Old
Testament Readings
Which are never read in a Roman
Catholic Mass
2nd Book of Chronicles (2 Paralipomenon)
Biblical
Verses Omitted From Roman Catholic Mass Readings
Chapter 1
- verses
1-17 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and
the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him to a high degree. [2]
And Solomon gave orders to all Israel, to the captains of thousands,
and of hundreds, and to the rulers, and to the judges of all Israel,
and the heads of the families: [3] And he went with all the multitude
to the high place of Gabaon, where was the tabernacle of the covenant
of the Lord, which Moses the servant of God made, in the wilderness.
[4] For David had brought the ark of God from Cariathiarim to the
place, which he had prepared for it, and where he had pitched a
tabernacle for it, that is, in Jerusalem. [5] And the altar of brass,
which Beseleel the son of Uri the son of Hur had made, was there before
the tabernacle of the Lord: and Solomon and all the assembly sought it:
[6] And Solomon went up thither to the brazen altar, before the
tabernacle of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up on it a thousand
victims.
[7] And behold that night God appeared to him, saying:
Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee.
[8] And Solomon said to God:
Thou hast shewn great kindness to my father David: and hast made me
king in his stead. [9] Now therefore, O Lord God, let thy word be
fulfilled, which thou hast promised to David my father: for thou hast
made me king over thy great people, which is as innumerable as the dust
of the earth. [10] Give me wisdom and knowledge that I may come in and
go out before thy people: for who can worthily judge this thy people,
which is so great?
[11] And God said to Solomon:
Because this choice hath pleased thy heart, and thou hast not asked
riches, and wealth, and glory, nor the lives of them that hate thee,
nor many days of life: but hast asked wisdom and knowledge, to be able
to judge my people, over which I have made thee king, [12] Wisdom and
knowledge are granted to thee: and I will give thee riches, and wealth,
and glory, so that none of the kings before thee, nor after thee, shall
be like thee.
[13] Then Solomon came from the high place of Gabaon to Jerusalem
before the tabernacle of the covenant, and reigned over Israel.
[14] And he gathered to himself chariots and horsemen, and he had a
thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he
placed them in the cities of the chariots, and with the king in
Jerusalem. [15] And the king made silver and gold to be in Jerusalem as
stones, and cedar trees as sycamores, which grow in the plains in great
multitude. [16] And there were horses brought him from Egypt, and from
Coa by the king's merchants, who went, and bought at a price, [17] A
chariot of four horses for six hundred pieces of silver, and a horse
for a hundred and fifty: in like manner market was made in all the
kingdoms of the Hethites, and of the kings of Syria.
Back to Top
Chapter 2
- verses
1-18 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Solomon determined to build a house to the name of the Lord,
and a palace for himself.
[2] And he numbered out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and
eighty thousand to hew stones in the mountains, and three thousand six
hundred to oversee them.
[3] He sent also to Hiram king of Tyre, saying:
As thou didst with David my father, and didst send him cedars, to build
him a house, in which he dwelt: [4] So do with me that I may build a
house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to burn incense
before him, and to perfume with aromatical spices, and for the
continual setting forth of bread, and for the holocausts, morning and
evening, and on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and the solemnities
of the Lord our God for ever, which are commanded for Israel. [5] For
the house which I desire to build, is great: for our God is great above
all gods. [6] Who then can be able to build him a worthy house? if
heaven, and the heavens of heavens cannot contain him: who am I that I
should be able to build him a house? but to this end only, that incense
may be burnt before him. [7] Send me therefore a skillful man, that
knoweth how to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, and in iron, in
purple, in scarlet and in blue, and that hath skill in engraving, with
the artificers, which I have with me in Judea and Jerusalem, whom David
my father provided. [8] Send me also cedars, and fir trees, and pine
trees from Libanus: for I know that thy servants are skillful in
cutting timber in Libanus, and my servants shall be with thy servants,
[9] To provide me timber in abundance. For the house which I desire to
build, is to be exceeding great, and glorious. [10] And I will give thy
servants the workmen that are to cut down the trees, for their food
twenty thousand cores of wheat, and as many cores of barley, and twenty
thousand measures of wine, and twenty thousand measures of oil.
[11] And Hiram king of Tyre sent a letter to Solomon, saying: Because
the Lord hath loved his people, therefore he hath made thee king over
them. [12] And he added, saying: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,
who made heaven and earth, who hath given to king David a wise and
knowing son, endued with understanding and prudence, to build a house
to the Lord, and a palace for himself. [13] I therefore have sent thee
my father Hiram, a wise and most skillful man, [14] The son of a woman
of the daughters of Dan, whose father was a Tyrian, who knoweth how to
work in gold, and in silver, in brass, and in iron, and in marble, and
in timber, in purple also, and violet, and silk and scarlet: and who
knoweth to grave all sort of graving, and to devise ingeniously all
that there may be need of in the work with thy artificers, and with the
artificers of my lord David thy father. [15] The wheat therefore, and
the barley and the oil, and the wine, which thou, my lord, hast
promised, send to thy servants. [16] And we will cut down as many trees
out of Libanus, as thou shalt want, and will convey them in floats by
sea to Joppe: and it will be thy part to bring them thence to Jerusalem.
[17] And Solomon numbered all the proselytes in the land of Israel,
after the numbering which David his father had made, and they were
found a hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred. [18] And he
set seventy thousand of them to carry burdens on their shoulders, and
eighty thousand to hew stones in the mountains: and three thousand and
six hundred to be overseers of the work of the people.
Back to Top
Chapter 3
- verses
1-17 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, in
mount Moria, which had been shewn to David his father, in the place
which David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
[2] And he began to build in the second month, in the fourth year of
his reign. [3] Now these are the foundations, which Solomon laid, to
build the house of God, the length by the first measure sixty cubits,
the breadth twenty cubits. [4] And the porch in the front, which was
extended in length according to the measure of the breadth of the
house, twenty cubits: and the height was a hundred and twenty cubits:
and he overlaid it within with pure gold. [5] And the greater house he
ceiled with deal boards, and overlaid them with plates of fine gold
throughout: and he graved in them palm trees, and like little chains
interlaced with one another. [6] He paved also the floor of the temple
with most precious marble, of great beauty. [7] And the gold of the
plates with which he overlaid the house, and the beams thereof, and the
posts, and the walls, and the doors was of the finest: and he graved
cherubims on the walls.
[8] He made also the house of the holy of holies: the length of it
according to the breadth of the temple, twenty cubits, and the breadth
of it in like manner twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with plates of
gold, amounting to about six hundred talents. [9] He made also nails of
gold, and the weight of every nail was fifty sicles: the upper chambers
also he overlaid with gold. [10] He made also in the house of the holy
of holies two cherubims of image work: and he overlaid them with gold.
[11] The wings of the cherubims were extended twenty cubits, so that
one wing was five cubits long, and reached to the wall of the house:
and the other was also five cubits long, and reached to the wing of the
other cherub. [12] In like manner the wing of the other cherub, was
five cubits long, and reached to the wall: and his other wing was five
cubits long, and touched the wing of the other cherub. [13] So the
wings of the two cherubims were spread forth, and were extended twenty
cubits: and they stood upright on their feet, and their faces were
turned toward the house without. [14] He made also a veil of violet,
purple, scarlet, and silk: and wrought in it cherubims.
[15] He made also before the doors of the temple two pillars, which
were five and thirty cubits high: and their chapiters were five cubits.
[16] He made also as it were little chains in the oracle, and he put
them on the heads of the pillars: and a hundred pomegranates, which he
put between the little chains. [17] These pillars he put at the
entrance of the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the
left: that which was on the right hand, he called Jachin: and that on
the left hand, Boot.
Back to Top
Chapter 4
- verses
1-22 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] He made also an altar of brass twenty cubits long, and twenty
cubits broad, and ten cubits high. [2] Also a molten sea of ten cubits
from brim to brim, round in compass: it was five cubits high, and a
line of thirty cubits compassed it round about. [3] And under it there
was the likeness of oxen, and certain engravings on the outside of ten
cubits compassed the belly of the sea, as it were with two rows. [4]
And the oxen were cast: and the sea itself was set upon the twelve
oxen, three of which looked toward the north, and other three toward
the west: and other three toward the south, and the other three that
remained toward the east, and the sea stood upon them: and the hinder
parts of the oxen were inward under the sea. [5] Now the thickness of
it was a handbreadth, and the brim of it was like the brim of a cup, or
of a crisped lily: and it held three thousand measures.
[6] He made also ten lavers: and he see five on the right hand, and
five on the left, to wash in them all such things as they mere to offer
for holocausts: but the sea was for the priests to wash in. [7] And he
made ten golden candlesticks, according to the form which they were
commanded to be made by: and he set them in the temple, five on the
right hand, and five on the left. [8] Moreover also ten tables: and he
set them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left.
Also a hundred bowls of gold.
[9] He made also the court of the priests, and a great hall, and doors
in the hall, which he covered with brass. [10] And he set the sea on
the right side over against the east toward the south.
[11] And Hiram made caldrons, and fleshhooks, and bowls: and finished
all the king's work in the house of God: [12] That is to say, the two
pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters, and the network, to cover
the chapiters over the pommels. [13] And four hundred pomegranates, and
two wreaths of network, so that two rows of pomegranates were joined to
each wreath, to cover the pommels, and the chapiters of the pillars.
[14] He made also bases, and lavers, which he set upon the bases: [15]
One sea, and twelve oxen under the sea; [16] And the caldrons, and
fleshhooks, and bowls. All the vessels did Hiram his father make for
Solomon in the house of the Lord of the finest brass. [17] In the
country near the Jordan did the king cast them, in a clay ground
between Sochot and Saredatha.
[18] And the multitude of vessels was innumerable, so that the weight
of the brass was not known. [19] And Solomon made all the vessels for
the house of God, and the golden altar, and the tables, upon which were
the leaves of proposition, [20] The candlesticks also of most pure gold
with their lamps to give light before the oracle, according to the
manner. [21] And certain flowers, and lamps, and golden tongs: all were
made of the finest gold. [22] The vessels also for the perfumes, and
the censers, and the bowls, and the mortars, of pure gold. And he
graved the doors of the inner temple, that is, for the holy of holies:
and the doors of the temple without were of gold. And thus all the work
was finished which Solomon made in the house of the Lord.
Back to Top
Chapter 5
- verses
1-5, 11-12 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Then Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had
vowed, the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels he put among the
treasures of the house of God. [2] And after this he gathered together
the ancients of Israel, and all the princes of the tribes, and the
heads of the families, of the children of Israel to Jerusalem, to bring
the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is
Sion. [3] And all the men of Israel came to the king in the solemn day
of the seventh month. [4] And when all the ancients of Israel were
come, the Levites took up the ark, [5] And brought it in, together with
all the furniture of the tabernacle. And the priests with the Levites
carried the vessels of the sanctuary, which were in the tabernacle.
[11] Now when the priests were come out of the sanctuary, (for all the
priests that could be found there, mere sanctified: and as yet at that
time the courses and orders of the ministries were not divided among
them,) [12] Both the Levites and the singing men, that is, both they
that were under Asaph, and they that were under Heman, and they that
were under Idithun, with their sons, and their brethren, clothed with
fine linen, sounded with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, standing
on the east side of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty
priests, sounding with trumpets.
Back to Top
Chapter 6
- verses
3-42 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[3] And the king turned his face, and blessed all the multitude of
Israel (for all the multitude stood attentive) and he said:
[4] Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who hath accomplished in
deed that which he spoke to David my father, saying: [5] From the day
that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city
among all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built in it to my
name: neither chose I any other man, to be the ruler of my people
Israel. [6] But I chose Jerusalem, that my name might be there: and I
chose David to set him over my people Israel. [7] And whereas David my
father had a mind to build a house to the name of the Lord the God of
Israel, [8] The Lord said to him: Forasmuch as it was thy will to build
a house to my name, thou hast done well indeed in having such a will:
[9] But thou shalt not build the house, but thy son, who shall come out
of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name. [10] The Lord
therefore hath accomplished his word which he spoke: and I am risen up
in the place of David my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as
the Lord promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord God
of Israel. [11] And I have put in it the ark, wherein is the covenant
of the Lord, which he made with the children of Israel.
[12] And he stood before the altar of the I Lord, in presence of all
the multitude of Israel, and stretched forth his hands. [13] For
Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, and had set it in the midst of the
temple, which was five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three
cubits high: and he stood upon it: then kneeling down in the presence
of all the multitude of Israel, and lifting up his hands towards
heaven, [14] He said:
O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven nor in earth:
who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, that walk before thee
with all their hearts: [15] Who hast performed to thy servant David my
father all that thou hast promised him: and hast accomplished in fact,
what thou hast spoken with thy mouth, as also the present time proveth.
[16] Now then, O Lord God of Israel, fulfill to thy servant David my
father, whatsoever thou hast promised him, saying: There shall not fail
thee a man in my sight, to sit upon the throne of Israel: yet so that
thy children take heed to their ways, and walk in my law, as thou hast
walked before me. [17] And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy word be
established which thou hast spoken to thy servant David. [18] Is it
credible then that God should dwell with men on the earth? If heaven
and the heavens of heavens do not contain thee, how much less this
house, which I have built?
[19] But to this end only it is made, that thou mayest regard the
prayer of thy servant and his supplication, O Lord my God: and mayest
hear the prayers which thy servant poureth out before thee. [20] That
thou mayest open thy eyes upon this house day and night, upon the place
wherein thou hast promised that thy name should be called upon, [21]
And that thou wouldst hear the prayer which thy servant prayeth in it:
hearken then to the prayers of thy servant, and of thy people Israel.
Whosoever shall pray in this place, hear thou from thy dwelling place,
that is, from heaven, and shew mercy.
[22] If any man sin against his neighbour, and come to swear against
him, and bind himself with a curse before the altar in this house: [23]
Then hear thou from heaven, and do justice to thy servants, so as to
requite the wicked by making his wickedness fall upon his own head, and
to revenge the just, rewarding him according to his justice.
[24] If thy people Israel be overcome by their enemies, (for they will
sin against thee,) and being converted shall do penance, and call upon
thy name, and pray to thee in this place, [25] Then hear thou from
heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back
into the land, which thou gavest to them, and their fathers.
[26] If the heavens be shut up, and there fall no rain by reason of the
sins of the people, and they shall pray to thee in this place, and
confess to thy name, and be converted from their sins, when thou dost
afflict them, [27] Then hear thou from heaven, O Lord, and forgive the
sins of thy servants and of thy people Israel, and teach them the good
way, in which they may walk: and give rain to thy land which thou hast
given to thy people to possess.
[28] If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence or blasting, or
mildew, or locusts, or caterpillars: or if their enemies waste the
country, and besiege the cities, whatsoever scourge or infirmity shall
be upon them: [29] Then if any of thy people Israel, knowing his own
scourge and infirmity shall pray, and shall spread forth his hands in
this house, [30] Hear thou from heaven, from thy high dwelling place,
and forgive, and render to every one according to his ways, which thou
knowest him to have in his heart: (for thou only knowest the hearts of
the children of men:) [31] That they may fear thee, and walk in thy
ways all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou
hast given to our fathers.
[32] If the stranger also, who is not of thy people Israel, come from a
far country, for the sake of thy great name, and thy strong hand, and
thy stretched out arm, and adore in this place: [33] Hear thou from
heaven thy firm dwelling place, and do all that which that stranger
shall call upon thee for: that all the people of the earth may know thy
name, and may fear thee, as thy people Israel, and may know, that thy
name is invoked upon this house, which I have built.
[34] If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by the way that
thou shalt send them, and adore thee towards the way of this city,
which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name:
[35] Then hear thou from heaven their prayers, and their supplications,
and revenge them.
[36] And if they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth
not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them up to their enemies,
and they lead them away captive to a land either afar off, or near at
hand, [37] And if they be converted in their heart in the land to which
they were led captive, and do penance, and pray to thee in the land of
their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have
dealt unjustly: [38] And return to thee with all their heart, and with
all their soul, in the land of their captivity, to which they were led
away, and adore thee towards the way of their own land which thou
gavest their fathers, and of the city, which thou hast chosen, and the
house which I have built to thy name: [39] Then hear thou from heaven,
that is, from thy firm dwelling place, their prayers, and do judgment,
and forgive thy people, although they have sinned: [40] For thou art my
God: let thy eyes, I beseech thee, be open, and let thy ears be
attentive to the prayer, that is made in this place.
[41] Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou and
the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, put on salvation,
and thy saints rejoice in good things. [42] O Lord God, turn not away
the face of thy anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.
Back to Top
Chapter 7
- verses
1-22 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And when Solomon had made an end of his prayer, fire came down from
heaven, and consumed the holocausts and the victims: and the majesty of
the Lord tilled the house. [2] Neither could the priests enter into the
temple of the Lord, because the majesty of the Lord had filled the
temple of the Lord. [3] Moreover all the children of Israel saw the
fire coming down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house: and falling
down with their faces to the ground, upon the stone pavement, they
adored and praised the Lord: because he is good, because his mercy
endureth for ever.
[4] And the king and all the people sacrificed victims before the Lord.
[5] And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen,
and one hundred and twenty thousand rams: and the king and all the
people dedicated the house of God. [6] And the priests stood in their
offices: and the Levites with the instruments of music of the Lord,
which king David made to praise the Lord: because his mercy endureth
for ever, singing the hymns of David by their ministry: and the priests
sounded with trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.
[7] Solomon also sanctified the middle of the court before the temple
of the Lord: for he offered there the holocausts, and the fat of the
peace offerings: because the brazen altar, which he had made, could not
hold the holocausts and the sacrifices and the fat: [8] And Solomon
kept the solemnity at that time seven days, and all Israel with him, a
very great congregation, from the entrance of Emath to the torrent of
Egypt. [9] And he made on the eighth day a solemn assembly, because he
had kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and had celebrated the
solemnity seven days. [10] So on the three and twentieth day of the
seventh month he sent away the people to their dwellings, joyful and
glad for the good that the Lord had done to David, and to Solomon, and
to all Israel his people.
[11] And Solomon finished the house of the Lord, and the king's house,
and all that he had designed in his heart to do, in the house of the
Lord, and in his own house, and he prospered. [12] And the Lord
appeared to him by night, and said: I have heard thy prayer, and I have
chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. [13] If I shut up
heaven, and there fall no rain, or if I give orders, and command the
locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people:
[14] And my people, upon whom my name is called, being converted, shall
make supplication to me, and seek out my face, and do penance for their
most wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their
sins and will heal their land. [15] My eyes also shall be open, and my
ears attentive to the prayer of him that shall pray in this place. [16]
For I have chosen, and have sanctified this place, that my name may be
there for ever, and my eyes and my heart may remain there perpetually.
[17] And as for thee, if thou walk before me, as David thy father
walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and keep my
justices and my judgments: [18] I will raise up the throne of thy
kingdom, as I promised to David thy father, saying: There shall not
fail thee a man of thy stock to be ruler in Israel. [19] But if you
turn away, and forsake my justices, and my commandments which I have
set before you, and shall go and serve strange gods, and adore them,
[20] I will pluck you up by the root out of my land which I have given
you: and this house which I have sanctified to my name, I will cast
away from before my face, and will make it a byword, and an example
among all nations. [21] And this house shall be for a proverb to all
that pass by, and they shall be astonished and say: Why hath the Lord
done thus to this land, and to this house? [22] And they shall answer:
Because they forsook the Lord the God of their fathers, who brought
them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on strange gods, and
adored them, and worshipped them: therefore all these evils are come
upon them.
Back to Top
Chapter 8
- verses
1-18 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And at the end of twenty years after Solomon had built the house of
the Lord and his own house: [2] He built the cities which Hiram had
given to Solomon, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. [3]
He went also into Emath Suba, and possessed it. [4] And he built
Palmira in the desert, and he built other strong cities in Emath. [5]
And he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, walled
cities with Rates and bars and locks. [6] Balaath also and all the
strong cities that were Solomon's, and all the cities of the chariots,
and the cities of the horsemen. All that Solomon had a mind, and
designed, he built in Jerusalem and in Libanus, and in all the land of
his dominion.
[7] All the people that were left of the Hethites, and the Amorrhites,
and the Pherezites, and the Hevites, and the Jebusites, that were not
of the stock of Israel: [8] Of their children, and of the posterity,
whom the children of Israel had not slain, Solomon made to be the
tributaries, unto this day. [9] But of the children of Israel he set
none to serve in the king's works: for they were men of war, and chief
captains, and rulers of his chariots and horsemen. [10] And all the
chief captains of king Solomon's army were two hundred and fifty, who
taught the people.
[11] And he removed the daughter of Pharao from the city of David, to
the house which he had built for her. For the king said: My wife shall
not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, for it is sanctified:
because the ark of the Lord came into it.
[12] Then Solomon offered holocausts to the Lord upon the altar of the
Lord which he had built before the porch, [13] That every day an
offering might be made on it according to the ordinance of Moses, in
the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the festival days three
times a year, that is to say, in the feast of unleavened bread, and in
the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. [14] And he
appointed according to the order of David his father the offices of the
priests in their ministries: and the Levites in their order to give
praise, and minister before the priests according to the duty of every
day: and the porters in their divisions by gate and gate: for so David
the man of God had commanded. [15] And the priests and Levites departed
not from the king's commandments, as to any thing that he had
commanded, and as to the keeping of the treasures. [16] Solomon had all
charges prepared, from the day that he founded the house of the Lord,
until the day wherein he finished it.
[17] Then Solomon went to Asiongaber, and to Ailath, on the coast of
the Red Sea, which is in the land of Edom. [18] And Hiram sent him
ships by the hands of his servants, and skillful mariners, and they
went with Solomon's servants to Ophir, and they took thence four
hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought it to king Solomon.
Back to Top
Chapter 9
- verses
1-31 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And when the queen of Saba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came
to try him with hard questions at Jerusalem, with great riches, and
camels, which carried spices, and abundance of gold, and precious
stones. And when she was come to Solomon, she proposed to him all that
was in her heart. [2] And Solomon explained to her all that she
proposed: and there was not any thing that he did not make clear unto
her.
[3] And when she had seen these things, to wit, the wisdom of Solomon,
and the house which he had built, [4] And the meats of his table, and
the dwelling places of his servants, and the attendance of his
officers, and their apparel, his cupbearers also, and their garments,
and the victims which he offered in the house of the Lord: there was no
more spirit in her, she was so astonished. [5] And she said to the king:
The word is true which I heard in my country of thy virtues and wisdom.
[6] I did not believe them that told it, until I came, and my eyes had
seen, and I had proved that scarce one half of thy wisdom had been told
me: thou hast exceeded the same with thy virtues. [7] Happy are thy
men, and happy are thy servants, who stand always before thee, and hear
thy wisdom. [8] Blessed be the Lord thy God, who hath been pleased to
set thee on his throne, king of the Lord thy God. Because God loveth
Israel, and will preserve them for ever: therefore hath he made thee
king over them, to do judgment and justice.
[9] And she gave to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and
spices in great abundance, and most precious stones: there were no such
spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon.
[10] And the servants also of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon,
brought gold from Ophir, and thyine trees, and most precious stones:
[11] And the king made of the thyine trees stairs in the house of the
Lord, and in the king's house, and harps and psalteries for the singing
men: never were there seen such trees in the land of Juda.
[12] And king Solomon gave to the queen of Saba all that she desired,
and that she asked, and many more things than she brought to him: so
she returned, and went to her own country with her servants.
[13] And the weight of the gold, that was brought to Solomon every
year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold: [14] Beside the
sum which the deputies of divers nations, and the merchants were
accustomed to bring, and all the kings of Arabia, and the lords of the
lands, who I brought gold and silver to Solomon.
[15] And king Solomon made two hundred golden spears, of the sum of six
hundred pieces of gold, which went to every spear: [16] And three
hundred golden shields of three hundred pieces of gold, which went to
the covering of every shield: and the king put them in the armoury,
which was compassed with a wood. [17] The king also made a great throne
of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. [18] And six steps to go up
to the throne, and a footstool of gold, and two arms one on either
side, and two lions standing by the arms: [19] Moreover twelve other
little lions standing upon the steps on both sides: there was not such
a throne in any kingdom.
[20] And all the vessels of the king's table were of gold, and the
vessels of the house of the forest of Libanus were of the purest gold.
For no account was made of silver in those days. [21] For the king's
ships went to Tharsis with the servants of Hiram, once in three years:
and they brought thence gold and silver, and ivory, and apes, and
peacocks.
[22] And Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth for
riches and glory. [23] And all the kings of the earth desired to see
the face of Solomon, that they might hear the wisdom which God had
given in his heart. [24] And every year they brought him presents,
vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices,
and horses, and mules.
[25] And Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve
thousand chariots, and horsemen, and he placed them in the cities of
the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem. [26] And he
exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates to the
land of the Philistines, and to the borders of Egypt. [27] And he made
silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars as common as the
sycamores, which grow in the plains. [28] And horses were brought to
him out of Egypt, and out of all countries.
[29] Now the rest of the acts of Solomon first and last are written in
the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the boobs of Ahias the
Silonite, and in the vision of Addo the seer, against Jeroboam the son
of Nabat. [30] And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty
years. [31] And he slept with his fathers: and they buried him in the
city of David: and Roboam his son reigned in his stead.
Back to Top
Chapter 10
- verses
1-19 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Roboam went to Sichem: for thither all Israel were assembled,
to make him king. [2] And when Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who was in
Egypt, (for he was fled thither from Solomon,) heard it, forthwith he
returned. [3] And they sent for him, and he came with all Israel, and
they spoke to Roboam, saying:
[4] Thy father oppressed us with a most grievous yoke, do thou govern
us with a lighter hand than thy father, who laid upon us a heavy
servitude, and ease some thing of the burden, that we may serve thee.
[5] And he said to them:
Come to me again after three days. And when the people were gone, [6]
He took counsel with the ancients, who had stood before his father
Solomon, while he yet lived, saying:
What counsel give you to me, that I may answer the people?
[7] And they said to him:
If thou please this people, and soothe them with kind words, they will
be thy servants for ever.
[8] But he forsook the counsel of the ancients, and began to treat with
the young men, that had been brought up with him, and were in his
train. [9] And he said to them:
What seemeth good to you? or what shall I answer this people, who have
said to me: Ease the yoke which thy father laid upon us?
[10] But they answered as young men, and brought up with him in
pleasures, and said:
Thus shalt thou speak to the people, that said to thee: Thy father made
our yoke heavy, do thou ease it: thus shalt thou answer them: My little
finger is thicker than the loins of my father. [11] My father laid upon
you a heavy yoke, and I will add more weight to it: my father beat you
with scourges, but I will beat you with scorpions.
[12] So Jeroboam, and all the people came to Roboam the third day, as
he commanded them. [13] And the king answered roughly, leaving the
counsel of the ancients. [14] And he spoke according to the advice of
the young men:
My father laid upon you a heavy yoke, which I will make heavier: my
father beat you with scourges, but I will beat you with scorpions.
[15] And he condescended not to the people's requests: for it was the
will of God, that his word might be fulfilled which he had spoken by
the hand of Ahias the Silonite to Jeroboam the son of Nabat.
[16] And all the people upon the king's speaking roughly, said thus
unto him:
We have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Isai.
Return to thy dwellings, O Israel, and do thou, O David, feed thy own
house.
And Israel went away to their dwellings. [17] But Roboam reigned over
the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Juda. [18] And king
Roboam sent Aduram, who was over the tributes, and the children of
Israel stoned him, and he died: and king Roboam made haste to gee up
into his chariot, and fled into Jerusalem.
[19] And Israel revolted from the house of David unto this day.
Back to Top
Chapter 11
- verses
1-23 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Roboam came to Jerusalem, and called together all the house of
Juda and of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men and
warriors, to fight against Israel, and to bring back his kingdom to
him. [2] And the word of the Lord came to Semeias the man of God,
saying:
[3] Speak to Roboam the son of Solomon the king of Juda, and to all
Israel, in Juda and Benjamin: [4] Thus saith the Lord: You shall not go
up, nor fight against your brethren: let every man return to his own
house, for by my will this thing has been done.
And when they heard the word of the Lord, they returned, and did not go
against Jeroboam,
[5] And Roboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built walled cities in Juda. [6]
And he built Bethlehem, and Etam, and Thecue, [7] And Bethsur, and
Socho, and Odollam, [8] And Geth, and Maresa, and Ziph, [9] And Aduram,
and Lachis, and Azecha, [10] Saraa also, and Aialon, and Hebron, which
are in Juda and Benjamin, well fenced cities. [11] And when he had
enclosed them with walls, he put in them governors and storehouses of
provisions, that is, of oil and of wine. [12] Moreover in every city he
made an armoury of shields and spears, and he fortified them with great
diligence, and he reigned over Juda, and Benjamin,
[13] And the priests and Levites, that were in all Israel, came to him
out of all their seats, [14] Leaving their suburbs, and their
possessions, and passing over to Juda, and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam
and his sons had cast them off, from executing the priestly office to
the Lord. [15] And he made to himself priests for the high places, and
for the devils, and for the calves which he had made. [16] Moreover out
of all the tribes of Israel, whosoever gave their heart to seek the
Lord the God of Israel, came into Jerusalem to sacrifice their victims
before the Lord the God of their fathers. [17] And they strengthened
the kingdom of Juda, and established Roboam the son of Solomon for
three years: for they walked in the ways of David and of Solomon, only
three years.
[18] And Roboam took to wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth the son
of David: and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Isai. [19] And
they bore him sons Jehus, and Somorias, and Zoom. [20] And after her he
married Maacha the daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abia and Ethai,
and Ziza, and Salomith. [21] And Roboam loved Maacha the daughter of
Absalom above all his wives, and concubines: for he had married
eighteen wives, and threescore concubines: and he beget eight and
twenty sons, and threescore daughters.
[22] But he put at the head of them Abia the son of Maacha to be the
chief ruler over all his brethren: for he meant to make him king, [23]
Because he was wiser and mightier than all his sons, and in all the
countries of Juda, and of Benjamin, and in all the walled cities: and
he gave them provisions in abundance, and he sought many wives.
Back to Top
Chapter 12
- verses
1-16 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And when the kingdom of Roboam was strengthened and fortified, he
forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. [2] And in the
fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Sesac king of Egypt came up against
Jerusalem (because they had sinned against the Lord) [3] With twelve
hundred chariots and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were
without number that came with him out of Egypt, to wit, Libyans, and
Troglodites, and Ethiopians. [4] And he took the strongest cities in
Juda, and came to Jerusalem. [5] And Semeias the prophet came to
Roboam, and to the princes of Juda, that were gathered together in
Jerusalem, fleeing from Sesac, and he said to them:
Thus saith the Lord: You have left me, and I have left you in the hand
of Sesac.
[6] And the princes of Israel, and the king, being in a consternation,
said:
The Lord is just.
[7] And when the Lord saw that they were humbled, the word of the Lord
came to Semeias, saying:
Because they are humbled, I will not destroy them, and I will give them
a little help, and my wrath shall not fall upon Jerusalem by the hand
of Sesac. [8] But yet they shall serve him, that they may know the
difference between my service, and the service of a kingdom of the
earth.
[9] So Sesac king of Egypt departed from Jerusalem, taking away the
treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house, and he
took all with him, and the golden shields that Solomon had made, [10]
Instead of which the king made brazen ones, and delivered them to the
captains of the shieldbearers, who guarded the entrance of the palace.
[11] And when the king entered into the house of the Lord, the
shieldbearers came and took them, and brought them back again to their
armoury. [12] But yet because they were humbled, the wrath of the Lord
turned away from them, and they were not utterly destroyed: for even in
Juda there were found good works.
[13] King Roboam therefore was strengthened in Jerusalem, and reigned:
he was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord chose out of all
the tribes of Israel, to establish his name there: and the name of his
mother was Naama an Ammonitess. [14] But he did evil, and did not
prepare his heart to seek the Lord.
[15] Now the acts of Roboam first and last are written in the books of
Semeias the prophet, and of Addo the seer, and diligently recorded: and
there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam all their days. [16] And
Roboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. And
Abia his son reigned in his stead.
Back to Top
Chapter 13
- verses
1-22 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam, Abia reigned over Juda.
[2] Three years he reigned in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was
Michaia, the daughter of Uriel of Gabaa: and there was war between Abia
and Jeroboam. [3] And when Abia had begun battle, and had with him four
hundred thousand most valiant and chosen men, Jeroboam put his army in
array against him, eight hundred thousand men, who were also chosen and
most valiant for war. [4] And Abia stood upon mount Semeron, which was
in Ephraim, and said:
Hear me, O Jeroboam, and all Israel: [5] Do you not know that the Lord
God of Israel gave to David the kingdom over Israel for ever, to him
and to his sons by a covenant of salt? [6] And Jeroboam the son of
Nabat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up: and rebelled
against his lord. [7] And there were gathered to him vain men, and
children of Belial: and they prevailed against Roboam the son of
Solomon: for Roboam was unexperienced, and of a fearful heart, and
could not resist them. [8] And now you say that you are able to
withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which he possesseth by the sons of
David, and you have a great multitude of people, and golden calves,
which Jeroboam hath made you for gods. [9] And you have cast out the
priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites: and you have
made you priests, like all the nations of the earth: whosoever cometh
and consecrateth his hand with a bullock of the herd, and with seven
rams, is made a priest of those who are no gods. [10] But the Lord is
our God, whom we forsake not, and the priests who minister to the Lord
are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites are in their order. [11] And
they offer holocausts to the Lord, every day, morning and evening, and
incense made according to the ordinance of the law, and the leaves are
set forth on a most clean table, and there is with us the golden
candlestick, and the lamps thereof, to be lighted always in the
evening: for we keep the precepts of the Lord our God, whom you have
forsaken. [12] Therefore God is the leader in our army, and his priests
who sound with trumpets, and resound against you: O children of Israel,
fight not against the Lord the God of your fathers, for it is not good
for you.
[13] While he spoke these things, Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come
about behind him. And while he stood facing the enemies, he encompassed
Juda. who perceived it not, with his army. [14] And when Juda looked
back, they saw the battle coming upon them both before and behind, and
they cried to the Lord: and the priests began to sound with the
trumpets. [15] And all the men of Juda shouted: and behold when they
shouted, God terrified Jeroboam, and all Israel that stood against Abia
and Juda. [16] And the children of Israel fled before Juda, and the
Lord delivered them into their hand. [17] And Abia and his people slew
them with a great slaughter, and there fell wounded of Israel five
hundred thousand valiant men. [18] And the children of Israel were
brought down, at that time, and the children of Juda were exceedingly
strengthened, because they had trusted in the Lord the God of their
fathers.
[19] And Abia pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel
and her daughters, and Jesana with her daughters, Ephron also and her
daughters. [20] And Jeroboam was not able to resist any more, in the
days of Abia: and the Lord struck him, and he died. [21] But Abia,
being strengthened in his kingdom, took fourteen wives: and begot two
and twenty sons, and sixteen daughters.
[22] And the rest of the acts of Abia, and of his ways and works, are
written diligently in the book of Addo the prophet.
Back to Top
Chapter 14
- verses
1-15 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Abia slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of
David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead: in his days the land was
quiet ten years. [2] And Asa did that which was good and pleasing in
the sight of his God, and he destroyed the altars of foreign worship,
and the high places. [3] And broke the statues, and cut down the
groves. [4] And he commanded Juda to seek the Lord the God of their
fathers, and to do the law, and all the commandments. [5] And he took
away out of all the cities of Juda the altars, and temples, and reigned
in peace. [6] He built also strong cities in Juda, for he was quiet,
and there had no wars risen in his time, the Lord giving peace. [7] And
he said to Juda:
Let us build these cities, and compass them with walls, and fortify
them with towers, and gates, and bars, while all is quiet from wars,
because we have sought the Lord the God of our fathers, and he hath
given us peace round about.
So they built, and there was no hinderance in building.
[8] And Asa had in his army of men that bore shields and spears of Juda
three hundred thousand, and of Benjamin that bore shields and drew
bows, two hundred and eighty thousand, all these were most valiant men.
[9] And Zara the Ethiopian came out against them with his army of ten
hundred thousand men, and with three hundred chariots: and he came as
far as Maresa.[10] And Asa went out to meet him, and set his army in
array for battle in the vale of Sephata, which is near Maresa:
[11] And he called upon the Lord God, and said:
O Lord, there is no difference with thee, whether thou help with few,
or with many: help us, O Lord our God: for with confidence in thee, and
in thy name, we are come against this multitude. O Lord thou art our
God, let not man prevail against thee.
[12] And the Lord terrified the Ethiopians before Asa and Juda: and the
Ethiopians fled. [13] And Asa and the people that were with him pursued
them to Gerara: and the Ethiopians fell even to utter destruction, for
the Lord slew them, and his army fought against them, and they were
destroyed. And they took abundance of spoils, [14] And they took all
the cities round about Gerara: for a great fear was come upon all men:
and they pillaged the cities, and carried off much booty. [15] And they
destroyed the sheepcotes, and took an infinite number of cattle, and of
camels: and returned to Jerusalem.
Back to Top
Chapter 15
- verses
1-19 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And the spirit of God came upon Azarias the son of Oded, [2] And he
went out to meet Asa, and said to him:
Hear ye me, Asa, and all Juda and Benjamin: The Lord is with you,
because you have been with him. If you seek him, you shall find: but if
you forsake him, he will forsake you. [3] And many days shall pass in
Israel without the true God, and without a priest a teacher, and
without the law. [4] And when in their distress they shall return to
the Lord the God of Israel, and shall seek him, they shall find him.
[5] At that time there shall be no peace to him that goeth out and
cometh in, but terrors on every side among all the inhabitants of the
earth. [6] For nation shall fight against nation, and city against
city, for the Lord will trouble them with all distress. [7] Do you
therefore take courage, and let not your hands he weakened: for there
shall be a reward for your work.
[8] And when Asa had heard the words, and the prophecy of Azarias the
son of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and took away the idols out
of all the land of Juda, and out of Benjamin, and out of the cities of
mount Ephraim, which he had taken, and he dedicated the altar of the
Lord, which was before the porch of the Lord. [9] And he gathered
together all Juda and Benjamin, and the strangers with them of Ephraim,
and Manasses, and Simeon: for many were come over to him out of Israel,
seeing that the Lord his God was with him. [10] And when they were come
to Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Asa, [11] They sacrificed to the Lord in that day of the spoils, and of
the prey, that they had brought, seven hundred oxen, and seven thousand
rams. [12] And he went in to confirm as usual the covenant, that they
should seek the Lord the God of their fathers with all their heart, and
with all their soul. [13] And if any one, said he, seek not the Lord
the God of Israel, let him die, whether little or great, man or woman.
[14] And they swore to the Lord with a loud voice with joyful shouting,
and with sound of trumpet, and sound of comets, [15] All that mere in
Juda with a curse: for with all their heart they swore, and with all
their will they sought him, and they found him, and the Lord gave them
rest round about.
[16] Moreover Maacha the mother of king Asa he deposed from the royal
authority, because she had made in a grove an idol of Priapus: and he
entirely destroyed it, and breaking it into pieces, burnt it at the
torrent Cedron. [17] But high places were left in Israel: nevertheless
the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. [18] And the things which
his father had vowed, and he himself had vowed, he brought into the
house of the Lord, gold and silver, and vessels of divers uses.
[19] And there was no war unto the five and thirtieth year of the
kingdom of Asa.
Back to Top
Chapter 16
- verses
1-14 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And in the six and thirtieth year of his kingdom, Baasa the king of
Israel came up against Juda, and built a wall about Rama, that no one
might safely go out or come in of the kingdom of Asa. [2] Then Asa
brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the
Lord, and of the king's treasures, and sent to Benadad king of Syria,
who dwelt in Damascus, saying: [3] There is a league between me and
thee, as there was between my father and thy father, wherefore I have
sent thee silver and gold, that thou mayst break thy league with Baasa
king of Israel, and make him depart from me. [4] And then Benadad heard
this, he sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel:
and they took Ahion, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the walled cities
of Nephtali. [5] And when Baasa heard of it, he left off the building
of Rama, and interrupted his work. [6] Then king Asa took all Juda, and
they carried away from Rama the stones, and the timber that Baasa had
prepared for the building: and he built with them Gabaa, and Maspha.
[7] At that time Hanani the prophet came to Asa king of Juda, and said
to him:
Because thou hast had confidence in the king of Syria, and not in the
Lord thy God, therefore hath the army of the king of Syria escaped out
of thy hand. [8] Were not the Ethiopians, and the Libyans much more
numerous in chariots, and horsemen, and an exceeding great multitude:
yet because thou trustedst in the Lord, he delivered them into thy
hand? [9] For the eyes of the Lord behold all the earth, and give
strength to those who with a perfect heart trust in him. Wherefore thou
hast done foolishly, and for this cause from this time wars shall arise
against thee.
[10] And Asa was angry with the seer, and commanded him to be put in
prison: for he was greatly enraged because of this thing: and he put to
death many of the people at that time.
[11] But the works of Asa the first and last are written in the book of
the kings of Juda and Israel.
[12] And Asa fell sick in the nine and thirtieth year of his reign, of
a most violent pain in his feet, and yet in his illness he did not seek
the Lord, but rather trusted in the skill of physicians. [13] And he
slept with his fathers: and he died in the one and fortieth year of his
reign. [14] And they buried him in his own sepulchre, which he had made
for himself in the city of David: and they laid him on his bed full of
spices and odoriferous ointments, which were made by the art of the
perfumers, and they burnt them over him with very great pomp.
Back to Top
Chapter 17
- verses
1-19 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Josaphat his son reigned in his stead, and grew strong against
Israel. [2] And he placed numbers of soldiers in all the fortified
cities of Juda. And he put garrisons in the land of Juda, and in the
cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.
[3] And the Lord was with Josaphat, because he walked in the first ways
of David his father: and trusted not in Baalim, [4] But in the God of
his father, and walk in his commandments, and not according to the sins
of Israel. [5] And the Lord established the kingdom in his hand, and
all Juda brought presents to Josaphat: and he acquired immense riches,
and much glory. [6] And when his heart had taken courage for the ways
of the Lord, he took away also the high places and the groves out of
Juda.
[7] And in the third year of his reign, he sent of his princes Benhail,
and Abdias, and Zacharias, and Nathanael, and Micheas, to teach in the
cities of Juda: [8] And with them the Levites, Semeias, and Nathanias,
and Zabadias, and Asael, and Semiramoth, and Jonathan, and Adonias, and
Tobias, and Thobadonias Levites, and with them Elisama, and Joram
priests. [9] And they taught the people in Juda, having with them the
book of the law of the Lord: and they went about all the cities of
Juda, and instructed the people.
[10] And the fear of the Lord came upon all the kingdoms of the lands
that were round about Juda, and they durst not make war against
Josaphat. [11] The Philistines also brought presents to Josaphat, and
tribute in silver, and the Arabians brought him cattle, seven thousand
seven hundred rams, and as many he goats. [12] And Josaphat grew, and
became exceeding great: and he built in Juda houses like towers, and
walled cities. [13] And he prepared many works in the cities of Juda:
and he had warriors, and valiant men in Jerusalem.
[14] Of whom this is the number of the houses and families of every
one: in Juda captains of the army, Ednas the chief, and with him three
hundred thousand most valiant men. [15] After him Johanan the captain,
and with him two hundred and eighty thousand. [16] And after him was
Amasias the son of Zechri, consecrated to the Lord, and with him were
two hundred thousand valiant men.
[17] After him was Eliada valiant in battle, and with him two hundred
thousand armed with bow and shield. [18] After him also was Jozabad,
and with him a hundred and eighty thousand ready for war. [19] All
these were at the hand of the king, beside others, whom he had put in
the walled cities, in all Juda.
Back to Top
Chapter 18
- verses
1-34 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Now Josaphat was rich and very glorious, and was joined by affinity
to Achab. [2] And he went down to him after some years to Samaria: and
Achab at his coming killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the
people that came with him: and he persuaded him to go up to Ramoth
Galaad. [3] And Achab king of Israel said to Josaphat king of Juda:
Come with me to Ramoth Galaad.
And he answered him:
Thou art as I am, and my people as thy people, and we will be with thee
in the war.
[4] And Josaphat said to the king of Israel:
Inquire, I beseech thee, at present the word of the Lord.
[5] So the king of Israel gathered together of the prophets four
hundred men, and he said to them:
Shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall we forbear?
But they said:
Go up, and God will deliver it into the king's hand.
[6] And Josaphat said:
Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire also of
him?
[7] And the king of Israel said to Josaphat:
There is one man, of whom we may ask the will of the Lord: but I hate
him, for he never prophesieth good to me, but always evil: and it is
Micheas the son of Jemla.
And Josaphat said:
Speak not thus, O king.
[8] And the king of Israel called one of the eunuchs, and said to him:
Call quickly Micheas the son of Jemla.
[9] Now the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, both sat on
their thrones, clothed in royal robes, and they sat in the open court
by the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.
[10] And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made him horns of iron, and said:
Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou
destroy it.
[11] And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, and said:
Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and thou shalt prosper, and the Lord will
deliver them into the king's hand.
[12] And the messenger that went to call Micheas, said to him:
Behold the words of all the prophets with one mouth declare good to the
king: I beseech thee therefore let not thy word disagree with them, and
speak thou also good success.
[13] And Micheas answered him:
As the Lord liveth, whatsoever my God shall say to me, that will I
speak.
[14] So he came to the king: and the king said to him:
Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or forbear?
And he answered him:
Go up, for all shall succeed prosperously, and the enemies shall be
delivered into your hands.
[15] And the king said:
I adjure thee again and again to say nothing but the truth to me, in
the name of the Lord.
[16] Then he said:
I saw all Israel scattered in the mountains, like sheep without a
shepherd: and the Lord said: These have no masters: let every man
return to his own house in peace.
[17] And the king of Israel said to Josaphat:
Did I not tell thee that this man would not prophesy me any good, but
evil?
[18] Then he said:
Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his
throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand
and on the left. [19] And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab king
of Israel, that he may go up and fall in Ramoth Galaad? And when one
spoke in this manner, and another otherwise: [20] There came forth a
spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And
the Lord said to him: By what means wilt thou deceive him? [21] And he
answered: I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his
prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive, and shalt prevail: go
out, and do so. [22] Now therefore behold the Lord hath put a spirit of
lying in the mouth of all thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil
against thee.
[23] And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas on the
cheek and said:
Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me, to speak to thee?
[24] And Micheas said:
Thou thyself shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go in from chamber
to chamber, to hide thyself.
[25] And the king of Israel commanded, saying:
Take Micheas, and carry him to Amen the governor of the city, and to
Joas the son of Amelech, [26] And say: Thus saith the king: Put this
fellow in prison, and give him bread and water in a small quantity till
I return in peace.
[27] And Micheas said:
If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said:
Hear, all ye people.
[28] So the king of Israel and Josaphat king of Juda went up to Ramoth
Galaad. [29] And the king of Israel said to Josaphat:
I will change my dress, and so I will go to the battle, but put thou on
thy own garments.
And the king of Israel having changed his dress, went to the battle.
[30] Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his cavalry,
saying: Fight ye not with small, or great, but with the king of Israel
only. [31] So when the captains of the cavalry saw Josaphat, they said:
This is the king of Israel.
And they surrounded him to attack him: but he cried to the Lord, and he
helped him, and turned them away from him. [32] For when the captains
of the cavalry saw, that he was not the king of Israel, they left him.
[33] And it happened that one of the people shot an arrow at a venture,
and struck the king of Israel between the neck and the shoulders, and
he said to his chariot man:
Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.
[34] And the fight was ended that day: but the king of Israel stood in
his chariot against the Syrians until the evening, and died at the
sunset.
Back to Top
Chapter 19
- verses
1-11 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Josaphat king of Juda returned to his house in peace to
Jerusalem. [2] And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer met him, and said to
him:
Thou helpest the ungodly, and thou art joined in friendship with them
that hate the Lord, and therefore thou didst deserve indeed the wrath
of the Lord: [3] But good works are found in thee, because thou hast
taken away the groves out of the land of Juda, and hast prepared thy
heart to seek the Lord the God of thy fathers.
[4] And Josaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again to the
people from Bersabee to mount Ephraim, and brought them back to the
Lord the God of their fathers. [5] And he set judges of the land in all
the fenced cities of Juda, in every place. [6] And charging the judges,
he said:
Take heed what you do: for you exercise not the judgment of man, but of
the Lord: and whatsoever you judge, it shall redound to you. [7] Let
the fear of the Lord be with you, and do all things with diligence: for
there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor
desire of gifts.
[8] In Jerusalem also Josaphat appointed Levites, and priests and
chiefs of the families of Israel, to judge the judgment and the cause
of the Lord for the inhabitants thereof. [9] And he charged them,
saying:
Thus shall you do in the fear of the Lord faithfully, and with a
perfect heart. [10] Every cause that shall come to you of your
brethren, that dwell in their cities, between kindred and kindred,
wheresoever there is question concerning the law, the commandment, the
ceremonies, the justifications: shew it them, that they may not sin
against the Lord, and that wrath may not come upon you and your
brethren: and so doing you shall not sin. [11] And Amarias the priest
your high priest shall be chief in the things which regard God: and
Zabadias the son of Ismahel, who is ruler in the house of Juda, shall
be over those matters which belong to the king's office: and you have
before you the Levites for masters, take courage and do diligently, and
the Lord will be with you in good things.
Back to Top
Chapter 20
- verses
1-37 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] After this the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and
with them of the Ammonites, were gathered together to fight against
Josaphat. [2] And there came messengers, and told Josaphat, saying:
There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and
out of Syria, and behold they are in Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi.
[3] And Josaphat being seized with fear betook himself wholly to pray
to the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Juda. [4] And Juda
gathered themselves together to pray to the Lord: and all came out of
their cities to make supplication to him. [5] And Josaphat stood in the
midst of the assembly of Juda, and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord
before the new court, [6] And said:
O Lord God of our fathers, thou art God in heaven, and rulest over all
the kingdoms and nations, in thy hand is strength and power, and no one
can resist thee. [7] Didst not thou our God kill all the inhabitants of
this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of
Abraham thy friend for ever? [8] And they dwelt in it, and built in it
a sanctuary to thy name, saying: [9] If evils fall upon us, the sword
of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand in thy presence
before this house, in which thy name is called upon: and we will cry to
thee in our afflictions, and thou wilt hear, and save us. [10] Now
therefore behold the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and mount Seir,
through whose lands thou didst not allow Israel to pass, when they came
out of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and slew them not, [11]
Do the contrary, and endeavour to cast us out of the possession which
thou hast delivered to us. [12] O our God, wilt thou not then judge
them? as for us we have not strength enough, to be able to resist this
multitude, which cometh violently upon us. But as we know not what to
do, we can only turn our eyes to thee.
[13] And all Juda stood before the Lord with their little ones, and
their wives, and their children. [14] And Jahaziel the son of
Zacharias, the son of Banaias, the son of Jehiel, the son of Mathanias,
a Levite of the sons of Asaph, was there, upon whom the spirit of the
Lord came in the midst of the multitude, [15] And he said:
Attend ye, all Juda, and you that dwell in Jerusalem, and thou king
Josaphat: Thus saith the Lord to you: Fear ye not, and be not dismayed
at this multitude: for the battle is not yours, but God's. [16]
Tomorrow you shall go down against them: for they will come up by the
ascent named Sis, and you shall find them at the head of the torrent,
which is over against the wilderness of Jeruel. [17] It shall not be
you that shall fight, but only stand with confidence, and you shall see
the help of the Lord over you, O Juda, and Jerusalem: fear ye not, nor
be you dismayed: tomorrow you shall go out against them, and the Lord
will be with you.
[18] Then Josaphat, and Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell
hat on the ground before the Lord, and adored him. [19] And the Levites
of the sons of Caath, and of the sons of Core praised the Lord the God
of Israel with a loud voice, on high.
[20] And they rose early in the morning, and went out through the
desert of Thecua: and as they were marching, Josaphat standing in the
midst of them, said:
Hear me, ye men of Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe
in the Lord your God, and you shall be secure: believe his prophets,
and all things shall succeed well.
[21] And he gave counsel to the people, and appointed the singing men
of the Lord, to praise him by their companies, and to go before the
army, and with one voice to say: Give glory to the Lord, for his mercy
endureth for ever.
[22] And when they began to sing praises, the Lord turned their
ambushments upon themselves, that is to say, of the children of Ammon,
and of Moab, and of mount Seir, who were come out to fight against
Juda, and they were slain. [23] For the children of Ammon, and of Moab,
rose up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to kill and destroy
them: and when they had made an end of them, they turned also against
one another, and destroyed one another. [24] And when Juda came to the
watch tower, that looketh toward the desert, they saw afar off all the
country, for a great space, full of dead bodies, and that no one was
left that could escape death. [25] Then Josaphat came, and all the
people with him to take away the spoils of the dead, and they found
among the dead bodies, stuff of various kinds, and garments, and most
precious vessels: and they took them for themselves, insomuch that they
could not carry all, nor in three days take away the spoils, the booty
was so great. [26] And on the fourth day they were assembled in the
valley of Blessing: for there they blessed the Lord, and therefore they
called that place the valley of Blessing until this day. [27] And every
man of Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem returned, and Josaphat at
their head, into Jerusalem with great joy, because the Lord had made
them rejoice over their enemies. [28] And they came into Jerusalem with
psalteries, and harps, and trumpets into the house of the Lord.
[29] And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands
when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
[30] And the kingdom of Josaphat was quiet, and God gave him peace
round about.
[31] And Josaphat reigned over Juda, and he was five and thirty years
old when he began to reign: and he reigned five and twenty years in
Jerusalem: and the name of his mother was Azuba the daughter of Selahi.
[32] And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and departed not from
it, doing the things that were pleasing before the Lord. [33] But yet
he took not away the high places, and the people had not yet turned
their heart to the Lord the God of their fathers.
[34] But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, first and last, are written
in the words of Jehu the son of Hanani, which he digested into the
books of the kings of Israel. [35] After these things Josaphat king of
Juda made friendship with Ochozias king of Israel, whose works were
very wicked. [36] And he was partner with him in making ships, to go to
Tharsis: and they made the ships in Asiongaber. [37] And Eliezer the
son of Dodau of Maresa prophesied to Josaphat, saying:
Because thou hast made a league with Ochozias, the Lord hath destroyed
thy works, and the ships are broken, and they could not go to Tharsis.
Back to Top
Chapter 21
- verses
1-20 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in
the city of David: and Joram his son reigned in his stead. [2] And he
had brethren the sons of Josaphat, Azarias, and Jahiel, and Zacharias,
and Azaria, and Michael, and Saphatias, all these were the sons of
Josaphat king of Juda. [3] And their father gave them great gifts of
silver, and of gold, and pensions, with strong cities in Juda: but the
kingdom he gave to Joram, because he was the eldest. [4] So Joram rose
up over the kingdom of his father: and when he had established himself,
he slew all his brethren with the sword, and some of the princes of
Israel.
[5] Joram was two and thirty years old when he began to reign: and he
reigned eight years in Jerusalem. [6] And he walked in the ways of the
kings of Israel, as the house of Achab had done: for his wife was a
daughter of Achab, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. [7] But
the Lord would not destroy the house of David: because of the covenant
which he had made with him: and because he had promised to give a lamp
to him, and to his sons for ever.
[8] In those days Edom revolted, from being subject to Juda, and made
themselves a king. [9] And Joram went over with his princes, and all
his cavalry with him, and rose in the night, and defeated the Edomites
who had surrounded him, and all the captains of his cavalry. [10]
However Edom revolted, from being under the dominion of Juda unto this
day: at that time Lobna also revolted, from being under his hand. For
he had forsaken the Lord the God of his fathers:
[11] Moreover he built also high places in the cities of Juda, and he
made the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and Juda to
transgress. [12] And there was a letter brought him from Elias the
prophet, in which it was written: Thus saith the Lord the God of David
thy father: Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Josaphat thy
father nor in the ways of Asa king of Juda, [13] But hast walked in the
ways of the kings of Israel, and hast made Juda and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem to commit fornication, imitating the fornication of the house
of Achab, moreover also thou hast killed thy brethren, the house of thy
father, better men than thyself, [14] Behold the Lord will strike thee
with a great plague, with all thy people, and thy children, and thy
wives, and all thy substance. [15] And thou shalt be sick of a very
grievous disease of thy bowels, till thy vital parts come out by little
and little every day.
[16] And the Lord stirred up against Joram the spirit of the
Philistines, and of the Arabians, who border on the Ethiopians. [17]
And they came up into the land of Juda, and wasted it, and they carried
away all the substance that was found in the king's house, his sons
also, and his wives: so that there was no son left him but Joachaz, who
was the youngest. [18] And besides all this the Lord struck him with an
incurable disease in his bowels. [19] And as day came after day, and
time rolled on, two whole years passed: then after being wasted with a
long consumption, so as to void his very bowels, his disease ended with
his life. And he died of a most wretched illness, and the people did
not make a funeral for him according to the manner of burning, as they
had done for his ancestors.
[20] He was two and thirty years old when he began his reign, and he
reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked not rightly, and they
buried him in the city of David: but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
Back to Top
Chapter 22
- verses
1-12 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ochozias his youngest son
king in his place: for the rovers of the Arabians, who had broke in
upon the camp, had killed all that were his elder brothers. So Ochozias
the son of Joram king of Juda reigned.
[2] Ochozias was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned one year in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Athalia
the daughter of Amri. [3] He also walked in the ways of the house of
Achab: for his mother pushed him on to do wickedly. [4] So he did evil
in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Achab did: for they were his
counsellors after the death of his father, to his destruction. [5] And
he walked after their counsels. And he went with Joram the son of Achab
king of Israel, to fight against Hazael king of Syria, at Ramoth
Galaad: and the Syrians wounded Joram. [6] And he returned to be healed
in Jezrahel: for he received many wounds in the foresaid battle. And
Ochozias the son of Joram king of Juda, went down to visit Joram the
son of Achab in Jezrahel where he lay sick. [7] For it was the will of
God against Ochozias that he should come to Joram: and when he was come
should go out also against Jehu the son of Namsi, whom the Lord had
anointed to destroy the house of Achab. [8] So when Jehu was rooting
out the house of Achab, he found the princes of Juda, and the sons of
the brethren of Ochozias, who served him, and he slew them. [9] And he
sought for Ochozias himself, and took him lying hid in Samaria: and
when he was brought to him, he killed him, and they buried him: because
he was the son of Josaphat, who had sought the Lord with all his heart.
And there was no more hope that any one should reign of the race of
Ochozias.
[10] For Athalia his mother, seeing that her son was dead, rose up, and
killed all the royal family of the house of Joram. [11] But Josabeth
the king's daughter took Joas the son of Ochozias, and stole him from
among the king's sons that were slain. And she hid him with his nurse
in a bedchamber: now Josabeth that hid him, was daughter of king Joram,
wife of Joiada the high priest, and sister of Ochozias, and therefore
Athalia did not kill him. [12] And he was with them hid in the house of
God six years, during which Athalia reigned over the land.
Back to Top
Chapter 23
- verses
1-21 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And in the seventh year Joiada being encouraged, took the captains
of hundreds, to wit, Azarias the son of Jeroham, and Ismahel the son of
Johanan, and Azarias the son of Obed, and Maasias the son of Adaias,
and Elisaphat the son of Zechri: and made a covenant with them. [2] And
they went about Juda, and gathered together the Levites out of all the
cities of Juda, and the chiefs of the families of Israel, and they came
to Jerusalem. [3] And all the multitude made a covenant with the king
in the house of God: and Joiada said to them:
Behold the king's son shall reign, as the Lord hath said of the sons of
David. [4] And this is the thing that you shall do: [5] A third part of
you that come to the sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, and
of the porters, shall be at the gates: and a third part at the king's
house: and a third at the gate that is called the Foundation: but let
all the rest of the people be in the courts of the house of the Lord.
[6] And let no one come into the house of the Lord, but the priests,
and they that minister of the Levites: let them only come in, because
they are sanctified: and let all the rest of the people keep the
watches of the Lord. [7] And let the Levites be round about the king,
every man with his arms; (and if any other come into the temple, let
him be slain;) and let them be with the king, both coming in, and going
out.
[8] So the Levites, and all Juda did according to all that Joiada the
high priest bad commanded: and they took every one his men that were
under him, and that came in by the course of the sabbath, with those
who had fulfilled the sabbath, and were to go out. For Joiada the high
priest permitted not the companies to depart, which were accustomed to
succeed one another every week. [9] And Joiada the priest gave to the
captains the spears, and the shields, and targets of king David, which
he had dedicated in the house of the Lord. [10] And he set all the
people with swords in their hands from the right side of the temple, to
the left side of the temple, before the altar, and the temple, round
about the king. [11] And they brought out the king's son, and put the
crown upon him, and the testimony, and gave him the law to hold in his
hand, and they made him king: and Joiada the high priest and his sons
anointed him: and they prayed for him, and said:
God save the king.
[12] Now when Athalia heard the noise of the people running and
praising the king, she came in to the people, into the temple of the
Lord. [13] And when she saw the king standing upon the step in the
entrance, and the princes, and the companies about him, and all the
people of the land rejoicing, and sounding with trumpets, and playing
on instruments of divers kinds, and the voice of those that praised,
she rent her garments, and said:
Treason, treason.
[14] And Joiada the high priest going out to the captains, and the
chiefs of the army, said to them:
Take her forth without the precinct of the temple, and when she is
without let her be killed with the sword.
For the priest commanded that she should not be killed in the house of
the Lord.
[15] And they laid hold on her by the neck: and when she was come
within the horse gate of the palace, they killed her there.
[16] And Joiada made a covenant between himself and all the people, and
the king, that they should be the people of the Lord. [17] And all the
people went into the house of Baal, and destroyed it: and they broke
down his altars and his idols: and they slew Mathan the priest of Baal
before the altars.
[18] And Joiada appointed overseers in the house of the Lord, under the
hands of the priests, and the Levites, whom David had distributed in
the house of the Lord: to offer holocausts to the Lord, as it is
written in the law of Moses, with joy and singing, according to the
disposition of David. [19] He appointed also porters in the gates of
the house of the Lord, that none who was unclean in any thing should
enter in. [20] And he took the captains of hundreds, and the most
valiant men, and the chiefs of the people, and all the people of the
land, and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord, and
brought him through the upper gate into the king's house, and set him
on the royal throne. [21] And all the people of the land rejoiced, and
the city was quiet: but Athalia was slain with the sword.
Back to Top
Chapter 24
- verses
1-16, 26-27 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Joas was seven years old when he began to reign: and he reigned
forty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Sebia of Bersabee.
[2] And he did that which is good before the Lord all the days of
Joiada the priest. [3] And Joiada took for him two wives, by whom he
had sons and daughters. [4] After this Joas had a mind to repair the
house of the Lord. [5] And he assembled the priests, and the Levites,
and said to them:
Go out to the cities of Juda, and gather of all Israel money to repair
the temple of your God, from year to year: and do this with speed:
but the Levites were negligent. [6] And the king called Joiada the
chief, and said to him:
Why hast thou not taken care to oblige the Levites to bring in out of
Juda and Jerusalem the money that was appointed by Moses the servant of
the Lord for all the multitude of Israel to bring into the tabernacle
of the testimony? [7] For that wicked woman Athalia, and her children
have destroyed the house of God, and adorned the temple of Baal with
all the things that had been dedicated in the temple of the Lord.
[8] And the king commanded, and they made a chest: and set it by the
gate of the house of the Lord on the outside. [9] And they made a
proclamation in Juda and Jerusalem, that every man should bring to the
Lord the money which Moses the servant of God appointed for all Israel,
in the desert. [10] And all the princes, and all the people rejoiced:
and going In they contributed and cast so much into the chest of the
Lord, that it was filled. [11] And when it was time to bring the chest
before the king by the hands of the Levites, (for they saw there was
much money,) the king's scribe, and he whom the high priest had
appointed went in: and they poured out the money that was in the chest:
and they carried back the chest to its place: and thus they did from
day to day, and there was gathered an immense sum of money.
[12] And the king and Joiada gave it to those who were over the works
of the house of the Lord: but they hired with it stonecutters, and
artificers of every kind of work to repair the house of the Lord: and
such as wrought in iron and brass, to uphold what began to be falling.
[13] And the workmen were diligent, and the breach of the walls was
closed up by their hands, and they set up the house of the Lord in its
former state, and made it stand firm. [14] And when they had finished
all the works, they brought the rest of the money before the king and
Joiada: and with it were made vessels for the temple for the ministry,
and for holocausts and bowls, and other vessels of gold and silver: and
holocausts were offered in the house of the Lord continually all the
days of Joiada. [15] But Joiada grew old and was full of days, and died
when he was a hundred and thirty years old. [16] And they buried him in
the city of David among the kings, because he had done good to Israel,
and to his house.
[26] Now the men that conspired against him were Zabad the son of
Semmaath an Ammonitess, and Jozabad the son of Semarith a Moabitess.
[27] And concerning his sons, and the sum of money which was gathered
under him, and the repairing the house of God; they are written more
diligently in the book of kings: and Amasias his son reigned in his
stead.
Back to Top
Chapter 25
- verses
1-28 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Amasias was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and
he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem, the name of his mother
was Joadan of Jerusalem. [2] And he did what was good in the sight of
the Lord: but yet not with a perfect heart. [3] And when he saw himself
strengthened in his kingdom, he put to death the servants that had
slain the king his father. [4] But he slew not their children, as it is
written in the book of the law of Moses, where the Lord commanded,
saying: The fathers shall not be slain for the children, nor the
children for their fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.
[5] Amasias therefore gathered Juda together, and appointed them by
families, and captains of thousands and of hundreds in all Juda, and
Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and upwards, and
found three hundred thousand young men that could go out to battle, and
could hold the spear and shield. [6] He hired also of Israel a hundred
thousand valiant men, for a hundred talents of silver. [7] But a man of
God came to him, and said:
O king, let not the army of Israel go out with thee, for the Lord is
not with Israel, and all the children of Ephraim: [8] And if thou think
that battles consist in the strength of the army, God will make thee to
be overcome by the enemies: for it belongeth to God both to help, and
to put to flight.
[9] And Amasias said to the man of God:
What will then become of the hundred talents which I have given to the
soldiers of Israeli
and the man of God answered him:
The Lord is rich enough to be able to give thee much more than this.
[10] Then Amasias separated the army, that came to him out of Ephraim,
to go home again: but they being much enraged against Juda, returned to
their own country. [11] And Amasias taking courage led forth his
people, and went to the vale of saltpits, and slew of the children of
Seir ten thousand. [12] And other ten thousand men the sons of Juda
took, and brought to the steep of a certain rock, and cast them down
headlong from the top, and they all were broken to pieces.
[13] But that army which Amasias had sent back, that they should not go
with him to battle, spread themselves among the cities of Juda, from
Samaria to Beth-horon, and having killed three thousand took away much
spoil. [14] But Amasias after he had slain the Edomites, set up the
gods of the children of Seir, which he had brought thence, to be his
gods, and adored them, and burnt incense to them. [15] Wherefore the
Lord being angry against Amasias, sent a prophet to him, to say to him:
Why hast thou adored gods that have not delivered their own people out
of thy hand?
[16] And when he spoke these things, he answered him:
Art thou the king's counsellor? be quiet, lest I kill thee.
And the prophet departing, said:
I know that God is minded to kill thee, because thou hast done this
evil, and moreover hast not hearkened to my counsel.
[17] Then Amasias king of Juda taking very bad counsel, sent to Joas
the son of Joachaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying:
Come, let us see one another.
[18] But he sent back the messengers, saying:
The thistle that is in Libanus, sent to the cedar in Libanus, saying:
Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and behold the beasts that were in
the wood of Libanus passed by, and trod down the thistle. [19] Thou
hast said: I have overthrown Edom, and therefore thy heart is lifted up
with pride: stay at home, why dost thou provoke evil against thee, that
both thou shouldst fall and Juda with thee.
[20] Amasias would not hearken to him, because it was the Lord's will
that he should be delivered into the hands of enemies, because of the
gods of Edom. [21] So Joas king of Israel went up, and they presented
themselves to be seen by one another: and Amasias king of Juda was in
Bethsames of Juda: [22] And Juda fell before Israel and they fled to
their dwellings. [23] And Joas king of Israel took Amasias king of
Juda, the son of Joas, the son Joachaz, in Bethsames, and brought him
to Jerusalem: and broke down the walls thereof from the gate of
Ephraim, to the gate of the corner, four hundred cubits. [24] And he
took all the gold, and silver, and all the vessels, that he found in
the house of God, and with Obededom, and in the treasures of the king's
house, moreover also the sons of the hostages, he brought back to
Samaria. [25] And Amasias the son of Joas king of Juda lived, after the
death of Joas the son of Joachaz king of Israel, fifteen years.
[26] Now the rest of the acts of Amasias, the first and last, are
written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel. [27] And after he
revolted from the Lord, they made a conspiracy against him in
Jerusalem. And he fled into Lachis, and they sent, and killed him
there. [28] And they brought him back upon horses, and buried him with
his fathers in the city of David.
Back to Top
Chapter 26
- verses
1-23 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And all the people of Juda took his son Ozias, who was sixteen
years old, and made him king in the room of Amasias his father. [2] He
built Ailath, and restored it to the dominion of Juda, after that the
king slept with his fathers. [3] Ozias 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. [4] And he did that which
was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Amasias his
father had done. [5] And he sought the Lord in the days of Zacharias
that understood and saw God: and as long as he sought the Lord, he
directed him in all things.
[6] Moreover he went forth and fought against the Philistines, and
broke down the wall of Geth, and the wall of Jabnia, and the wall of
Azotus: and he built towns in Azotus, and among the Philistines. [7]
And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians,
that dwelt in Gurbaal, and against the Ammonites. [8] And the ammonites
gave gifts to Ozias: and his name was spread abroad even to the
entrance of Egypt for his frequent victories.
[9] And Ozias built towers in Jerusalem over the gate of the corner,
and over the gate of the valley, and the rest, in the same side of the
wall, and fortified them. [10] And he built towers in the wilderness,
and dug many cisterns, for he had much cattle both in the plains, and
in the waste of the desert: he had also vineyards and dressers of vines
in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he was a man that loved husbandry.
[11] And the army of his fighting men, that went out to war, was under
the hand of Jehiel the scribe, and Maasias the doctor, and under the
hand of Henanias, who was one of the king's captains. [12] And the
whole number of the chiefs by the families of valiant men were two
thousand six hundred. [13] And the whole army under them three hundred
and seven thousand five hundred: who were fit for war, and fought for
the king against the enemy. [14] And Ozias prepared for them, that is,
for the whole army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of
mail, and bows, and slings to cast stones. [15] And he made in
Jerusalem engines of diverse kinds, which he placed in the towers, and
in the corners of the walls, to shoot arrows, and great stones: and his
name went forth far abroad, for the Lord helped him, and had
strengthened him. [16] But when he was made strong, his heart was
lifted up to his destruction, and he neglected the Lord his God: and
going into the temple of the Lord, he had a mind to burn incense upon
the altar of incense. [17] And immediately Azarias the priest going in
after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, most valiant
men, [18] Withstood the king and said:
It doth not belong to thee, Ozias, to burn incense to the Lord, but to
the priests, that is, to the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated for
this ministry: go out of the sanctuary, do not despise: for this thing
shall not be accounted to thy glory by the Lord God.
[19] And Ozias was angry, and holding in his hand the censer to burn
incense, threatened the priests. And presently there rose a leprosy in
his forehead before the priests, in the house of the Lord at the altar
of incense. [20] And Azarias the high priest, and all the rest of the
priests looked upon him, and saw the leprosy in his forehead, and they
made haste to thrust him out. Yea himself also being frightened, hasted
to go out, because he had quickly felt the stroke of the Lord.
[21] And Ozias the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and he
dwelt in a house apart being full of the leprosy, for which he had been
cast out of the house of the Lord. And Joatham his son governed the
king's house, and judged the people of the land.
[22] But the rest of the acts of Ozias first and last were written by
Isaias the son of Amos, the prophet. [23] And Ozias slept with his
fathers, and they buried him in the field of the royal sepulchres,
because he was a leper: and Joatham his son reigned in his stead.
Back to Top
Chapter 27
- verses
1-9 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Joatham 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. [2] And he did that which was right
before the Lord, according to all that Ozias his father had done, only
that he entered not into the temple of the Lord, and the people still
transgressed. [3] He built the high gate of the house of the Lord, and
on the wall of Ophel he built much. [4] Moreover he built cities in the
mountains of Juda, and castles and towers in the forests. [5] Ho fought
against the king of the children of Ammon, and overcame them, and the
children of Ammon gave him at that time a hundred talents of silver,
and ten thousand measures of wheat, and as many measures of barley: so
much did the children of Ammon give him in the second and third year.
[6] And Joatham was strengthened, because he had his way directed
before the Lord his God.
[7] Now the rest of the acts of Joatham, and all his wars, and his
works, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Juda. [8] He
was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem. [9] And Joatham slept with his fathers, and
they buried him in the city of David: and Achaz his son reigned in his
stead.
Back to Top
Chapter 28
- verses
1-27 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Achaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem: he did not that which was right in the
sight of the Lord as David his father had done, [2] But walked in the
ways of the kings of Israel; moreover also he cast statues for Baalim.
[3] It was he that burnt incense in the valley of Benennom, and
consecrated his sons in the fire according to the manner of the
nations, which the Lord slew at the coming of the children of Israel.
[4] He sacrificed also, and burnt incense in the high places, and on
the hills, and under every green tree. [5] And the Lord his God
delivered him into the hands of the king of Syria, who defeated him,
and took a great booty out of his kingdom, and carried it to Damascus:
he was also delivered into the hands of the king of Israel, who
overthrew him with a great slaughter.
[6] For Phacee the son of Romelia slew of Juda a hundred and twenty
thousand in one day, all valiant men: because they had forsaken the
Lord the God of their fathers. [7] At the same time Zechri a powerful
man of Ephraim, slew Maasias the king's son, and Ezricam the governor
of his house, and Elcana who was next to the king. [8] And the children
of Israel carried away of their brethren two hundred thousand women,
boys, and girls, and an immense booty: and they brought it to Samaria.
[9] At that time there was a prophet of the Lord there, whose name was
Oded: and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria, and said
to them:
Behold the Lord the God of your fathers being angry with Juda, hath
delivered them into your hands, and you have butchered them cruelly, so
that your cruelty hath reached up to heaven. [10] Moreover you have a
mind to keep under the children of Juda and Jerusalem for your bondmen
and bondwomen, which ought not to be done: for you have sinned in this
against the Lord your God. [11] But hear ye my counsel, and release the
captives that you have brought of your brethren, because a great
indignation of the Lord hangeth over you.
[12] Then some of the chief men of the sons of Ephraim, Azarias the son
of Johanan, Barachias the son of Mosollamoth, Ezechias the son of
Sellum, and Amasa the son of Adali, stood up against them that came
from the war. [13] And they said to them:
You shall not bring in the captives hither, lest we sin against the
Lord. Why will you add to our sins, and heap up upon our former
offences? for the sin is great, and the fierce anger of the Lord
hangeth over Israel.
[14] So the soldiers left the spoils, and all that they had taken,
before the princes and all the multitude. [15] And the men, whom we
mentioned above, rose up and took the captives, and with the spoils
clothed all them that were naked: and when they had clothed and shed
them, and refreshed them with meat and drink, and anointed them because
of their labour, and had taken care of them, they set such of them as
could not walk, and were feeble, upon beasts, and brought them to
Jericho the city of palm trees to their brethren, and they returned to
Samaria.
[16] At that time king Achaz sent to the king of the Assyrians asking
help. [17] And the Edomites came and slew many of Juda, and took a
great booty. [18] The Philistines also spread themselves among the
cities of the plains, and to the south of Juda: and they took
Bethsames, and Aialon, and Gaderoth, and Socho, and Thamnan, and Gamzo,
with their villages, and they dwelt in them. [19] For the Lord had
humbled Juda because of Achaz the king of Juda, for he had stripped it
of help, and had contemned the Lord. [20] And he brought, against him
Thelgathphalnasar king of the Assyrians, who also afflicted him, and
plundered him without any resistance. [21] And Achaz stripped the house
of the Lord, and the house of the kings, and of the princes, and gave
gifts to the king of the Assyrians, and yet it availed him nothing.
[22] Moreover also in the time of his distress he increased contempt
against the Lord: king Achaz himself by himself, [23] Sacrificed
victims to the gods of Damascus that struck him, and he said: The gods
of the kings of Syria help them, and I will appease them with victims,
and they will help me; whereas on the contrary they were the ruin of
him, and of all Israel.
[24] Then Achaz having taken away all the vessels of the house of God,
and broken them, shut up the doors of the temple of God, and made
himself altars in all the corners of Jerusalem. [25] And in all the
cities of Juda he built altars to burn frankincense, and he provoked
the Lord the God of his fathers to wrath.
[26] But the rest of his acts, and all his works first and last are
written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel. [27] And Achaz
slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of Jerusalem:
for they received him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel.
And Ezechias his son reigned in his stead.
Back to Top
Chapter 29
- verses
1-36 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Now Ezechias began to reign, when he was five and twenty years old,
and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his
mother was Abia, the daughter of Zacharias. [2] And he did that which
was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his
father had done.
[3] In the first year and month of his reign he opened the doors of the
house of the Lord, and repaired them. [4] And he brought the priests
and the Levites, and assembled them in the east street. [5] And he said
to them:
Hear me, ye Levites, and be sanctified, purify the house of the Lord
the God of your fathers, and take away all filth out of the sanctuary.
[6] Our fathers have sinned and done evil in the sight of the Lord God,
forsaking him: they have turned away their faces from the tabernacle of
the Lord, and turned their backs. [7] They have shut up the doors that
were in tile porch, and put out the lamps. and have not burnt incense,
nor offered holocausts in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. [8]
Therefore the wrath of the Lord hath been stirred up against Juda and
Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, and to destruction,
and to be hissed at, as you see with your eyes. [9] Behold, our fathers
are fallen by the sword, our sons, and our daughters, and wives are led
away captives for this wickedness. [10] Now therefore I have a mind
that we make a covenant with the Lord the God of Israel, and he will
turn away the wrath of his indignation from us. [11] My sons, be not
negligent: the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, and to
minister to him, and to worship him, and to burn incense to him.
[12] Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son
of Azarias, of the sons of Caath: and of the sons of Merari, Cis the
son of Abdi, and Azarias the son of Jalaleel. And of the sons of
Gerson, Joah the son of Zemma, and Eden the son of Joah. [13] And of
the sons of Elisaphan, Samri, and Jahiel. Also of the sons of Asaph,
Zacharias, and Mathanias. [14] And of the sons of Heman, Jahiel, and
Semei: and of the sons of Idithun, Semeias, and Oziel. [15] And they
gathered together their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and went
in according to the commandment of the king, and the precept of the
Lord, to purify the house of God. [16] And the priests went into the
temple of the Lord to sanctify it, and brought out all the uncleanness
that they found within to the entrance of the house of the Lord, and
the Levites took it away, and carried it out abroad to the torrent
Cedron. [17] And they began to cleanse on the first day of the first
month, and on the eighth day of the same month they came into the porch
of the temple of the Lord, and they purified the temple in eight days,
and on the sixteenth day of the same month they finished what they had
begun. [18] And they went is to king Ezechias, and said to him:
We have sanctified all the house of the Lord, and the altar of
holocaust, and the vessels thereof, and the table of proposition with
all its vessels, [19] And all the furniture of the temple, which king
Achaz in his reign had defiled, after his transgression; and behold
they are all set forth before the altar of the Lord.
[20] And king Ezechias rising early, assembled all the rulers of the
city, and went up into the house of the Lord: [21] And they offered
together seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he
goats for sin, for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, for Juda: and he
spoke to the priests the sons of Aaron, to offer them upon the altar of
the Lord. [22] Therefore they killed the bullocks, and the priests took
the blood, and poured it upon the altar; they killed also the rams, and
their blood they poured also upon the altar, and they killed the lambs,
and poured the blood upon the altar. [23] And they brought the he goats
for sin before the king, and the whole multitude, and they laid their
hand upon them: [24] And the priests immolated them, and sprinkled
their blood before the altar for an expiation of all Israel: for the
king had commanded that the holocaust and the sin offering should be
made for all Israel. [25] And he set the Levites in the house of the
Lord with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps according to the
regulation of David the king, and of Gad the seer, and of Nathan the
prophet: for it was the commandment of the Lord by the hand of his
prophets. [26] And the Levites stood, with the instruments of David,
and the priests with trumpets.
[27] And Ezechias commanded that they should offer holocausts upon the
altar: and when the holocausts were offered, they began to sing praises
to the Lord, and to sound with trumpets, and divers instruments which
David the king of Israel had prepared. [28] And all the multitude
adored, and the singers, and the trumpeters, were in their office till
the holocaust was finished. [29] And when the oblation was ended, the
king, and all that were with him bowed down and adored. [30] And
Ezechias and the princes commanded the Levites to praise the Lord with
the words of David, and Asaph the seer: and they praised him with great
joy, and bowing the knee adored. [31] And Ezechias added, and said:
You have filled your hands to the Lord, come and offer victims, and
praises in the house of the Lord.
And all the multitude offered victims, and praises, and holocausts with
a devout mind.
[32] And the number of the holocausts which the multitude offered, was
seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. [33] And they
consecrated to the Lord six hundred oxen, and three thousand sheep.
[34] But the priests were few, and were not enough to flay the
holocausts: wherefore the Levites their brethren helped them, till the
work was ended, and priests were sanctified, for the Levites are
sanctified with an easier rite than the priests. [35] So there were
many holocausts, and the fat of peace offerings, and the libations of
holocausts: and the service of the house of the Lord was completed.
[36] And Ezechias, and all the people rejoiced because the ministry of
the Lord was accomplished. For the resolution of doing this thing was
taken suddenly.
Back to Top
Chapter 30
- verses
1-27 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Ezechias sent to all Israel and Juda: and he wrote letters to
Ephraim and Manasses, that they should come to the house of the Lord in
Jerusalem, and keep the phase to the Lord the God of Israel. [2] For
the king, taking counsel, and the princes, and all the assembly of
Jerusalem, decreed to keep the phase the second month. [3] For they
could not keep it in its time; because there were not priests enough
sanctified, and the people was not as yet gathered together to
Jerusalem. [4] And the thing pleased the king, and all the people. [5]
And they decreed to send messengers to all Israel from Bersabee even to
Dan, that they should come, and keep the phase to the Lord the God of
Israel in Jerusalem: for many had not kept it as it is prescribed by
the law. [6] And the posts went with letters by commandment of the
king, and his princes, to all Israel and Juda, proclaiming according to
the king's orders:
Ye children of Israel, turn again to the Lord the God of Abraham, and
of Isaac, and of Israel: and he will return to the remnant of you that
have escaped the hand of the king of the Assyrians. [7] Be not like
your fathers, and brethren, who departed from the Lord the God of their
fathers, and he hath given them up to destruction, as you see. [8]
Harden not your necks, as your fathers did: yield yourselves to the
Lord, and come to his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever:
serve the Lord the God of your fathers, and the wrath of his
indignation shall be turned away from you. [9] For if you turn again to
the Lord: your brethren, and children shall find mercy before their
masters, that have led them away captive, and they shall return into
this land: for the Lord your God is merciful, and will not turn away
his face from you, if you return to him.
[10] So the posts went speedily from city to city, through the land of
Ephraim, and of Manasses, even to Zabulon, whilst they laughed at them
and mocked them. [11] Nevertheless some men of Aser, and of Manasses,
and of Zabulon, yielding to the counsel, came to Jerusalem. [12] But
the hand of God was in Juda, to give them one heart to do the word of
the Lord, according to the commandment of the king, and of the princes.
[13] And much people were assembled to Jerusalem to celebrate the
solemnity of the unleavened bread in the second month: [14] And they
arose and destroyed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and took sway
all things in which incense was burnt to idols, and cast them into the
torrent Cedron.
[15] And they immolated the phase on the fourteenth day of the second
month. And the priests and the Levites being at length sanctified
offered holocausts in the house of the Lord. [16] And they stood in
their order according to the disposition, and law of Moses the man of
God: but the priests received the blood which was to be poured out,
from the hands of the Levites, [17] Because a great number was not
sanctified: and therefore the Levites immolated the phase for them that
came not in time to be sanctified to the Lord. [18] For a great part of
the people from Ephraim, and Manasses, and Issachar, and Zabulon, that
had not been sanctified, ate the phase otherwise than it is written:
and Ezechias prayed for them, saying:
The Lord who is good will shew mercy, [19] To all them, who with their
whole heart, seek the Lord the God of their fathers: and will not
impute it to them that they are not sanctified.
[20] And the Lord heard him, and was merciful to the people.
[21] And the children of Israel, that were found at Jerusalem, kept the
feast of unleavened bread seven days with great joy, praising the Lord
every day: the Levites also, and the priests, with instruments that
agreed to their office.
[22] And Ezechias spoke to the heart of all the Levites, that had good
understanding concerning the Lord: and they ate during the seven days
of the solemnity, immolating victims of peace offerings, and praising
the Lord the God of their fathers. [23] And it pleased the whole
multitude to keep other seven days: which they did with great joy. [24]
For Ezechias the king of Juda had given to the multitude a thousand
bullocks, and seven thousand sheep: and the princes had given the
people a thousand bullocks, and ten thousand sheep: and a great number
of priests was sanctified. [25] And all the multitude of Juda with the
priests and Levites, and all the assembly, that came out of Israel; and
the proselytes of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Juda were full
of joy. [26] And there was a great solemnity in Jerusalem, such as had
not been in that city since the time of Solomon the son of David king
of Israel.
[27] And the priests and the Levites rose up and blessed the people:
and their voice was heard: and their prayer came to the holy dwelling
place of heaven.
Back to Top
Chapter 31
- verses
1-21 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And when these things had been duly celebrated, all Israel that
were found in the cities of Juda, went out, and they broke the idols,
and cut down the groves. demolished the high places, and destroyed the
altars, not only out of all Juda and Benjamin, but out of Ephraim also
and Manasses, till they had utterly destroyed them: then all the
children of Israel returned to their possessions and cities.
[2] And Ezechias appointed companies of the priests, and the Levites,
by their courses, every man in his own office, to wit, both of the
priests, and of the Levites, for holocausts, and for peace offerings,
to minister, and to praise, and to sing in the gates of the camp of the
Lord. [3] And the king's part was, that of his proper substance the
holocaust should be offered always morning and evening, and on the
sabbaths, and the new moons and the other solemnities, as it is written
in the law of Moses. [4] He commanded also the people that dwelt in
Jerusalem, to give to the priests, and the Levites their portion, that
they might attend to the law of the Lord. [5] Which when it was noised
abroad in the ears of the people, the children of Israel offered in
abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey: and
brought the tithe of all things which the ground bringeth forth. [6]
Moreover the children of Israel and Juda, that dwelt in the cities of
Juda, brought in the tithes of oxen, and sheep, and the tithes of holy
things, which they had vowed to the Lord their God: and carrying them
all, made many heaps. [7] In the third month they began to lay the
foundations of the heaps, and in the seventh month, they finished them.
[8] And when Ezechias and his princes came in, they saw the heaps, and
they blessed the Lord and the people of Israel. [9] And Ezechias asked
the priests and the Levites, why the heaps lay so. [10] Azarias the
chief priest of the race of Sadoc answered him, saying:
Since the firstfruits began to be offered in the house of the Lord, we
have eaten, and have been filled, and abundance is left, because the
Lord hath blessed his people: and of that which is left is this great
store which thou seest.
[11] Then Ezechias commanded to prepare storehouses in the house of the
Lord. And when they had done so, [12] They brought in faithfully both
the firstfruits, and the tithes, and all they had vowed. And the
overseer of them was Chonenias the Levite, and Semei his brother was
the second, [13] And after him Jehiel, and Azarias, and Nahath, and
Asael, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Jesmachias, and
Mahath, and Banaias, overseers under the hand of Chonenias, and Semei
his brother, by the commandment of Ezechias the king, and Azarias the
high priest of the house of God, to whom all things appertained. [14]
But Core the son of Jemna the Levite, the porter of the east gate, was
overseer of the things which were freely offered to the Lord, and of
the firstfruits and the things dedicated for the holy of holies. [15]
And under his charge were Eden, and Benjamin, Jesue, and Semeias, and
Amarias, and Sechenias, in the cities of the priests, to distribute
faithfully portions to their brethren, both little and great: [16]
Besides the males from three years old and upward, to all that went
into the temple of the Lord, and whatsoever there was need of in the
ministry, and their offices according to their courses, day by day.
[17] To the priests by their families, and to the Levites from the
twentieth year and upward, by their classes and companies. [18] And to
all the multitude, both to their wives, and to their children of both
sexes, victuals were given faithfully out of the things that had been
sanctified. [19] Also of the sons of Aaron who were in the fields and
in the suburbs of each city, there were men appointed, to distribute
portions to all the males, among the priests and the Levites.
[20] So Ezechias did all things, which we have said in all Juda, and
wrought that which was good; and right, and truth, before the Lord his
God, [21] In all the service of the ministry of the house of the Lord
according to the law and the ceremonies, desiring to seek his God with
all his heart, and he did it and prospered,
Back to Top
Chapter 32
- verses
1-33 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] After these things, and this truth, Sennacherib king of the
Assyrians came and entered into Juda, and besieged the fenced cities,
desiring to take them. [2] And when Ezechias saw that Sennacherib was
come, and that the whole force of the war was turning against
Jerusalem, [3] He took counsel with the princes, and the most valiant
men, to stop up the heads of the springs, that were without the city:
and as they were all of this mind, [4] He gathered together a very
great multitude, and they stopped up all the springs, and the brook,
that ran through the midst of the land, saying: Lest the kings of the
Assyrians should come, and And abundance of water. [5] He built up also
with great diligence all the wall that had been broken down, and built
towers upon it, and another wall without: and he repaired Mello in the
city of David, and made all sorts of arms and shields: [6] And he
appointed captains of the soldiers of the army: and he called them all
together in the street of the gate of the city, and spoke to their
heart, saying:
[7] Behave like men, and take courage: be not afraid nor dismayed for
the king of the Assyrians, nor for all the multitude that is with him:
for there are many more with us than with him. [8] For with him is an
arm of flesh: with us the Lord our God, who is our helper, and fighteth
for us.
And the people were encouraged with these words of Ezechias king of
Juda.
[9] After this, Sennacherib king of the Assyrians sent his servants to
Jerusalem, (for he with all his army was besieging Lachis,) to Ezechias
king of Juda, and to all the people that were in the city, saying:
[10] Thus saith Sennacherib king of the Assyrians: In whom do you
trust, that you sit still besieged in Jerusalem? [11] Doth not Ezechias
deceive you, to give you up to die by hunger and thirst, affirming that
the Lord your God shall deliver you from the hand of the king of the
Assyrians? [12] Is it not this same Ezechias, that hath destroyed his
high places, and his altars, and commanded Juda and Jerusalem, saying:
You shall worship before one altar, and upon it you shall burn incense?
[13] Know you not what I and my fathers have done to all the people of
the lands? have the gods of any nations and lands been able to deliver
their country out of my hand? [14] Who is there among all the gods of
the nations, which my fathers have destroyed, that could deliver his
people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out
of this hand? [15] Therefore let not Ezechias deceive you, nor delude
you with a vain persuasion, and do not believe him. For if no god of
all the nations and kingdoms, could deliver his people out of my hand,
and out of the hand of my fathers, consequently neither shall your God
be able to deliver you out of my hand.
[16] And many other things did his servants speak against the Lord God,
and against Ezechias his servant. [17] He wrote also letters full of
blasphemy against the Lord the God of Israel, and he spoke against him:
As the gods of other nations could not deliver their people out of my
hand, so neither can the God of Ezechias deliver his people out of this
hand. [18] Moreover he cried out with a loud voice, in the Jews'
tongue, to the people that sat on the walls of Jerusalem, that he might
frighten them, and take the city. [19] And he spoke against the God of
Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, the works of
the hands of men.
[20] And Ezechias the king, and Isaias the prophet the son of Amos,
prayed against this blasphemy, and cried out to heaven. [21] And the
Lord sent an angel who cut off all the stout men and the warriors, and
the captains of the army of the king of the Assyrians: and he returned
with disgrace into his own country. And when he was come into the house
of his god, his sons that came out of his bowels, slew him with the
sword.
[22] And the Lord saved Ezechias and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out
of the hand of Sennacherib king of the Assyrians, and out of the hand
of all, and gave them treasures on every side. [23] Many also brought
victims, and sacrifices to the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to
Ezechias king of Juda: and he was magnified thenceforth in the sight of
all nations.
[24] In those days Ezechias was sick even to death, and he prayed to
the Lord: and he heard him, and gave him a sign. [25] But he did not
render again according to the benefits which he had received, for his
heart was lifted up: and wrath was enkindled against him, and against
Juda and Jerusalem. [26] And he humbled himself afterwards, because his
heart had been lifted up, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and
therefore the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of
Ezechias. [27] And Ezechias was rich, and very glorious, and he
gathered himself great treasures of silver and of gold, and of precious
stones, of spices, and of arms, of all kinds, and of vessels of great
price. [28] Storehouses also of corn, of wine, and of oil, and stalls
for all beasts, and folds for cattle. [29] And he built himself cities:
for he had flocks of sheep, and herds without number, for the Lord had
given him very much substance.
[30] This same Ezechias was, he that stopped the upper source of the
waters of Gihon, and turned them away underneath toward the west of the
city of David: in ail his works he did prosperously what he would. [31]
But yet in the embassy of the princes of Babylon, that were sent to
him, to inquire of the wonder that had happened upon the earth, God
left him that he might be tempted, and all things might be made known
that were in his heart.
[32] Now the rest of the acts of Ezechias, and of his mercies are
written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel. [33] And Ezechias
slept with his fathers, and they buried him above the sepulchres of the
sons of David: and all Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
celebrated his funeral: and Manasses his son reigned in his stead.
Back to Top
Chapter 33
- verses
1-25 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Manasses was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. [2] And he did evil before the
Lord, according to all the abominations of the nations, which the Lord
cast out before the children of Israel: [3] And he turned, and built
again the high places which Ezechias his father had destroyed: and he
built altars to Baalim, and made groves, and he adored all the host of
heaven, and worshipped them. [4] He built also altars in the house of
the Lord, whereof the Lord had said: In Jerusalem shall my name be for
ever. [5] And he built them for all the host of heaven in the two
courts of the house of the Lord. [6] And he made his sons to pass
through the fire in the valley of Benennom: he observed dreams,
followed divinations, gave himself up to magic arts, had with him
magicians, and enchanters: and he wrought many evils before the Lord,
to provoke him to anger. [7] He set also a graven, and a molten statue
in the house of God, of which God had said to David, and to Solomon his
son: In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all
the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever. [8] And I will not
make the foot of Israel to be removed out of the land which I have
delivered to their fathers: yet so if they will take heed to do what I
hare commanded them, and all the law, and the ceremonies, and judgments
by the hand of Moses.
[9] So Manasses seduced Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to do
evil beyond all the nations, which the Lord had destroyed before the
face of the children of Israel.
[10] And the Lord spoke to him, and to his people, and they would not
hearken. [11] Therefore he brought upon them the captains of the army
of the king of the Assyrians: and they took Manasses, and carried him
bound with chains and fetters to Babylon. [12] And after that he was in
distress he prayed to the Lord his God: and did penance exceedingly
before the God of his fathers. [13] And he entreated him, and besought
him earnestly: and he heard his prayer, and brought him again to
Jerusalem into his kingdom, and Manasses knew that the Lord was God.
[14] After this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west
side of Gihon in the valley, from the entering in of the fish gate
round about to Ophel, and raised it up to a great height: and he
appointed captains of the army in all the fenced cities of Juda:
[15] And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house
of the Lord: the altars also which he had made in the mount of the
house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and he cast them all out of the
city. [16] And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed upon
it victims, and peace offerings, and praise: and he commanded Juda to
serve the Lord the God of Israel. [17] Nevertheless the people still
sacrificed in the high places to the Lord their God.
[18] But the rest of the acts of Manasses, and his prayer to his God,
and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the Lord
the God of Israel, are contained in the words of the kings of Israel.
[19] His prayer also, and his being heard, and all his sins, and
contempt, and places wherein he built high places, and set up groves,
and statues before he did penance, are written in the words of Hozai.
[20] And Manasses slept with his fathers. and they buried him in his
house: and his son Amen reigned in his stead.
[21] Amen was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned two years in Jerusalem. [22] And he did evil in the sight of
the Lord, as Manasses his father had done: and he sacrificed to all the
idols which Manasses his father had made, and served them. [23] And he
did not humble himself before the Lord, as Manasses his father had
humbled himself, but committed far greater sins. [24] And his servants
conspired against him, and slew him in his own house. [25] But the rest
of the multitude of the people slew them that had killed Amen, and made
Josias his son king in his stead.
Back to Top
Chapter 34
- verses
1-33 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Josias was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
one and thirty years in Jerusalem. [2] And he did that which was right
in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father:
he declined not, neither to the right hand, nor to the left. [3] And in
the eighth year of his reign, when he was yet a boy, he began to seek
the God of his father David: and in the twelfth year after he began to
reign, he cleansed Juda and Jerusalem from the high places, and the
groves, and the idols, and the graven things. [4] And they broke down
before him the altars of Baalim, and demolished the idols that had been
set upon them: and be cut down the groves and the graven things, and
broke them in pieces: and strewed the fragments upon the graves of them
that had sacrificed to them. [5] And he burnt the bones of the priests
on the altars of the idols, and he cleansed Juda and Jerusalem. [6] And
in the cities of Manasses, and of Ephraim, and of Simeon, even to
Nephtali he demolished all. [7] And when he had destroyed the altars,
and the groves, and had broken the idols in pieces, and had demolished
all profane temples throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to
Jerusalem.
[8] Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the
land, and the temple of the Lord, he sent Saphan the son of Eselias,
and Maasias the governor of the city, Joha the son of Joachaz the
recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. [9] And they came to
Helcias the high priest: and received of him the money which had been
brought into the house of the Lord, and which the Levites and porters
had gathered together from Manasses, and Ephraim, and all the remnant
of Israel, and from all Juda, and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, [10] Which they delivered into the hands of them that were
over the workmen in the house of the Lord, to repair the temple, and
mend all that was weak. [11] But they gave it to the artificers, and to
the masons, to buy stones out of the quarries, and timber for the
couplings of the building, and to rafter the houses, which the kings of
Juda had destroyed. [12] And they did all faithfully. Now the overseers
of the workmen were Jahath and Abdias of the sons of Merari, Zacharias
and Mosollam of the sons of Caath, who hastened the work: all Levites
skillful to play on instruments. [13] But over them that carried
burdens for divers uses, were scribes, and masters of the number of the
Levites, and porters.
[14] Now when they carried out the money that had been brought into the
temple of the Lord, Helcias the priest found the book of the law of the
Lord, by the hand of Moses. [15] And he said to Saphan the scribe:
I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord: and he
delivered it to him.
[16] But he carried the book to the king, and told him, saying:
Lo, all that thou hast committed to thy servants, is accomplished. [17]
They have gathered together the silver that was found in the house of
the Lord: and it is given to the overseers of the artificers, and of
the workmen, for divers works.
[18] Moreover Helcias the priest gave me this book. And he read it
before the king.
[19] And when he had heard the words of the law, he rent his garments:
[20] And he commanded Helcias, and Ahicam the son of Saphan, and Abdon
the son of Micha, and Saphan the scribe, and Asaa the king's servant,
saying:
[21] Go, and pray to the Lord for me, and for the remnant of Israel,
and Juda, concerning all the words of this book, which is found: for
the great wrath of the Lord hath fallen upon us, because our fathers
have not kept the words of the Lord, to do all things that are written
in this book.
[22] And Helcias and they that were sent with him by the king, went to
Olda the prophetess, the wife of Sellum the son of Thecuath, the son of
Hasra keeper of the wardrobe: who dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second
part: and they spoke to her the words above mentioned. [23] And she
answered them:
Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Tell the man that sent you to
me: [24] Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will bring evils upon this
place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, and all the curses that are
written in this book which they read before the king of Juda. [25]
Because they have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to strange gods, to
provoke me to wrath with all the works of their hands, therefore my
wrath shall fall upon this place, and shall not be quenched. [26] But
as to the king of Juda that sent you to beseech the Lord, thus shall
you say to him: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Because thou
hast heard the words of this book, [27] And thy heart was softened. and
thou hast humbled thyself in the sight of God for the things that are
spoken against this place, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
reverencing my face, hast rent thy garments, and wept before me: I also
have heard thee, saith the Lord. [28] For now I will gather thee to thy
fathers, and thou shalt be brought to thy tomb in peace: and thy eyes
shall not see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and the
inhabitants thereof.
They therefore reported to the king all that she had said. [29] And he
called together all the ancients of Juda and Jerusalem. [30] And went
up to the house of the Lord, and all the men of Juda, and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites, and all the
people from the least to the greatest. And the king read in their
hearing, in the house of the Lord, all the words of the book. [31] And
standing up in his tribunal, he made a covenant before the Lord to walk
after him, and keep his commandments, and testimonies, and
justifications with all his heart, and with all his soul, and to do the
things that were written in that book which he had read. [32] And he
adjured all that were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to do the same:
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of the
Lord the God of their fathers.
[33] And Josias took away all the abominations out of all the countries
of the children of Israel: and made all that were left in Israel, to
serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived they departed not from
the Lord the God of their fathers.
Back to Top
Chapter 35
- verses
1-27 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Josias kept a phase to the Lord in Jerusalem, and it was
sacrificed on the fourteenth day of the first month. [2] And he set the
priests in their offices, and exhorted them to minister in the house of
the Lord. [3] And he spoke to the Levites, by whose instruction all
Israel was sanctified to the Lord, saying:
Put the ark in the sanctuary of the temple, which Solomon the son of
David king of Israel built: for you shall carry it no more: but
minister now to the Lord your God, and to his people Israel. [4] And
prepare yourselves by your houses, and families according to your
courses, as David king of Israel commanded, and Solomon his son hath
written. [5] And serve ye in the sanctuary by the families and
companies of Levi. [6] And being sanctified kill the phase, and prepare
your brethren, that they may do according to the words which the Lord
spoke by the hand of Moses.
[7] And Josias gave to all the people that were found there in the
solemnity of the phase, of lambs and of kids of the flocks, and of
other small cattle thirty thousand, and of oxen three thousand, all
these were of the king's substance. [8] And his princes willingly
offered what they had vowed, both to the people and to the priests and
the Levites. Moreover Helcias, and Zacharias, and Jahiel rulers of the
house of the Lord, gave to the priests to keep the phase two thousand
six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen. [9] And Chonenias,
and Semeias and Nathanael, his brethren, and Hasabias, and Jehiel, and
Jozabad princes of the Levites, gave to the rest of the Levites to
celebrate the phase five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen.
[10] And the ministry was prepared, and the priests stood in their
office: the Levites also in their companies, according to the king's
commandment. [11] And the phase was immolated: and the priests
sprinkled the blood with their hand, and the Levites flayed the
holocausts: [12] And they separated them to give them by the houses and
families of every one, and to be offered to the Lord, as it is written
in the book of Moses, and with the oxen they did in like manner. [13]
And they roasted the phase with fire, according to that which is
written in the law: but the victims of peace offerings they boiled in
caldrons, and kettles, and pots, and they distributed them speedily
among all the people. [14] And afterwards they made ready for
themselves, and for the priests: for the priests were busied in
offering of holocausts and the fat until night: wherefore the Levites
prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron last.
[15] And the singers the sons of Asaph stood in their order, according
to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Idithun the
prophets of the king: and the porters kept guard at every gate, so as
not to depart one moment from their service: and therefore their
brethren the Levites prepared meats for them. [16] So all the service
of the Lord was duly accomplished that day, both in keeping the phase,
and offering holocausts upon the altar of the Lord, according to the
commandment of king Josias. [17] And the children of Israel that were
found there, kept the phase at that time, and the feast of unleavened
bread seven days.
[18] There was no phase like to this in Israel, from the days of Samuel
the prophet: neither did any of all the kings of Israel keep such a
phase as Josias kept, with the priests, and the Levites, and all Juda,
and Israel that were found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. [19] In
the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias was this phase celebrated.
[20] After that Josias had repaired the temple, Nechao king of Egypt
came up to fight in Charcamis by the Euphrates: and Josias went out to
meet him. [21] But he sent messengers to him, saying:
What have I to do with thee, O king of Juda? I come not against thee
this day, but I fight against another house, to which God hath
commanded me to go in haste: forbear to do against God, who is with me,
lest he kill thee.
[22] Josias would not return, but prepared to fight against him, and
hearkened not to the words of Nechao from the mouth of God, I but went
to fight in the field of Mageddo. [23] And there he was wounded by the
archers, and he said to his servants:
Carry me out of the battle, for I am grievously wounded.
[24] And they removed him from the chariot into another, that followed
him after the manner of kings, and they carried him away to Jerusalem,
and he died, and was buried in the monument of his fathers, and all
Juda and Jerusalem mourned for him, [25] Particularly Jeremias: whose
lamentations for Josias all the singing men and singing women repeat
unto this day, and it became like a law in Israel: Behold it is found
written in the Lamentations.
[26] Now the rest of the acts of Josias and of his mercies, according
to what was commanded by the law of the Lord: [27] And his works first
and last, are written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel.
Back to Top
Chapter 36
- verses
1-13, 17-18 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Then the people of the land took Joachaz the son of Josias, and
made him king instead of his father in Jerusalem. [2] Joachaz was three
and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three
months in Jerusalem. [3] And the king of Egypt came to Jerusalem, and
deposed him, and condemned the land in a hundred talents of silver, and
a talent of gold. [4] And he made Eliakim his brother king in his
stead, over Juda and Jerusalem: and he turned his name to Joakim: but
he took Joachaz with him, and carried him away into Egypt.
[5] Joakim was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did evil before the Lord his
God. [6] Against him came up Nabuchodonosor king of the Chaldeans, and
led him bound in chains into Babylon. [7] And he carried also thither
the vessels of the Lord, and put them in his temple.
[8] But the rest of the acts of Joakim, and his abominations, which he
wrought, and the things that were found in him, are contained in the
book of the kings of Juda and Israel. And Joachin his son reigned in
his stead.
[9] Joachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of
the Lord. [10] And at the return of the year, king Nabuchodonosor sent,
and brought him to Babylon, carrying away at the same time the most
precious vessels of the house of the Lord: and he made Sedecias his
uncle king over Juda and Jerusalem.
[11] Sedecias was one and twenty years old when he began to reign: and
he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. [12] And he did evil in the eyes
of the Lord his God, and did not reverence the face of Jeremias the
prophet speaking to him from the mouth of the Lord. [13] He also
revolted from king Nabuchodonosor, who had made him swear by God: and
he hardened his neck and his heart, from returning to the Lord the God
of Israel.
[17] For he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, and he slew
their young men with the sword in the house of his sanctuary, he had no
compassion on young man, or maiden, old man or even him that stooped
for age, but he delivered them all into his hands. [18] And all the
vessels of the house of the Lord, great and small, and the treasures of
the temple and of the king, and of the princes he carried away to
Babylon.
Back to Top
Texts Researched and Digitally
Processed by
Mrs. R.M., Puerto Rico
Published on May 2015
Format improved in July 2022
© Copyright 2015 - 2022 by The M+G+R Foundation.
All rights reserved. However, you may
freely reproduce and distribute this document as long as: (1)
Appropriate credit is given as to its source; (2) No changes are made
in the text without prior written consent; and (3) No charge is made
for it.
The M+G+R Foundation
Please Note: If the above dated image does not appear
on this document, it means that you are not viewing the original
document from our servers. Should you have reason to doubt the
authenticity of the document, we recommend that you access our server
again and click on the "Refresh" or "Reload" button of your Browser to
view the original document.