by Septuagint
[6] And the posts went with the letters from the king and the princes to all Israel and Juda, according to the command of the king, saying, Children of Israel, return to the Lord God of Abraam, and Isaac, and Israel, and bring back them that have escaped even those that were left of the hand of the king of Assyria. [7] And be not as your fathers, and your brethren, who revolted from the Lord God of their fathers, and he gave them up to desolation, as ye see. [8] And now harden not your hearts, as your fathers did: give glory to the Lord God, and enter into his sanctuary, which he has sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your God, and he shall turn away his fierce anger from you. [9] For when ye turn to the Lord, your brethren and your children shall be pitied before all that have carried them captives, and he will restore you to this land: for the Lord our God is merciful and pitiful, and will not turn away his face from you, if we return to him.
[10] So the posts went through from city to city in mount Ephraim, and Manasse, and as far as Zabulon: and they as it were laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. [11] But the men of Aser, and some of Manasses and of Zabulon, were ashamed, and came to Jerusalem and Juda. [12] And the hand of the Lord was present to give them one heart to come, to do according to the commands of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord.
[13] And a great multitude were gathered to Jerusalem to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation. [14] And they arose, and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all on which they burnt incense to false gods they tore down and cast into the brook Kedron. [15] Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites repented, and purified themselves, and brought whole-burnt-offerings into the house of the Lord.
[16] And they stood at their post, according to their ordinance, according to the commandment of Moses the man of God: and the priests received the blood from the hand of the Levites. [17] For a great part of the congregation was not sanctified; and the Levites were ready to kill the passover for every one who could not sanctify himself to the Lord. [18] For the greatest part of the people of Ephraim, and Manasse, and Issachar, and Zabulon, had not purified themselves, but ate the passover contrary to the scripture. On this account also Ezekias prayed concerning them, saying, [19] The good Lord be merciful with regard to every heart that sincerely seeks the Lord God of their fathers, and is not purified according to the purification of the sanctuary. [20] And the Lord hearkened to Ezekias, and healed the people.
[21] And the children of Israel who were present in Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great joy; and they continued to sing hymns to the Lord daily, and the priests and the Levites played on instruments to the Lord. [22] And Ezekias encouraged all the Levites, and those that had good understanding of the Lord: and they completely kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days, offering peace-offerings, and confessing to the Lord God of their fathers.
[23] And the congregation purposed together to keep other seven days: and they kept seven days with gladness. [24] For Ezekias set apart for Juda, even for the congregation, a thousand calves and seven thousand sheep; and the princes set apart for the people a thousand calves and ten thousand sheep: and the holy things of the priests abundantly. [25] And all the congregation, the priests and the Levites, rejoiced, and all the congregation of Juda, and they that were present of Jerusalem, and the strangers that came from the land of Israel, and the dwellers in Juda. [26] And there was great joy in Jerusalem: from the days of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not such a feast in Jerusalem. [27] Then the priests the Levites rose up and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came into his holy dwelling-place, even into heaven.
Chapter 31
[1] And when all these things were finished, all Israel that were found in the cities of Juda went out, and broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the groves, and tore down the high places and the altars out of all Judea and Benjamin, also of Ephraim and Manasse, till they made an end: and all Israel returned, every one to his inheritance, and to their cities.
[2] And Ezekias appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites, and the courses of each one according to his ministry, to the priests and to the Levites, for the whole-burnt-offering, and for the peace-offering, and to praise, and to give thanks, and to minister in the gates, and in the courts of the house of the Lord. [3] And the king’s proportion out of his substance was appointed for the whole-burnt-offerings, the morning and the evening one, and the whole-burnt-offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the feasts that were ordered in the law of the Lord.
[4] And they told the people who dwelt in Jerusalem, to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be strong in the ministry of the house of the Lord. [5] And as he gave the command, Israel brought abundantly first-fruits of corn, and wine, and oil, and honey, and every fruit of the field: and the children of Israel and Juda brought tithes of everything abundantly. [6] And they that dwelt in the cities of Juda themselves also brought tithes of calves and sheep, and tithes of goats, and consecrated them to the Lord their God, and they brought them and laid them in heaps. [7] In the third month the heaps began to be piled, and in the seventh month they were finished. [8] And Ezekias and the princes came and saw the heaps, and blessed the Lord, and his people Israel. [9] Then Ezekias enquired of the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. [10] And Azarias the priest, the chief over the house of Sadoc, spoke to him, and said, From the time that the first-fruits began to be brought into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and drunk, and left even abundantly; for the Lord has blessed his people, and we have left to this amount.
[11] And Ezekias told them yet farther to prepare chambers for the house of the Lord; and they prepared them, [12] and they brought thither the first-fruits and the tithes faithfully: and Chonenias the Levite was superintendent over them, and Semei his brother was next. [13] and Jeiel, and Ozias, and Naeth, and Asael, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Samachia, and Maath, and Banaias, and his sons, were appointed by Chonenias and Semei his brother, as Ezekias the king, and Azarias who was over the house of the Lord commanded.
[14] And Core, the son of Jemna the Levite, the porter eastward, was over the gifts, to distribute the first-fruits of the Lord, and the most holy things, [15] by the hand of Odom, and Benjamin, and Jesus, and Semei, and Amarias, and Sechonias, by the hand of the priests faithfully, to give to their brethren according to the courses, as well to great as small; [16] besides the increase of males from three years old and upward, to every one entering into the house of the Lord, a portion according to a daily rate, for service in the daily courses of their order. [17] This is the distribution of the priests according to the houses of their families; and the Levites in their daily courses from twenty years old and upward were in their order, [18] to assign stations for all the increase of their sons and their daughters, for the whole number: for they faithfully sanctified the holy place. [19] As for the sons of Aaron that executed the priests’ office, — even those from their cities the men in each several city who were named expressly, — were appointed to give a portion to every male among the priests, and to every one reckoned among the Levites.
[20] And Ezekias did so through all Juda, and did that which was good and right before the Lord his God. [21] And in every work which he began in service in the house of the Lord, and in the law, and in the ordinances, he sought his God with all his soul, and wrought, and prospered.
Chapter 32
[1] And after these things and this faithful dealing, came Sennacherim king of the Assyrians, and he came to Juda, and encamped against the fortified cities, and intended to take them for himself.
[2] And Ezekias saw that Sennacherim was come, and that his face was set to fight against Jerusalem. [3] And he took counsel with his elders and his mighty men to stop the wells of water which were without the city: and they helped him. [4] And he collected many peo
ple, and stopped the wells of water, and the river that flowed through the city, saying, Lest the king of Assyria come, and find much water, and strengthen himself.
[5] And Ezekias strengthened himself, and built all the wall that had been pulled down, and the towers, and another wall in front without, and fortified the strong place of the city of David, and prepared arms in abundance. [6] And he appointed captains of war over the people, and they were gathered to meet him to the open place of the gate of the valley, and he encouraged them, saying, [7] Be strong and courageous, and fear not, neither be dismayed before the King of Assyria, and before all the nation that is with him: for there are more with us than with him. [8] With him are arms of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to save us, and to fight our battle. And the people were encouraged at the words of Ezekias king of Juda.
[9] And afterward Sennacherim king of the Assyrians sent his servants to Jerusalem; and he went himself against Lachis, and all his army with him, and sent to Ezekias king of Juda, and to all Juda that was in Jerusalem, saying, [10] Thus says Sennacherim king of the Assyrians, On what do ye trust, that ye will remain in the siege in Jerusalem? [11] Does not Ezekias deceive you, to deliver you to death and famine and thirst, saying, The Lord our God will deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? [12] Is not this Ezekias who has taken down his altars and his high places and has spoken to Juda and the dwellers in Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before this altar and burn incense upon it? [13] Know ye not what I and my fathers have done to all the nations of the countries? Could the gods of the nations of all the earth at all rescue their people out of my hand? [14] Who is there among all the gods of those nations whom my fathers utterly destroyed, worthy of trust? Could they deliver their people out of my hand, that your God should deliver you out of my hand? [15] Now then, let not Ezekias deceive you, and let him not make you thus confident, and believe him not: for no god of any kingdom or nation is at all able to deliver his people out of my hand, or the hand of my fathers: therefore your God shall not deliver you out of my hand. [16] And his servants continued to speak against the Lord God, and against his servant Ezekias.
[17] And he wrote a letter to reproach the Lord God of Israel, and spoke concerning him, saying, As the gods of the nations of the earth have not delivered their people out of my hand, so the God of Ezekias shall by no means deliver his people out of my hand. [18] And he cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language to the people of Jerusalem on the wall, calling them to assist them, and pull down the walls, that they might take the city. [19] And he spoke against the God of Jerusalem, even as against the gods of the nations of the earth, the works of the hands of men.
[20] And king Ezekias and Esaias the prophet the son of Amos prayed concerning these things, and they cried to heaven. [21] And the Lord sent an angel, and he destroyed every mighty man and warrior, and leader and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria: and he returned with shame of face to his own land and came into the house of his god: and some of them that came out of his bowels slew him with the sword. [22] So the Lord delivered Ezekias and the dwellers in Jerusalem out of the hand of Sennacherim King of Assyria, and out of the hand of all his enemies, and gave them rest round about. [23] And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Ezekias king of Juda; and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after these things.
[24] In those days Ezekias was sick even to death, and prayed to the Lord: and he hearkened to him, and gave him a sign. [25] But Ezekias did not recompense the Lord according to the return which he made him, but his heart was lifted up: and wrath came upon him, and upon Juda and Jerusalem. [26] And Ezekias humbled himself after the exaltation of his heart, he and the dwellers in Jerusalem; and the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Ezekias. [27] And Ezekias had wealth and very great glory: and he made for himself treasuries of gold, and silver, and precious stones, also for spices, and stores for arms, and for precious vessels; [28] and cities for the produce of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls and mangers for every kind of cattle, and folds for flocks; [29] and cities which he built for himself, and store of sheep and oxen in abundance, for the Lord gave him a very great store.
[30] The same Ezekias stopped up the course of the water of Gion above, and brought the water down straight south of the city of David. And Ezekias prospered in all his works. [31] Notwithstanding, in regard to the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who were sent to him to enquire of him concerning the prodigy which came upon the land, the Lord left him, to try him, to know what was in his heart.
[32] And the rest of the acts of Ezekias, and his kindness, behold, they are written in the prophecy of Esaias the son of Amos the prophet, and in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel. [33] And Ezekias slept with his fathers, and they buried him in a high place among the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Juda and the dwellers in Jerusalem gave him glory and honour at his death. And Manasses his son reigned in his stead.
Chapter 33
[1] Manasses was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. [2] And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord destroyed from before the face of the children of Israel. [3] And he returned and built the high places, which his father Ezekias had pulled down, and set up images to Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. [4] And he built altars in the house of the Lord, concerning which the Lord said, In Jerusalem shall be my name for ever. [5] And he built altars to all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. [6] He also passed his children through the fire in the valley of Benennom; and he divined, and used auspices, and sorceries, and appointed those who had divining spirits, and enchanters, and wrought abundant wickedness before the Lord, to provoke him. [7] And he set the graven image, the molten statue, the idol which he made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever; [8] and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I gave to their fathers, if only they will take heed to do all things which I have commanded them, according to all the law and the ordinances and the judgments given by the hand of Moses. [9] So Manasses led astray Juda and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to do evil beyond all the nations which the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel.
[10] And the Lord spoke to Manasses, and to his people: but they hearkened not. [11] And the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, and they took Manasses in bonds, and bound him in fetters, and brought him to Babylon. [12] And when he was afflicted, he sought the face of the Lord his God, and was greatly humbled before the face of the God of his fathers; [13] and he prayed to him: and he hearkened to him, and listened to his cry, and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom: and Manasses knew that the Lord he is God.
[14] And afterward he built a wall without the city of David, from the southwest southward in the valleys and at the entrance through the fish-gate, as men go out by the gate round about, even as far as Opel: and he raised it much, and set captains of the host in all the fortified cities in Juda. [15] And he removed the strange gods, and the graven image out of the house of the Lord, and all the altars which he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and without the city. [16] And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and offered upon it a sacrifice of peace-offering and thank-offering, and he told Juda to serve the Lord God of Israel. [17] Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, only to the Lord their God.
[18] And the rest of the acts of Manasses, and his prayer to God, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the God of Israel, [19] behold, they are in the account of his prayer; and God hearkened to him. And all his sins, and his backslidings, and the spots on which he built the high places, and set there groves and graven ima
ges, before he repented, behold, they are written in the books of the seers. [20] And Manasses slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the garden of his house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
[21] Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. [22] And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasses did: and Amon sacrificed to all the idols which his father Manasses had made, and served them. [23] And he was not humbled before the Lord as his father Manasses was humbled; for his son Amon abounded in transgression. [24] And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his house. [25] And the people of the land slew the men who had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josias his son king in his stead.
Chapter 34
[1] Josias was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. [2] And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. [3] And in the eighth year of his reign, and he being yet a youth, he began to seek the Lord God of his father David: and in the twelfth year of his reign he began to purge Juda and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the ornaments for the altars, and the molten images. [4] And he pulled down the altars of Baalim that were before his face, and the high places that were above them; and he cut down the groves, and the graven images, and broke in pieces the molten images, and reduced them to powder, and cast it upon the surface of the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them. [5] And he burnt the bones of the priests upon the altars, and purged Juda and Jerusalem. [6] And he did so in the cities of Manasse, and Ephraim, and Symeon, and Nephthali, and the places round about them. [7] And he pulled down the altars and the groves, and he cut the idols in small pieces, and cut off all the high places from all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.
