Chapter 68

10:25. And it came to pass, when the burnt offering was ended, that Jehu commanded his soldiers and captains, saying: Go in, and kill them: let none escape. And the soldiers and captains slew them with the edge of the sword, and cast them out: and they went into the city of the temple of Baal,

10:26. And brought the statue out of Baal's temple, and burnt it,

10:27. And broke it in pieces. They destroyed also the temple of Baal, and made a jakes in its place unto this day.

10:28. So Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel:

10:29. But yet he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, nor did he forsake the golden calves that were in Bethel, and Dan.

10:30. And the Lord said to Jehu: because thou hast diligently executed that which was right and pleasing in my eyes, and hast done to the house of Achab according to all that was in my heart: thy children shall sit upon the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.

10:31. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel to sin.

10:32. In those days the Lord began to be weary of Israel: and Hazael ravaged them in all the coasts of Israel,

10:33. From the Jordan eastward, all the land of Galaad, and Gad, and Ruben, and Manasses, from Aroer, which is upon the torrent Arnon, and Galaad, and Basan.

10:34. But the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and his strength, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

10:35. And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria: and Joachaz, his son, reigned in his stead.

10:36. And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel, in Samaria, was eight and twenty years.

4 Kings Chapter 11

Athalia's usurpation and tyranny. Joas is made king. Athalia is slain.

11:1. Now Athalia, the mother of Ochozias, seeing that her son was dead, arose and slew all the royal seed.

11:2. But Josaba the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ochozias, took Joas, the son of Ochozias, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain, out of the bedchamber with his nurse: and hid him from the face of Athalia; so that he was not slain.

11:3. And he was with her six years, hid in the house of the Lord. And Athalia reigned over the land.

11:4. And in the seventh year Joiada sent, and taking the centurions and soldiers, brought them in to him into the temple of the Lord, and made a covenant with them: and taking an oath of them in the house of the Lord, shewed them the king's son:

11:5. And he commanded them, saying: This is the thing that you must do.

11:6. Let a third part of you go in on the sabbath, and keep the watch of the king's house. And let a third part be at the gate of Sur; and let a third part be at the gate behind the dwelling of the shieldbearers; and you shall keep the watch of the house of Messa.

11:7. But let two parts of you all that go forth on the sabbath, keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king.

11:8. And you shall compass him round about, having weapons in your hands: and if any man shall enter the precinct of the temple, let him be slain: and you shall be with the king, coming in and going out.

11:9. And the centurions did according to all things that Joiada the priest, had commanded them: and taking every one their men, that went in on the sabbath, with them that went out in the sabbath, came to Joiada, the priest.

11:10. And he gave them the spears, and the arms of king David, which were in the house of the Lord.

11:11. And they stood, having every one their weapons in their hands, from the right side of the temple, unto the left side of the altar, and of the temple, about the king.

11:12. And he brought forth the king's son, and put the diadem upon him, and the testimony: and they made him king, and anointed him: and clapping their hands, they said: God save the king.

The testimony. . .The book of the law.

11:13. And Athalia heard the noise of the people running: and going in to the people into the temple of the Lord,

11:14. She saw the king standing upon a tribunal, as the manner was, and the singers, and the trumpets near him, and all the people of the land rejoicing, and sounding the trumpets: and she rent her garments, and cried: A conspiracy, a conspiracy.

A tribunal. . .A tribune, or a place elevated above the rest.

11:15. But Joiada commanded the centurions that were over the army, and said to them: Have her forth without the precinct of the temple, and whosoever shall follow her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest had said: Let her not be slain in the temple of the Lord.

11:16. And they laid hands on her: and thrust her out by the way by which the horses go in, by the palace, and she was slain there.

11:17. And Joiada made a covenant between the Lord, and the king, and the people, that they should be the people of the Lord; and between the king and the people.

11:18. And all the people of the land went into the temple of Baal, and broke down his altars, and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly: they slew also Mathan the priest of Baal before the altar. And the priest set guards in the house of the Lord.

11:19. And he took the centurions, and the bands of the Cerethi, and the Phelethi, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king from the house of the Lord: and they came by the way of the gate of the shieldbearers into the palace, and he sat on the throne of the kings.

11:20. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet: but Athalia was slain with the sword in the king's house.

11:21. Now Joas was seven years old when he began to reign.

4 Kings Chapter 12

The temple is repaired. Hazael is bought off from attacking Jerusalem. Joas is slain.

12:1. In the seventh year of Jehu, Joas began to reign: and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Sebia, of Bersabee.

12:2. And Joas did that which was right before the Lord all the days that Joiada, the priest, taught him.

12:3. But yet he took not away the high places: for the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

12:4. And Joas said to the priests: all the money of the sanctified things, which is brought into the temple of the Lord by those that pass, which is offered for the price of a soul, and which of their own accord, and of their own free heart, they bring into the temple of the Lord:

Sanctified. . .That is, dedicated to God's service.--Ibid. The price of a soul. . .That is, the ordinary oblation, which every soul was to offer by the law. Ex. 30.

12:5. Let the priests take it according to their order and repair the house, wheresoever they shall see any thing that wanteth repairing.

12:6. Now till the three and twentieth year of king Joas the priests did not make the repairs of the temple.

12:7. And king Joas called Joiada, the high priest, and the priests, saying to them: Why do you not repair the temple? Take you, therefore, money no more according to your order, but restore it for the repairing of the temple.

12:8. And the priests were forbidden to take any more money of the people, and to make the repairs of the house.

12:9. And Joiada, the high priest, took a chest, and bored a hole in the top, and set it by the altar at the right hand of them that came into the house of the Lord; and the priests that kept the doors, put therein all the money that was brought to the temple of the Lord.

12:10. And when they saw that there was very much money in the chest, the king's scribe, and the high priest, came up, and poured it out, and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord.

12:11. And they gave it out by number and measure into the hands of them that were over the builders of the house of the Lord: and they laid it out to the carpenters, and the masons, that wrought in the house of the Lord,

12:12. And made the repairs: and to them that cut stones, and to buy timber, and stones to be hewed, that the repairs of the house of the Lord might be completely finished, and wheresoever there was need of expenses to uphold the house.

12:13. But there were not made of the same money for the temple of the Lord, bowls, or fleshhooks, or censers, or trumpets, or any vessel of gold and silver, of the money that was brought into the temple of the Lord:

12:14. For it was given to them that did the work, that the temple of the Lord might be repaired.

12:15. And they reckoned not with the men that received the money to distribute it to the workmen, but they bestowed it faithfully.

12:16. But the money for trespass, and the money for sins, they brought not into the temple of the Lord, because it was for the priests.

12:17. Then Hazael, king of Syria, went up, and fought against Geth, and took it, and set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

12:18. Wherefore Joas, king of Juda, took all the sanctified things, which Josaphat, and Joram, and Ochozias, his fathers, the kings of Juda, had dedicated to holy uses, and which he himself had offered: and all the silver that could be found in the treasures of the temple of the Lord, and in the king's palace: and sent it to Hazael, king of Syria, and he went off from Jerusalem.

12:19. And the rest of the acts of Joas, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?

12:20. And his servants arose, and conspired among themselves, and slew Joas, in the house of Mello, in the descent of Sella.

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?