"Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, 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 stamped it small to powder, and burned the Asherah. 16And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount; and he sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. 17Then he said: 'What mon- ument is that which I see?' And the men of the city told him: 'It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the -altar of Beth-el/ 18And he said: ' Let him be; let no man move his bones.' So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet SECOND KINGS SECOND KINGS that came out of Samaria. "And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to pro- voke [the LORD], Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el. 20And he slew 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.
21 And the king commanded all the people, saying: 'Keep the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant.' ^For there was not kept such a pass- over from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; ^but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah was this passover kept to the LORD in Jerusalem. wMore- over them that divined by a ghost or a familiar spirit, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the detestable things that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that HHkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. 25And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
^Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of His great wrath, wherewith His anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations wherewith Manasseh had provoked Him. 27And the 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/ 28Now 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? 29In 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 he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him. 30And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead.
31 Jehoahaz was twenty and 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. ^And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. ^And Pharaoh-necoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a fine of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. MAnd Pharaoh-necoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim; but he took Je- hoahaz away; and he came to Egypt, and died there. 35And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pha- raoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command- ment of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaoh- necoh.
^Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and SECOND KINGS he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon carne up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. 2And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Arameans, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by the hand of His servants the prophets. 3Surely at the com- mandment of the LORD came this up- on Judah, to remove them out of His sight, for the sins of Manasseh, ac- cording to all that he did; 4and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with inno- cent blood; and the LORD would not pardon.
5Now the rest of the acts of Jehoia- kim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ^o Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. 7And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the Brook of Egypt unto the river Eu- phrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
8Jehoiachin 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. 9And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. 10At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. nAnd Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came unto the city, while his servants were besieging it. ^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. 13And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the 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 the LORD, as the LORD had said. 14And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none re- mained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. 15And 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, carried he into cap- tivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths a thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. 17And the king of Babylon made Mattamah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
"Zedekiah was twenty and 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. 19And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20For through the anger of the LORD did it SECOND KINGS come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until He had cast them out from His presence.
And Zedekiah rebelled against the Og king of Babylon. 1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnez- zar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and en- camped against it; and they built forts against it round about. ^3o the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 30n the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. 4Then 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 the way of the Arabah. *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, ^hen they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. 7And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
8Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchad- nezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebu- zarAdan / the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem. 9And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great man's house, burnt he with fire. 10And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls of Jeru- salem round about. nAnd the residue of the people that were left in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude, did Nebu- zaradan the captain of the guard carry away captive. ^But the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husband- men.
**And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of the LORD, did the Chal- deans break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. 14And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the pans, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. 15And the fire-pans, and the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away. 18The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was with- out weight. 17The 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 like unto these had the second pillar with network.
lsAnd the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zepha- niah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door; "and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and five men of them that saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mus- tered the people of the land; and three- score men of the people of the land, SECOND KINGS that were found in the city. 20And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. 21And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was car- ried away captive out of his land. ^And as for the people that were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchad- nezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor.
^Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Geda- liah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tan- humeth the Netophathite, and Jaaza- niah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 24And Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said unto 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.' 25But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah. 26Ana all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces, arose, and came to Egypt; for they were afraid oHhe Chaldeans.
^And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison. 28And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon. 29And he changed his prison garments, and did eat bread before him continually all the days of his life. 30And for his allowance, there was a continual al- lowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his 1] " ISAIAH "I THE vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of IJzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. i 2Hear, O heavens, and give ear, 0 earth, For the LORD hath spoken: Children I have reared, and brought up, And they have rebelled against Me. 8The ox knoweth his owner, And the ass his master's crib; But Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.
4Ah sinful nation, ^ A people laden with iniquity, A seed of evil-doers, Children that deal corruptly; They have forsaken the LORD, They have contemned the Holy One of Israel, They are turned away backward.
60n what part will ye be yet strick- en, Seeing ye stray away more and more?
The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faint; 6From the sole of the foot even unto the head There is no soundness in it; But wounds, and bruises, and fester- ing sores: They have not been pressed, neither bound up, Neither mollified with oiL Your country is desolate; Your cities are burned with fire; Your land, strangers devour it in your presence, And it is desolate, as overthrown by floods.
8And the daughter of Zion is left As a booth in a vineyard, As a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city.
9Except the LORD of hosts Had left unto us a very small rem- nant, We should have been as Sodom, We should have been like unto Gomorrah.
10Hear the word of the LORD, Ye rulers of Sodom; Give ear unto the law of our God, Ye people of Gomorrah. uTo what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me?
Saith the LORD; I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, And the fat of fed beasts; And I delight not in the blood Of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he- goats. ^When ye come to appear before Me, Who hath required this at your hand, To trample My courts? 13Bring no more vain oblations; It is an offering of abomination unto Me; New moon and sabbath, the hold* ing of convocations — ISAIAH I cannot endure iniquity along with the solemn assembly. ^Your new moons and your appoint- ed seasons My soul hateth; They are a burden unto Me; I am weary to bear them. L5And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you; Yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; Your hands are full of blood. *Wash you, make you clean, Put away the evil of your doings From before Mine eyes, Cease to do evil; t7Learn to do well; Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
l8Come now, and let us reason, to- gether, Saith the LORD; Though your sins be as scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
9If ye be willing and obedient, Ye shall eat the good of the land; 0But if ye refuse and rebel, Ye shall be devoured with the sword; For the mouth of the LORD hath spoken.
P1How is the faithful city Become a harlot! She that was full of justice, Righteousness lodged in her, But now murderers. 2Thy silver is become dross, Thy wine mixed with water, 3Thy princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Every one loveth bribes, And followeth after rewards; They judge not the fatherless, Neither doth the cause of the wid- ow come unto them.
24Theref ore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel: Ah, I will ease Me of Mine ad- versaries, And avenge Me of Mine enemies; 26And I will turn My hand upon thee, And purge away thy dross as with lve>. i And will take away all thine alloy; ^And I will restore thy judges as at the first, And thy counsellors as at the begin- ning; Afterward thou shalt be called The city of righteousness, The faithful city.
27Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And they that return of her with righteousness.
28But the destruction of the trans- gressors and the sinners shall be together, And they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 29For they shall be ashamed of the terebinths which ye hav e desired, And ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. 80For ye shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fadeth, And as a garden that hath no water. 31 And the strong shall be as tow, And his work as a spark; And they shall both burn together, And none shall quench them.
O The word that Isaiah the son of ^ Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2And it shall come to pass in the end of days, ISAIAH That the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow unto it. 3And many peoples shall go and say: 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; And He will teach us of His ways, And we will walk in His paths/ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4And He shall judge between the nations, And shall decide for many peoples; And they shall beat their sworols into plowshares, And their spears into pruning-hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more.
50 house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk In the light of the LORD. 6For Thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob; For they are replenished from the east, And with soothsayers like the Philistines, And they please themselves in the brood of aliens. 7Their land also is full of silver and gold, Neither is there any end of their treasures; Their land also is full of horses, Neither is there any end of their chariots.
sTheir land also is full of idols; Every one worshippeth the work of his own hands, That which his own fingers have made.
•^And man boweth down, And man lowereth himself; And Thou canst not bear with them. "Enter into the rock, And hide thee in the dust, From before the terror of the LORD, And from the glory of His majesty. "The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, And the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
^For the LORD of hosts hath a day Upon all that is proud and lofty, And upon all that is lifted up, and it shall be brought low; 13And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, That are high and lifted up, And upon all the oaks of Bashan; 14And upon all the high mountains, And upon all the hills that are lifted up; 16And upon every lofty tower, And upon every fortified wall; 16And upon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all delightful imagery. 17And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
18And the idols shall utterly pass away. 19And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, And into the holes of the earth, From before the terror of the LORD, And from the glory of His majesty, WnenHe arisethto shake mightily the earth. 20In that day a man shall cast away ISAIAH His idols of silver, and his idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship, To the moles and to the bats; 21To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crevices of the crags, From before the terror of the LORD, And from the glory of His majesty, When He ariseth to shake mightily the earth.
^Cease ye from man, in whose nostrils is a breath; For how little is he to be accounted!
O For, behold, the Lord, the LORD 0 of hosts, Doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah Stay and staff, " Every stay of bread, and every stay of water; sThe mighty man, and the man of war; The judge, and the prophet, And the diviner, and the elder; 3The captain of fifty, and the man of rank, And the counsellor, and the cun- ning charmer, -and the skilful enchanter. 4And I will give children to be their princes, And babes shall rule over them. *And the people shall oppress one another, Every man his fellow, and every man his neighbour; The child shall behave insolently against the aged, And the base against the honourable. 6For a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father: "Thou hast a mantle, Be thou our ruler, And let this ruin be under thy hand.'
7In that day shall he swear, saying: 'I will not be a healer; For in my house is neither bread nor a mantle; Ye shall not make me ruler of a people/ 8For Jerusalem is ruined, And Judah is fallen; Because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, To provoke the eyes of His glory.
9The show of their countenance doth witness against them; And they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! For they have wrought evil unto themselves. IOSay ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with him; For they shall eat the fruit of their doings. uWoe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; For the work of his hands shall be done to him. 12As for My people, a babe is their master, And women rule over them. 0 My people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, And destroy the way of thy paths.
13The LORD standeth up to plead, And standeth to judgje the peoples. 14The LOED will enter into judgment With the elders of His people, and the princes thereof: 'It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard; The spoil of the poor is in your houses; 15What mean ye that ye crush My people, And grind the face of the poor?' Saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
ISAIAH "Moreover the LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, And walk with stretched-forth necks And wanton eyes, Walking and mincing as they go, And making a tinkling with their feet; 17Theref ore the Lord will smite with a scab The crown of the head o'f the daugh- ters of Zion, And the LORD will lay bare their secret parts.
18In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their anklets, and the fillets, and the crescents; 19the pen- dants, and the bracelets, and the veils; ^the headtires, and the armlets, and the sashes, and the corselets, and the amulets; 21the rings, 'and the nose- jewels; 22the aprons, and the mantelets, and the cloaks, and the girdles; ^and the gauze robes, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the mantles. 24And it shall come to pass, that Instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; And instead of a girdle rags; And instead of curled hair baldness; And instead of a stomacher a gird- ing of sackcloth; Branding instead of beauty. 2SThy men shall fall by the sword, And thy mighty in the war. 26And her gates shall lament and mourn; And utterly bereft she shall sit upon the ground.
A And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying: 'We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name; take thou away our reproach/ 2In that day shall the growth of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, And the fruit of the land excellent and comely For them that are escaped of Israel. 3And it shall come to pass, that he that is left.in Zion, and he that re- maineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written unto life in Jerusalem; Vhen the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jeru- salem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of destruction. 6And the LORD will create over the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assem- blies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a canopy. 6And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in the day-time from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.
£J Let me sing of my well-beloved, A song of my beloved touching his vineyard.
My well-beloved had a vineyard In a very fruitful hill; 2And he digged it, and cleared it of stones, And planted it with the choicest vine, And built a tower in the midst of it, And also hewed out a vat therein; And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, And it brought forth wild grapes.
3And now, 0 inhabitants of Jeru- salem and men of Judah, Judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
*What could have been done.more to my vineyard, That I have not done in it?
ISAIAH Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, Brought it forth wild grapes?
fiAnd now come, I will te.ll you What I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, And it shall be eaten up; I will break down the fence thereof, And it shall be trodden down; 6And I will lay it waste: It shall not be pruned nor hoed, But there shall come up briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain upon it.
*For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah the plant of His delight; And He looked for justice, but be- hold violence; For righteousness, but behold a cry.
8Woe unto them that join house to house, That lay field to field, Till there be no room, and ye be made to dwell Alone in the midst of the land! 9In mine ears said the LOUD of hosts: Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, Even great and fab:, without in- habitant. 10For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, And the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.
HWpe unto them that rise up early in the morning, That they may follow-strong drink; That tarry late into the night, Till wine inflame them!
the harp and the psaltery, the tabret and the pipe, And wine, are in their feasts; But they regard not the work of the LORD, Neither have they considered the operation of His hands. 13Therefore My people are gone into captivity, For want of knowledge; And their honourable men are famished, And their multitude are parched with thirst. "Therefore the nether-world hath enlarged her desire, And opened her mouth without measure; And down goeth their glory, and their tumult, and their uproar, And he that rejoiceth among them. 15And man is bowed down, And man is humbled, And the eyes of the lofty are humbled; 16But the LORD of hosts is exalted through justice, And God the Holy One is sanctified through righteousness. 17Then shall the lambs feed as in their pasture, And the waste places of the fat ones shall wanderers eat.
18Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as it were with a cart rope, 19That say: ' Let Him make speed, let Hun hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, That we may know it!'
20Woe unto them that call evil good, And good evil • That change darkness into light, ISAIAH And light into darkness; That change bitter into sweet, And sweet into bitter!
21Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!
unto them that are mighty to drink wine, And men of strength to mingle strong drink; ^That justify the wicked for a reward, And take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! 24Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, And as the chaff is consumed in the flame, So their root shall be as rottenness, And their blossom shall go up as dust; Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, And contemned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25Therefore is the anger of the LORD