Category: 2 Chronicles

Idols Are Destroyed

1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down theAsherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.

2 And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service,boththe priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord.

Reforms Continued

3 Healsoappointedthe king’s portion of his goods for the burnt offerings,namely,for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths and for the new moons and for the fixed festivals, as it is written in the law of the Lord.

4 Also he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the law of the Lord.

5 As soon as the order spread, the sons of Israel provided in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of all.

6 The sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of sacred gifts which were consecrated to the Lordtheir God, and placedthemin heaps.

7 In the third month they began to make the heaps, and finishedthemby the seventh month.

8 When Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lordand His people Israel.

9 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.

10 Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok said to him, “Since the contributions began to be brought into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the Lordhas blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.”

11 Then Hezekiah commandedthemto prepare rooms in the house of the Lord, and they preparedthem.

12 They faithfully brought in the contributions and the tithes and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levitewasthe officer in charge of them and his brother Shimeiwassecond.

13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath and Benaiahwereoverseers under the authority of Conaniah and Shimei his brother by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and Azariahwasthechiefofficer of the house of God.

14 Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the easterngate, wasover the freewill offerings of God, to apportion the contributions for the Lordand the most holy things.

15 Under his authoritywereEden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests, to distribute faithfullytheir portionsto their brothers by divisions, whether great or small,

16 without regard to their genealogical enrollment, to the males from thirty years old and upward—everyone who entered the house of the Lordfor his daily obligations—for their work in their duties according to their divisions;

17 as well as the priests who were enrolled genealogically according to their fathers’ households, and the Levites from twenty years old and upwards, by their dutiesandtheir divisions.

18 The genealogical enrollmentincludedall their little children, their wives, their sons and their daughters, for the whole assembly, for they consecrated themselves faithfully in holiness.

19 Also for the sons of Aaron the priestswho werein the pasture lands of their cities, or in each and every city,there weremen who were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone genealogically enrolled among the Levites.

20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah; and he did whatwasgood, right and true before the Lordhis God.

21 Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.

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Sennacherib Invades Judah

1 After these acts of faithfulness Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and thought to break into them for himself.

2 Now when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem,

3 he decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off thesupply ofwater from the springs whichwereoutside the city, and they helped him.

4 So many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream which flowed through the region, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”

5 And he took courage and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken down and erected towers on it, andbuiltanother outside wall and strengthened the Millointhe city of David, and made weapons and shields in great number.

6 He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the square at the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying,

7 “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him.

8 With him isonlyan arm of flesh, but with us is the Lordour God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Sennacherib Undermines Hezekiah

9 After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem while hewasbesieging Lachish with all his forces with him, against Hezekiah king of Judah and against all Judah whowereat Jerusalem, saying,

10 “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting that you are remaining in Jerusalem under siege?

11 Is not Hezekiah misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, “The Lordour God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”?

12 Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, “You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall burn incense”?

13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of the lands able at all to deliver their land from my hand?

14 Whowas thereamong all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand?

15 Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?’ ”

16 His servants spoke further against the LordGod and against His servant Hezekiah.

17 He also wrote letters to insult the LordGod of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of the lands have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand.”

18 They called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city.

19 They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of men’s hands.

Hezekiah’s Prayer Is Answered

20 But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to heaven.

21 And the Lordsent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own children killed him there with the sword.

22 So the Lordsaved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of allothers,and guided them on every side.

23 And many were bringing gifts to the Lordat Jerusalem and choice presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.

24 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill; and he prayed to the Lord, and the Lordspoke to him and gave him a sign.

25 But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.

26 However, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lorddid not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

27 Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuable articles,

28 storehouses also for the produce of grain, wine and oil, pens for all kinds of cattle and sheepfolds for the flocks.

29 He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great wealth.

30 It was Hezekiah who stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all that he did.

31 Evenin the matter ofthe envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that had happened in the land, God left himalone onlyto test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.

32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his deeds of devotion, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

33 So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper section of the tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.

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Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah in Judah

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

2 He did evil in the sight of the Lordaccording to the abominations of the nations whom the Lorddispossessed before the sons of Israel.

3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he also erected altars for the Baals and madeAsherim, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.

4 He built altars in the house of the Lordof which the Lordhad said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.”

5 For he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

6 He made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Himto anger.

7 Then he put the carved image of the idol which he had made 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 from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;

8 and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them according to all the law, the statutes and the ordinancesgiventhrough Moses.”

9 Thus Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lorddestroyed before the sons of Israel.

Manasseh’s Idolatry Rebuked

10 The Lordspoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.

11 Therefore the Lordbrought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh withhooks, bound him with bronzechainsand took him to Babylon.

12 When he was in distress, he entreated the Lordhis God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.

13 When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LordwasGod.

14 Now after this he built the outer wall of the city of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the Fish Gate; and he encircled the Ophelwith itand made it very high. Then he put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

15 He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lordand in Jerusalem, and he threwthemoutside the city.

16 He set up the altar of the Lordand sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the LordGod of Israel.

17 Nevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high places,althoughonly to the Lordtheir God.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh even his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LordGod of Israel, behold, they are among the records of the kings of Israel.

19 His prayer also andhow Godwas entreated by him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and erected the Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the records of the Hozai.

20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. And Amon his son became king in his place.

Amon Becomes King in Judah

21 Amonwastwenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

22 He did evil in the sight of the Lordas Manasseh his father had done, and Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and he served them.

23 Moreover, he did not humble himself before the Lordas his father Manasseh had done, but Amon multiplied guilt.

24 Finally his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house.

25 But the people of the land killed all the conspirators against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/2CH/33-1524a3315812818a9360db38a3bf665d.mp3?version_id=100—

Josiah Succeeds Amon in Judah

1 Josiahwaseight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

2 He did right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

3 For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images.

4 They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars that were high above them he chopped down; also the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images he broke in pieces and ground to powder and scatterediton the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

5 Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and purged Judah and Jerusalem.

6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ruins,

7 he also tore down the altars and beat the Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah an official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lordhis God.

9 They came to Hilkiah the high priest and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the doorkeepers, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

10 Then they gaveitinto the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord, and the workmen who were working in the house of the Lordused it to restore and repair the house.

11 They in turn gaveitto the carpenters and to the builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin.

12 The men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to supervise: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments.

13 They werealso over the burden bearers, and supervised all the workmen from job to job; andsomeof the Leviteswerescribes and officials and gatekeepers.

Hilkiah Discovers Lost Book of the Law

14 When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lordgivenby Moses.

15 Hilkiah responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

16 Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and reported further word to the king, saying, “Everything that was entrusted to your servants they are doing.

17 They have also emptied out the money which was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hands of the supervisors and the workmen.”

18 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.

20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,

21 “Go, inquire of the Lordfor me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lordwhich is poured out on us because our fathers have not observed the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Huldah, the Prophetess, Speaks

22 So Hilkiah andthosewhom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this.

23 She said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me,

24 thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants,evenall the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah.

25 Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place and it shall not be quenched.” ’

26 But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus you will say to him, ‘Thus says the LordGod of Israelregardingthe words which you have heard,

27 “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, andbecauseyou humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord.

28 “Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.” ’ ” And they brought back word to the king.

29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

30 The king went up to the house of the Lordand all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

Josiah’s Good Reign

31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lordto walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book.

32 Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to standwith him.So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

33 Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the Lordtheir God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the LordGod of their fathers.

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The Passover Observed Again

1 Then Josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lordin Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passoveranimalson the fourteenthdayof the first month.

2 He set the priests in their offices and encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord.

3 He also said to the Levites who taught all Israelandwho were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it will be a burden onyourshoulders no longer. Now serve the Lordyour God and His people Israel.

4 Prepareyourselvesby your fathers’ households in your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and according to the writing of his son Solomon.

5 Moreover, stand in the holy place according to the sections of the fathers’ households of your brethren the lay people, and according to the Levites, by division of a father’s household.

6 Now slaughter the Passoveranimals,sanctify yourselves and prepare for your brethren to do according to the word of the Lordby Moses.”

7 Josiah contributed to the lay people, to all who were present, flocks of lambs and young goats, all for the Passover offerings, numbering 30,000 plus 3,000 bulls; these were from the king’s possessions.

8 His officers also contributed a freewill offering to the people, the priests and the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600from the flocksand 300 bulls.

9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the officers of the Levites, contributed to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000from the flocksand 500 bulls.

10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood at their stations and the Levites by their divisions according to the king’s command.

11 They slaughtered the Passoveranimals,and while the priests sprinkled the bloodreceivedfrom their hand, the Levites skinnedthem.

12 Then they removed the burnt offerings thattheymight give them to the sections of the fathers’ households of the lay people to present to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses.They didthis also with the bulls.

13 So they roasted the Passoveranimalson the fire according to the ordinance, and they boiled the holy things in pots, in kettles, in pans, and carriedthemspeedily to all the lay people.

14 Afterwards they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron,wereoffering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.

15 The singers, the sons of Asaph,werealso at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the gatekeepers at each gate did not have to depart from their service, because the Levites their brethren prepared for them.

16 So all the service of the Lordwas prepared on that day to celebrate the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lordaccording to the command of King Josiah.

17 Thus the sons of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days.

18 There had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

19 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign this Passover was celebrated.

Josiah Dies in Battle

20 After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came up to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him.

21 But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, O King of Judah?I amnotcomingagainst you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry. Stop for your own sake frominterfering withGod who is with me, so that He will not destroy you.”

22 However, Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of Megiddo.

23 The archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.”

24 So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem where he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

25 Then Jeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations.

26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of devotion as written in the law of the Lord,

27 and his acts, first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

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Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, then Jehoiachin Rule

1 Then the people of the land tookJoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem.

2 Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

3 Then the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.

4 The king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Joahaz his brother and brought him to Egypt.

5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the Lordhis God.

6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him and bound him with bronzechainsto take him to Babylon.

7 Nebuchadnezzar also broughtsomeof the articles of the house of the Lordto Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon.

8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son became king in his place.

9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Captivity in Babylon Begun

10 At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the Lord, and he made his kinsman Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

12 He did evil in the sight of the Lordhis God; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the Lord.

13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swearallegianceby God. But he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LordGod of Israel.

14 Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithfulfollowingall the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lordwhich He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sentwordto them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place;

16 but theycontinuallymocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lordarose against His people, until there was no remedy.

17 Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gavethemall into his hand.

18 All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he broughtthemall to Babylon.

19 Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.

20 Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia,

21 to fulfill the word of the Lordby the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

Cyrus Permits Return

22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lordby the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lordstirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and alsoput itin writing, saying,

23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the Lordhis God be with him, and let him go up!’ ”

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