and brought [them] to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. For Pekah the son of Remaliah made a prodigious slaughter, and slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, [which were] all valiant men; because they had 7 forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. And Zichti, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, the high steward of the household, and Elkanah [that was] next to the king, the king's chief favourite. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their breth ren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to 9 Samaria. But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name [was] Oded and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the Lord God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage [that] reacheth up 10 unto heaven. And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you; either to keep them for slaves, or to sell them to other coun» tries, contrary to the law of God: [but are there] not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God? for which, if God were strict to mark, you would be punished worse than they, 11 and therefore you ought to show mercy to them. Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD [is] 12 upon you. Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war, and showed a noble spirit, insisting on the prophet's order to 13 deliver up the captives being executed: And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD [already,] ye intend to add [more] to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and 14 [there is] fierce wrath against Israel. So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congre15 gation, to do with them as they pleased. And the men which were expressed by name, which were nominated by the congregation, rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, dressed their wounds, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren; provided beasts for the feeble, and brought them safe to the land of Judah: then they returned to Samaria.

16

At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria 17 to help him. For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives; they took advantage of these 18 troubles and confusions to attack him. The Philistines also, to

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revenge the injuries that Uzziah his grandfather had done them, had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho, with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof and 19 they dwelt there. For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD; he deprived them of the divine 20 protection by his idolatry and wickedness. And Tilgathpilnezer

king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strength21 ened him not. For Ahaz took away a portion [out] of the house of the LORD, and [out] of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave [it] unto the king of Assyria; he got together all the treasures he could, to bribe the king of Assyria to help him ; but he helped him not.t

22 And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more 23 against the LORD this [is that] king Ahaz. For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, [therefore] will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were 24 the ruin of him, and of all Israel. And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.

26

Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they [are] written in the book of the kings of Judah and 27 Israel. And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, [even] in Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

CHAP. XXIX.

The good reign of Hezekiah; the true religion is restored, and the house of God cleansed.

H

1 EZEKIAH began to reign [when he was] five and twen ty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name [was] Abijah the daugh2 ter of Zechariah. And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD according to all that David his father had done.

It should be, king of Judah, as the Seventy and the old translation read it. It is evident. ly a mistake in the transcribing.

See a larger account of this in 2 Kings xvi, 7—9. which it will be proper to read in cons nection with this.

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He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, resolutely began a reformation, and opened the doors of the house of the 4 LORD, which his father had shut, and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, which his father had excluded, and gathered them together into the east street, before the 5 east gate, at the entrance of the temple, And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord GOD of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy [place ;] carry the altar of Ahaz out of the court. 6 For our fathers have trespassed, (he speaks tenderly concerning his own father, and done [that which was] evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, have left his worship, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned [their] backs; that is, worshipped toward the east, contrary to the law, which required them to worship toward 7 the most holy place which lay west of the court. Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense, nor offered burnt offerings in the holy 8 [place] unto the God of Israel. Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, when Pekah slew an hundred and twenty thousand of them in one day, (see ch. xxviii. 6.) and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to 9 hissing, as ye see with your eyes. For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives [are] in captivity for this; some were slain, and others 10 carried captive. Now [it is] in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn 11 away from us. My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense; see that God's laws are observed, and the order of his house restored, now you have liberty to do so.

12

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Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari; Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, 13 and Eden the son of Joah And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and 14 Mattaniah: And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei : and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel. These are the names of the principal persons who complied with the king's 15 order, and stirred up their brethren to the work. And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, by washing their bodies, and observing other rites of the law, and came ac cording to the commandment of the king, by the words of the 16 LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse [it,] and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD, into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took [it,] to carry [it] out abroad into the brook Kidron.

17 Now they began on the first [day] of the first month to sancti. fy; washing every part, cleaning the candlesticks and vessels, which were grown rusty, and repairing the decayed parts; and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: So they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end; being eight days more in cleaning the courts and chambers, and of18 fices about it. Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the shew bread 19 table, with all the vessels thereof. Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they [are] before the altar of the LORD.

20

Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers 21 of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD. And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the 22 sons of Aaron to offer [them] on the altar of the LORD.* So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled [it] on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar; all 23 this was according to the law. And they brought forth the he

goats [for] the sin offering before the king and the congrega24 tion; and they laid their hands upon them: And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded [that] the burnt offering and the sin offering [should be made] for all Israel, hereby acknowledging their re25 lation to them. And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for [so was] the commandment of 26 the LORD by his prophets. And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, which David had appointed, and the priests 27 with the trumpets, which Moses ordered. And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORDt began [also] with the trumpets, and with the instruments [ordained] by 28 David king of Israel. And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: [and] all 29 [this continued] until the burnt offering was finished. And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped; they began

Atonement was first made for past sins. The law appointed only one of each as a sin offering; but as their guilt had been heinous, Hezekiah ordered seven, or one seven times over. ↑ Probably the song of the Lord was the hundred and thirty sixth psalm, which seems to have been used in the daily worship.

and concluded the service with a solemn adoration of the divine 30 majesty. Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer, not only this day, but continually. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their 31 heads and worshipped. Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices, and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.† 32 And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was three score and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, [and] two hundred lambs: all these [were] for a burnt offering 33 to the LORD. And the consecrated things, all the offerings consecrated to God, beside the burnt offerings already mentioned, 34 [were] six hundred oxen, and three thousand sheep. But the priests, such of them as were sanctified, were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the [other] priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites [were] more upright in heart to sanctify themselves, 35 had greater zeal and resolution, than the priests. And also the burnt offerings [were] in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for [every] burnt offering. This was another reason why the priests were too few, the fat of the peace offerings was to be burnt, and drink offerings were presented with each burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD, both ordinary and extraordinary, was set in order. 36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people for the thing was [done] suddenly; to see all so ready and so resolute, manifested a divine influence on their minds, which occasioned great joy.

For the Reflections on this chapter, see 2 Kings chap. xviii.

The passover being agreed upon, letters are sent by Hezekiah to invite all Israel to it: we have here the manner in which it was kept, and the feast which followed it.

A

ND Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, to those of the ten tribes of Israel that were not carried captive, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come

• Atonement being thus made, and the regular worship established, he commanded that other sacrifices should be brought. Having consecrated themselves, by offering sacrifices of reconciliation, they were to bring peace offerings as an acknowledgment of God's goodness

This showed great piety and zeal, because the whole of the burnt offerings were destroyed, but the peace offerings were shared between them and the priests.

Ephraim and Manasseh are particularly mentioned, because they were near Judah, and might know more of religion by an intercourse with their neighbours. They were invited come to Jerusalem, because that was the only place where it could be kept.