Chapter 68

12:21. For Josachar the son of Semaath, and Jozabad the son of Somer his servant, struck him, and he died: and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David; and Amasias, his son, reigned in his stead.

The city of David.... He was buried in the same city with his fathers, but not in the sepulchres of the kings. 2 Par. 14.

4 Kings Chapter 13

The reign of Joachaz and of Joas kings of Israel. The last acts and death of Eliseus the prophet: a dead man is raised to life by the touch of his bones.

13:1. In the three and twentieth year of Joas son of Ochozias, king of Juda, Joachaz, the son of Jehu, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, seventeen years.

13:2. And he did evil before the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin; and he departed not from them.

13:3. And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael, the king of Syria, and into the hand of Benadad, the son of Hazael, all days.

13:4. But Joachaz besought the face of the Lord, and the Lord heard him: for he saw the distress of Israel, because the king of Syria had oppressed them:

13:5. And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, and they were delivered out of the hand of the king of Syria: and the children of Israel dwelt in their pavilions as yesterday and the day before.

13:6. But yet they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin, but walked in them: and there still remained a grove also in Samaria.

A grove.... Dedicated to the worship of idols.

13:7. And Joachaz had no more left of the people than fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen: for the king of Syria had slain them, and had brought them low as dust by threshing in the barnfloor.

13:8. But the rest of the acts of Joachaz, and all that he did, and his valour, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

13:9. And Joachaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria: and Joas, his son, reigned in his stead.

13:10. In the seven and thirtieth year of Joas, king of Juda, Joas the son of Joachaz reigned over Israel, in Samaria, sixteen years.

13:11. And he did that which is evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin; but he walked in them.

13:12. But the rest of the acts of Joas, and all that he did, and his valour wherewith he fought against Amasias, king of Juda, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

13:13. And Joas slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne. But Joas was buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel.

13:14. Now Eliseus was sick of the illness whereof he died: and Joas, king of Israel, went down to him, and wept before him, and said: O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the guider thereof.

13:15. And Eliseus said to him: Bring a bow and arrows. And when he had brought him a bow and arrows,

13:16. He said to the king of Israel: Put thy hand upon the bow. And when he had put his hand, Eliseus put his hands over the king’s hands,

13:17. And said: Open the window to the east. And when he had opened it, Eliseus said: Shoot an arrow. And he shot. And Eliseus said: The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of the deliverance from Syria: and thou shalt strike the Syrians in Aphec, till thou consume them.

13:18. And he said: Take the arrows. And when he had taken them, he said to him: Strike with an arrow upon the ground. And he struck three times, and stood still.

13:19. And the man of God was angry with him, and said: If thou hadst smitten five or six or seven times, thou hadst smitten Syria even to utter destruction: but now three times shalt thou smite it.

If thou hadst smitten, etc.... By this it appears that God had revealed to the prophet that the king should overcome the Syrians as many times as he should then strike on the ground; but as he had not at the same time revealed to him how often the king would strike, the prophet was concerned to see that he struck but thrice.

13:20. And Eliseus died, and they buried him. And the rovers from Moab came into the land the same year.

13:21. And some that were burying a man, saw the rovers, and cast the body into the sepulchre of Eliseus. And when it had touched the bones of Eliseus, the man came to life and stood upon his feet.

13:22. Now Hazael, king of Syria, afflicted Israel all the days of Joachaz.

13:23. And the Lord had mercy on them, and returned to them, because of his covenant, which he had made with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob: and he would not destroy them, nor utterly cast them away, unto this present time.

13:24. And Hazael, king of Syria, died; and Benadad, his son, reigned in his stead.

13:25. Now Joas the son of Joachaz, took the cities out of the hand of Benadad, the son of Hazael, which he had taken out of the hand of Joachaz, his father, by war; three times did Joas beat him, and he restored the cities to Israel.

4 Kings Chapter 14

Amasias reigneth in Juda: he overcometh the Edomites: but is overcome by Joas king of Israel. Jereboam the second reigneth in Israel.

14:1. In the second year of Joas son of Joachaz, king of Israel, reigned Amasias son of Joas, king of Juda.

14:2. He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign; and nine and twenty years he reigned in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Joadan, of Jerusalem.

14:3. And he did that which was right before the Lord, but yet not like David his father. He did according to all things that Joas his father, did:

14:4. But this only, that he took not away the high places; for yet the people sacrificed, and burnt incense in the high places:

14:5. And when he had possession of the kingdom, he put his servants to death that had slain the king, his father.

14:6. But the children of the murderers he did not put to death, according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded, saying: The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: but every man shall die for his own sin.

14:7. He slew of Edom in the valley of the Saltpits, ten thousand men, and took the rock by war, and called the name thereof Jectehel, unto this day.

14:8. Then Amasias sent messengers to Joas, son of Joachaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying: Come, let us see one another.

Let us see one another.... This was a challenge to fight.

14:9. And Joas, king of Israel, sent again to Amasias, king of Juda, saying: A thistle of Libanus sent to a cedar tree, which is in Libanus, saying: Give thy daughter to my son to wife. And the beasts of the forest, that are in Libanus, passed, and trod down the thistle.

14:10. Thou hast beaten and prevailed over Edom, and thy heart hath lifted thee up; be content with this glory, and sit at home; why provokest thou evil, that thou shouldst fall, and Juda with thee?

14:11. But Amasias did not rest satisfied. So Joas, king of Israel, went up; and he and Amasias, king of Juda, saw one another in Bethsames, a town in Juda.

14:12. And Juda was put to the worse before Israel, and they fled every man to their dwellings.

14:13. But Joas, king of Israel, took Amasias, king of Juda, the son of Joas, the son of Ochozias, in Bethsames, and brought him into Jerusalem; and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem, from the gate of Ephraim to the gate of the corner, four hundred cubits.

14:14. And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the king’s treasures, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

14:15. But the rest of the acts of Joas, which he did, and his valour, wherewith he fought against Amasias, king of Juda, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

14:16. And Joas slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel: and Jeroboam, his son, reigned in his stead.

14:17. And Amasias, the son of Joas, king of Juda, lived after the death of Joas, son of Joachaz, king of Israel, fifteen years.

14:18. And the rest of the acts of Amasias, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?

14:19. Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachis. And they sent after him to Lachis, and killed him there.

14:20. And they brought him away upon horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers, in the city of David.

14:21. And all the people of Juda took Azarias, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father, Amasias.

14:22. He built Elath, and restored it to Juda, after that the king slept with his fathers.

14:23. In the fifteenth year of Amasias, son of Joas, king of Juda, reigned Jeroboam, the son of Joas, king of Israel, in Samaria, one and forty years:

14:24. And he did that which is evil before the Lord. He departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.

14:25. He restored the borders of Israel from the entrance of Emath, unto the sea of the wilderness, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant, Jonas, the son of Amathi, the prophet, who was of Geth, which is in Opher.

Opher.... The tribe of Zabulon.

14:26. For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was exceedingly bitter, and that they were consumed even to them that were shut up in prison, and the lowest persons, and that there was no one to help Israel.

14:27. And the 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 Joas.

14:28. But the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his valour, wherewith he fought, and how he restored Damascus and Emath to Juda, in Israel, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

14:29. And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel; and Zacharias, his son, reigned in his stead.

4 Kings Chapter 15

The reign of Azarias, and Joatham in Juda: and of Zacharias, Sellum, Manahem, Phaceia, and Phacee in Israel.

15:1. In the seven and twentieth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, reigned Azarias, son of Amasias, king of Juda.

Azarias.... Otherwise called Ozias.

15:2. He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Jechelia, of Jerusalem.

15:3. And he did that which was pleasing before the Lord, according to all that his father, Amasias, had done.

15:4. But the high places he did not destroy, for the people sacrificed, and burnt incense in the high places.

15:5. And the Lord struck the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and he dwelt in a free house apart: but Joatham, the king’s son, governed the palace, and judged the people of the land.

A leper.... In punishment of his usurping the priestly function. 2 Par. 26.

15:6. And the rest of the acts of Azarias, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?

15:7. And Azarias slept with his fathers: and they buried him with his ancestors in the city of David, and Joatham, his son, reigned in his stead.

15:8. In the eight and thirtieth year of Azarias, king of Juda, reigned Zacharias, son of Jeroboam, over Israel, in Samaria, six months:

15:9. And he did that which is evil before the Lord, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.

15:10. And Sellum, the son of Jabes, conspired against him: and struck him publicly, and killed him, and reigned in his place.

15:11. Now the rest of the acts of Zacharias, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

15:12. This was the word of the Lord, which he spoke to Jehu, saying: Thy children, to the fourth generation, shall sit upon the throne of Israel. And so it came to pass.

15:13. Sellum, the son of Jabes, began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Azarias, king of Juda: and reigned one month in Samaria.

15:14. And Manahem, the son of Gadi, went up from Thersa, and he came into Samaria, and struck Sellum, the son of Jabes, in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.

15:15. And the rest of the acts of Sellum, and his conspiracy which he made, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

15:16. Then Manahem destroyed Thapsa and all that were in it, and the borders thereof from Thersa, because they would not open to him: and he slew all the women thereof that were with child, and ripped them up.

15:17. In the nine and thirtieth year of Azarias, king of Juda, reigned Manahem, son of Gadi, over Israel, ten years, in Samaria.

15:18. And he did that which was evil before the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, all his days.

15:19. And Phul, king of the Assyrians, came into the land, and Manahem gave Phul a thousand talents of silver to aid him and to establish him in the kingdom.

15:20. And Manahem laid a tax upon Israel, on all that were mighty and rich, to give the king of the Assyrians, each man fifty sicles of silver: so the king of the Assyrians turned back, and did not stay in the land.

15:21. And the rest of the acts of Manahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

15:22. And Manahem slept with his fathers: and Phaceia, his son, reigned in his stead.

15:23. In the fiftieth year of Azarias, king of Juda, reigned Phaceia, the son of Manahem, over Israel, in Samaria, two years.

15:24. And he did that which was evil before the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.

15:25. And Phacee the son of Romelia, his captain, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the tower of the king’s house, near Argob, and near Arie, and with him fifty men of the sons of the Galaadites, and he slew him, and reigned in his stead.

15:26. And the rest of the acts of Phaceia, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

15:27. In the two and fiftieth year of Azarias, king of Juda, reigned Phacee, the son of Romelia, over Israel, in Samaria, twenty years.

15:28. And he did that which was evil before the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.

15:29. In the days of Phacee, king of Israel, came Theglathphalasar, king of Assyria, and took Aion, and Abel Domum Maacha, and Janoe, and Cedes, and Asor, and Galaad, and Galilee, and all the land of Nephthali: and carried them captives into Assyria.

15:30. Now Osee, son of Ela, conspired, and formed a plot against Phacee, the son of Romelia, and struck him, and slew him: and reigned in his stead in the twentieth year of Joatham, the son of Ozias.

In the twentieth year of Joatham.... That is, in the twentieth year, from the beginning of Joatham’s reign. The sacred writer chooses rather to follow here this date than to speak of the years of Achaz, who had not yet been mentioned.

15:31. But the rest of the acts of Phacee, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

15:32. In the second year of Phacee, the son of Romelia king of Israel, reigned Joatham, son of Ozias, king of Juda.

15:33. He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Jerusa, the daughter of Sadoc.

15:34. And he did that which was right before the Lord: according to all that his father Ozias had done, so did he.

15:35. But the high places he took not away: the people still sacrificed, and burnt incense in the high places: he built the highest gate of the house of the Lord.

15:36. But the rest of the acts of Joatham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?

15:37. In those days the Lord began to send into Juda, Rasin king of Syria, and Phacee the son of Romelia.

15:38. And Joatham slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, his father; and Achaz, his son, reigned in his stead.

4 Kings Chapter 16

The wicked reign of Achaz: the kings of Syria and Israel war against him: he hireth the king of the Assyrians to assist him: he causeth an altar to be made after the pattern of that of Damascus.

16:1. In the seventeenth year of Phacee, the son of Romelia reigned Achaz, the son of Joatham, king of Juda.

16:2. Achaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: he did not that which was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, his God, as David, his father.

16:3. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel: moreover, he consecrated also his son, making him pass through the fire, according to the idols of the nations which the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel.

16:4. He sacrificed also, and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

16:5. Then Rasin, king of Syria, and Phacee, son of Romelia, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to fight: and they besieged Achaz, but were not able to overcome him.

16:6. At that time Rasin, king of Syria, restored Aila to Syria, and drove the men of Juda out of Aila: and the Edomites came into Aila, and dwelt there unto this day.

16:7. And Achaz sent messengers to Theglathphalasar, king of the Assyrians, 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 are risen up together against me.

16:8. And when he had gathered together the silver and gold that could be found in the house of the Lord, and in the king’s treasures, he sent it for a present to the king of the Assyrians.

16:9. And he agreed to his desire: for the king of the Assyrians went up against Damascus, and laid it waste: and he carried away the inhabitants thereof to Cyrene; but Rasin he slew.

16:10. And king Achaz went to Damascus to meet Theglathphalasar, king of the Assyrians, and when he had seen the altar of Damascus, king Achaz sent to Urias, the priest, a pattern of it, and its likeness, according to all the work thereof.

16:11. And Urias, the priest, built an altar according to all that king Achaz had commanded from Damascus so did Urias, the priest, until king Achaz came from Damascus.

16:12. And when the king was come from Damascus, he saw the altar and worshipped it: and went up and offered holocausts, and his own sacrifice;

16:13. And he offered libations, and poured the blood of the peace offerings, which he had offered, upon the altar.

16:14. But the altar of brass that was before the Lord, he removed from the face of the temple, and from the place of the altar, and from the place of the temple of the Lord: and he set it at the side of the altar towards the north.

16:15. And king Achaz commanded Urias, the priest, saying: Upon the great altar offer the morning holocaust, and the evening sacrifice, and the king’s holocaust, and his sacrifice, and the holocaust of the whole people of the land, and their sacrifices, and their libations: and all the blood of the holocaust, and all the blood of the victim, thou shalt pour out upon it: but the altar of brass shall be ready at my pleasure.

16:16. So Urias, the priest, did according to all that king Achaz had commanded him.

16:17. And king Achaz took away the graven bases, and the laver that was upon them: and he took down the sea from the brazen oxen that held it up, and put it upon a pavement of stone.

16:18. The Musach also for the sabbath, which he had built in the temple, and the king’s entry from without, he turned into the temple of the Lord, because of the king of the Assyrians.

Musach.... The covert, or pavilion, or tribune, for the king.

16:19. Now the rest of the acts of Achaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?

16:20. And Achaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, and Ezechias, his son, reigned in his stead.

4 Kings Chapter 17

The reign of Osee. The Israelites for their sins are carried into captivity: other inhabitants are sent to Samaria, who make a mixture of religion.

17:1. In the twelfth year of Achaz king of Juda, Osee the son of Ela reigned in Samaria, over Israel, nine years.

In the twelfth year of Achaz king of Juda.... He began to reign before: but was not in quiet possession of the kingdom to the twelfth year of Achaz.

17:2. And he did evil before the Lord: but not as the kings of Israel that had been before him.

17:3. Against him came up Salmanasar, king of the Assyrians; and Osee became his servant, and paid him tribute.

17:4. And when the king of the Assyrians found that Osee, endeavouring to rebel, had sent messengers to Sua, the king of Egypt, that he might not pay tribute to the king of the Assyrians, as he had done every year, he besieged him, bound him, and cast him into prison.

17:5. And he went through all the land: and going up to Samaria, he besieged it three years.

17:6. And in the ninth year of Osee, the king of the Assyrians took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria: and he placed them in Hala, and Habor, by the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes.

17:7. For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord, their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharao, king of Egypt; and they worshipped strange gods.

17:8. And they walked according to the way of the nations which the Lord had destroyed in the sight of the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel: because they had done in like manner.

17:9. And the children of Israel offended the Lord, their God, with things that were not right: and built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.

17:10. And they made them statues and groves on every high hill, and under every shady tree:

17:11. And they burnt incense there upon altars, after the manner of the nations which the Lord had removed from their face: and they did wicked things, provoking the Lord.

17:12. And they worshipped abominations, concerning which the Lord had commanded them that they should not do this thing.

17:13. And the Lord testified to them in Israel, and in Juda, by the hand of all the prophets and seers, saying: Return from your wicked ways, and keep my precepts, and ceremonies, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers: and as I have sent to you in the hand of my servants the prophets.

17:14. And they hearkened not, but hardened their necks like to the neck of their fathers, who would not obey the Lord, their God.

17:15. And they rejected his ordinances, and the covenant that he made with their fathers, and the testimonies which he testified against them: and they followed vanities, and acted vainly: and they followed the nations that were round about them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them that they should not do as they did.

17:16. And they forsook all the precepts of the Lord, their God: and made to themselves two molten calves, and groves, and adored all the host of heaven: and they served Baal,

17:17. And consecrated their sons, and their daughters, through fire: and they gave themselves to divinations, and soothsayings: and they delivered themselves up to do evil before the Lord, to provoke him.

17:18. And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from his sight, and there remained only the tribe of Juda.