2 Chronicles 33

2 Chronicles 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 33:2 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight, imitating the repulsive practices of the nations that Yahveh had dispossessed before the Israelites.

2 Chronicles 33:3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down and reestablished the altars for the Baals. He made Asherah poles, bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky, and slaved for them.

2 Chronicles 33:4 He built altars in Yahveh’s house, where Yahveh had said, “Jerusalem is where my name will remain permanently.”

2 Chronicles 33:5 He built altars to all the army in the sky in both courtyards of Yahveh’s house.

2 Chronicles 33:6 He passed his sons through the fire in Ben Hinnom Valley. He practiced witchcraft, divination, and sorcery and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did a great deal of evil in Yahveh’s sight, angering him.

2 Chronicles 33:7 Manasseh placed a carved image of the idol he had made in God’s house, which God had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name permanently in this house and Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

2 Chronicles 33:8 I will not remove the feet of the Israelites from the land where I stationed your ancestors again, if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them through Moses — all the instruction, prescribed tasks, and judgments.”

2 Chronicles 33:9 Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to stray, and they did worse evil than the nations Yahveh had exterminated before the Israelites.

2 Chronicles 33:10 Yahveh spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they didn’t listen.

2 Chronicles 33:11 So he brought against them the army captains of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

2 Chronicles 33:12 When he was in distress, he sought the favor of Yahveh his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.

2 Chronicles 33:13 He prayed to Yahveh, who was receptive to his prayer. He granted his request and brought him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. So, Manasseh came to know that Yahveh was his God.

2 Chronicles 33:14 After this, he built the outer wall of the city of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, bringing it around the Ophel and enhancing it considerably. He also placed powerful captains in all the fortified cities of Judah.

2 Chronicles 33:15 He removed the foreign gods and the idol from Yahveh’s house, along with all the altars that he had built on the mountain of Yahveh’s house and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city.

2 Chronicles 33:16 He built the altar of Yahveh and offered sacrifices for healthy relationships and thank offerings on it. Then he told Judah to work for Yahveh, the God of Israel.

2 Chronicles 33:17 But the people still sacrificed at the high places, yet only to Yahveh their God.

2 Chronicles 33:18 Notice, the rest of Manasseh’s reign, along with his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahveh, the God of Israel, are written in the Events of Israel’s Kings.

2 Chronicles 33:19 Notice, his prayer and how God was receptive to it, all his sin and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places, set up Asherah poles, and carved images before he humbled himself are written in the Events of Hozai.

2 Chronicles 33:20 Manasseh lied down with his fathers, and he was buried in his own house. His son Amon became king in his place.

2 Chronicles 33:21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 33:22 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight, just as his father Manasseh had done. Amon sacrificed to all the carved images that his father Manasseh had made, and he slaved for them.

2 Chronicles 33:23 But he did not humble himself before Yahveh like his father Manasseh humbled himself; instead, Amon increased his need for reparation.

2 Chronicles 33:24 So his slaves conspired against him and put him to death in his own house.

2 Chronicles 33:25 The familiar people struck down all who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.

links:

breaking point
Manasseh’s breaking point

The 2 Chronicles shelf in Jeff’s library

2 Chronicles 32

2 Chronicles 32:1 After these reliable deeds, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended to break into them.

2 Chronicles 32:2 Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned war on Jerusalem,

2 Chronicles 32:3 so he consulted with his captains and his warriors about stopping up the water of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him.

2 Chronicles 32:4 Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land; they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”

2 Chronicles 32:5 Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall and heightening the towers and the other outside wall. He strengthened the supporting terraces of the city of David and made an abundance of weapons and shields.

2 Chronicles 32:6 He set military captains over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, saying,

2 Chronicles 32:7 “Be strong and tough! Don’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.

2 Chronicles 32:8 He has only human strength, but we have Yahveh our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So, the people relied on the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.

2 Chronicles 32:9 After this, while King Sennacherib of Assyria with all his armed forces besieged Lachish, he sent his slaves to Jerusalem against King Hezekiah of Judah and against all those of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying,

2 Chronicles 32:10 “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘What are you relying on that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?

2 Chronicles 32:11 Isn’t Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he says, “Yahveh our God will strip us from the grasp of the king of Assyria”?

2 Chronicles 32:12 Didn’t Hezekiah himself remove his high places and his altars and say to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before one altar, and you must burn incense on it”?

2 Chronicles 32:13 ” ‘Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have any of the national gods of the lands been able to strip their land from my power?

2 Chronicles 32:14 Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors set apart for destruction was able to rescue his people from my power, that your God should be able to deliver you from my power?

2 Chronicles 32:15 So now, don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, and don’t let him mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to strip his people from my power or the power of my fathers. How much less will your God rescue you from my power! ‘”

2 Chronicles 32:16 His slaves said more against Yahveh God and his slave Hezekiah.

2 Chronicles 32:17 He also wrote letters to mock Yahveh, the God of Israel, saying against him: Just like the national gods of the lands that did not strip their people from my power, so Hezekiah’s God will not rescue his people from my power.

2 Chronicles 32:18 Then they cried out loudly in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem, who were on the wall, to frighten and discourage them in order that he might capture the city.

2 Chronicles 32:19 They spoke against the God of Jerusalem like they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the land, which were made by human hands.

2 Chronicles 32:20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to the sky,

2 Chronicles 32:21 and Yahveh sent an agent who made every valiant warrior, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria disappear.[1] So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the house of his god, and there some of his children struck him down with the sword.

2 Chronicles 32:22 So Yahveh rescued Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and the power of all others. He gave them rest on every side.

2 Chronicles 32:23 Many were bringing a tribute offering to Yahveh to Jerusalem and valuable gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah, and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after that.

2 Chronicles 32:24 In those days, Hezekiah became sick to the point of death, so he prayed to Yahveh, who spoke to him and gave him a miraculous sign.

2 Chronicles 32:25 However, because his heart was proud, Hezekiah didn’t respond according to the benefit that had come to him. So, there was wrath on him, Judah, and Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 32:26 Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart – he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem – so Yahveh’s wrath didn’t come on them during Hezekiah’s lifetime.

2 Chronicles 32:27 Hezekiah had abundant riches and reward, and he made himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and every desirable item.

2 Chronicles 32:28 He made warehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and stalls for all kinds of animals,[2] and pens for flocks.

2 Chronicles 32:29 He made cities for himself, and he acquired vast numbers of flocks and herds, for God gave him abundant possessions.

2 Chronicles 32:30 This same Hezekiah blocked the outlet of the water of the Upper Gihon and channelled it smoothly downward and westward to the city of David. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did.

2 Chronicles 32:31 When the ambassadors of Babylon’s captains were sent to him to inquire about the miraculous sign that happened in the land, God left him to test him and discover what was in his heart.

2 Chronicles 32:32 Notice, the rest of Hezekiah’s reign and his deeds of covenant faithfulness are written in the Visions of the Prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, and the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

2 Chronicles 32:33 Hezekiah lied down with his fathers and was buried on the ascent to the tombs of David’s descendants. At his death, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him. His son, Manasseh, became king in his place.

---

[1] כָּחַד = to conceal, make disappear. 2 Chronicles 32:21.

[2] בְּהֵמָה = animal. 2 Chronicles 32:2.

links:

God left him to himself
kachad
only one
what’s in your heart?

The 2 Chronicles shelf in Jeff’s library

2 Chronicles 28

2 Chronicles 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in Yahveh’s sight like his ancestor David,

2 Chronicles 28:2 for he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and made cast images of the Baals.

2 Chronicles 28:3 He burned incense in Ben Hinnom Valley and consumed his children with fire, imitating the repulsive[1] practices of the nations Yahveh had dispossessed before the Israelites.

2 Chronicles 28:4 He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

2 Chronicles 28:5 So Yahveh, his God, handed Ahaz over to the king of Aram. He attacked him and took many captives to Damascus. Ahaz was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him with great force:

2 Chronicles 28:6 Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand in Judah in one day– all powerful men– because they had abandoned Yahveh God of their ancestors.

2 Chronicles 28:7 An Ephraimite warrior named Zichri killed the king’s son Maaseiah, Azrikam governor of the house, and Elkanah, who was second to the king.

2 Chronicles 28:8 Then the Israelites took two hundred thousand captives from their brothers – women, sons, and daughters. They also captured a great deal of plunder from them and brought it to Samaria.

2 Chronicles 28:9 A prophet of Yahveh named Oded was there. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Notice, Yahveh, God of your ancestors, handed them over to you because of his wrath against Judah, but you slaughtered them in a rage that has reached the sky.

2 Chronicles 28:10 Now you plan to reduce the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, to slavery. Do you not also need reparation before Yahveh your God?

2 Chronicles 28:11 Listen to me and return the captives you took from your brothers, for Yahveh’s burning anger is on you.”

2 Chronicles 28:12 So some men who were leaders of the Ephraimites—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—stood in opposition to those coming from the army.

2 Chronicles 28:13 They said to them, “You must not bring the captives here, for you plan to bring the need for reparation on us from Yahveh to add to our sins and our need for reparation. For we have much need for reparation, and burning anger is on Israel.”

2 Chronicles 28:14 The army left the captives and the plunder in the presence of the captains and the congregation.

2 Chronicles 28:15 Then the men who were designated by name strengthened the captives and provided clothes for their naked ones from the plunder. They clothed them, gave them sandals, consumables, and drink, dressed their wounds, and provided donkeys for all the feeble. The Israelites brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, among their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.

2 Chronicles 28:16 At that time, King Ahaz asked the king of Assyria for help.

2 Chronicles 28:17 The Edomites came again, struck Judah, and took captives.

2 Chronicles 28:18 The Philistines also raided the cities of the Judean foothills and the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their surrounding villages.

2 Chronicles 28:19 For Yahveh humbled Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah, who threw off restraint in Judah and was unfaithful to Yahveh.

2 Chronicles 28:20 Then King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came against Ahaz, oppressing him and not strengthening him.

2 Chronicles 28:21 Although Ahaz plundered Yahveh’s house and the house of the king and the captains and gave the plunder to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

2 Chronicles 28:22 At the time of his distress, King Ahaz himself added more unfaithfulness to Yahveh.

2 Chronicles 28:23 He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which had struck him; he said, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram are helping them, I will sacrifice to them so that they will help me.” But they were the downfall of him and all Israel.

2 Chronicles 28:24 Then Ahaz gathered up the utensils of God’s house, cut them into pieces, shut the doors of Yahveh’s house, and made himself altars on every street corner in Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 28:25 He made high places in every city of Judah to offer incense to other gods, angering Yahveh, the God of his ancestors.

2 Chronicles 28:26 Notice that the rest of his deeds and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

2 Chronicles 28:27 Ahaz lied down with his fathers and was buried in Jerusalem, but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son, Hezekiah, became king in his place.

---

[1] תּוֹעֵבָה = repulsive. 2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:2; 34:33; 36:8, 14.

links:

enough is enough
even more unfaithful
yet more faithless

The 2 Chronicles shelf in Jeff’s library

2 Chronicles 27

2 Chronicles 27:1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah, daughter of Zadok.

2 Chronicles 27:2 He did what was right in Yahveh’s sight just as his father Uzziah had done. In addition, he didn’t enter Yahveh’s sanctuary, but the people still behaved corruptly.

2 Chronicles 27:3 Jotham built the Upper Gate of Yahveh’s house, and he built extensively on the wall of Ophel.

2 Chronicles 27:4 He also built cities in Judah’s hill country and fortresses and towers in the forests.

2 Chronicles 27:5 He waged war against the king of the Ammonites. He outstrengthened the Ammonites, and that year they gave him 7,500 pounds of silver, 50,000 bushels of wheat, and 50,000 bushels of barley. They paid him the same in the second and third years.

2 Chronicles 27:6 So Jotham strengthened his position because he did not waver in obeying Yahveh his God.

2 Chronicles 27:7 Notice, the rest of Jotham’s reign, including all his wars and ways, are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

2 Chronicles 27:8 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 27:9 Jotham lied down with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. His son, Ahaz, became king in his place.

links:

in his shadow
the shadow

The 2 Chronicles shelf in Jeff’s library

2 Chronicles 26

2 Chronicles 26:1 All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father, Amaziah.

2 Chronicles 26:2 After King Amaziah lied down with his fathers, Uzziah rebuilt Eloth and restored it to Judah.

2 Chronicles 26:3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 26:4 He did what was right in Yahveh’s sight just as his father Amaziah had done.

2 Chronicles 26:5 He sought God throughout Zechariah’s lifetime, the teacher of the fear of God. During the time that he sought Yahveh, God gave him success.

2 Chronicles 26:6 Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod. Then he built cities in the vicinity of Ashdod and among the Philistines.

2 Chronicles 26:7 God helped him against the Philistines, the Arabs that live in Gur-baal, and the Meunites.

2 Chronicles 26:8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for God made him very strong.

2 Chronicles 26:9 Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the corner buttress, and he strengthened them.

2 Chronicles 26:10 Since he had many cattle in the Judean foothills and the plain, he built towers in the open country and dug many wells. And since he cared about the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and fertile lands.

2 Chronicles 26:11 Uzziah had a powerful army equipped for combat that went out to war by division according to their assignments, as recorded by Jeiel the court secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the authority of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains.

2 Chronicles 26:12 The total number of family heads was 2,600 powerful warriors.

2 Chronicles 26:13 Under their authority was a powerful army of 307,500 equipped for combat, a powerful force to help the king against the enemy.

2 Chronicles 26:14 Uzziah provided the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingstones.

2 Chronicles 26:15 He made skilfully designed devices in Jerusalem to shoot arrows and catapult large stones for use on the towers and the corners. So, his fame spread even to distant places, for he was wondrously helped until he became strong.

2 Chronicles 26:16 But when he became strong, his heart grew arrogant, which led to his devastation. He acted unfaithfully against Yahveh, his God, by going into Yahveh’s sanctuary to burn incense on the incense altar.

2 Chronicles 26:17 The priest Azariah, along with eighty powerful priests of Yahveh, went in after him.

2 Chronicles 26:18 They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to Yahveh—only the consecrated priests, the descendants of Aaron, have the right to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully! You will not receive the reward from Yahveh God.”

2 Chronicles 26:19 Uzziah, with a firepan in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But when he became enraged with the priests, in the presence of the priests in Yahveh’s house beside the altar of incense, a skin disease[1] broke out on his forehead.

2 Chronicles 26:20 Then Azariah, the chief priest, and all the priests turned to him and noticed that his forehead had a rash.[2] They rushed him out of there. He also hurried to get out because Yahveh had afflicted him.

2 Chronicles 26:21 King Uzziah had a rash until his death. He lived in quarantine with a serious skin disease and was excluded from access to Yahveh’s house, while his son Jotham ruled the king’s house and governed the people of the land.

2 Chronicles 26:22 The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, wrote about the rest of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end.

2 Chronicles 26:23 Uzziah lied down with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the burial ground of the kings’ cemetery, for they said, “He has a rash.” His son Jotham became king in his place.

---

[1] צָרָעַת = skin disease (not leprosy). 2 Chronicles 26:19.

[2] צָרָע = have a rash. 2 Chronicles 26:20, 21, 23.

links:

spheres of influence
the gift of limitations
too big for his breeches

The 2 Chronicles shelf in Jeff’s library