2 Kings 15-16

21st Century King James Version

² Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.

³ And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done,

⁴ save that the high places were not removed; the people sacrificed and burned incense still on the high places.

⁵ And the Lord smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the house, judging the people of the land.

⁶ And the rest of the acts of Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

⁷ So Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David; and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

⁸ In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, did Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.

⁹ And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done; he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.

¹⁰ And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people and slew him, and reigned in his stead.

¹¹ And the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

¹² This was the word of the Lord which He spoke unto Jehu, saying, “Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation.” And so it came to pass.

¹³ Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria.

¹⁴ For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and slew him, and reigned in his stead.

¹⁵ And the rest of the acts of Shallum and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

¹⁶ Then Menahem smote Tiphsah and all who were therein, and the borders thereof from Tirzah, because they opened not to him; therefore he smote it. And all the women therein who were with child he ripped up.

¹⁷ In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah, began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.

¹⁸ And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.

¹⁹ And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.

²⁰ And Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and stayed not there in the land.

²¹ And the rest of the acts of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

²² And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.

²³ In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years.

²⁴ And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.

²⁵ But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh and with him fifty men of the Gileadites; and he killed him and reigned in his stead.

²⁶ And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

²⁷ In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years.

²⁸ And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.

²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.

³⁰ And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him and slew him, and reigned in his stead in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.

³¹ And the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

³² In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign.

³³ Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.

³⁴ And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.

³⁵ However, the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the Higher Gate of the house of the Lord.

³⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

³⁷ In those days the Lord began to send against Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah.

³⁸ And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father; and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.

² Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not do that which was right in the sight of the Lord his God, like David his father.

³ But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel.

⁴ And he sacrificed and burned incense in the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

⁵ Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.

⁶ At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath for Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath; and the Syrians came to Elath and dwelt there unto this day.

⁷ So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, 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 rise up against me.”

⁸ And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.

⁹ And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him; for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

¹⁰ And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.

¹¹ And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus; so Urijah the priest made it for King Ahaz’s coming from Damascus.

¹² And when the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and offered thereon.

¹³ And he burned his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings upon the altar.

¹⁴ And he brought also the brazen altar which was before the Lord from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and put it on the north side of the altar.

¹⁵ And King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the brazen altar shall be for me to inquire by.”

¹⁶ Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷ And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases and removed the laver from them, and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it and put it upon a pavement of stones.

¹⁸ And the covert for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry outside, he removed from the house of the Lord for the king of Assyria.

¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²⁰ And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.