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Now the sons of Israel after their number, [namely], the heads of fathers and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king, in any matter of the divisions which came in and went out month by mon


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Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel was over the first division for the first month, and in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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And over the division of the second month was Dodai the Ahohite, and his division. And Mikloth [was] the ruler. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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The third captain of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, [being] chief. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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This is that Benaiah who was the mighty man of the thirty, and over the thirty. And [of] his division was Ammizabad his son.


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The fourth [captain] for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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The fifth captain for this fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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The sixth [captain] for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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The seventh [captain] for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the sons of Ephraim. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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The eighth [captain] for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zerahites. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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The ninth [captain] for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite, of the Benjamites. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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The tenth [captain] for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zerahites. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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The eleventh [captain] for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the sons of Ephraim. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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The twelfth [captain] for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel. And in his division were twenty-four thousand.


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Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri the ruler; of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah;


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of the sons of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; of the half-[tribe] of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah;


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of the half-[tribe] of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner;


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But David did not take the number of them from twenty years old and under, because LORD had said he would increase Israel like the stars of heaven.


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Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but did not finish. And wrath came for this upon Israel. Neither was the number put into the account in the chronicles of king David.


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And over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel. And over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jonathan the son of Uzziah.


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And over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite. And over the increase of the vineyards for the wine-cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite.


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And over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowland was Baal-hanan the Gederite. And over the cellars of oil was Joash.


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And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite. And over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai.


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And over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite. And over the donkeys was Jehdeiah the Meronothite. And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite.


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Also Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counselor, a man of understanding, and a scribe. And Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king's sons.


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And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar. And the captain of the king's army was Joab.


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And David assembled all the rulers of Israel, the rulers of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that served the king by division, and the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, and the rulers over all the su


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Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brothers, and my people. As for me, it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of LORD, and for the footstool of our God. And I had made


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But God said to me, Thou shall not build a house for my name, because thou are a man of war, and have shed blood.


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However LORD, the God of Israel, chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen Judah to be ruler, and in the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father he


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And of all my sons (for LORD has given me many sons), he has chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of LORD over Israel.


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And he said to me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.


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And I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is constant to do my commandments and my ordinances, as at this day.


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Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of LORD, and in the audience of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of LORD your God, that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to you


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And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind, for LORD searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If thou seek him, he will be


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Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch [of the temple], and of the houses of it, and of the treasuries of it, and of the upper rooms of it, and of the inner chambers of it, and of the place of the mercy-seat,


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and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of the house of LORD, and for all the chambers round about, for the treasuries of the house of God, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things,


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also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of LORD,


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of gold by weight for the [vessels of] gold, for all vessels of every kind of service; [of silver] for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all vessels of every kind of service,


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by weight also for the candlesticks of gold, and for the lamps of it, of gold, by weight for every candlestick and for the lamps of it, and for the candlesticks of silver, [silver] by weight for [every] candlestick and for the lamp


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and the gold by weight for the tables of showbread, for every table, and silver for the tables of silver,


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and the flesh-hooks, and the basins, and the cups, of pure gold, and for the golden bowls by weight for every bowl, and for the silver bowls by weight for every bowl,


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and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight, and gold for the pattern of the chariot, [even] the cherubim that spread out [their wings], and covered the ark of the covenant of LORD.


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All this, [David said], I have been made to understand in writing from the hand of LORD, even all the works of this pattern.


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And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it. Fear not, nor be dismayed, for LORD God, even my God, is with thee. He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until all the work for the service of the hou


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And, behold, there are the courses of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God. And there shall be with thee in all manner of work every willing man who has skill, for any manner of service. Also the capt


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And David the king said to all the assembly, Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great, for the palace is not for man, but for LORD God.


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Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the [things of] gold, and the silver for the [things of] silver, and the brass for the [things of] brass, the iron for the [things of] iron, and wood for th


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Moreover also, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, seeing that I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my God over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,


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even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, with which to overlay the walls of the houses,


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of gold for the [things of] gold, and of silver for the [things of] silver, and for all manner of work [to be made] by the hands of artisans. Who then offers willingly to consecrate himself this day to LORD?


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Then the rulers of the fathers, and the rulers of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king's work, offered willingly.


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And they gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand darics, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and of iron a hundred thousand talents.


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And those with whom [precious] stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of LORD under the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.


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Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to LORD. And David the king also rejoiced with great joy.


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Therefore David praised LORD before all the assembly. And David said, Blessed be thou, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.


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Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and on the earth [is thine]. Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou are exalted as head above all.


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Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou rule over all. And in thy hand is power and might. And in thy hand it is to make great, and to give strength to all.


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But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.


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For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding.


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O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name comes of thy hand, and is all thine own.


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I know also, my God, that thou try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. And now I have seen with joy thy people, who are present here, off


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O LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart to thee.


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And give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace [for thee], for which I have made provision.


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And David said to all the assembly, Now praise LORD your God. And all the assembly praised LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and and did obeisance to LORD, and the king.


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And they sacrificed sacrifices to LORD, and offered burnt-offerings to LORD on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink-offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for


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and ate and drank before LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him to LORD to be prince, and Zadok to be priest.


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Then Solomon sat on the throne of LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.


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And all the rulers, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves to Solomon the king.


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And LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.


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And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three [years] in Jerusalem.


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And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his stead.


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Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Samuel the seer, and in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the history of Gad the seer,


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with all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.


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And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom. And LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.


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And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every ruler in all Israel, the heads of the fathers.


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So Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon. For the tent of meeting of God was there, which Moses the servant of LORD had made in the wilderness.


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But the ark of God David had brought up from Kiriath-jearim to [the place] that David had prepared for it. For he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.


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Moreover the brazen altar, that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of LORD. And Solomon and the assembly sought to it.


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And Solomon went up there to the brazen altar before LORD, which was at the tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt-offerings upon it.


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And Solomon said to God, Thou have shown great loving kindness to David my father, and have made me king in his stead.


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Now, O LORD God, let thy promise to David my father be established. For thou have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.


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Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people. For who can judge this thy people, that is so great?


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And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thy heart, and thou have not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of those who hate thee, neither yet have asked long life, but have asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that


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wisdom and knowledge is granted to thee. And I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had who have been before thee, neither shall any after thee have the like.


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So Solomon came from the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem, and he reigned over Israel.


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And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.


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And the king made silver and gold to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars he made to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.


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And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king's merchants received them in herds, each herd at a price.


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And they went after and brought out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred [shekels] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And so they brought them out by their means for all the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Syria.


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And Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand men who were hewers in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.


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And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build for him a house to dwell therein, [so with me].


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Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him incense of sweet spices, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt-offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbat


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But who is able to build for him a house, seeing heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? Who am I then, that I should build for him a house, except only to burn incense before him?


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Now therefore send me a man skilful to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave engravings, [to be] with the skilful men who are with me in Judah and


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Send to me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon. For I know that thy servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. And, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,


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even to prepare for me timber in abundance. For the house which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful.


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And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers who cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.


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Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because LORD loves his people, he has made thee king over them.


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Huram said moreover, Blessed be LORD, the God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endued with discretion and understanding, that should build a house for LORD, and a house for his king


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the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan. And his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, also to engrav


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Now therefore the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants.


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And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shall need. And we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa, and thou shall carry it up to Jerusalem.


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And Solomon numbered all the aliens that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering with which David his father had numbered them. And they were found a hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred.


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And he set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, and eighty thousand who were hewers in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people to work.


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Then Solomon began to build the house of LORD at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where [LORD] appeared to David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.


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Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.


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And the porch that was before [the house], the length of it, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty. And he overlaid it inside with pure gold.


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And the greater house he ceiled with fir-wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and wrought thereon palm trees and chains.


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He also overlaid the house, the beams, the thresholds, and the walls of it, and the doors of it, with gold, and engraved cherubim on the walls.


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And he made the most holy house; the length of it, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the breadth of it twenty cubits. And he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.


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And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.


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And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long; the wing of the one was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house, and the other wing was [likewise] five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.


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And the wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house, and the other wing was five cubits [also], joining to the wing of the other cherub.


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The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits. And they stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house.


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And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim thereon.


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Also he made two pillars before the house of thirty-five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.


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And he made chains in the oracle, and put [them] on the tops of the pillars. And he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.


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And he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. And called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.


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Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length of it, and twenty cubits the breadth of it, and ten cubits the height of it.


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Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass. And the height of it was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about.


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And under it was the likeness of oxen, which compassed it round about for ten cubits, encompassing the sea round about. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast.


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And it was a handbreadth thick. And the brim of it was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It received and held three thousand baths.


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He also made ten basins, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them. They washed in them such things as belonged to the burnt-offering, but the sea was for the priests to wash in.


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And he made the ten candlesticks of gold according to the ordinance concerning them. And he set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.


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He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made a hundred basins of gold.


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Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass.


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And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basins. So Huram made an end of doing the work that he wrought for king Solomon in the house of God:


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the two pillars, and the bowls, and the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars,


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and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars.


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Also the pots, and the shovels, and the flesh-hooks, and all the vessels of it, Huram his father made of bright brass for king Solomon for the house of LORD.


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Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance. For the weight of the brass could not be found out.


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And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God, also the golden altar, and the tables on which was the showbread,


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and the candlesticks with their lamps, to burn according to the ordinance before the oracle, of pure gold,


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and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the fire pans, of pure gold. And as for the entry of the house, the inner doors of it for the most holy place, and the doors of the house, [namely], of the temple, were of gold.


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Thus all the work that Solomon wrought for the house of LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, even the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of


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Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the rulers of the fathers of the sons of Israel, to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.


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And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at the feast, which was [in] the seventh month.


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And they brought up the ark, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent. These the priests the Levites brought up.


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And king Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled to him, were before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.


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And the staves were so long that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle, but they were not seen outside. And there it is to this day.


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There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put [there] at Horeb when LORD made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.


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And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, (for all the priests that were present had sanctified themselves, and did not keep their divisions.


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Also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brothers, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a h


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it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking LORD. And when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised LORD


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so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of LORD filled the house of God.


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And the king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of Israel. And all the assembly of Israel stood.


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And he said, Blessed be LORD, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David my father, and has with his hands fulfilled it, saying,


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Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in that my name might be there. Neither did I choose any man to be ruler over my people Israel.


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But I have chosen Jerusalem that my name might be there. And have chosen David to be over my people Israel.


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Nevertheless thou shall not build the house, but thy son who shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.


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And LORD has performed his word that he spoke. For I have risen up in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of LORD, the God of Israel.


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And there I have set the ark in which is the covenant of LORD, which he made with the sons of Israel.


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And he stood before the altar of LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands.


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For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court. And upon it he stood, and knelt down upon his knees before all the assembly of Israel


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And he said, O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven, or on earth, who keep covenant and loving kindness with thy servants, who walk before thee with all their heart,


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who have kept with thy servant David my father that which thou promised him. Yea, thou spoke with thy mouth, and have fulfilled it with thy hand, as it is this day.


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Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou spoke to thy servant David.


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But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. How much less this house which I have built!


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Yet have thou respect to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken to the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prays before thee,


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that thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place of which thou have said that thou would put thy name there, to hearken to the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place.


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And hearken thou to the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place. Yea, hear thou from thy dwelling-place, even from heaven, and when thou hear forgive.


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then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, requiting the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.


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And if thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house,


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then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gave to them and to their fathers.


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When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee, if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin when thou do afflict them,


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If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar, if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague or whatever sickness there be,


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whatever prayer and supplication be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man his own plague and his own sorrow, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house,


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then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling-place and forgive, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou know, (for thou, even thou only, know the hearts of the sons of men),


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that they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways so long as they live in the land which thou gave to our fathers.


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Moreover concerning the foreigner, who is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thine outstretched arm, when they shall come and pray toward this house,


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then hear thou from heaven, even from thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to thee for, that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as do thy people Israel, and that they may


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If thy people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way thou shall send them, and they pray to thee toward this city which thou have chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name,


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If they sin against thee (for there is no man that sins not), and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive to a land far off or near,


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yet if they shall rethink themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have dealt wickedly


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if they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity where they have carried them captive, and pray toward their land, which thou gave to their fathers, and the city which thou have cho


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then hear thou from heaven, even from thy dwelling-place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their case, and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee.


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Now, O my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attendant to the prayer that is made in this place.


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Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting-place, thou, and the ark of thy strength. Let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy sanctified rejoice in goodness.


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O LORD God, do not turn away the face of thine anointed. Remember [thy] loving kindnesses to David thy servant.


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Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices. And the glory of LORD filled the house.


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And the priests could not enter into the house of LORD, because the glory of LORD filled LORD's house.


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And all the sons of Israel looked on when the fire came down, and the glory of LORD was upon the house. And they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and gave thanks to LORD, [saying],


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And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.


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And the priests stood according to their offices, also the Levites with instruments of music of LORD, which David the king had made to give thanks to LORD (for his loving kindness [is] forever) when David praised by their ministry,


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Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of LORD. For there he offered the burnt-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to rece


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So Solomon held the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt.


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And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly. For they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.


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And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that LORD had shown to David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.


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Thus Solomon finished the house of LORD, and the king's house. And all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of LORD, and in his own house, he caused to prosper.


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And LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice.


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If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people,


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if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.


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For now I have chosen and hallowed this house, that my name may be there forever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.


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And as for thee, if thou will walk before me as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and will keep my statutes and mine ordinances,


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then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.


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But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them,


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then I will pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them. And this house, which I have hallowed for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.


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And this house, which is so high, everyone who passes by it shall be astonished, and shall say, Why has LORD done thus to this land, and to this house?


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And they shall answer, Because they forsook LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them; therefore he has brought all this evil


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And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of LORD, and his own house,


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that the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the sons of Israel to dwell there.


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Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the lower, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars,


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and Baalath, and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land


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As for all the people who were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, that were not of Israel,


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of their sons who were left after them in the land whom the sons of Israel did not consumed, of them Solomon raised a levy [of bondservants] to this day.


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But Solomon made no servants of the sons of Israel for his work, but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.


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And these were the chief officers of king Solomon, even two hundred and fifty that bore rule over the people.


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And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David to the house that he had built for her. For he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy in which the ark


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Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings to LORD on the altar of LORD, which he had built before the porch,


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even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times in the year, [even] in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feas


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And he appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the divisions of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their offices, to praise, and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required, al


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And they did not departed from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.


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Now all the work of Solomon was prepared from the day of the foundation of the house of LORD, and until it was finished. [So] the house of LORD was completed.


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And Huram sent ships to him by the hands of his servants, and servants who had knowledge of the sea. And they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and fetched from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought th


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And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to test Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great caravan, and camels that bore spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones. And when she c


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And Solomon answered to her all her questions. And there was not anything hid from Solomon that he did not answer her.


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and the food of his table, and the seating of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, also his cupbearers, and their apparel, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of LORD, there was no more


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However I did not believe their words until I came, and my eyes had seen it. And, behold, the half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me. Thou exceed the fame that I heard.


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


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


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And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stones. Neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.


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And also the servants of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.


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And the king made of the algum trees terraces for the house of LORD, and for the king's house, and harps and psalteries for the singers. And there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.


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And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which she had brought to the king. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants.


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Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,


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besides that which the traders and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.


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And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred [shekels] of beaten gold went to one buckler.


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And [he made] three hundred shields of beaten gold; three hundred [shekels] of gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.


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And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and supports on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the supports.


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And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was accounted of nothing in the days of Solomon.


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For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish came, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.


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And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.


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And they brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.


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


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And he ruled over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.


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And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.


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Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?


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And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.


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


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Thy father made our yoke grievous. Now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.


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And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel do ye give me to return an answer to this people?


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And they spoke to him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants forever.


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But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that grew up with him, who stood before him.


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


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And the young men that grew up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus shall thou say to the people who spoke to thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter to us. Thus shall thou say to them, My little finge


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And now whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I with scorpions.


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and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto. My father chastised you with whips, but I with scorpions.


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So the king did not hearkened to the people. For it was brought about by God, that LORD might establish his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.


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And when all Israel saw that the king did not hearkened to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to your tents, O Israel. Now see to th


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


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And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.


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Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,


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Thus says LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers. Return every man to his house. For this thing is of me. So they hearkened to the words of LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam.


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And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of victuals, and oil and wine.


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And in every city [he put] shields and spears, and made them exceedingly strong. And Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.


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For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem. For Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest's office to LORD.


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And he appointed priests for him for the high places, and for the he-goats, and for the calves which he had made.


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And after them, such as set their hearts to seek LORD, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem out of all the tribes of Israel to sacrifice to LORD, the God of their fathers.


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So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong three years. For they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.


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And Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, [and of] Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.


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And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom. And she bore for him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.


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And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines. For he took eighteen wives, and thirty concubines, and begot twenty-eight sons and thirty daughters.


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And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, the ruler among his brothers. For [he intended] to make him king.


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And he dealt wisely, and dispersed all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to every fortified city. And he gave them provisions in abundance. And he sought [for them] many wives.


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And it came to pass, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was strong, that he forsook the law of LORD, and all Israel with him.


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And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against LORD,


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with twelve hundred chariots, and thirty thousand horsemen. And the people were without number who came with him out of Egypt: the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians.


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Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the rulers of Judah, who were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus says LORD, Ye have forsaken me, therefore I have also left you in the hand of


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And when LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jer


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Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.


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So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all away. He also took away the shields of gold which Solomon had made.


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And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard that kept the door of the king's house.


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And it was so, that, as often as the king entered into the house of LORD, the guard came and bore them, and brought them back into the guard-chamber.


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And when he humbled himself, the wrath of LORD turned from him, so as not to destroy him altogether. And moreover in Judah there were good things.


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So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned. For Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Isra


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Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the manner of genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.


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And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. And Abijah his son reigned in his stead.


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He reigned three years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.


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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.


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And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, and said, Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel.


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Should ye not know that LORD, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?


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Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up, and rebelled against his lord.


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And there were gathered to him worthless men, base fellows, who strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them.


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And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of LORD in the hand of the sons of David, and ye are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.


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Have ye not driven out the priests of LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for you after the manner of the peoples of [other] lands? So that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven r


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But as for us, LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. And [we have] priests ministering to LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work.


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And they burn to LORD every morning and every evening burnt-offerings and sweet incense. Also [they set] the showbread in order upon the pure table, and the candlestick of gold with the lamps of it to burn every evening. For we kee


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And, behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. O sons of Israel, fight ye not against LORD, the God of your fathers. For ye shall not prosper.


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But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come around behind them, so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them.


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And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them. And they cried to LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.


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Then the men of Judah gave a shout. And as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.


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And Abijah and his people killed them with a great slaughter. So there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.


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Thus the sons of Israel were brought under at that time, and the sons of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon LORD, the God of their fathers.


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And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel with the towns of it, and Jeshanah with the towns of it, and Ephron with the towns of it.


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But Abijah grew mighty, and took to himself fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters.


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And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.


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So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.


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For he took away the foreign altars, and the high places, and broke down the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim,


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Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images. And the kingdom was quiet before him.


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And he built fortified cities in Judah. For the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because LORD had given him rest.


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For he said to Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars. The land is yet before us, because we have sought LORD our God. We have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side. So


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And Asa had an army that bore bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand, and out of Benjamin, that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred and eighty thousand. All these were mighty men of valor.


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And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a million, and three hundred chariots. And he came to Mareshah.


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Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.


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And Asa cried to LORD his God, and said, LORD, there is none besides thee to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, O LORD our God. For we rely on thee, and in thy name we come against this multitude. O LORD


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And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. And there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves. For they were destroyed before LORD, and before his army. And they carried away very m


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And they smote all the cities round about Gerar. For the fear of LORD came upon them. And they despoiled all the cities. For there was much spoil in them.


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They also smote the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.


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And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. LORD is with you while ye are with him. And if ye seek him, he will be found of you, but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.


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Now for a long time Israel was without the TRUE God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.


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But when in their distress they turned to LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.


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And in those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands.


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And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city. For God vexed them with all adversity.


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And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephra


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And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon, for they came to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that LORD his God was with him.


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So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.


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And they sacrificed to LORD in that day of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.


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And they entered into the covenant to seek LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul.


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And that whoever would not seek LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.


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And all Judah rejoiced at the oath. For they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them. And LORD gave them rest round about.


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And also he removed Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah. And Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.


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But the high places were not taken away out of Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.


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And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.


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In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.


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


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[There is] a league between me and thee, as between my father and thy father. Behold, I have sent thee silver and gold. Go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel that he may depart from me.


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And Ben-hadad hearkened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. And they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store-cities of Naphtali.


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And it came to pass, when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building Ramah, and let his work cease.


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Then Asa the king took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber of it, with which Baasha had built. And he built Geba and Mizpah with it.


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And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him, Because thou have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on LORD thy God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped out of thy hand.


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Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge army, with chariots and horsemen exceedingly many? Yet, because thou relied on LORD, he delivered them into thy hand.


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For the eyes of LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him. In this thou have done foolishly, for from henceforth thou shall have wars.


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Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in the prison-house. For he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.


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And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.


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And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet. His disease was exceedingly great, yet in his disease he did not seek for LORD, but to the physicians.


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And they buried him in his own sepulchers, which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odors and various kinds [of spices] prepared by the perfumers' art. And they mad


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And he placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.


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And LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David, and did not seek for the Baalim,


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but sought for the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.


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Therefore LORD established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat tribute, and he had riches and honor in abundance.


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And his heart was lifted up in the ways of LORD. And furthermore he took away the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.


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Also in the third year of his reign he sent his rulers, even Ben-hail, and Obadiah, and Zechariah, and Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.


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And with them the Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah, the Levites. And with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.


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And they taught in Judah, having the book of the law of LORD with them. And they went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught among the people.


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And the fear of LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.


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And some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and silver for tribute. The Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats.


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And this was the numbering of them according to their fathers' houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor;


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and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to LORD, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor.


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And of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;


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These were those who waited on the king, besides those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.


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And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people who were with him, and moved him to go up [with him] to Ramoth-gilead.


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And Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Will thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he answered him, I am as thou are, and my people as thy people, and [will be] with thee in the war.


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Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up. For God will deliver it into the hand of the king.


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And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of LORD, but I hate him. For he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil; the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said


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Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah each sat on his throne, arrayed in their robes. And they were sitting in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before th


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And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper. For LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.


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And the messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets [are] good to the king with one mouth. Let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.


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And when he came to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.


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And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And LORD said, These have no master. Let them return every man to his house in peace.


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And [Micaiah] said, Therefore hear ye the word of LORD. I saw LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing at his right hand and at his left.


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And LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spoke saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.


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And there came forth a spirit, and stood before LORD, and said, I will entice him. And LORD said to him, With what?


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And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shall entice him, and shall also prevail. Go forth, and do so.


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Now therefore, behold, LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets. And LORD has spoken evil concerning thee.


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Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way did the Spirit of LORD go from me to speak to thee?


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And the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son,


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and say, Thus says the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.


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And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and go into the battle, but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle.


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Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel.


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And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they turned around to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out. And LORD helped him, and God moved them


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And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armor. Therefore he said to the driver of the chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army. For I am severely wounded.


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And the battle increased that day. However the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening. And about the time of the going down of the sun he died.


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And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Should thou help the wicked, and love those who hate LORD? For this thing wrath is upon thee from before LORD.


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Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou have put away the Asheroth out of the land, and have set thy heart to seek God.


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And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill-country of Ephraim, and brought them back to LORD, the God of their fathers.


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and said to the judges, Consider what ye do. For ye judge not for man, but for LORD, and [he is] with you in the judgment.


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Now therefore let the fear of LORD be upon you. Take heed and do it. For there is no iniquity with LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes.


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Moreover in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat set from the Levites and the priests, and from the heads of the fathers of Israel for the judgment of LORD, and for controversies. And they returned to Jerusalem.


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And he charged them, saying, Thus ye shall do in the fear of LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.


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And whenever any controversy shall come to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, ye shall warn them, that they not be guilty towards LORD, a


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And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of LORD, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters. The Levites shall also be officers before you. Deal courageously


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And it came to pass after this, that the sons of Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.


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Then there came some who told Jehoshaphat, saying, There comes a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Syria. And, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (the same is En-gedi).


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And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and set himself to seek for LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.


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And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek [help] from LORD, even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek LORD.


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And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of LORD before the new court.


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And he said, O LORD, the God of our fathers, are thou not God in heaven? And are thou not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? And in thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee.


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Did thou not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever?


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If evil comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry out to thee in our affliction, and thou will hear and save.


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And now, behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir (whom thou would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and did not destroyed them),


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behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou have given us to inherit.


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O our God, will thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us. Neither do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.


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Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of LORD in the midst of the assembly.


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And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat. Thus says LORD to you, Fear ye not, neither be dismayed because of this great multitude. For the battle is not yours, but God's.


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Tomorrow go ye down against them. Behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz. And ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.


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Ye shall not need to fight in this [battle]. Set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for LORD is with you.


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And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before LORD, worshipping LORD.


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And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise LORD, the God of Israel, with an exceedingly loud voice.


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And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in LORD your God, so shall ye be establ


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And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who should sing to LORD, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks to LORD. For his loving kindness [is] forever.


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And when they began to sing and to praise, LORD set an ambushment against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir who came against Judah, and they were smitten.


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For the sons of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to slay and destroy them utterly. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another [of themselves].


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And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude. And, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none who escaped.


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And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away. And t


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And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed LORD. Therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah to this day.


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Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy. For LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.


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And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.


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And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.


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And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and did not turn aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of LORD.


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However the high places were not taken away. Neither as yet had the people set their hearts to the God of their fathers.


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


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And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. The same did very wickedly.


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And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish. And they made the ships in Ezion-geber.


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Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou have joined thyself with Ahaziah, LORD has destroyed thy works. And the ships were broken, so that they were not able to go to Tarshi


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And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.


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And he had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.


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And their father gave them great gifts, of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fortified cities in Judah. But the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, because he was the first-born.


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Now when Jehoram was risen up over the kingdom of his father, and had strengthened himself, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also various of the rulers of Israel.


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However LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons always.


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Then Jehoram passed over with his captains, and all his chariots with him. And he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites that encompassed him around, and the captains of the chariots.


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So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time from under his hand because he had forsaken LORD, the God of his fathers.


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Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and made the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot, and led Judah astray.


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And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says LORD, the God of David thy father, Because thou have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,


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


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, behold, LORD will smite thy people with a great plague, and thy sons, and thy wives, and all thy substance.


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And thou shall have great sickness by disease of thy bowels until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness, day by day.


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And LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians who are beside the Ethiopians.


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And they came up against Judah, and broke into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives, so that there has not been left a son to him, except Jehoahaz, the youngest


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And it came to pass, in process of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels fell out because of his sickness, and he died of severe diseases. And his people made no burning for him like the burning of his fathers.


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He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. And he departed without being wanted. And they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchers of the kings.


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And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead, for the band of men who came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.


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Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, as did the house of Ahab. For they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.


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He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. And the Syrians wounded Joram.


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And he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had given him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel b


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Now the destruction of Ahaziah was of God, in that he went to Joram, for when he came he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.


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And it came to pass, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, that he found the rulers of Judah, and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah, ministering to Ahaziah, and killed them.


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And he sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (now he was hiding in Samaria). And they brought him to Jehu, and killed him. And they buried him, for they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought LORD with all his heart. And the


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Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal seed of the house of Judah.


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But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons who were slain, and put him and his nurse in the bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, th


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And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the


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And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.


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And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as LORD has spoken concerning the sons of David.


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This is the thing that ye shall do: A third part of you who come in on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds,


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and a third part shall be at the king's house, and a third part at the gate of the foundation. And all the people shall be in the courts of the house of LORD.


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But let none come into the house of LORD except the priests, and those who minister of the Levites. They shall come in for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the charge of LORD.


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And the Levites shall encompass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand. And whoever comes into the house, let him be slain. And be ye with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.


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So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And they took every man his men, those who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath. For Jehoiada the priest


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And Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds the spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David's, which were in the house of God.


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And he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, by the king round about.


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Then they brought out the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and [gave him] the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him. And they said, Live, O king.


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And when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of LORD.


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And she looked, and, behold, the king stood by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpets by the king. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets. The singers also [played] on instruments of music


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And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, Have her forth between the ranks. And whoever follows her, let him be slain with the sword, for the priest said, Do not slay


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So they made way for her. And she went to the entrance of the horse gate to the king's house, and they killed her there.


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And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, and all the people, and the king, that they should be LORD's people.


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And all the people went to the house of Baal, and broke it down, and broke his altars and his images in pieces, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.


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And Jehoiada appointed the officers of the house of LORD under the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of LORD, to offer the burnt-offerings of LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with r


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And he set the porters at the gates of the house of LORD that no man who was unclean in anything should enter in.


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And he took the captains of hundreds, and the mighty men, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of LORD. And they came through the upper gate to the king's house,


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So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And they had slain Athaliah with the sword.


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Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah, of Beersheba.


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And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather money from all Israel to repair the house of your God from year to year. And see that ye hasten the matter. However t


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And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said to him, Why have thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tax of Moses the servant of LORD, and of the assembly of Israel, for the tent


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For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God, and also all the dedicated things of the house of LORD they bestowed upon the Baalim.


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And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for LORD the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.


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And all the rulers and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.


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And it was so, that, at what [ever] time the chest was brought to the king's officers by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribe and the chief priest's officer came and emptied the ch


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And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of LORD. And they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to repair the house of LORD.


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So the workmen labored, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands, and they set up the house of God in its state, and strengthened it.


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And when they had made an end, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, from which were made vessels for the house of LORD, even vessels with which to minister and to offer, and spoons, and vessels of gold a


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But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died. He was a hundred and thirty years old when he died.


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And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.


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Now after the death of Jehoiada the rulers of Judah came, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened to them.


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And they forsook the house of LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness.


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Yet he sent prophets to them to bring them again to LORD. And they testified against them, but they would not give ear.


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And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest. And he stood above the people, and said to them, Thus says God, Why do ye transgress the commandments of LORD, so that ye cannot prosper? Because ye have for


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And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of LORD.


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Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. And when he died, he said, LORD look upon it, and require it.


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And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the army of the Syrians came up against him. And they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the rulers of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them to


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For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men. And LORD delivered a very great host into their hand because they had forsaken LORD, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgment upon Joash.


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And when they were departed for him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed, and he died. And they buried him in the city of


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And these are those who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.


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Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens [laid] upon him, and the rebuilding of the house of God, behold, they are written in the commentary of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.


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Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan, of Jerusalem.


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


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But he did not put their sons to death, but did according to that which is written in the law in the book of Moses, as LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the sons, neither shall the sons die for the fathers, but


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Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and appointed them according to their fathers' houses, for heads of thousands and heads of hundreds, even all Judah and Benjamin. And he numbered them from twenty years old and upward, and


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But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee. For LORD is not with Israel, [namely], with all the sons of Ephraim.


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But if thou are going, do [it]. Be strong for the battle, [because] God will cast thee down before the enemy, for God has power to help, and to cast down.


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And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, LORD is able to give thee much more than this.


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Then Amaziah separated them, [namely], the army that came to him out of Ephraim, to go home again. Therefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in fierce anger.


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And Amaziah took courage, and led forth his people, and went to the Valley of Salt, and smote ten thousand of the sons of Seir.


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And the sons of Judah carried away ten thousand alive, and brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were broken in pieces.


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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 to Beth-horon, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil.


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Now it came to pass, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense to them.


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Therefore the anger of LORD was kindled against Amaziah. And he sent a prophet to him, who said to him, Why have thou sought after the gods of the people, which have not delivered their own people out of thy hand?


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And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that [the king] said to him, Have we made thee of the king's counsel? Cease. Why should thou be smitten? Then the prophet ceased, and said, I know that God has determined to destroy thee,


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Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look each other in the face.


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And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife. And there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebano


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Thou say, Lo, I have smitten Edom. And thy heart lifts thee up to boast. Remain now at home. Why should thou meddle to [thy] hurt, that thou should fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?


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But Amaziah would not hear, for it was of God, that he might deliver them into the hand [of their enemies], because they had sought after the gods of Edom.


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So Joash king of Israel went up. And he and Amaziah king of Judah looked each other in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.


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And Joash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundre


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And [he took] all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king's house, also the hostages, and returned to Samaria.


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And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel.


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Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?


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Now from the time that Amaziah turned away from following LORD they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish, and killed him there.


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


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Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jechiliah, of Jerusalem.


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And he set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the vision of God. And as long as he sought LORD, God made him to prosper.


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And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod. And he built cities in [the country of] Ashdod, and among the Philistines.


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And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Meunim.


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And the Ammonites gave tribute to Uzziah. And his name spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt, for he grew exceedingly strong.


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Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning [of the wall], and fortified them.


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And he built towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns, for he had much cattle, also in the lowland and in the plain. [And he had] husbandmen and vinedressers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields, for he loved hu


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Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by bands, according to the number of their reckoning made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.


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The whole number of the heads of fathers, even the mighty men of valor, was two thousand and six hundred.


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And under their hand was an army, three hundred seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.


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And Uzziah prepared for them, even for all the army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and stones for slinging.


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And he made engines in Jerusalem, invented by skilful men, to be on the towers and upon the battlements, with which to shoot arrows and great stones. And his name spread far abroad. For he was marvelously helped, till he was strong


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But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up, so that he did corruptly, and he trespassed against LORD his God. For he went into the temple of LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.


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And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him eighty priests of LORD, who were valiant men.


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And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said to him, It does not pertain to thee, Uzziah, to burn incense to LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary. For thou have tre


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Then Uzziah was angry. And he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, the leprosy broke forth in his forehead before the priests in the house of LORD, beside the altar of incense.


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And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead. And they thrust him out quickly from there. Yea, he himself also hastened to go out, because LORD had smitten him.


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And Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house, being a leper. For he was cut off from the house of LORD, and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.


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So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings. For they said, He is a leper. And Jotham his son reigned in his stead.


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Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.


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And he did that which was right in the eyes of LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done. However he did not enter into the temple of LORD. And the people still did corruptly.


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Moreover he built cities in the hill-country of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.


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Also he fought with the king of the sons of Ammon, and prevailed against them. And the sons of Ammon gave him the same year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did th


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Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.


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And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.


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Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do that which was right in the eyes of LORD like David his father,


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Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.


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Therefore LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. And they smote him, and carried away of his a great multitude of captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king o


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For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, all of them valiant men, because they had forsaken LORD, the God of their fathers.


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And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the ruler of the house, and Elkanah who was next to the king.


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And the sons of Israel carried away captive of their brothers two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and also took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.


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But a prophet of LORD was there, whose name was Oded. And he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria, and said to them, Behold, because LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he has delivered them into your han


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And now ye propose to keep under the sons of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen to you. Are there not even with you trespasses of your own against LORD your God?


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Now hear me therefore, and send back the captives that ye have taken captive of your brothers. For the fierce wrath of LORD is upon you.


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Then certain of the heads of the sons of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war,


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and said to them, Ye shall not bring in the captives here. For ye propose that which will bring upon us a trespass against LORD, to add to our sins and to our trespass. For our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against I


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And the men who have been mentioned by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all who were naked among them, and dressed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carrie


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The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland, and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Soco with the towns of it, and Timnah with the towns of it, also Gimzo and the towns


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For LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had dealt wantonly in Judah, and trespassed severely against LORD.


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For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of LORD, and out of the house of the king and of the rulers, and gave it to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.


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For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which smote him. And he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, [therefore] I will sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Isr


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And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of LORD. And he made altars for him in every corner of Jerusalem.


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And in every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger LORD, the God of his fathers.


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Now the rest of his acts, and all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.


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And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem. For they did not bring him into the sepulchers of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.


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Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.


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In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of LORD, and repaired them.


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And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the broad place on the east,


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and said to them, Hear me, ye Levites. Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.


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For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of LORD, and turned their backs.


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Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt-offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.


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Therefore the wrath of LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to be tossed to and fro, to be an astonishment, and a hissing, as ye see with your eyes.


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For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.


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Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with LORD, the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us.


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My sons, be not now negligent. For LORD has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and that ye should be his ministers, and burn incense.


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Then the Levites arose: Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites, and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel, and of the Gershonites, Joah the son


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And they gathered their brothers, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by the words of LORD, to cleanse the house of LORD.


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And the priests went in to the inner part of the house of LORD to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of LORD into the court of the house of LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out a


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Now they began on the first [day] of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of LORD. And they sanctified the house of LORD in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month t


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Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within [the palace], and said, We have cleansed all the house of LORD, and the altar of burnt-offering with all the vessels of it, and the table of showbread with all the vessels of it.


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Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign cast away when he trespassed, we have prepared and sanctified. And, behold, they are before the altar of LORD.


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Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of LORD.


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And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he-goats, for a sin-offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar


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So they killed the bullocks. And the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar. And they killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood upon the altar. They also killed the lambs, and sprinkled the blood upon the altar.


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And they brought near the he-goats for the sin-offering before the king and the assembly. And they laid their hands upon them,


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and the priests killed them. And they made a sin-offering with their blood upon the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded [that] the burnt-offering and the sin-offering [should be made] for all Israel.


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And he set the Levites in the house of LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet. For the commandment was of LORD by his prophets.


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And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt-offering upon the altar. And when the burnt-offering began, the song of LORD began also, and the trumpets, together with the instruments of David king of Israel.


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And all the assembly worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this until the burnt-offering was finished.


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And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshipped.


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Moreover Hezekiah the king and the rulers commanded the Levites to sing praises to LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.


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Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves to LORD. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of LORD. And the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank-offerings; and as many as were


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And the number of the burnt-offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. All these were for a burnt-offering to LORD.


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But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt-offerings. Therefore their brothers the Levites helped them till the work was ended, and until the priests had sanctified themselves. For the Levites were more


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And also the burnt-offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace-offerings, and with the drink-offerings for every burnt-offering. So the service of the house of LORD was set in order.


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And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because of that which God had prepared for the people; for the thing was done suddenly.


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And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to LORD, the God of Israel.


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For the king had taken counsel, and his rulers, and all the assembly in Jerusalem, to keep the Passover in the second month.


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For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient number, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.


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So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem. For they had not kept it in great numbers in


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So the posts went with the letters from the king and his rulers throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye sons of Israel, turn again to LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, th


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And be ye not like your fathers, and like your brothers, who trespassed against LORD, the God of their fathers, so that he gave them up to desolation, as ye see.


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Now be ye not stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he has sanctified forever, and serve LORD your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you.


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For if ye turn again to LORD, your brothers and your sons shall find compassion before those who led them captive, and shall come again into this land. For LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face fro


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So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even to Zebulun. But they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.


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Nevertheless certain men of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.


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Also the hand of God came upon Judah to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king and of the rulers by the word of LORD.


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And many people assembled at Jerusalem to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great assembly.


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And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense they took away, and cast them into the brook Kidron.


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Then they killed the Passover on the fourteenth [day] of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought burnt-offerings into the house of LORD.


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And they stood in their place after their order, according to the law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood [which they received] from the hand of the Levites.


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For there were many in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves. Therefore the Levites had charge of killing the Passovers for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to LORD.


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For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than it is written. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pa


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who sets his heart to seek God, LORD, the God of his fathers, though [he be] not according to the purification of the sanctuary.


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And the sons of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness. And the Levites and the priests praised LORD day by day, with loud instruments to LORD.


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And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had good understanding [in the service] of LORD. So they ate throughout the feast for the seven days, offering sacrifices of peace-offerings, and making confession to LORD, th


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And the whole assembly took counsel to keep another seven days. And they kept [those] seven days with gladness.


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For Hezekiah king of Judah gave to the assembly for offerings a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep. And the rulers gave to the assembly a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep. And a great number of priests sanctified th


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And all the assembly of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and who dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.


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So there was great joy in Jerusalem. For since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.


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Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people. And their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, even to heaven.


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Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke in pieces the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim, and broke down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin,


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And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites after their divisions, every man according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt-offerings and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to give


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Also [he appointed] the king's portion of his substance for the burnt-offerings, [namely], for the morning and evening burnt-offerings, and the burnt-offerings for the Sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it


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Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the law of LORD.


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And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the sons of Israel gave in abundance the first-fruits of grain, new wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field. And they brought in the tithe of all things abundantly.


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And the sons of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of dedicated things which were consecrated to LORD their God, and laid them by heaps.


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In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month.


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And Azariah the chief priest, of the house of Zadok, answered him and said, Since they began to bring the oblations into the house of LORD, we have eaten and had enough, and have plenty left. For LORD has blessed his people, and th


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And they brought in the oblations and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully. And Conaniah the Levite was ruler over them, and Shimei his brother was second.


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And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by the appointment of Hezekiah the kin


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And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter at the east [gate], was over the freewill-offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of LORD, and the most holy things.


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And under him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their office of trust, to give to their brothers by divisions, as well to the great as to the small,


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besides those who were reckoned by genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even everyone that entered into the house of LORD, as the duty of every day required, for their service in their offices according to their div


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and those who were reckoned by genealogy of the priests by their fathers' houses, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their offices by their divisions,


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and those who were reckoned by genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation. For in their office of trust they sanctified themselves in holiness.


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Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every city, there were men who were mentioned by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all who were recko


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And thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah. And he wrought that which was good and right and faithful before LORD his God.


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And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.


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After these things, and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fortified cities, and thought to win them for himself.


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he took counsel with his rulers and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were outside the city. And they helped him.


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So there was gathered together many people. And they stopped all the fountains, and the brook that flowed through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?


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And he took courage, and built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised [it] up to the towers, and the other wall outside, and strengthened Millo [in] the city of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance.


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And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the broad place at the gate of the city, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying,


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Be strong and of good courage, be not afraid nor dismayed of the king of Assyria, nor of all the multitude that is with him. For there is a greater with us than with him.


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With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.


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After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem (now he was before Lachish, and all his power with him) to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying,


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Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, On what do ye trust that ye remain in the siege in Jerusalem?


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Does not Hezekiah persuade you, to give you over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, LORD our God will deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?


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Has not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and upon it ye shall burn incense?


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Know ye not what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of the lands in any way able to deliver their land out of my hand?


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Who was there among all the gods of those nations, which my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of my hand that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand?


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Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you after this manner, neither believe ye him. For no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers. How much


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He also wrote letters, to rail on LORD, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of the lands, which have not delivered their people out of my hand, so shall the God of Hezekiah not deliver hi


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And they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them, and to trouble them, that they might take the city.


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And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem, as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men's hands.


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And Hezekiah the king, and Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz, prayed because of this, and cried out to heaven.


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And LORD sent a [heavenly] agent who cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains, in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his g


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Thus LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all [others], and guided them on every side.


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And many brought gifts to LORD to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah. So that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from thenceforth.


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In those days Hezekiah was sick even to death, and he prayed to LORD. And he spoke to him, and gave him a sign.


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But Hezekiah did not render again according to the benefit done to him. For his heart was lifted up. Therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.


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Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.


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And Hezekiah had exceedingly much riches and honor. And he provided for him treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of goodly vessels,


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also store-houses for the increase of grain and new wine and oil, and stalls for all manner of beasts, and flocks in folds.


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Moreover he provided for him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance. For God had given him very much substance.


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This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and brought them straight down on the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.


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However in [the business of] the ambassadors of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.


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Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his good deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz, in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.


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And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the ascent of the sepulchers of the sons of David. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD after the abominations of the nations whom LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.


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For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down. And he reared up altars for the Baalim, and made Asheroth, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.


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And he built altars in the house of LORD, of which LORD said, In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.


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He also made his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. And he practiced augury, and used enchantments, and practiced sorcery, and dealt with psychics, and with wizards. He wrought much evil in the sight


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And he set the graven image of the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God 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, I will put my


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neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law and the statutes and the ordinances [give


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And Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did evil more than the nations did whom LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel.


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Therefore LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.


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And when he was in distress, he besought LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.


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And he prayed to him. And he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that LORD he was God.


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Now after this he built an outer wall to the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance at the fish gate. And he encompassed Ophel around [with it], and raised it up to a very great height. And he


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And he took away the foreign gods, and the idol out of the house of LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.


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And he built up the altar of LORD, and offered on it sacrifices of peace-offerings and of thanksgiving, and commanded Judah to serve LORD, the God of Israel.


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Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of LORD, the God of Israel, behold, they are written among the acts of the kings of Israel.


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Also his prayer, and how [God] was entreated by him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places, and set up the Asherim and the graven images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written


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So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. And Amon his son reigned in his stead.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, as did Manasseh his father. And Amon sacrificed to all the graven images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them.


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And he did not humble himself before LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this same Amon trespassed more and more.


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And he did that which was right in the eyes of LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.


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For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father. And in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the Asherim, and the graven im


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And they broke down the altars of the Baalim in his presence, and the sun-images that were on high above them he hewed down, and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images, he broke in pieces, and made dust of them,


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And [so also] in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even to Naphtali, in their ruins round about.


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And he broke down the altars, and beat the Asherim and the graven images into powder, and hewed down all the sun-images throughout all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.


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Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of LORD his


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And they came to Hilkiah the high priest, and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had gathered by the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and by all the remnant of


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And they delivered it into the hand of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of LORD. And the workmen who labored in the house of LORD gave it to mend and repair the house.


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Even to the carpenters and to the builders they gave it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.


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And the men did the work faithfully. And the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward, and [others of] the Levites,


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Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and set forward all who did the work in every manner of service. And of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.


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And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of LORD [given] by Moses.


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And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.


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And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and moreover brought back word to the king, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they are doing.


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And they have emptied out the money that was found in the house of LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and into the hand of the workmen.


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And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has delivered a book to me. And Shaphan read in there before the king.


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And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,


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Go ye, inquire of LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found. For great is the wrath of LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word


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So Hilkiah, and those whom the king [had commanded], went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter), and they spok


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Thus says LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of it, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah.


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Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore my wrath is poured out upon this place, and it shall not be quenched.


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But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of LORD, thus ye shall say to him, Thus says LORD, the God of Israel: As concerning the words which thou have heard,


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because thy heart was tender, and thou humbled thyself before God when thou heard his words against this place, and against the inhabitants of it, and have humbled thyself before me, and have torn thy clothes, and wept before me, I


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Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shall be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of it. And they brought back word to


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And the king went up to the house of LORD, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, both great and small. And he read in their ears all the words of the book o


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And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before LORD, to walk after LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the coven


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And he caused all who were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand [to it]. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.


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And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the sons of Israel, and made all who were found in Israel to serve, even to serve LORD their God. All his days they did not depart from following


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And Josiah kept a Passover to LORD in Jerusalem. And they killed the Passover on the fourteenth [day] of the first month.


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And he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built. There shall no more be a burden upon your shoulders. Now serve LORD your Go


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And prepare yourselves after your fathers' houses by your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son.


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And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers' houses of your brothers the sons of the people, and the portion of a fathers' house of the Levites.


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And kill the Passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of LORD by Moses.


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And Josiah gave to the sons of the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all of them for the Passover offerings, to all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and [also] three thousand bullocks; these were of the king'


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And his rulers gave for a freewill-offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand and six hu


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Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings five thousand [small cattle], and five hundred oxen.


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So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites by their divisions, according to the king's commandment.


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And they killed the Passover, and the priests sprinkled [the blood] by their hand, and the Levites skinned them.


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And they removed the burnt-offerings that they might give them according to the divisions of the fathers' houses of the sons of the people, to offer to LORD as it is written in the book of Moses. And so they did with the oxen.


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And they roasted the Passover with fire according to the ordinance. And the holy offerings they boiled in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the sons of the people.


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And afterward they prepared for themselves, and for the priests, because the priests the sons of Aaron [were busy] in offering the burnt-offerings and the fat until night. Therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the


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And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer. And the porters were at every gate. They did not need to depart from their service, fo


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So all the service of LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover, and to offer burnt-offerings upon the altar of LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah.


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And the sons of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.


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And there was no Passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet. Neither did any of the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that


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After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out against him.


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But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? [I come] not against thee this day, but against the house with which I have war, and God has commanded me to make haste. Cease thee from [medd


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Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself that he might fight with him. And he did not hearken to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.


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And the archers shot at king Josiah. And the king said to his servants, Remove me, for I am severely wounded.


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So his servants took him out of the chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had, and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died, and was buried in the sepulchers of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.


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And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah. And all the singing men and singing women spoke of Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel, and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.


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Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his good deeds, according to that which is written in the law of LORD,


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and his acts, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.


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Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem.


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And the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and fined the land a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.


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And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Neco took Joahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.


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Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD his God.


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Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon.


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Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.


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Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.


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Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD.


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And at the return of the year king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the good vessels of the house of LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet [speaking] from the mouth of LORD.


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And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. But he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart against turning to LORD, the God of Israel.


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Moreover all the chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.


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And LORD, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling-place.


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But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.


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Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or virgin, old man or hoary-headed. He gave them all into his


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And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his rulers, all these he brought to Babylon.


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And they burnt the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces of it with fire, and destroyed all the good vessels of it.


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And those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, and they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia,


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to fulfill the word of LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths; as long as it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.


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Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and


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Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth has LORD, the God of heaven, given me. And he has charged me to build a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, LORD


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Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth has LORD, the God of heaven, given me, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.


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Whoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of LORD, the God of Israel (he is God), which is in Jerusalem.


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And whoever is left, in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the freewill-offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.


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Then the heads of fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred, rose up to go up to build the house of LORD which is in Jerusalem.


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And all those who were round about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.


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Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put in the house of his gods,


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even those Cyrus king of Persia brought forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them to Sheshbazzar, the ruler of Judah.


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And this is the number of them: thirty platters of gold, a thousand platters of silver, twenty-nine knives,


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thirty bowls of gold, four hundred and ten silver bowls of a second sort, and a thousand other vessels.


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All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up when those of the captivity were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.


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Now these are the sons of the province who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, every man to


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who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:


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The sons of the porters: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, in all a hundred thirty-nine.


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And these were those who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, [and] Immer, but they could not show their fathers' houses, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:


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And of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name.


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These sought their registration [among] those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found. Therefore were they deemed polluted and put away from the priesthood.


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And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.


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besides their men-servants and their maid-servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven. And they had two hundred singing men and singing women.


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And some of the heads of fathers, when they came to the house of LORD which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to set it up in its place.


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They gave after their ability into the treasury of the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, and five thousand pounds of silver, and one hundred priests' garments.


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So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.


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And when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.


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Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, stood up and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt-offerings on it as it is written in the law of M


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And they set the altar upon its base, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of the countries. And they offered burnt-offerings on it to LORD, even burnt-offerings morning and evening.


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And they kept the feast of tabernacles as it is written, and [offered] the daily burnt-offerings by number according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required.


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And afterward the continual burnt-offering, and [the offerings] of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of LORD that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a freewill-offering to LORD.


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From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt-offerings to LORD. But the foundation of the temple of LORD was not yet laid.


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Also they gave money to the masons, and to the carpenters, and food, and drink, and oil, to those of Sidon, and to those of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus


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Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those


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Then Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, stood together to have the oversight of the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.


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And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise LORD, after the order of David king of Israel.


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And they sang one to another in praising and giving thanks to LORD, [saying], For he is good, for his loving kindness [is] forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised LORD, because the fo


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But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers, the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy.


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So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.


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Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the sons of the captivity were building a temple to LORD, the God of Israel,


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then they drew near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers, and said to them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God, as ye do, and we sacrifice to him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria who brought us up here.


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But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers of Israel, said to them, Ye have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God, but we ourselves together will build to LORD, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus


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Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,


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and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.


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And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.


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And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. And the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian [character], and set forth in the Syrian [tongu


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Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this way.


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Then [wrote] Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites,


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and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest beyond the River, and so forth.


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This is a copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.


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Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from thee have come to us to Jerusalem. They are building the rebellious and the evil city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.


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Be it known now to the king, that, if this city be built, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful to the kings.


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Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent and certified to the king,


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that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers. So thou shall find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings and provinces. And that they have made sedition wi


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We certify to the king that, if this city be built, and the walls finished, by this means thou shall have no portion beyond the River.


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[Then] the king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and in the rest beyond the River: Peace, and so forth.


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And I decreed, and search has been made. And it is found that this city of old time has made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it.


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There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem who have ruled over all [the country] beyond the River, and tribute, custom, and toll, was paid to them.


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Make ye now a decree to cause these men to cease, and that this city not be built until a decree shall be made by me.


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Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them cease by force and power.


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Then the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.


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Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, to them.


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Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, rose up and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem, and with them were the prophets of God, helping them.


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At the same time Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, came to them, and said thus to them, Who gave you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?


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Then we told them after this manner, [that is] what the names of the men were who were making this building.


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But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not make them cease till the matter should come to Darius, and then answer should be returned by letter concerning it.


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The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and his companions the Apharsachites, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king;


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Be it known to the king, that we went into the province of Judah to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls. And this work goes on with diligence and prospers in their hands.


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Then we asked those elders, and said to them thus: Who gave you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?


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Also, we asked them their names, to certify to thee, that we might write the names of the men who were at the head of them.


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And thus they returned us an answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. And are building the house that was built these many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.


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But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath. He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.


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But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God.


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And also the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they w


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And he said to him, Take these vessels. Go put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in its place.


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Then the same Sheshbazzar came, and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem. And since that time even until now it has been in building, and yet it is not completed.


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Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure-house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made from Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, an


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Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the archives where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.


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And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a roll, and in it was thus written for a record:


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In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be built--the place where they offer sacrifices--and let the foundations of it be strongly laid, the height


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with three courses of great stones, and a course of new timber. And let the expenses be given out of the king's house.


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And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, be restored, and brought again to the temple which is at Jerusalem, ever


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Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your companions the Apharsachites, who are beyond the River, be ye far from there:


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Let the work of this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place.


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Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: That of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the River, expenses be given with all diligence to these men, that th


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And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven, [also] wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests who are at Jerusalem, let it be given the


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that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savor to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.


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Also I have made a decree, that whoever shall alter this word, let a beam be pulled out from his house, and let him be lifted up and fastened thereon, and let his house be made a dunghill for this.


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And the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow all kings and peoples who shall put forth their hand to alter [the same], to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree, let it be done


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Then Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, because of what Darius the king had sent, did accordingly with all diligence.


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And the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the dec


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And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.


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And the sons of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the sons of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.


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And they offered at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs. And for a sin-offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.


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And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.


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For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together, all of them were pure. And they killed the Passover for all the sons of the captivity, and for their brothers the priests, and for themselves.


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And the sons of Israel who came again out of the captivity, and all such as had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek LORD, the God of Israel, ate,


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and kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy. For LORD had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.


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Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,


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this Ezra went up from Babylon. And he was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which LORD, the God of Israel, had given. And the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of LORD his God upon him.


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And some of the sons of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.


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For upon the first [day] of the first month he began to go up from Babylon, and on the first [day] of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.


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For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.


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Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of LORD, and of his statutes to Israel:


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Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect and so forth.


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I make a decree, that all those of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, who are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with thee.


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Forasmuch as thou are sent from the king and his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand,


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and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,


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and all the silver and gold that thou shall find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill-offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem.


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Therefore thou shall with all diligence buy with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meal-offerings and their drink-offerings, and shall offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.


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And whatever shall seem good to thee and to thy brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do ye after the will of your God.


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And the vessels that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem.


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And whatever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shall have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure-house.


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And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done with all diligence,


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to a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.


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Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?


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Also we certify to you, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, upon them.


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And thou, Ezra, according to the wisdom of thy God, that is in thy hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people who are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of thy God, and teach ye him who does not kno


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And whoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him with all diligence, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.


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Blessed be LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of LORD which is in Jerusalem,


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and has extended loving kindness to me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty rulers. And I was strengthened according to the hand of LORD my God upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief m


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Now these are the heads of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:


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of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty;


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And of the sons of Adonikam, [who were] the last, and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males;


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And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we encamped three days. And I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.


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Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men, also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were teachers.


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And I sent them forth to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo, [and] his brothers the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.


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And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen,


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and of the Nethinim, whom David and the rulers had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were mentioned by name.


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Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.


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For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those who seek him, for good, but his power an


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Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them,


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and weighed to them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his rulers, and all Israel there present, had offered.


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I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and a hundred talents of silver vessels, a hundred talents of gold,


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and twenty bowls of gold, of a thousand darics, and two vessels of fine bright brass, precious as gold.


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And I said to them, Ye are holy to LORD, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering to LORD, the God of your fathers.


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Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the rulers of the fathers' of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of LORD.


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So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.


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Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth [day] of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushment by the way.


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And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them was Jozabad the s


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The sons of the captivity, who came out of exile, offered burnt-offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering. All this was a burnt-offering


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And they delivered the king's commissions to the king's satraps, and to the governors beyond the River. And they furthered the people and the house of God.


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Now when these things were done, the rulers drew near to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, [doing] according to their abominations, even


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For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands. Yea, the hand of the heads and rulers has been chief in this trespass.


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And when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.


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Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel were assembled to me, because of the trespass of those of the captivity, and I sat confounded until the evening oblation.


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And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to LORD my God,


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and I said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens.


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Since the days of our fathers we have been exceedingly guilty to this day. And for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plund


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And now for a little moment grace has been shown from LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.


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For we are bondmen, yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the ruins of it, a


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which thou have commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, to which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from o


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Now therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever, that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritan


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And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, seeing that thou our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant,


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shall we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples who do these abominations? Would thou not be angry with us till thou had consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape?


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O LORD, the God of Israel, thou are righteous, for we are left a remnant that is escaped, as it is this day. Behold, we are before thee in our guiltiness, for none can stand before thee because of this.


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Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together to him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children, for the people wept very muc


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And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land. Yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this th


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Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to


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Then Ezra arose, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they swore.


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Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. And [when] he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water, for he mourned because of the trespass of those of the captivit


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And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the sons of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together to Jerusalem.


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And that whoever did not come within three days, according to the counsel of the rulers and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.


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Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together to Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth [day] of the month, and all the people sat in the broad place before the house of God,


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And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, Ye have trespassed, and have married foreign women to increase the guilt of Israel.


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Now therefore make confession to LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.


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Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, As thou have said concerning us, so must we do.


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But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Neither is this a work of one day or two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter.


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Let now our rulers be appointed for all the assembly, and let all those who are in our cities who have married foreign women come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce


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Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.


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And the sons of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, [with] certain heads of fathers, after their fathers' houses, and all of them by their names, were set apart. And they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to exami


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And they made an end with all the men who had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.


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And among the sons of the priests there were found who had married foreign women, [namely], of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brothers, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.


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And they gave their hand that they would put away their wives. And being guilty, [they offered] a ram of the flock for their guilt.


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And of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.


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And of Israel: Of the sons of Parosh, Ramiah, and Izziah, and Malchijah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.


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And of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.


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The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,


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that Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and certain men out of Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, that were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.


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And they said to me, The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. Also the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and the gates of it are burned with fire.


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And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days. And I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,


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and said, I beseech thee, O LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments:


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Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou may hearken to the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the sons of Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the sons


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We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou commanded thy servant Moses.


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Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commanded thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples,


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but if ye return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the outermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my name


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Now these are thy servants and thy people whom thou have redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.


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O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who delight to fear thy name, and, I pray thee, prosper thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight


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Now I was cupbearer to the king. And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not [formerly] been sad in


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And the king said to me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very much afraid.


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And I said to the king, Let the king live forever. Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lays waste, and the gates of it are consumed with fire?


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And I said to the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may build it.


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And the king said to me (the queen also sitting by him), For how long shall thy journey be? And when will thou return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time.


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Moreover I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given to me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through till I come to Judah,


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and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertains to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And


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Then I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen.


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And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there came a man to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel.


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And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me. I neither told any man what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem, nor was there any beast with me except the beast that I rode upon.


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And I went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the jackal's well and to the dung gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates of it were consumed with fire.


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Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool, but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.


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Then I went up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall. And I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned.


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And the rulers did not know where I went, or what I did, neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the ranking men, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work.


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Then I said to them, Ye see the evil condition that we are in, how Jerusalem lays waste, and the gates of it are burned with fire. Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach.


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And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, as also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good [work].


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But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? Will ye rebel against the king?


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Then I answered them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us. Therefore we his servants will arise and build, but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.


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Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the sheep gate. They sanctified it, and set up the doors of it, even to the tower of Hammeah they sanctified it, to the tower of Hananel.


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And the sons of Hassenaah built the fish gate. They laid the beams of it, and set up the doors of it, the bolts of it, and the bars of it.


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And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired.


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And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their ranking men did not put their necks to the work of their lord.


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And the old gate Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired. They laid the beams of it, and set up the doors of it, and the bolts of it, and the bars of it.


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And next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, [who pertained] to the throne of the governor beyond the River, repaired.


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Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. And next to him Hananiah one of the perfumers repaired. And they fortified Jerusalem even to the broad wall.


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And next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired.


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Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab, repaired another portion, and the tower of the furnaces.


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And next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.


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Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah, repaired the valley gate. They built it, and set up the doors of it, the bolts of it, and the bars of it, and a thousand cubits of the wall to the dung gate.


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And Malchijah the son of Rechab, the ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the dung gate. He built it, and set up the doors of it, the bolts of it, and the bars of it.


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And Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the fountain gate. He built it, and covered it, and set up the doors of it, the bolts of it, and the bars of it, and the wall of the pool of Shelah by


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After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to the place opposite the sepulchers of David, and to the pool that was made, and to the house of the mighty men.


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After him the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani, repaired. Next to him Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district.


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After him their brothers, Bavvai the son of Henadad, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired.


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And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, repaired another portion opposite the ascent to the armory at the turning [of the wall].


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After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired another portion, from the turning [of the wall] to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.


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After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another portion, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.


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After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house.


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After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another portion, from the house of Azariah to the turning [of the wall], and to the corner.


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Palal the son of Uzai [repaired] opposite the turning [of the wall], and the tower that stands out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh [repaired].


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(Now the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, to the place opposite the water gate toward the east, and the tower that stands out.)


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After him the Tekoites repaired another portion, opposite the great tower that stands out, and to the wall of Ophel.


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After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the east gate, repaired.


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After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another portion. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite his chamber.


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After him Malchijah one of the goldsmiths to the house of the Nethinim, and of the merchants, repaired opposite the gate of Hammiphkad, and to the ascent of the corner.


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But it came to pass that, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.


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And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rub


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Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they are building, if a fox goes up he shall break down their stone wall.


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Hear, O our God, for we are despised, and turn back their reproach upon their own head, and give them up for a spoil in a land of captivity,


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and do not cover their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee, for they have provoked [thee] to anger before the builders.


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So we built the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half [the height] of it, for the people had a mind to work.


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But it came to pass that, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, [and] that the breaches began to be stopped, then they


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and all of them together conspired to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion therein.


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And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens has become feeble, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall.


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And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease.


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And it came to pass that, when the Jews who dwelt by them came, they said to us ten times, From all places from where ye shall return to us they will be upon you.


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Therefore I set in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places, I set [there] the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.


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And I looked, and rose up, and said to the ranking men, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them. Remember LORD, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters


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And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to naught, that we returned all of us to the wall, every man to his work.


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And it came to pass from that time forth, that half of my servants labored in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail. And the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.


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They all built the wall, and those who bore burdens loaded themselves, every man with one of his hands labored in the work, and with the other held his weapon,


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and the builders, every man had his sword girded by his side, and so built. And he who sounded the trumpet was by me.


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And I said to the ranking men, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.


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In whatever place ye hear the sound of the trumpet, gather ye there to us, our God will fight for us.


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So we labored in the work, and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.


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Likewise at the same time I said to the people, Let each with his servant lodge within Jerusalem that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day.


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So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us put off our clothes, everyone [went with] his weapon [to] the water.


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For there were who said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many. Let us get grain that we may eat and live.


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There were some also who said, We are mortgaging our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses. Let us get grain because of the dearth.


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There were also who said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute [upon] our fields and our vineyards.


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Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our sons as their sons. And, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought into bondage [already]. Neither is it in our


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Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the ranking men and the rulers, and said to them, Ye exact usury, everyone of his brother. And I held a great assembly against them.


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And I said to them, According to our ability we have redeemed our brothers the Jews, who were sold to the nations, and would ye even sell your brothers, and should they be sold to us? Then they were silent, and found not a word.


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Also I said, The thing that ye do is not good. Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies?


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And I likewise, my brothers and my servants, lend them money and grain. I pray you, let us leave off this usury.


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Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their fields, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.


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Then they said, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them, so will we do, even as thou say. Then I called the priests, and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.


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Also I shook out my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, who does not perform this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the assembly said, Amen, and praised LORD. And th


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Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, [that is], twelve years, I and my brothers have not eaten the bre


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But the former governors who were before me charged the people, and took bread and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people. But I did not so, because of the fear of God.


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Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither did we buy any land. And all my servants were gathered there to the work.


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Moreover there were at my table, of the Jews and the rulers, a hundred and fifty men, besides those who came to us from among the nations that were round about us.


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Now that which was prepared for one day was one ox and six choice sheep, also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine. Yet for all this I did not demand the bread of the governor, because the bon


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Now it came to pass, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and to the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it, (though even to that time I had not s


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that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in [one of] the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.


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And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it, and come down to you?


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in which was written, It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel, for which cause thou are building the wall. And thou would be their king according to these words.


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And thou have also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah. And now it shall be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.


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Then I sent to him, saying, There are no such things done as thou say, but thou imagine them out of thine own heart.


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For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work that it not be done. But now, [O God], strengthen thou my hands.


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And I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up, and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple. For they will come to


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And I said, Should such a man as I flee? And who is there, that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.


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And I discerned, and, lo, God had not sent him, but he pronounced this prophecy against me, and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.


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For this cause he was hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.


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Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, who would have put me in fear.


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And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard [of it], that all the nations that were around us feared, and were much cast down in their own eyes, for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.


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Moreover in those days the ranking men of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and [the letters] of Tobiah came to them.


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For there were many in Judah sworn to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah to wife.


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Also they spoke of his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. [And] Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.


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Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,


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that I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the governor of the castle, charge over Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.


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And I said to them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot, and while they stand [on guard], let them shut the doors, and bar ye them. And appoint watchmen of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his wat


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And my God put into my heart to gather together the ranking men, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first. And I found written


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These are the sons of the province who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, everyone to his city


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who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:


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the sons of Pahath-moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred [and] eighteen;


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The porters: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, a hundred thirty-eight.


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And these were those who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not show their fathers' house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel:


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And of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name.


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These sought their registration [among] those who were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found. Therefore they were deemed polluted and put from the priesthood.


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And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.


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besides their men-servants and their maid-servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven. And they had two hundred forty-five singing men and singing women.


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And some from among the heads of fathers gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments.


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And some of the heads of fathers gave into the treasury of the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pounds of silver.


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And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and sixty-seven priests' garments.


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So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities. And when the seventh month came, the sons of Israel were in their cities.


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And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate. And they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which LORD had commanded to Israel.


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And Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.


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And he read in it before the broad place that was before the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were [attentive] t


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And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Uriah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand, and on his left hand, Pedaiah, a


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And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people), and when he opened it, all the people stood up.


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And Ezra blessed LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with the lifting up of their hands. And they bowed their heads, and worshipped LORD with their faces to the ground.


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Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law. And the people [stood] in their place.


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And they read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly, and they gave the sense, so that they understood the reading.


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And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard th


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Then he said to them, Go your way, eat fat things, and drink sweet things, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our LORD; neither be ye grieved, for the joy of LORD is your strength.


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So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be silent, for the day is holy, neither be ye grieved.


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And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.


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And on the second day were gathered together the heads of fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to Ezra the scribe, even to give attention to the words of the law.


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And they found written in the law how that LORD had commanded by Moses that the sons of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month,


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and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth to the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick tre


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So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, each one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate, and in the broad pla


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And all the assembly of those who came again out of the captivity made booths, and dwelt in the booths, for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the sons of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.


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Also day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance.


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Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them.


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And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.


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And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of LORD their God a fourth part of the day, and [another] fourth part they confessed, and worshipped LORD their God.


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Then Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, [and] Chenani, stood up upon the stairs of the Levites, and cried with a loud voice to LORD their God.


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Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, [and] Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. And blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted abo


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Thou are LORD, even thou alone, thou have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and thou preserve them all. And the host of heaven worshi


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Thou are LORD, the God who chose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham,


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and found his heart faithful before thee, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it to his seed, and have performed


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and showed signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land, for thou knew that they dealt proudly against them, and got thee a name, as it is this day.


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And thou divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land. And thou cast their pursuers into the depths as a stone into the mighty waters.


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Moreover in a pillar of cloud thou led them by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way in which they should go.


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Thou also came down upon mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and TRUE laws, good statutes and commandments,


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and made known to them thy holy Sabbath, and commanded them commandments, and statutes, and a law, by Moses thy servant.


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And thou gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commanded them that they should go in to possess the land which thou had sworn to give them.


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But they and our fathers dealt proudly and stiffened their neck, and did not hearken to thy commandments,


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and refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou did among them, but stiffened their neck. And in their rebellion they appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But thou are a God ready to pardon, gracious a


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Yea, when they had made a molten calf for them, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations,


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yet thou in thy manifold mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud did not depart from over them by day to lead them in the way, neither the pillar of fire by night to show them light, and the way in which


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Thou also gave thy good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold thy manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.


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Yea, forty years thou sustained them in the wilderness, [and] they lacked nothing; their clothes did not grow old, and their feet did not swell.


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Moreover thou gave them kingdoms and peoples, which thou allotted after their portions. So they possessed the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.


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Their sons thou also multiplied as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land concerning which thou said to their fathers that they should go in to possess it.


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So the sons went in and possessed the land. And thou subdued the inhabitants of the land before them, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings, and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as th


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And they took fortified cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted t


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Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and killed thy prophets who testified against them to turn them again to thee, and they wrought great provocations.


