A COMMENTARY

ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS

[THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE KINGDOMS]
BY

Rev. Dr Jeffry David Camm

Contents
DEDICATION: ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
COPYRIGHT: ................................................................................................................................................................. 3
REFERENCE CODES: ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK OF 2 KINGS ........................................................................................................................... 3
TITLE ............................................................................................................................................................................ 3
AUTHOR, SOURCES AND DATE ...................................................................................................................................... 4
THE SITUATION IN THE NATION OF ISRAEL, AT THE TIME OF 2 KINGS .................................................................... 5
CHAPTER ONE: ELIJAH CALLS DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN ~ [TWICE] ............................................................................ 5
CHAPTER TWO: ELIJAH IS TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN BY A WHIRLWIND .......................................................................... 7
CHAPTER THREE: MOAB REBELS AGAINST ISRAEL ...................................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER FOUR: ELISHA DOES MORE MIRACLES ......................................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER FIVE: ELISHA CURES NAAMAN OF HIS LEPROSY ........................................................................................... 17
CHAPTER SIX: ELISHA CAUSES IRON TO SWIM; A GREAT FAMINE IN SAMARIA ........................................................... 20
CHAPTER SEVEN: ELISHA PROPHECIES INCREDIBLE PLENTY IN SAMARIA.................................................................... 23
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE SHUNAMITE’S LAND RESTORED. ............................................................................................... 25
CHAPTER NINE: JEHU ANOINTED KING, & CONSPIRED AGAINST JORAM .................................................................... 28
CHAPTER TEN: JEHU ORDERS AHAB’S SONS TO BE BEHEADED ................................................................................... 32
CHAPTER ELEVEN: ATHALIAH’S MASSACRE, JOASH IS CROWNED KING ...................................................................... 37
CHAPTER TWELVE: THE TEMPLE IS REPAIRED, JOASH KILLED BY SERVANTS ................................................................ 39
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ELISHA DYING, PROPHESIES 3 VICTORIES OVER SYRIA ............................................................... 41
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: JEHOASH SPOILS JERUSALEM, JONAH PROPHESIES .................................................................. 44
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE REIGNS OF ZACHARIAH, MENAHEM & PEKAHIAH .................................................................. 46
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: AHAZ MAKES A NEW ALTAR AND DEFILES THE TEMPLE ................................................................ 50
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: SAMARIA CAPTURED: ISRAEL TAKEN INTO CAPTIVITY ............................................................. 52
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: HEZEKIAH’S GOOD REIGN; SENNACHERIB INVADES. .................................................................. 57
CHAPTER NINETEEN: HEZEKIAH’S PRAYER; PROPHECY AGAINST SENNACHERIB ......................................................... 62
CHAPTER TWENTY: HEZEKIAH’S ILLNESS; ISAIAH PREDICTS THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY .......................................... 65
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THE WICKED REIGNS OF MANASSEH AND AMON ................................................................ 67
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: JOSIAH’S GOOD REIGN: HULDAH’S PROPHECY .................................................................... 70
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: KING JOSIAH DESTROYS THE IDOLATRY IN JUDAH ............................................................ 72
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: JERUSALEM TAKEN CAPTIVE BY NEBUCHADNEZZAR .......................................................... 77
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: JERUSALEM IS BESIEGED AND CAPTURED AGAIN. ................................................................ 79

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DEDICATION:
This commentary is dedicated to the millions of women, who have gone before us, and
who have been prepared to offer up their sons and daughter, back to God Almighty, to
serve and honour Him, and to preach the gospel in many nations, and who have risked,
and in some cases, given up their lives for the gospel.
To my wife, Rani, who has been my soulmate and my encouragement for these last 42
years, as we have travelled and preached in many nations. There have been many good
experiences, (and some not so good ones), but throughout these travelling adventures
for the Lord, He has always been faithful; He is a person we know that we can trust, in
ALL situations ~ in the good, the bad, and the ugly!

COPYRIGHT:
The contents of this book remain the copyright property of the author, Rev. Dr Jeffry
David Camm, and his estate, in succession. Permission is given for the use of parts of
this document for Bible Study Groups, Evangelism, or Private Study. Permission is given
for the whole of this document to be reproduced by Christian organisations for
evangelistic and/or Bible College reference purposes, provided it is not sold for profit.

REFERENCE CODES:
The following codes will be used in this book to identify/highlight specific explanations.

Verse Codes Timeline Description

A After the Millennium
D The Diaspora of the Jews to many nations
F The First Coming (Birth & Life of Jesus Christ)
I Israel
LD Last Days
M Millennium Reign
R Jesus appearing in the clouds to claim His saints, as HIS CHURCH
S Second Coming ~ back to the earth
T Tribulation Period
[P] A promise in God’s Word
[BP] A Broken Promise
[FP] A fulfilled Promise in God’s word
[CP] A Conditional Promise in God’s Word. [IF ... Then ...]
[C] An Express Commandment of God
Footnote code [h]~ Meaning of the Hebrew text
Footnote code [g] ~Meaning of the Greek text
*** Therefore [Conclusion] go back & read what it is “there” “for”.
(Israel) Means the 10 rebellious tribes; not the geographical land.

SUMMARY OF THE BOOK OF 2 KINGSa

This summary of the book of 2 Kings provides a continuation of information about the
title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview,
after chapter 22 of the Book of 1 Kings.

TITLE
1 and 2 Kings (like 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Chronicles), are actually one literary
work, called in Hebrew tradition simply "Kings." The division of this work into two books
was introduced by the translators of the Septuagint (the pre-Christian Greek translation
of the Old Testament), and subsequently followed in the Latin Vulgate (~ 400 A.D.) and
most modern versions.

a
Bible tools.com

3
In 1448, the division into two sections also appeared in a Hebrew manuscript, and was
perpetuated in later printed editions of the Hebrew text.
Both the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate further designated Samuel and Kings in a
way that emphasized the relationship of these two works (Septuagint: First, Second,
Third and Fourth Book of Kingdoms; Latin Vulgate: First, Second, Third and
Fourth Kings).

Together Samuel and Kings, relate the whole history of the monarchy, from its rise
under the ministry of Samuel, to its fall, at the hands of the Babylonians.

The division between 1 and 2 Kings has been made at a somewhat arbitrary and yet
appropriate place, shortly after the deaths of Ahab of the northern kingdom (22:37)
and Jehoshaphat of the southern kingdom (22:50).
Placing the division at this point causes the account of the reign of Ahaziah of Israel to
overlap the end of 1 Kings (22:51-53) and the beginning of 2 Kings (chapter 1). The
same is true of the narration of the ministry of Elijah, which for the most part appears
in 1 Kings (chs. 17 - 19).
However, his final act of judgment and the passing of his cloak to Elisha at the moment
of his ascension to heaven in a whirlwind are contained in 2 Kings 1:1 -- 2:17.

AUTHOR, SOURCES AND DATE

There is little conclusive evidence as to the identity of the author of 1,2 Kings. Although
Jewish tradition credits Jeremiah, few today accept this as likely. Whoever the author
was, it is clear that he was familiar with the book of Deuteronomy -- as were many of
Israel's prophets. It is also clear that he used a variety of sources in compiling his history
of the monarchy. Three such sources are named: "the book of the annals of
Solomon" (11:41), "the book of the annals of the kings of Israel" (14:19), and
"the book of the annals of the kings of Judah" (14:29). It is likely that other written
sources were also employed (such as those mentioned in Chronicles; see below).
Although some scholars have concluded that the three sources specifically cited in 1,2
Kings are to be viewed as official court annals from the royal archives in Jerusalem and
Samaria, this is by no means certain.
It seems at least questionable whether official court annals would have included details
of conspiracies such as those referred to in 16:20; 2Ki. 15:15. It is also questionable
whether official court annals would have been readily accessible for public scrutiny, as
the author clearly implies in his references to them. Such considerations have led some
scholars to conclude that these sources were probably records of the reigns of the kings
of Israel and Judah compiled by the succession of Israel's prophets spanning the
kingdom period.
1,2 Chronicles makes reference to a number of such writings: "the records of Samuel
the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet, and the records of Gad the seer" (1 Ch
29:29), "the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite" and "the visions of Iddo the seer" (2 Ch
9:29), "the records of Shemaiah the prophet" (2 Ch 12:15), "the annals of Jehu son of
Hanani" (2 Ch 20:34), "the annotations on the book of the kings" (2 Ch 24:27), the
"events of Uzziah's reign . . . recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz" (2 Ch 26:22;
see also 2 Ch 32:32) -- and there may have been others. It is most likely, for example,
that for the ministries of Elijah and Elisha the author depended on a prophetic source
(perhaps from the eighth century) that had drawn up an account of those two prophets
in which they were already compared with Moses and Joshua.
Some scholars place the date of composition of 1,2 Kings in the time subsequent to
Jehoiachin's release from prison (562 B.C.; 2 Ki. 25:27-30) and prior to the end of the
Babylonian exile in 538. This position is challenged by others on the basis of statements
in 1,2 Kings that speak of certain things in the preexilic period that are said to have

4
continued in existence "to this day" (see, e.g., 8:8, the poles used to carry the
ark; 9:20-21, conscripted labour; 12:19, Israel in rebellion against the house of
David; 2 Ki 8:22, Edom in rebellion against the kingdom of Judah). From such
statements it is argued that the writer must have been a person living in Judah in the
preexilic period rather than in Babylon in postexilic times.
If this argument is accepted, one must conclude that the original book was composed
about the time of the death of Josiah, and that the material pertaining to the time
subsequent to his reign was added during the exile c. 550. While this "two-edition"
viewpoint is possible, it rests largely on the "to this day" statements.
An alternative is to understand these statements as those of the original source used by
the author rather than statements of the author himself. A comparison of 2 Ch
5:9 with 1 Ki. 8:8 suggests that this is a legitimate conclusion. Chronicles is clearly a
postexilic writing, yet the wording of the statement concerning the poles used to carry
the ark ("they are still there today") is the same in Chronicles as it is in Kings. Probably
the Chronicler was simply quoting his source, namely, 1 Ki. 8:8. There is no reason that
the author of 1,2 Kings could not have done the same thing in quoting from his earlier
sources. This explanation allows for positing a single author living in exile and using the
source materials at his disposal.

THE SITUATION IN THE NATION OF ISRAEL, AT THE TIME OF 2 KINGS

1. 1 Kings 22:51 says, Ahaziah, the son of Ahab began to reign over (Israel) ~
the 10 rebellious tribes, in Samaria, in the 17 th year of Jehoshaphat king of
Judah (Judah & Benjamin), and he reigned for two years over (Israel).
2. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father,
and in the ways of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat,
who made Israel to sin.
3. For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God
of Israel, according to all that his father had done. Needless to say, God shall not
be mocked, and we see that God can get angry, with His chosen people, and even
threaten to destroy them!

CHAPTER ONE: ELIJAH CALLS DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN ~ [TWICE]

1. Then Moab arebelled against Israel, bafter the death of King Ahab.
2. And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in
Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, “Go and
enquire of Baalzebub, the god of cEkron, whether I will recover of this disease?”
3. [C] But the Angel of the LORD, said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up and meet
the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, ‘Is it not because
there is not a God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron?’
4. ***[P] “Now therefore, thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not come down from that
bed, on which you have gone up, but shall surely die’.” And Elijah departed.
After King Ahab’s death, the nation of Moab declared its independence, and refused to
pay any tribute taxes to Israel any longer.
Israel’s new king, Ahaziah had fallen off the upstairs porch of his palace, and was
seriously injured. He sent messengers to the temple of Baalzebub at Ekron, to find out
from the gods whether he would recover.
But an angel of the LORD told Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers and ask
them, ‘Is it true that there is no God in Israel? Is this why you are going to Baalzebub,
the god of Ekron, to ask whether the king will get well? Because king Ahaziah has done
this, the LORD God of Israel says that he will not leave the bed that he is lying on; he
will die’.”

a
2 Samuel 8:2
c
Joshua 15:11
b
3:5

5
 5. And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, “Why are
you now turned back?”
6. *** [P] And they said unto him, “There came a man up to meet us, and said unto
us, ‘Go turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus, says the
LORD; Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that you send to inquire of
Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you shall not come down from that bed
on which you have gone up, but shall surely die’.”
7. And he said unto them, “aWhat manner of man was he which came up to meet
you, and told you these words?”
8. And they answered him, “He was ba hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather
about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah, the Tishbite.”
9. Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty, with his fifty. And he went up to
him: and behold, he sat on the top of a hill. And he spoke unto him, “You cman
of God, the king has said, come down.”
10.[CP] & [FP] And Elijah answered, “[IF] I be a man of God, [THEN] dlet fire come
down from heaven, and consume you and your fifty. And there came down fire
from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.”
11.Again, also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he
answered and said unto him, “O man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down
quickly’.”
12.[CP] & [FP] And Elijah answered, “[IF] I be a man of God, [THEN] elet fire come
down from heaven, and consume you and your fifty. And there came down fire
from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.”
“Because king Ahaziah has done this, the LORD says that he will not leave the bed he is
lying on: he will surely die.” When Elijah pronounced this message from the LORD, they
immediately returned to the king.
“Why have you returned so soon?” he asked them. “A man came up to us,” they said,
“and told us to go back to the king and tell him, ‘The LORD wants to know why you are
asking questions of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron. Is it because there is no God in Israel?
Now, since you have done this, you will not leave the bed that you are lying on: you will
surely die.”
“Who was this fellow?” the king demanded. “What did he look like?” “He was a hairy
man, they replied, “with a wide leather belt.” “It was Elijah, the Prophet!” the king
exclaimed.
Then he sent and army captain with fifty soldiers to arrest him. [Not a good thing to test
man’s authority against God’s authority]. They found Elijah sitting on the top of a hill.
The captain said to him, “O man of God, the king has commanded you to come along
with us.”
But Elijah replied, “[IF] I am a man of God, [THEN] let fire come down from heaven and
destroy you and your fifty men.” Then lightning struck them and killed them all.
Sadly, this king did not learn anything from this encounter. Earthly kings do not
command a Prophet of God to do anything, when his is doing God’s work. He did not
learn anything from what had happened with the previous kings. when there was no rain
and God protected him and provided his food for three years. So, the king sent another
captain with another fifty men to demand, “O man of God, the king says that you must
come down right away.”
But Elijah replied, “[IF] I am a man of God, [THEN] let fire come down from heaven and
destroy you and your fifty men.” And again, the fire came down from God and burned
that all. Sadly, this king does not learn easily, he has already lost 2 captains and 100
men, and he has not thought about his actions.
And he sent again a captain of the third fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up,
and came and ffell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, “O man of

a
[h]~ what was the b
Zechariah 13:4; c
Judges 13:6 f
[h]~ bowed before
manner of the man Matthew 3:4; Mark d
Luke 9:54 him
1:6 e
Job 1:16

6
 God, I pray thee, let my life, and the lives of these fifty thy servants, be
precious in your sight.
“Behold, there came down fire from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the
former fifties with their fifties: therefore, let now my life be precious in your
sight.”
And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, “Go down with him: be not afraid of him.”
And he arose, and went down with him to the king.
*** [P] And he said unto him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Forasmuch as you have sent
messengers to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, is it not because there
is no God in Israel to inquire of His Word? Therefore, you shall not come down
off that bed on which you have gone up, but you shall surely die’.”
The king has just lost one captain and 50 men, yet he still does not question his motives,
nor how he should approach the man of God; so, he sends another captain and another
fifty men, and just like before, they get burned up by fire from heaven.
Still, he has not learnt his lesson, The king still thinks that He can have God bow to His
plans, so he sends a third captain, and a third group of fifty men.
But it appears, that this man knows more about God, and understand a lot better than
the previous two captains how to approach the man of God. He humbly approaches the
man of God, bows to him, and pleads for his life and the lives of the fifty men with him.
The Angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Don’t be afraid, Go with him.” So, Elijah went to
the king to deliver God’s message to the king in person.
[FP] So, he died according to the Word of the LORD, which Elijah had spoken. And
a
Jehoram reigned in his stead, in the second year of bJehoram, the son of
Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, because he had no son.
Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of
The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
So, the king died, according to the Word of the Lord, spoken by Elijah the prophet;
because of his sin, and the fact that he caused the nation of Israel to sin, by worshipping
Baal in Israel.

CHAPTER TWO: ELIJAH IS TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN BY A WHIRLWIND

1. And it came to pass when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven, by a
whirlwind, that Elijah went with cElisha from dGilgal.
2. And Elijah said unto Elisha, “Tarry here, I pray thee, for the LORD has sent me
to eBethel.” And Elisha said unto him, “As the Lord Lives, and as your soul lives,
I will not leave thee.” So, they went down to Bethel.
3. And the fsons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said
unto him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from your
head today?” And he said, “Yes, I know it, hold your peace.”
4. And Elijah said unto Elisha, “Tarry here, for the LORD has sent me to gJericho.”
And he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave thee.”
So, they went on to Jericho.
5. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto
him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from thy head
today?” And he said, “Yes, I know it, hold your peace.”
6. And [for a third time] Elijah said unto him, “Tarry, I pray thee, here, for the
LORD has sent me to Jordan.” And he said “As the LORD lives, and as your soul
lives, I will not leave you.” And they two went on.
7. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood afar hto view afar
off; and they two stood by Jordan.

a
8:16; 2 Chronicles different people with f
1 Samuel 10:10; g
1 Kings 16:34
21:3 the same name. 19:20; 1 Kings h
[h]~ in view of, or,
b
Don’t get confused, c
1 Kings 19:21 20:35; 2 Kings clear against
they are two d
4:38; Joshua 5:9 4:1,38; 5:22; 6:1:
e
Joshua 16:2 9:1

7
 8. And Elijah took ahis mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters,
and bthey were divided hither and thither, so that the two went over on dry
land.
Now the time came for the LORD to take Elijah to heaven ~ by means of a whirlwind!
Elijah said to Elisha, as they left Gilgal, “Stay here, for the LORD has told me to go to
Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “I swear to God that I will not leave you.”
So, they continued on their journey to Bethel. There the young prophets from the Bethel
Seminary; (back then, they had a school for prophetsc, and by the same Holy Spirit they
discerned what was happening), and they came out to meet them and asked Elisha, “Did
you know that the LORD is going to take Elijah away from you today?” “Quiet!” Elisha
snapped. “Of course, I know it.”
Then Elijah said to Elisha (a second time), “Please stay here at Bethel, for the LORD has
sent me to Jericho.” But Elisha again replied. “I swear to God that I won’t leave you.”
So, they went on together to Jericho. Then the Students at the Jericho Seminary (a
second school of Prophets) came to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the LORD
is going to take away your master today?”
“Will you please be quiet?” he commanded. “Of course, I know it!”
Then the third time, Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me
to the Jordan River.” And Elisha replied the third time as before. “I swear to God that I
will not leave you.”
So, they went on together and stood beside the Jordan River, as fifty of the young
prophets watched from a distance. [Sadly, back then, even as it is today, we have two
different types of believers. We have “spectators”, who know what is going on, but do
nothing, and “active participators”, who know what IS GOING ON, AND ARE ACTIVELY
INVOLVED IN SEEING IT COME TO PASS!]
Then Elijah folded his cloak, and struck the water with it: and a miracle happened; the
water divided; just like happened with Moses at the Red Sea, and like what happened
with Joshua, when the tribes of Israel crossed over the river Jordan, to enter into the
Promised Land; and the two of them walked across the river on dry land!
Three times Elijah asked Elisha to remain behind, and three times he refused, hence
three miracles!
And it came to pass, when they had gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I
shall do for thee, before I am taken away from thee.” And Elisha replied, “I
pray thee, let da double portion of thy spirit be upon me.”
[CP] And he said, “eYou have asked a hard thing: nevertheless, [IF] you see me, when
I am taken from you, [THEN] it will be so unto thee, BUT [IF] not, [THEN] it
shall not be so.”
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, behold there appeared fa chariot
of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up
by a whirlwind into heaven.
When asked by Elijah what he wanted, he replied; “Please grant me a double portion of
your prophetic power.”
Elijah replied, “You have asked a hard thing, but [IF] you see me when I am taken from
you. [THEN] you will receive your request; but [IF] not, [THEN] you will not.”
And as they were walking along, talking to each other, suddenly a chariot of fire, drawn
by horses of fire, appeared and drove between them, separating them, and Elijah was
carried by the chariot into heaven.
Sadly, here was a missed opportunity for 50 students, from the school of prophets. They
knew that Elijah was to be taken up into heaven that day, but they did not venture
across the river Jordan to receive a blessing from the LORD.

a
1 Kings 19:19 om/document/51852 d
Deuteronomy 21:17 f
6:17; Psalm 68:17;
b
Exodus 14:21 9752/CTTNBC-003- e
[h]~ you have done Psalm 104:4
c
Course-Outline- hard in asking
https://www.scribd.c Prophetic-Ministry

8
That is the difference between a “spectator” and a “participator” in God’s activities.
100,000 people can go to a football match, but only the players, and the umpire on the
field, can decide who will win the game.
Christians can go to church all-of their lives, but still be rejected by Jesus, because they
never really “participated” in a living, walking, talking, relationship with him.
And Elisha saw it and cried out; “aMy father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the
horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own
clothes and rent them in two pieces.
He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by
the bbank of the Jordan;
And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters and said,
“Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And when he had smitten the waters, they
parted hither and thither; and Elisha went over.
And when the sons of the prophets, which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said,
“The Spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and
bowed themselves to the ground before him.
Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, The Chariot of Israel and the
charioteers!”
As they disappeared from sight, he tore his robe. Then he picked up Elijah’s cloak and
returned to the bank of the Jordan River, and stuck the water with it.
“Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” he cried out. And the water parted and he went
across on dry ground.
When the young prophets from the school of prophets in Jericho saw what had
happened, they exclaimed, “The Spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha.” And they went to
meety him and greeted him respectfully.
And they said unto him, “Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty cstrong men;
let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure dthe Spirit
of the LORD has taken him up, and cast him upon esome mountain, or into
some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.”
*** And when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said. “Send.” They sent
therefore fifty men; and they searched for three days and found him not.
It is clear from this conversation, between the young prophets and Elisha, that they
could not comprehend, that the LORD would take Elijah to heaven, just like He had done
with Enoch previously.
And when they came to him again, (for he tarried at Jericho), he said unto them, “Did
I not say unto to ~ go not?”
Elisha chided them when they came back after searching for Elijah for 3 days, “Didn’t I
tell you not to go searching for him? I already knew that you would not find him, because
the LORD God of Israel has taken him to Heaven.”
And the men of the city said unto Elisha, “Behold I pray thee, the situation of this city
is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water in naught, and the ground fbarren.
And he said, “bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein.” And they brought it to him.
And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and gcast in there and said, “Thus
says the LORD, I have healed these waters; that shall not be any more deaths
or barren land.”
So, the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha, which he
spoke.
Now a delegation of city officials from Jericho visited Elisha. “We have a problem,” they
told him. “This city is located in beautiful natural surroundings, as you can see, but the
water is bad, and causes our women to have miscarriages.

a
13:14 d
1 Kings 18:12 f
[h]~ causing to g
Exodus 16:25; John
b
[h]~ lip e
[h]~ one of the miscarry 9:6
c
[h]~ sons of strength mountains

9
“Well,” He said, “Bring me a new bowl filled with salt.” So, they brought it to him. Then
he went out to the city well and threw the salt in and declared, “The LORD has healed
these waters. They shall not longer cause death or miscarriage.”
And as proclaimed by the word of the Lord through Elisha, the waters were healed.
9. And he went up from there unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way there
came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, “Go
up, you bald head; go up, you bald head.”
10. And he turned back, and looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the
LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty-two
children of them.
And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to aSamaria.
From Jericho he continued his journey to Bethel. As he was walking along the road,
some young boys from the city began mocking and making fun of him, because of his
bald head.
Now he could have ignored them, showing patience and mercy, but they needed to be
taught a lesson, (the same lesson that we need to learn today), YOU DO NOT MOCK THE
LORD’S ANOINTED!
He turned around and cursed them, in the name of the LORD: and two female bears
came out of the woods and killed forty-two of them.
Then he continued on his journey to Mount Carmel, and then finally he returned and
settled in Samaria.

CHAPTER THREE: MOAB REBELS AGAINST ISRAEL

11. Now Jehoram, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria, in the
eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
12. And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his
mother: for he put the bimages of Baal, that his father had made.
13. Nevertheless, he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made
Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
Ahab’s son Jehoram began his reign over (Israel), during the 18th year of the reign of
King Jehoshaphat of Judahc. He was a very evil man, but not as wicked as his father &
mother had been, for he tore down the pillar of Baal, that his father had made.
Nevertheless, he still clung to the great sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who had led
the people into sin, by worshipping idols.
14. And Mesha the king of Moab was a dsheep-master, and rendered unto the king of
Israel, one hundred thousand lambs, and one hundred thousand rams, with the
wool.
15. But it came to pass when eAhab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against
the king of Israel.
King Mesha and his people were sheep farmers. They paid Israel a tribute tax of 100,000
lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams, but after Ahab’s death the king of Moab rebelled
against Israel, declaring their independence.
16. And King Jehoram went out of Samaria, at the same time, and numbered all-of
Israel.
17. And he went and sent to King Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah saying, “The king of
Moab has rebelled against me: will you go with me against Moab to battle?” And
he replied, “I will go up, fI am as you are; my people as your people, and my horses
as your horses.”
18. And he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he answered, “The way through the
wilderness of Edom.”

a
3:11 c
Chapter 1, verse 17 king of Judah at this d
Amos 1:1
b
[h]~ statue; 10:26; says that King time; Possibly there e
1:1
Jehoram was the was a co-regency. f
1 Kings 22:4

10
19. So, the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and athe king of Edom: they
fetched a compass of seven-days’ journey: and there was no water for the host,
and for the cattle bthat followed them.
20. And the king of Israel said, “Alas! That the LORD has called these three kings
together, to deliver them into the hands of Moab!” [The King of Israel looked at the
scene from a “worldview”, but Jehoshaphat was looking for a “Godly view”.]
21. But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of
the LORD by him?” And one of king of Israel’s, servants answered and said, “Here
is Elisha, the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.” [When
you need to contact God, He is always waiting to hear from you; the prophet is on
hand.]
22. And Jehoshaphat said, “the Word of the LORD is with him.” So, the king of Israel,
and Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom, went down to him. [all 3 kings, but 2 of
whom did not follow Jehovah!]
23. And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? cGo to the
prophets of your father, and dthe prophets of your mother.” And the king of Israel
said unto him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver
them into the hand of Moab.”
24. And Elisha said, “eAs the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it
not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look
toward you, nor see you.
25. “But now bring me fa minstrel.” And it came to pass that when he played, gthe hand
of the LORD came upon him. [That is why it is so important to have “anointed
worshippers” playing in the worship teams, because it brings the presence of the
LORD into the congregation, for the spiritual gifts to operate.]
26. And he said, “Thus says the LORD, “Make this valley full of ditches.
27. “For thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain: yet
this valley shall be filled with water, that you may drink, you and your cattle, and
your beasts.
28. “And this is but ha light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites
into your hand.
29. “And you shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every
good tree, and stop all wells of water, and imar every good piece of land with
stones.”
30. And it came to pass in the morning, when jthe meat offering was offered, that
behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with
water.
So, King Jehoram mustered the Israeli army and sent this message to King Jehoshaphat
of Judah. [At this time both kings were reigning their separate kingdoms.]
“The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you help me fight him?” Jehoshaphat
replied, “Of course I will! My people, and my horses, are yours to command. What are
your battle plans?” Jehoram replied, “We will attack from the wilderness of Edom.”
So, their two armies, now also joined by troops from Edom, moved along a roundabout
route, through the wilderness of Edom for 7 days.; but there was not water for their
men, or their pack animals.
“Oh, what shall we do?” the king of Israel cried out. “The Lord has brought us here to
let the king of Moab defeat us.”
[Now King Jehoshaphat could have said, “You picked the route, without checking if there
was any water for us to drink. If we are defeated, it is all your fault!] That would be the
worldly view ~ LOOKING AT THE CIRCUMSTANCES!]
But, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the LORD with us?
If so, we can find out what to do!” [Notice he did not ask, “if there was a Prophet of
a
1 Kings 22:47 e
1 Kings 17:1 g
1 Kings 18:46; i
[h]~ grieve; see
b
[h]~ at their feet f
1 Samuel 10:5,6 Ezekiel 1:3; 3:14,22; verse 25
c
Ezekiel 14:3 9:1; 17:1; 40:1 j
Exodus 29:39,40; 1
d
1 Kings 18:19 h
20:10: 1 Kings 16:31 Kings 19:29,36

11
Judah with us”, but “is there a prophet with US!” Faith is the things hoped for ~ the
things unseen!]
“Elisha is here,” one of the officers of the king of Israel’s replied. “He was Elijah’s
assistant.” He added.
“Fine.” Jehoshaphat said, “He’s just the man we want, (Because the word of the LORD
is with him.)” So, the kings of Israel, Judah and Edom went to consult with Elisha. [Now
remember 2 of these kings, do not follow Jehovah, but follow after Baal.]
“I want no part of you,” snarled Elisha at king Jehoram, the king of Israel. “Go to the
false prophets of your father and mother!”
But King Jehoram replied, “No! For it is the LORD who has called us here to be destroyed
by the king of Moab!”
“I swear by the LORD God that I would not bother with you, except for the presence of
King Jehoshaphat of Judah, who respects and follows God’s laws and statutes. Now,
bring my someone to play the lute.” said Elisha. And as the lute was being played, the
message of the LORD came to Elisha, the prophet.
“The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Fill this dry valley with trenches, that can hold the water
that he will send. You won’t see wind or rain, but this valley will be filled with water, and
you will have plenty for yourselves, and for your animals! But this is only the beginning,
for the LORD will make you victorious over the army of MOAB. You will conquer the best
of their cities; even those that are fortified; and ruin all-of the good land with stones’.”
And just as the LORD had promised, about the time when the morning sacrifice was
offered ~ “LOOK! Water! It was flowing (out of the wilderness), from the direction of
Edom, and very soon there was water everywhere!”
31. And when all-of the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against
them, they agathered together all that were able to bput on armour, and upward,
and stood in the border.
32. And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the
Moabites saw the water on the other side, as red as blood:
33. *** And they said, “This is blood: The kings are surely slain, and they have smitten
one another: now therefore Moab to the spoil. [They looked and they saw what
they thought was blood, so they decided to come over to the Israelite camp to
collect the spoils, not anticipating a war.]
34. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the
Moabites, so that they fled before them; but cthey went forward smiting the
Moabites, even in their country.
35. And they beat down the cities, and don every good piece of land they cast every
man his stones, and filled it: and they stopped all-of the wells of water, and felled
all-of the good trees: eonly in fKirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit
the slingers went about it and smote it.
Meanwhile, when the Moabites heard about the three armies marching against them,
they mobilised every man that could fight, both old and young, and stationed themselves
along their frontier border.
But early next morning the sun looked red, as it shone across the water! “Blood!” they
exclaimed. “The three armies have attacked and killed each other! Let us go over and
collect the loot!”
But when they arrived at the Israeli camp, the army rushed out and began killing them:
and the army of Moab fled! Then the army of Israel moved forward into the land of Moab,
destroying everything as they went. They destroyed the cities, they threw stones on
every good piece of land, stopped up the wells, and felled the fruit trees; finally, only
Fort Kirharaseth was left, but finally that fell to them also.

a
[h]~ were cried c
[h]~ they smote in it e
[h]~ until he left the
together even smiting stones of Kirharaseth
b
[h]~ gird himself d
see verse 19 f
Isaiah 15:1; 16:7;
with a girdle Jeremiah 48:32, 36

12
36. And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with
him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of
Edom: but they could not.
37. Then he took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him
for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel:
and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
When the king of Moab saw that the battle had been lost, he took 700 of his swordsmen,
in a last desperate attempt to break through to the king of Edom; but he failed. Then
he took his oldest son, who was to have been the next king, and to the horror of the
Israeli Army, killed him and sacrifice him as a burnt offering upon the wall. So. the army
turned back in disgust to their own land.

CHAPTER FOUR: ELISHA DOES MORE MIRACLES

1. Now, there cried a certain woman, of the wives of athe sons of the prophets,
unto Elisha, saying, “Thy servant, my husband is dead; and you know that
your servant did fear the LORD: and bthe creditor is come to take my two
sons to be bondmen.
2. And Elisha said unto her, “What shall I do for thee? Tell me what you have
in your house?” And she said, “Your handmaid has not anything in the
house, save a pot of oil.”
3. [C] Then he said, “Go borrow thee vessels abroad all-of thy neighbours,
even empty vessels; cborrow not a few.
4. [C] “And when you have come in, you shall shut the door upon your sons
and upon yourself, and you shall pour out into all-of those vessels, and you
shall set aside those that are full.”
5. So, she went from him, and shut the door upon her and her sons, who
brought the vessels to her: and she poured out.
6. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son,
“Bring my yet a vessel.” And he said unto her, “There is not a vessel more.”
And the oil stayed.
7. Then she came and told dthe Man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil, and
pay your debt, and live you and your children off the rest.”
One day, the wife of one of the seminary students came to tell Elisha of her husband’s
death. He was a man who had love God, she said. But he had owed some money when
he had died, and now the creditors were demanding it back. If she was unable to pay,
the creditor would take her two sons as his slaves. [This still happens in Pakistan today.
People borrow money and cannot repay it, so they take the children as slaves, to work
in the brick kilns, and the Government and the Human Rights Organizations sit idly by
doing nothing, to stamp it out.]
“What shall I do?” Elisha asks. “How much food do you have in your house?” “Nothing
at all, except a jar of olive oil, she replied. [In the New Testament Jesus took the 5 small
loaves and the two fish to feed 5,000. Here, Elisha is going to use that same miracle of
multiplication, to help this woman pay off her debts, some 800 years before Christ came
to the earth.]
Elisha told her to go to all-of her neighbours, and borrow many empty vessels and she
can, and then go into her house with her sons & shut the door and start pouring out the
olive oil, and not to stop pouring until all-of the vessels were full. When the last vessel
was full, the oil stopped flowing.
When she told the prophet, what had happened, he said to her, “Go and sell the oil and
pay off your debts, and there will be enough money left over for you and your sons to
live on.”

a
2:3 b
Leviticus 35:39-41; c
[h]~ scant not d
Judges 13:6;
Nehemiah 5:5; Compare with 1
Matthew 18:25 Kings 17:16

13
 8. And ait fell on a day that Elisha passed to bShunem, where was ca great woman;
and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as often as he passed
by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
9. And she said unto her husband, “Behold, now I perceive that this is a holy man of
God, which passes by us continually.
10. “Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there
a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick; and it shall be, as he comes to
us, that he shall turn in hither.”
11. And it fell on the day, that he came hither, and he turned into the chamber and lay
there.
12. And he said unto Gehazi his servant, “Call the Shunamite.” And when he had called
her, she stood before him.
13. And he said unto him, “Say now unto her, ‘Behold, you have been careful for us
with all-of this care; what is to be done for thee? Would thou be spoken for to the
king, or to the captain of the host’?” And she answered, “I dwell among my own
people,”
14. And Elisha said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi replied, “Verily, she
has no child, and her husband is old.”
15. And Elisha said, “Call her.” And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway.
16. [P] And Elisha said, “dAbout this eseason, according to the time of life, you shall
embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, you man of God, fdo not lie unto thy
handmaid.”
17. [FP] And the woman conceived and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said
unto her, according to the time of life.
One day Elisha went to Shunem. A prominent woman of the city invited him in to eat,
and afterwards, whenever he passed that way, he stopped by for dinner.
She said to her husband, “I’m sure that this man who stops in from time to time, is a
holy prophet. Let’s make a little room for him on the roof; we can put in a bed, a table
a chair, and a lamp, and he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by.”
Once when Elisha was resting in this room, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Tell this
woman that I want to speak with her.” When she came, he said to Gehazi; “tell her that
we appreciate her kindness to us. Now ask her what we can do for her? Does she want
me to put in a good word for her to the king, or to the general of the army?”
“No,” she replied, “I am perfectly content.” [Notice in this conversation, Elisha is not
speaking to the woman directly, but Gehazi his servant, is relaying his message to her.]
Afterwards, he asked Gehazi, “What can we do for her?” Gehazi suggested. “She does
not have a son, and her husband is an old man.” [Who is going to care for her when she
is a widow?]
“Call her back again.” Elisha told him. This time, when she returns, Elisha talks to her
directly, with a message from the LORD. “Next year, at about this time, you shall have
a son!” “O man of God, she exclaimed, “don’t lie to me like that!”
But it was true; the woman soon conceived and had a baby boy the following year, just
as Elisha had predicted.
18. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to
the reapers.
19. And he said to his father, “gMy head, my head.” And he said to a lad, “Carry him
to his mother.”
20. And when he Had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees
till noon, and then he died.
21. And she went up, and laid him on hthe bed of the man of God, and shut the door
upon him and went out.

a
[h]~ there was a day c
1 Samuel 25:2; 2 e
[h]~ set time; see f
See verse 28
b
Joshua 18:19 Samuel 19:32 verse 17; Genesis g
Psalm 121:6
d
Genesis 18:14 17:21 h
See verses 10, 32

14
22. And she called unto her husband, and said, “Send me, I pray thee, one of the young
men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.”
[She is the great woman in this city, but she still asks her husband for permission
to go to see the man of God, but does not tell him that their son has died.]
23. And he said, “Wherefore will you go to him today? It is neither a new moon, nor
the Sabbath?” And she said, “It shall be well.” [This woman was putting her faith
into action!]
24. Then she saddled and ass, and said to her servant, “Drive and go forward; aslack
not thy riding for me, except I bed thee.”
25. So, she went and came unto the man of God, to bMount Carmel. And it came to
pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi, “Behold, yonder
is that Shunamite:
26. “Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, “Is it well with thee? Is it
well with thy husband? Is it well with the child?” And she answered, “It is well.”
[Even though her son has just died, her faith in God allows her to say, “it is well”.]
27. And when she came to the man of God cto the hill, she caught him by the feet: but
Gehazi came to thrust her away. And the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her
soul is vexed within her: and the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told
me.”
28. Then she said, “Did I desire a son of my lord? Did I not say, ‘do not deceive me’?”
29. Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go
thy way: if you meet any man, dsalute him not, and if any man salutes thee, answer
him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.”
30. And the mother of the child said, “eAs the LORD lives, and as thy soul lives, I will
not leave thee.” And he arose, and followed her.
31. And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child (as
commanded by Elisha); but there was neither voice nor hearing. Wherefore he
went again to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child is not fawakened.”
32. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold the child was dead, and laid
upon his bed.
33. *** He went in therefore, and gshut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto
the LORD.
34. And he went up and lay upon the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his
eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he hstretched himself upon
the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
35. Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched
himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes.
36. And he called Gehazi, and said, “Call this Shunamite.” So, he called her. And when
she came into him, he said, “Take up thy son.”
37. Then she went in and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and itook
up her son and went out.
One day, when the child was older, he went out to visit his father, who was working with
the reapers. He complained about a headache and was soon moaning in pain. His father
said to one of the servants, “Carry him home to his mother.”
So, he took him home, and his mother cradled him on her lap; but around midday, he
died. She carried him up to the bed of the prophet and shut the door; then she sent a
message to her husband: “Send one of the servants and a donkey, so that I might hurry
to the Prophet and come right back.” “Why today?” he asked, “This isn’t a religious
holiday.” But she replied, “It is important, I must go!”
So, she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, “Hurry! Don’t slow down for my
comfort, unless I tell you to.”

a
[h]~ restrain not e
2:2 5:37,40; Luke i
1 Kings 17:23; 2
from me to ride f
John 11:11 8:51,54 Kings 8:1,5:
b
2:25 g
See verse 4; Matthew h
1 Kings 17:21; Acts Hebrews 11:35
c
See verse 25 6:6; 9:25; Mark 20:10
d
Luke 10:4

15
As she approached Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance, and said to Gehazi,
“Look, that woman from Shunem is coming. Run to meet her and ask her what the
trouble is. See if her husband is alright and if her child is well.” “Yes,” she replied,
“Everything is fine.”
But when she came to Elisha at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him, and
caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push away, but the prophet said, “Let her alone,
something is deeply troubling her, and the LORD hasn’t told me what it is.” [Even though
he is the “ANOINTED PROPHET OF GOD” for that generation, He does not know all-of
the plans of the LORD; only those plans that the LORD reveals to Him, for that time or
season.]
Then she said, “It was you who said that I would have a son. And I begged you not to
lie to me.”
Then he said to Gehazi, “Quick, take my staff! Don’t talk to anyone on the way! Hurry!
Lay the staff upon the child’s face.”
Gehazi went on ahead, and laid the staff on the child’s face, but nothing happened; there
was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The child is still dead.”
When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, and had been for several hours. Elisha
went in and shut the door behind him and prayed to the LORD. [When you are about
the LORD’s business, there are to be no distractions ~ or interruptions, the focus must
be 100% upon the LORD.] Then, he laid upon the child’s body, placing his mouth upon
the child’s mouth, his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his hands upon the child’s hands.
And the body began to grow warm again.
Then the prophet went downstairs into the house and walked about, praying as an
intercessor for the child’s life, as he went about, before returning upstairs once again.
There he stretched forth his body again over the child as before. This time the child
sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes. Then the prophet summoned Gehazi.
“Call her!” he said. And when she came in, he said to her, “Here’s your son! Alive and
well!” She fell to the floor at his feet, and then picked up her son and went out.
38. And Elisha returned again to aGilgal; and there was a bdearth in the land; and the
sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, “Set on
the great pot, and see the pottage for the sons of the prophets.”
39. And one went out into the fields to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and thereof
gathered wild gourds his lap full, and came and shredded them into the pot of
pottage: for they knew them not.
40. So, they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating
of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, “O thou man of God, there is death in
the pot.” And they could not eat thereof.
41. But he said, “Then bring me some meal.” And he cast it into the pot: and he said,
“Pour out for the people, that they may eat.” And there was no harm in the pot.
Elisha now returned to Gilgal, but there was a famine in the land. One day, as he was
teaching the young prophets, he said to Gehazi, “Make some stew for supper for these
men.”
One of the men went out into the fields to gather vegetables, and came back with some
wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the pot, not knowing that they were
poisonous. But after the men had eaten a bite of two, they cried out, “Oh sir, there is
poison in this stew.”
Elisha said, “Bring me some meal.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Now it is alright!
Go ahead, and eat it!” And then it did not harm them.
42. And there came a man from Baal-Shali-shah, and cbrought the man of God bread
of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and dfull ears of corn, in ethe husk thereof.
And Elisha said, “fgive unto the people, that they may eat.”

a
2:1 d
Leviticus 2:14 e
[h]~ his script, OR, f
Matthew 14:16-21;
b
8:1 his garment. (a cob 15:32-38; Mark 8:4-
c
1 Samuel 9:7 of corn in its husk) 9; John 6:5-13

16
43. And his aservitor said, “What, should I set this before one hundred men?” And he
said again, “Give the people that they may eat: for thus says the LORD, they shall
eat and leave thereof.
44. So, he set it before them, and they did eat it, and left thereof, according to the
Word of the LORD.
One day a man from Baal-Shali-shah brought Elisha a sack of fresh corn cobs, and
twenty individual barley loaves, made from the first grain of his harvest. It was his first-
fruits grain offering. Elisha told Gehazi to use it to feed the young prophets. “What?”
Gehazi exclaimed. “Feed one hundred men with only this?”
But Elisha said, “Go ahead, for the LORD has said that there will be plenty for all, and
there will even be some left over.” And sure enough, there was, just as the LORD had
promised.

CHAPTER FIVE: ELISHA CURES NAAMAN OF HIS LEPROSY

1. Now, Naaman, the captain of the host of the of the king of Syria, was a great
man bwith his master, and honourable because by him the LORD had cgiven
deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in battle, but he was a leper.
[This meant that he could not attend any royal functions, go to a temple of be
in any crowded place.]
2. And the Syrians had gone out by dcompanies, and had brought away captive,
out of the land of Israel, a little maid: and she ewaited on Naaman’s wife.
3. And she said unto her mistress, “Would God my lord was fwith the prophet,
that is in Samaria! For he would grecover of his leprosy.
4. And one went in and told his lord, saying, “Thus and thus said the maid that is
of the land of Israel.”
5. And the king of Syria said, “Go to, go, and I will send a letter to the king of
Israel.” And he departed and he htook iwith him ten talents of silver, and six
thousand pieces of gold, and ten jchanges of raiment.
6. And he bought the letter of kthe King of Israel, saying, “Now when this letter is
come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that
you may recover him of his leprosy.
7. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel read the letter, that lhe rent his clothes,
and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man does send unto me to
recover a man with leprosy? Wherefore mconsider, I pray you, and see how he
seeks a quarrel against me.”
The King of Syria had high admiration for Naaman, the commander-in-chief of his army,
for he had led his troops to many glorious victories. So, he was a great hero, BUT he
was a leper. Bands of Syrians had invaded the land of Israel and among their captives
was a little girl, who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid.
One day the little girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet
in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy.”
Naaman told the king what the little girl had said. “Go and visit the prophet,” the king
told him. “I will send a letter of introduction for you to carry to the king of Israel.”
So Naaman started out, taking gifts of $20,000 in silver, $60,000 in gold, and ten suits
of clothing. The letter to the King of Israel said, “The man bringing this letter is my
servant Naaman; I want you to heal him of his leprosy.” When the King of Israel read
the letter, he tore his clothes, and said, “This man sends me a leper to heal! Am I a God,
that I can kill and give life? He is only trying to get and excuse to invade us again.”
8. And it was so, when Elisha, the man of GOD, had heard that the king of Israel had
rent his clothes, that he sent to the king saying, “Wherefore has thy rent thy

a
6:15 e
[h]~ was before h
1 Samuel 9:7 k
1 Kings 20:7
b
[h]~ before f
[h]~ before i
[h]~ in his hand l
Genesis 44:13
c
[h]~ victory g
[h]~ gather in; See j
Judges 14:12; 2 m
1 Kings 20:7
d
6:23 verses 6,7,11 Kings 5:22,23

17
 clothes? Let him now come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in
Israel.”
[So, like many rich and influential people today, they think that they can buy their
healing with gifts, of money; but that is NOT how God works! Each miracle that is
performed must be performed to bring glory and honour to Jesus, and to His Father in
heaven.]
9. So, Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of
the house of Elisha.
10. [C] And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, “Go and awash in the Jordan
seven times, and thy flesh will come again to thee, and you shall be clean.”
11. But Naaman was angry and went away, and he said, “Behold, bI thought, he will
surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and
c
strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. [Naaman was angry because
he thought Elisha would act just the same way as his idol-worshipper-priests acted.]
12. “Are not Abana and Pharpar rivers of Damascus, better than all-of the water of
Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean?” So, he turned and went away in a
rage.
13. And his servant came near and spoke unto him, and said, “My father, if the prophet
had bid thee do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much rather
then, when he says to thee, “Wash, and be clean’?”
14. [FP] Then he went down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan; according
to the saying of the Man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a
little child, and he was clean.
When Elisha the prophet heard about the King of Israel’s plight, he sent this message to
him: “Why did you rent your clothes? Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and
he will learn that there is a true prophet of God here in Israel.”
So, Naaman arrived with much fanfare, with his horses and chariots, and stood at the
door of Elisha’s house, without humility. Elisha, sent a messenger out to tell him to go
and wash in the Jordan River seven times, and he would be healed of every trace of his
leprosy. But Naaman was angry and walked away.
“Look,” he said, “I thought at least he would have come out and talked to me! I expected
him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and
heal me! Aren’t the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all-of the
rivers of Israel put together? If its rivers I need, I’ll wash at home and get rid of my
leprosy.” So, he went away in a rage.
[Here was a man, the commander-in-chief of the whole Syrian army, who is used to
receiving orders from his King, and giving orders to his commanders, not prepared to
obey a simple order from the Man of God, for his healing. The world-view and the God-
view of things, are definitely NOT the same! “God’s ways are higher than our ways.”]
But his officers tried to reason with him, and said, “If the prophet had told you to do
some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? So, you should certainly obey him when
he simply says to go and wash and be cured!”
So, Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the
prophet had told him to. And his flesh became as healthy as a young child’s and he was
healed!
15. *** And he returned to the man of God, he and all-of his company, and came, and
stood before him: and he said, “Behold, now I know that there is dno God in all-of
the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take ea blessing of thy servant.”
16. But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, fI will receive none.” And
he urged him to take it; but he refused.

a
2:21; John 9:7 c
[h]~ move up and e
Genesis 33:11
b
[h]~ I said with down f
Genesis 14:23
myself, he will surely d
Daniel 2:47; 3:29;
come out 6:26,27

18
17. And Naaman said, “Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two
mules’ burden of earth?a For thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering
nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.
18. “In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goes into the
house of bRimmon to worship there, and che leans on my hand, and I bow myself
in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the
LORD pardon thy servant in these things.”
19. And he said unto him, “Go in peace”. So, he departed from him da little way.
Then he and his entire party went back to find the prophet: they stood humbly before
him, and Naaman said, “I know at last, that there is no God in all-of the world, except
in Israel; now please accept my gifts.”
But Elisha replied, “I swear by Jehovah my God that I will not accept them.” Naaman
urged him to take them, but he absolutely refused. [Naaman still did not get it! God
Almighty is the God of the universe; He does not need our silver and gold, because he
made it! What He wants is our OBEDIENCE! And He said so in Scripture. Obedience is
Better than Sacrifice].
“Well,” Naaman said, “All right, but please give me two mule loads of earth, to take back
with me, for from now on, I will never again offer any burnt offerings, or sacrifices, to
any other God, except the LORD. However, may the LORD pardon me this one thing ~
when my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon, to worship there,
and leans on my arm, may the LORD pardon me when I bow too.”
“All right,” Elisha said. So Naaman and his party started home again.
[But now, Satan, the tempter, enters the plot!]
20. But eGehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Behold, my master has
spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands, that which he brought:
but, fas the LORD lives, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.
21. So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him,
he glighted down from the chariot to meet him.
22. And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, “Behold even now there
be come to me from Mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets:
give them, I pray thee, one talent of silver, and two changes of garments.” [NOW
this is clearly a lie; and there will be punishment, when you lie in the name of the
LORD’s servant!]
23. And Naaman said, “Be content, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound
two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon
two of his servants: and they bare them before him.
24. And when he came to the htower. He took them from their hands, and bestowed
them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.
25. But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, “Where did
you come from, Gehazi?” [And GEHAZI LIED AGAIN!] And he said, “thy servant
went nowhere.”
26. And he said unto him, “went not my heart with you, when the man turned again
from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive
garments, and olive-yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants
and maidservants?
27. *** “The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed
forever. And he went out from his presence, ia leper, as white as snow.
But Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, said to himself, ‘My master should not have let this fellow
get away without taking his gifts. I will chase after him and get something from him.’
(For myself).
So Gehazi ran after him and caught up with him. When Naaman saw him coming, he
jumped down from his chariot, and ran to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked.
a
Naaman asked for worship Jehovah on c
7:2,17 f
Ruth 3:13
the earth so that Israeli soil. d
[h]~ a little piece of g
Genesis 24:64
even in a foreign b
2 Kings 15:18; ground h
[h]~ the sacred place
land he could still Zechariah 12;11 e
4:12 i
15:5; Exodus 4:6

19
“Yes,” he said. “But my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from
the hills of Ephraim have just arrived, and he would like $2,000 of silver, and two suits
to give them.”
“Take $4,000 of silver,” Naaman insisted. He gave him two expensive robes, tied up the
money in two bags, and gave them to two of his own servants to carry them back with
Gehazi.
But when they arrived at the hill where Elisha lived, Gehazi took the bags from the
servants and sent them back. Then he hid the money in his own house.
When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been Gehazi?” “I
have not been anywhere,” he lied.
But Elisha asked him, “Don’t you realise that I was there in thought when Naaman
stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to receive money and
clothing, and olive farms and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and servants?”
Because you have done this, Naaman’s leprosy shall be upon you, and upon your
children, and your children’s children, forever!”
And Gehazi walked from the room a leper, his skin white as snow. This meant he was
never able to enter a synagogue again, for the rest of his life. He was an outcast!

CHAPTER SIX: ELISHA CAUSES IRON TO SWIM; A GREAT FAMINE IN SAMARIA

1. And athe sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, “Behold the place where we
dwell is too strait for us.
2. “Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence everyone a beam, and
let us make us a place there, where we may dwell.” And he answered and said,
“Go ye.”
3. And one said, “Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants.” And he
answered, “I will go.”
4. So, he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down
wood.
5. But as one was felling a beam, the baxe-head fell into the water: And he cried,
and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”
6. And the man of God said, “Where fell it?” And he shewed him the place. And
c
he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither: AND THE IRON DID SWIM.
7. *** “Therefore, said he, “Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand and took
it.
One day, the seminary students came to Elisha and told him, “As you can see, our
dormitory is too small. Tell us, as our president, whether we can do and build a new one
down beside the Jordan River, where there are plenty trees to cut down.
“All right”, he told them, “Go ahead.” “Please sir, come with us,” someone suggested. “I
will,” he said.
When they arrived at the Jordan River, they began cutting down trees, but as one of
them was chopping, his axe-head fell into the river. “Oh sir,” he cried. “It was borrowed.”
“Where did it fall?” the Prophet asked. The youth showed him the place, and Elisha cut
a stick and threw it into the water; and the axe-head rose to the surface and floated!
“Grab it!” Elisha said to him, and he did.
8. Then the king of Syria Warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants,
saying, “In such and such a place shall be my dcamp.
9. And the man of God sent unto the eking of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not
pass such and such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.”
10. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned
him off, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.

a
2:3 c
2:21 e
1 Kings 20:7
b
[h]~ iron d
[h]~ encampment

20
11. *** Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and
he called his servants, and said unto them, “Will you not show me which of us is
for the king of Israel?”
12. And one of the servants said, “aNone my lord, O king; but Elisha that is in Israel,
tells the king of Israel, the words that you speak in your bedchamber.”
Once when the king of Syria was at war with Israel, he said to his officers, “We will
mobilize our forces at … (naming the place).” Immediately, Elisha warned the king of
Israel, “Don’t go near … (naming the same place), for the Syrians are planning to
mobilize their troops there.”
The king sent out a scout to see if Elisha was right, and sure enough, he had saved him
from disaster. This happened several times!
The king of Syria was puzzled. He called together all-of his officers, and demanded,
“Which of you is a traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel about my plans?”
“It is not us, sir,” one of the officers replied. “Elisha the prophet, tells the king of Israel
even the words that you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!”
13. And he said, “Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him” And it was
told him, saying, “Behold, he is in bDothan.”
14. *** Therefore, sent he thither horses and chariots, and a cgreat host: and they
came by night, and encompassed the city about.
15. And when the dservant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold
a host compassed the city both with horses and with chariots. And his servant said
unto him, “Alas, my master! How shall we do?”
16. And Elisha answered, “Fear not: for ethey that be with us, are more than they that
are with them.”
17. And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see.”
And the LORD opened the (spiritual eyes) of the young man; and he saw, and
behold, and the mountain was full of fhorses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
18. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, “Smite
this people I pray thee with gblindness.” And He smite them with blindness,
according to the word of Elisha.
“Go and find out where he is, and we will send troops to seize him,” the king exclaimed.
And the report came back. “Elisha is at Dothan.”
So, one night the King of Syria sent a great army, with many chariots and horses to
surround the city. When the prophet’s servant got up early next morning, and went
outside, there were troops horses and chariots, everywhere.
“Alas, my master, what shall we do now?” He cried out to Elisha. Don’t be afraid!” Elisha
told him. “For our army is bigger than theirs!”
Then Elisha prayed, “LORD, please open his eyes and let him see!” And the LORD opened
the young man’s spiritual eyes, so that he could see the horses of fire, and the chariots
of fire, everywhere upon the mountains. As the Syrian army advanced towards them,
Elisha prayed, “LORD, please make them blind.” And He did!
19. And Elisha went out and said unto them, “This is not the way, neither is this the
city: hfollow me, and I will bring you to the man that you seek.” But he led them
to Samaria.
20. And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD,
open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes,
and they saw; and behold, they were in-the-midst-of Samaria. [This is where the
saying comes from, that the LORD delivered the enemy right into your hands!]
21. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, “iMy father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite
them?”

a
[h]~ No d
[h]~ minister f
2:11; Psalm 34:7; h
[h]~ come you after
b
Genesis 37:17 e
2 Chronicles 32:7; Zechariah 1:8; 6:1-7 me
c
[h]~ heavy Psalm 55:18 g
Genesis 19:11 i
8:9

21
22. And Elisha answered, “You shall not smite them! Would you smite those whom you
have captured with your sword and bow? aSet bread and water before them, that
they may eat and drink, and go back to their master.”
23. And he prepared great provisions for them: and when they had eaten and drank;
he sent them away, and they went to their master. So, the bands of Syrians came
no more into to the land of Israel.
Then Elisha came out and told them, “You have come the wrong way! This isn’t the right
city! Follow me, and I will take you to the man that you are looking for.” And he led them
into the city of Samaria.
And as soon as they arrived, Elisha prayed, “LORD, now open their eyes, and let them
see.” And the LORD did, and they discovered that they were in Samaria, the capital city
of Israel.
When the King of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, “O sir, shall I kill them? Shall I
kill them?”
“Of course not! Elisha told him. “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink
and send them home again.”
So, the king made a great feast for them, and then sent them home to their king. And
after that, the Syrians raiders stayed away from the land of Israel.
24. And it came to pass after this, that bBenhadad, king of Syria, gathered all-of his
host, and went up and besieged Samaria.
Even after suffering a major defeat at the hands of Elisha the prophet, and mercy being
shown to their forces by the King of Samaria, (UNDER Elisha’s instructions) the king
decided to attack Samaria once more. [These kings never seem to learn from their
previous mistakes!] He decides to muster his whole army and besiege Samaria.
25. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until a
donkey’s head was sold for four-square-pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a
cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
26. And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto
him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king.”
27. And he said, “If the LORD does not help thee, whence shall I help thee? Out of the
barn-floor, or out of the winepress?
28. And the king said unto her, “What ails you?” And she answered, “This woman said
unto me, ‘Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son
tomorrow.”
29. So cwe boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the dnext day, ‘Give
thy son that we may eat him: and she had hidden her son’.”
Later on, however, King Benhadad of Syria, mustered his entire army and besieged
Samaria. As a result of this siege, there was a great famine in the city, and after a long
while even a donkey’s head sold for $50 and a pint of dove’s dung, for the cooking fire,
sold for $3.
One day as the King of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called out
to him, “Help me, my lord, the king!”
“If the LORD doesn’t help you, what can I do?” he retorted. “I have neither food nor
wine to give to you. However, what is the matter?”
She replied, “This woman proposed that we eat my son one day, and her son the next.
So, we boiled my son and ate him, but the next day when I said, ‘Kill your son, so that
we can eat him, she had hidden him’.”
30. And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he erent
his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and people looked, and, behold, he
had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
31. Then he said, “God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of
Shaphat shall stand on him this day.”

a
Romans 12:20 c
Deuteronomy 28:53; d
[h]~ other
b
1 Kings 20:2 Ezekiel 5:10 e
1 Kings 21:27

22
32. But Elisha sat in his house, and athe elders sat with him: and the king sent from
before him: but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “See you
how this son of ba murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the
messenger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: cIs not the sound
of his master’s feet behind him?”
33. And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him:
and he said, “Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any
longer?”
When the king heard this, he tore his clothes. (The people watching through the rip in
his outer garment, that he was wearing an inner robe made of sackcloth, next to his
flesh).
“May God kill me, if I don’t execute Elisha this very day” the king vowed. Meanwhile,
Elisha was sitting in his house, at a meeting with the elders of Israel, when the king sent
a messenger to summon him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the
elders, “This murderer has sent a man to kill me. When he arrives, shut the door and
keep him out, for his master will soon follow him.”
While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived, (followed by the king). “The
LORD has caused this mess,” the king stormed. “Why should I expect any help from
him?”

CHAPTER SEVEN: ELISHA PROPHECIES INCREDIBLE PLENTY IN SAMARIA.

In the previous chapter, the king stated: “The LORD has caused this mess, why should
I expect any help from Him?” He did not accept any blame for the problem, even though
it was His sin, that the nation of Israel was being punished for.

1. Then Elisha said, “Hear ye the WORD of the LORD: Thus says the LORD,
tomorrow about this time, shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel,
and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.”
2. Then da lord, on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, and
said, “Behold, eif the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing
be?” And Elisha said, “Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat
thereof.”
Elisha replied to him, “The LORD says that by this time tomorrow, two gallons of fine
flour, or four gallons of barley grain, shall be sold in the markets of Samaria for one
dollar!”
There was not food in Samaria, because of the Syrian army siege, forcing the people to
eat their own children, and no grain in the fields, from a world-view this seemed
impossible.
The officer assisting the king said, “That could not even happen, even if the LORD made
windows in heaven!” But Elisha replied, “You will see it happen with your own eyes, but
you will not be able to buy any of it.” [Be very careful not to dispute the Word of the
Prophet, because if He speaks God’s word, then you are disputing against God, and as
in this case, the punishment is death.]
3. And there were four leprous men fat the entering in of the gate, and they said one
to another, “Why do we sit here until we die?
4. *** [CP] “[IF] we say, we will enter the city, [THEN] the famine is in the city, and
we shall die there; and [IF] we still sit here, [THEN] we will die also. Now therefore
come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: [IF] they save us alive, [THEN]
we shall live, and [IF] they kill us, [THEN] we shall die.”

a
Ezekiel 8:1; 14:1; c
7:17 d
[h]~ a lord belonging e
Malachi 3:10;
20:1 to the king, leaning Genesis 7:11
b
1 Kings 18:4; 21:13 on his hand f
Leviticus 13:46

23
5. And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when
they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there
was no man there.
6. For the LORD had made the host of the Syrians to hear the noise of horses and
chariots, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, “LO, the
king of Israel has hired against us athe kings of the Hittites, and the King of the
Egyptians, to come upon us.”
7. Wherefore, they arose and fled in the twilight, an d left their tents, and their horses,
and their asses, even the whole camp as it was, and fled for their life.
8. And when the lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one
tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold and raiment, and
went and hid it; and came again into another tent and carried thence also, and
went and hid it.
9. *** Then they said one to another, “We do not well; this day is a day of good
tidings, and we hold our peace: If we tarry till the morning light, bsome mischief
shall come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s
household.”
10. So, they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them saying,
“We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold there was no man there, neither
voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.”
11. And he called the porters; and they told it to the king’s house within.
Now there were four lepers sitting outside the city gates; They were outcasts, but God
was about to use them mightily. “Why shall we sit here until we die?” They asked each
other. “We will starve if we sit here, and we will starve if we go back into the city, so we
might as well go out and surrender to the Syrian army. [If] they let us live, [then] so
much the better, but [if] they kill us, [then] we would have died anyway.”
So, that evening they went out to the Syrian camp, but the whole camp was deserted!
(For the LORD had made the whole Syrian army hear the clatter of speeding chariots,
and a loud galloping of horses, and the sound of a great army approaching. “The king
of Israel has hired the Hittites and the Egyptians to attack us,” they cried out. So, they
panicked and fled into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and
everything else.
When the lepers arrived at the edge of the camp, they went int one tent after another,
eating, drinking wine, and carrying out silver, gold, and clothing, and hiding it. Finally,
they said to one another, “This is not right. This is wonderful news, and we are not
sharing it with anyone! Even if we wait until morning some terrible calamity shall
certainly fall upon us; come on, let us go back and tell the people at the palace.”
So, they went back to the city and told the watchmen what had happened ~ they had
gone out the Syrians camp and no-one was there! The horses and donkeys were still
tied up, and the tents were all in order, but there was not a soul around. Then the
watchmen shouted the news to those in the palace.
12. *** And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, “I will now show
you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore,
have they gone out of the camp, to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When
they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.”
13. And one of the servants answered and said, “let some take five of the horses that
remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel
that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites
that are consumed:) and let us send and see.”
14. *** They therefore, took two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of
the Syrians, saying, “Go and see.”

a
1 King 10:29; Judges b
[h]~ we shall find
1:26 punishment

24
15. And they went after then unto the Jordan River: and lo, all the way was full of
garments and vessels, which the Syrians had caste away in their haste. And the
messengers returned, and told the king.
16. And the people went out and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So, a measure of fine
flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, aaccording to
the word of the LORD.
Upon hearing this news, the king got out of bed and told his officers, “I know what has
happened. This is a trick! The Syrians know that we are starving, so they have gone out
of the camp and have hidden in the fields, thinking that we will be lured out of the city.
Then they will attack us and make slaves of us and get into the city.”
One of his officers replied, “we had better send out scouts to see. Let them take five of
the remaining horses ~ if anything happens to the horses it won’t than if they stay here
and die with the rest of us!”
Four chariot horses were found, and the king sent out two charioteers to see when the
Syrians had gone. They followed a trail of garments and equipment all-of the way to the
Jordan River, thrown away by the Syrians in their haste to flee. The scouts returned to
the king and made their report, and the people of Samaria rushed out and plundered
the camp of the Syrians.
So, it was true that two gallons of fine flour and four gallons of barley were sold in the
market for one dollar, just as the LORD had said, through Elisha the Prophet.
17. The king appointed the lord upon whose arm he had leaned, to have the charge of
the gate: and the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of
God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.
18. And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two
measures of barley for a shekel, and one measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall
be about this time at the gate of Samaria:
19. And that lord answered the man of God and said, “Now behold if the LORD should
make windows in heaven might such a thing be?”: and he said, behold, you shall
see it with your eyes, but shall not eat thereof.”
20. And so, it fell out unto him: for the people trod upon him in the gate and he died.
The king appointed is special assistant to control the traffic at the gate, but he was
knocked down, and trampled and killed as the people rushed out. This is what Elisha
had predicted on the previous day, when the king had come to arrest him. And the
prophet had told the king that fine flour and barley would sell for a dollar on the following
day.
The king’s officer had replied, “That couldn’t happen even if the LORD opened the
windows of heaven!” And the prophet had replied, “You will see it happen, but you won’t
be able to buy any of it!”
And he couldn’t because the people trampled him to death at the gate!

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE SHUNAMITE’S LAND RESTORED.

1. Then spoke Elisha unto the woman, bwhose son he had restored to life, saying,
“Arise, and go, you and your household, and sojourn wheresoever you can
sojourn: the LORD chas called a famine; and it shall come upon the land for
seven years.
2. And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God, and she
went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven
years.
3. And it came to pass at the seven year’s end, that the woman returned out of
the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house
and for her land.

a
See verse 1 c
Psalm 105:16;
b
4:35 Haggai 1:11; 1 Kings
17:1; Acts 11:28

25
 4. And the king talked to aGehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “tell me,
I pray thee, all-of the great things that Elisha has done.”
5. And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how Elisha had restored a dead
body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried
out to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O
king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.”
6. And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So, the king appointed unto
her a certain bofficer, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all-of the fruits of
the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.”
God always prepares and protects his people; this is made clear in this passage of
scripture.
Elisha came and told the Shunamite woman, whose son he had brought back to life,
“Take your family and move to some other country, for the LORD has called down a
famine upon Israel, that will last for seven years.” Because she knew that these words
were being spoken by the man of God for her protection, she obeyed.
So, the woman took her family, and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
Elisha the prophet knew that she was returning, so he sent his servant Gehazi to visit
the king. God is preparing for a divine encounter to take place.
After the famine ended, she returned to the land of Israel and went to the king, to see
about getting her house and land back. Just as she came into the king’s presence, the
king was talking to Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, and saying, “Tell me some exciting stories
about what Elisha has done.” And Gehazi was telling the king about the time that Elisha
brought a little boy back to life. God’s timing is always perfect! At that very moment,
the mother of the boy walked in!
“Oh sir!” Gehazi exclaimed. “Here is the woman now, and this is her son; the very one
that Elisha brought back to life!”
“Is this true?” the king asked her? And she told him that it was true. So, the king directed
one of his officials, to see to it that everything that she had owned was restored to her;
plus, the value of the crops that had been harvested during her absence. [God never
expects any person to be worse off, for obeying his word. There is always restoration,
plus and additional blessing; which happened in her case.]
7. And Elisha came to cDamascus; and dBenhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it
was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.”
8. And the king said unto eHazael, “Take fa present in thine hand, and go, meet the
man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, “Shall I recover of this
disease?”
9. So, Hazael went to meet him, and took a present gwith him, of every good thing of
Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, “hThy
son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to thee, saying, ‘Shall I recover of this
disease’?”
10. And Elisha said unto him, “Go, say unto him, ‘thou mayest certainly recover’:
Howbeit, the LORD has shown me that he shall surely die.”
11. And he settled his countenance isteadfastly, juntil he was ashamed: and the man
of God wept.
12. [P] And Hazael said, “Why weep, my lord?” And he answered, “Because I know kthe
evil that you will do unto the children of Israel: their strongholds will you set on
fire, and their young men will you slay with the sword, and lwill dash their children,
and rip up their pregnant women with child.”
13. [P] And Hazael said, “But what, mis thy servant a dog, that he should do this great
thing?” And Elisha answered, “nThe LORD had shown me that you shall be king
over Syria.”

a
4:12 e
1 Kings 19:17 i
[h]~ and set it l
Isaiah 13:16; Hosea
b
Eunuch of the palace f
1 Samuel 9:7 j
2:17 13:6; Nahum 3:10
c
1 Kings 11:24 g
[h]~ in his hand k
10:32; 12:17; m
2 Samuel 3:8
d
1 Kings 20:2 h
5:13 13:3,6,22 n
1 Kings 19:15

26
14. So, he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, “What did
Elisha say to thee?” And he answered, “He told me that ayou should surely recover.”
15. [FP]And it came to pass on the next day, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it
in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his place.
When the king heard the news that Elisha had come, he said to Hazael, “Take a present
to the man of God, and tell him to ask the LORD whether I will get well again.” [Here is
a king, who worships Rimmon, who does not believe in the God of Israel, now asking,
the prophet of the God of Israel for advice! It does seem strange; so there must be a
special purpose in this request, that the king, or the servant does not know about.]
So, Hazael took a present for Elisha, as the king of Syria had instructed, 40 camel-loads
of the best produce of the land.
This was not just one man heading towards the man of God, but a large procession,
accompanied with camel handlers, and possibly a small contingent of troops, to protect
the camel-train.
When he arrived at the place where Elisha was staying, he said to him, “Your son,
Benhadad, the king of Syria, has sent me to ask you, whether he will recover.”
And Elisha replied, “Tell him, ‘Yes.’ But the LORD has shown me that he shall surely die!”
Elisha stared at Hazael, until he became embarrassed, and then Elisha started crying.
“What’s the matter sir?” Hazael asked him. “I know the terrible things that you will do
to the people of Israel: You will burn their forts, kill the young men, dash their babies
against the rocks, and rip open the bellies of the pregnant women.”
“Am I a dog?” Hazael asked him. “I would never do that sort of thing.” But Elisha replied,
“The LORD has shown me that you are going to become king of Syria.”
When Hazael returned, Benhadad, the king of Syria asked him, “What did he tell you?”
And Hazael told him, “He told me that you would recover.”
But the very next day, Hazael took a blanket dipped in water, and held it over the king’s
face, until he smothered to death. And Hazael became king instead.
[Now you know where the Guantanamo Bay, water torture method came from ~ straight
out of scriptures!]
16. In the fifth year of bJoram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being the
king of Judah, cJehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah began to reign.
[Jehoshaphat stepped aside as king, to allow his son Jehoram, to reign in his place.]
17. dThirty-two years old when he began to reign: and he reigned eight years in
Jerusalem.
18. And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for ethe
daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.
19. Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah, for David, His servant’s sake, fas He
promised him, to give him always a glight, and to his children.
King Jehoram, the son of king Jehoshaphat of Judah, began his reign during the 5th year
of the reign of the reign of king Joram of Israel, the son of Ahab.
Jehoram was 32 years old when he began his reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for 8
years. But he was as wicked as Ahab, and the other kings of Israel before him, and he
even married one of Ahab’s daughters. Nevertheless, because God had promised his
servant king David that he would watch over and guide his descendants, he did not
destroy Judah.
20. In his day, Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and hmade a king over
themselves.
21. So, Joram went over to Zair, and all-of the chariots with him: and he rose by night,
and smote the Edomites which compassed about him, and the captains of the
chariots: and the people fled iinto their tents.
22. Yet, Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then jLibnah
revolted at the same time.
a
See verse 10 d
See verse 24; 2 f
2 Samuel 7:12,13; h
1 Kings 22:47; 2
b
1:17 Chronicles 21:5-10 Psalm 132:11 Kings 3:9
c
2 Chronicles 21:1,3,4 e
See verse 26; 9:2 g
[h]~ a candle, Or, i
2 Samuel 18:17
lamp j
Joshua 10:29

27
23. And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the
book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
24. And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with is fathers, in the city of
David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
During Jehoram’s reign, the people from Edom revolted from Judah and appointed their
own king. King Jehoram tried unsuccessfully to crush the rebellion: He crossed the
Jordan River and attacked the city of Zair, but was quickly surrounded by the army of
Edom. Under the cover of night, he broke through their ranks, but his army deserted
him and fled. So, Edom has maintained its independence to this day. Libnah also revelled
at the same time; so, there was war now on two fronts.
The rest of the history of King Joram is written in The Annals of the King of Judah. He
died and was buried in the royal cemetery in the City of David ~ the old section of
Jerusalem.
25. In the atwelfth year of Joram, the son of Ahab king of Israel, did Ahaziah the son
of Jehoram king of Judah begin his reign.
26. bTwenty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign: and he reigned one
year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the cdaughter of Omri,
king of Israel.
27. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the
LORD, as did the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.
Then his son, Ahaziahd became the new king during the 12th year of the reign of King
Joram of Israel, the son of Ahab. Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began to reign, but
he only reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter
of King Omri of Israel.
He was an evil king; just as all-of King Ahab’s descendants were ~ for he was related to
King Ahab by marriage.
28. And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against eHazael king of Syria
in fRamoth-Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.
29. And gking Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds hwhich the Syrians
had given him at iRamah, when he fought against Hazael, King of Syria. jAnd
Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab
in Jezreel, because he was ksick.

CHAPTER NINE: JEHU ANOINTED KING, & CONSPIRED AGAINST JORAM

As we have studied these first 8 chapters of 2 Kings, we have seen that God has
appointed, (or allowed) people to be kings over Judah, Israel, Syria, Edom and Egypt.
The countries have been blessed, or punished, depending upon what their respective
kings did; and when they did evil, whether the people followed after the king, OR,
followed after the commandments and statutes of God.
We have seen that God made sure that there were plenty of people trained in the word
of God, and they even had several Schools of Prophets, where people were taught what
the role, responsibilities, and functions of the OLD Testament prophets were to be.
But fast forward 3,000 years, and we hear pastors say that the 5-fold ministry was only
for the first-generation church”, but when challenged, they cannot guarantee that their
church has reached full maturity in Jesus Christ, and that everyone in “their” church
belongs to the church of Sardis, or the church of Philadelphia, the only two church types,
that Jesus told Apostle John, would be guaranteed places in Heaven, in their present
state, without a major makeover!
Now, 3,000 years after these kings, we (the people) have decided that we wanted to
live in a “DEMOCRACY”, to appoint our own leaders, and to serve under them.

a
9:29
d
Ahaziah is an f
1 Kings 22:3 i
[h]~ called Ramoth-
b alternate form of the g Gilead, see verse 28
2 Chronicles 22:2 9:15
name Jehoshaz j
c
[h]~ grand-daughter, e
h
[h]~ wherewith the 9:16
See verse 15 k
see verse 18 Syrians had wounded [h]~ wounded.

28
We have all rebelled against God, thinking that we know better than God, ignoring the
fact that God’s plans are perfect, and his timing is also perfect.
We have stood in the place of God, by taking upon ourselves, the responsibility to choose
our own leaders, not allowing God to choose them for us.
We only have to look at the political chaos in Israel right now, where several people are
fighting each other, to become “king of Israel”.
Can God bless us, as He really wants to, if we continue to turn away from Him like this?
God cannot go against his word, so the answer has to be, NO!

1. [C] And Elisha the prophet called one of athe children of the prophets, and said
unto him, “Gird up your loins, and take this bbox of oil in thine hand and go to
c
Ramoth-Gilead:
2. [C] And when you come there, look out there dJehu, the son of Jehoshaphat,
the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among ehis brethren,
and carry him to an finner chamber:
3. [C] Then, take the box of oil, and pour it over his head and say, “Thus says the
LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then, open the door and flee, and
tarry not.
Meanwhile, Elisha had summoned one of the young prophets. “Get ready to go to
Ramoth-Gilead,” he told him. “Take this vial of oil with you, and find Jehu, the son of
Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Call him into a private room away from his friends, and
pour the oil over his head. Tell him that the LORD has anointed him to be king over
Israel; then run for your life.”
4. So, the young man, even the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth-Gilead, (as
instructed by Elisha).
5. And when He came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, “I
have an errand to thee, O captain,” And Jehu said, “Unto to which of all us?” And
he said, “Unto the thee, O captain.”
6. [FP] And he arose, and went into the house; and poured the oil on his head, and
said unto him, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed you to be king
over all-of the people of the LORD, even over Israel.
7. [C] “And you shall smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the
blood of my servants of the LORD, gat the hand of Jezebel.
8. [C] “For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and hI will cut off from Ahab him
that pisses against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:
9. [C] “And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, the son of
Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah.
10. [C] And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none
to bury her,” and he opened the door and fled.
So, the young prophet did as he was instructed by Elisha. When he arrived in Ramoth-
Gilead, he found Jehu sitting around with the other army officers. “I have a message for
you sir,” he said. “For which one of us?” Jehu asked. “For you, sir,” he replied.
So, Jehu left the others and went inside the house, and the young man poured the oil
over his head, and said: “The LORD God of Israel says, ‘I anoint you king of the LORD’s
people, Israel. You are to destroy the family of Ahab: you will avenge the murder of my
prophets and of all my other people, who were killed by Jezebel. The entire family of
Ahab must be wiped out; Every male, no matter who. I will destroy the family of Ahab,
just as I destroyed the families of Jeroboam (son of Nebat) and of Baasha (son of
Ahijah). Dogs shall eat Ahab’s wife Jezebel, at Jezreel, and no-one will bury her.” Then
he opened the door and ran for his life.

a d f h
2:3 1 Kings 21:29 [h]~ a chamber in a 1 Kings 14:10; 21:21
b
1 Samuel 10:1 e
See verses 5 & 11 chamber
g
c
8:28,29 1 Kings 18:4; 21:15

29
11. Then Jehu came forth to the servants of His lord: and one of them said unto him,
“aIs all well? Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, “You
know the man and his communication.”
12. And they said, “It is false; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he spoke unto
me, saying, “Thus says the LORD, I have anointed you king over Israel.”
13. Then they hastened, and btook every man his garment, and put it under him, at
the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!”
14. So, Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. c(Now
Joram had kept Ramoth-Gilead, he and all-of Israel, because of dHazael king of
Syria.
15. But eking fJoram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the
Syrians ghad given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said,
“If it be your minds, then hlet none go forth, nor escape out of the city to go and
tell it in Jezreel.
16. So, Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel: for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah
king of Judah was come down to see Joram.
17. And there stood a watchman on the tower of Jezreel, and he spied the company of
Jehu, as he came, and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman,
and send to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace’?”
18. So, there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, “Thus says the king, Is it
peace?” And Jehu said, “what have you to do with peace? Turn thee behind me.”
And the watchman told, saying, “The messenger came to him, but he comes not
again.”
19. Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them and said, “Thus says
the king, ‘Is it peace’?” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn
thee behind me.”
20. And the watchman told, saying, “He came even unto them, and comes not again:
and the idriving is jlike the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi; for he drives kfuriously.”
21. And Joram said, “Make ready.” And his chariot was made ready. And lJoram king
of Israel, and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his own chariot, and they
went out against Jehu, and mmet him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.
22. And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, “Is it peace Jehu?” And he answered,
“What peace, so long as the nwhoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts
are so many?”
23. And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, “There is treachery, O
Ahaziah.”
24. And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Joram between the arms,
and the arrow went out of his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.
25. Then said Jehu to Bidkar his ocaptain, “Take up, and cast him the portion of the
field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and you rode
together after Ahab his father,p the LORD laid this burden upon him:
26. *** “Surely, I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons,
says the LORD; and I will require thee in this plat, says the LORD. Now therefore
take and cast him into this plat of ground, according to the word of the LORD.”
Upon hearing the word of the Lord, spoken by the young prophet, after being anointed
as the king of Israel, Jehu went back to his friends. And one of them asked him, “What
did that crazy fellow want? Is everything all right?” “You know very well who he was and
what he wanted,” Jehu replied.

a e i m
5:21 8:29 [h]~ driving, OR, [h]~ found
b
Matthew 21:8; Mark f
[h]~ Jehoram (NOT marching n
2 Chronicles 21:13
j
11:8 verse 18) 2 Samuel 18:27 o
7:2
c g k
8:28 [h]~ smote [h]~ in madness p
1 Kings 21:20
d h l
1 Kings 19:17 [h]~ let no escaper 2 Chronicles 22:7
go

30
“No, we don’t” they said. “Tell us.” So, he told them what the man had said, and that he
had been anointed king of Israel. They quickly carpeted the bare steps with their coats
and blew a trumpet, shouting, “Jehu is king!”
That is how Jehu (son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi), rebelled against king Joram. (King
Joram had been with the army at Ramoth-Gilead, defending Israel against the forces of
king Hazael of Syria; but he had returned to Jezreel to recover from his wounds.)
“Since you want me to be king,” Jehu told the men who were with him, don’t let anyone
escape to Jezreel to report what we have done.”
Then Jehu jumped into a chariot and rode to Jezreel himself to find king Joram, who was
lying there wounded. (King Ahaziah of Judah was there also, for he had gone there to
visit him.) The watchman on the tower of Jezreel, saw Jehu and his company
approaching, and shouted, “Someone is coming!”
“Send out a rider to see if he is friend or foe,” King Joram shouted back. So, a soldier
rode out to meet Jehu. “The king wants to know whether you are friend or foe,” he
demanded. “Do you come in peace?”
Jehu replied, “What do you know about peace? Get behind me!” The watchman called
out to the king that the messenger had met them but was not returning. So, the king
sent out a second rider. He rode up to them and demanded in the name of the king, to
know whether their intentions were friendly or not. Jehu answered him, “What do you
know about friendliness? Get behind me?”
“He isn’t returning either!” the watchman exclaimed. “It must be Jehu, for he is riding
so furiously.” “Quick! Get my chariot ready!” King Joram commanded. Then he and King
Ahaziah of Judah rode out to me Jehu. They met at the field of Naboth. And King Joram
demanded, “Do you come as a friend, Jehu?”
Jehu replied, “How can there be friendship as long as the evils of your mother Jezebel
are still all around us?” Then King Joram reigned the chariot horses around and fled,
shouting to King Ahaziah, “There is treachery, Ahaziah! Treason!”
The Jehu drew his bow with all of his strength and shot Joram between the shoulders;
and the arrow pierced his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.
Jehu said to Bidkar, his assistant, “Throw him in the field of Naboth, for once when you
and I were riding along behind his father Ahab, the LORD revealed this prophecy to me:
‘I will repay here on Naboth’s property for the murder of Naboth and his sons.’ So, throw
him out on Naboth’s field, just as the LORD had said.”
27. But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by way of the garden house.
And Jehu followed after him, and said, “Smite him also in his chariot.” aAnd they
did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled wounded to Megiddo,
and died there.
28. And his servants carried him in his chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his
sepulchre, with his fathers in the city of David.
29. And in the 11th year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.
Meanwhile, King Ahaziah of Judah had also fled along the road to Beth-Haggan. Jehu
road after him, shouting, “Shoot him too!”
So, they shot him in his chariot, at the place where the road climbs up the hill to Gur,
near Ibleam. He was wounded and continued on to Megiddo, where he died. His officials
took him by chariot to Jerusalem where they buried him in the royal cemetery, in the
city of David. Ahaziah’s reign over Judah had begun in the 12th year of the reign of King
Joram of Israel.
So, now, both the king of Israel, and the king of Judah have both been killed, and for
the first in many years, there is now one king (Jehu) reigning over both Israel and Judah.
30. And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel (the witch) heard of it, and she
b
painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out of the window.

a b
2 Chronicles 22:9 [h]~ put her eyes in
painting; Jeremiah
4:30; Ezekiel 23:40

31
31. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, “Had aZimri peace, who slew his
Master?”
32. And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And
there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.
33. [FP] And he said, “Throw her down.” So, they threw her down: and some of her
blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses, and he trod her underfoot.
34. And when he did come in, he ate and drank, and said, “Go, see now this cursed
woman, and bury her: for bshe is a king’s daughter.”
35. And they went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the
feet, and the palms of her hands.
36. [FP] Wherefore they came again and told him. And he said, “This is the Word of
the LORD, which he spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘cIn the portion
of Jezreel, shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:
37. [FP] ‘And the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the
portion of Jezreel: so that they will shall not say, ‘This is Jezebel’.”
When Jezebel heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids, and fixed
her hair, and sat at the window. When Jehu entered the gate of the palace, she shouted
down at him, “How are you today, you murderer! You son of Zimri, who murdered his
master!”
He looked up and saw here in the window and shouted back, “Who is on my side?” And
two or three eunuchs looked out at him. “Throw her down!” he yelled at them.
So, they threw her out of the window, and her blood splattered against the wall of the
palace, and on the horses, and she was trampled by the horses’ hoofs.
Then Jehu went into the palace for lunch. Afterwards, he said, “Someone go and bury
this cursed woman, for she is the daughter of a king.”
But when they went out to bury her, they only found her skull, her feet, and her hands.
When they returned and told him, he remarked, “That is exactly what the LORD said
would happen. He told Elijah the prophet that dogs would eat her flesh and that her
body would be scattered like manure upon the field, so that no-one else could tell whose
it was.”
[It is very important to remember the words given in prophecy, so that when they occur,
one can recognise them, and give glory to God, for God’s plan coming to pass.]

CHAPTER TEN: JEHU ORDERS AHAB’S SONS TO BE BEHEADED

1. And Ahab has seventy sons in dSamaria, And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to
Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to ethem that brought
up Ahab’s children, saying,
2. “Now, as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing that your master’s sons are
with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and
armour;
3. Look even out the best meetest of your master’s sons, and set him on his
father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.
4. But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, “Behold, two kings stood not before
him: how then shall we stand?”
5. And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also,
and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, “fWe are thy servants,
and will do all that you shall bid us; we will not make any king: do thou which
is good in thine eyes.”
6. [C] Then Jehu wrote a second letter to them, saying, “[IF] you be gmine, and
[IF] you will hearken unto my voice, [THEN] take you the heads of the men
your master’s sons, and come to me, to Jezreel by tomorrow this time.” Now

a c e g
1 Kings 26:9-20 1 Kings 21:23 [h]~ nourishers [h]~ for me
b d f
1 Kings 16:31 1 Kings 16:24 Joshua 9:8,11

32
 the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city,
which brought them up.
7. And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s
sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him
them to Jezreel.
Then Jehu wrote a letter to the city council of Samaria, and to the guardians of Ahab’s
seventy sons ~ all-of them were living there in one place.
“Upon receipt of this letter, select the best one of Ahab’s sons to be your king, and then
prepare to fight for his throne. For you have chariots and horses, and a fortified city,
and an armoury.”
But they were too frightened to do it! “Two kings could not stand up against this man!
What can we do?” they said.
So, the manager of palace affairs, and the city manager, together with the city council,
and the guardians of the king’s sons, sent him this message: “Jehu, we are your
servants, and we will do anything that you tell us to. We have decided that you should
be our king, instead of one of Ahab’s sons.”
Jehu responded with this message: “[If] you are on my side, and are going to obey me,
[then] bring me the heads of your master’s sons to Jezreel, by this time tomorrow.”
These seventy sons of king Ahab were living in homes of the chief men of the city, where
they had been raised since childhood.
When the second letter arrived, all seventy of them were murdered, and their heads
were packed into baskets, and presented to Jehu in Jezreel. The elders and leaders of
the city fulfilled the command of the LORD, as given by the young prophet to Jehu, at
his anointing as king over Israel.
8. And there came a messenger and told Jehu, saying, “They have brought the heads
of the king’s sons.” And he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entering in of the
gate until the morning.”
9. And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all-of
the people, “You be righteous: aI conspired against my master, and slew him: but
who slew all-of these?
10. “Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the Word of the LORD,
which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD has done that
which he spoke by his servant Elijah.”
11. So, Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all-of his great
men, and his bkinfolks, and his priests, until he left none remaining.
When a messenger had told Jehu that the heads of the king’s sons had arrived, he said
to pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate, and to leave them there until
the next morning.
In the morning, he went out and spoke to the crowd that had gathered around them.
“You are not to blame,” he told them. “I conspired against my master and killed him,
but I did not kill his sons. The LORD has done that, for everything that He says comes
true. He declared through his servant Elijah that this would happen to Ahab’s
descendants.
Jehu than killed all the rest of the family of Ahab who were in Jezreel, as well as his
important officials, personal friends, and private chaplains. Finally, no one was left, who
had been close to him in any way.
12. And he arose and came to Samaria. And he was at the cshearing house in the way,
13. Jehu met with the dbrethren of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and said, “Who are you?”
And they answered, “We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down eto salute
the children of the king, and the children of the fqueen.” [Interesting, that the
children of the king, are different from the children of the queen.]

a c d f
9:14,24 [h]~ house of 8:29; 9:16 1 Kings 11:19
b
[h]~ acquaintances shepherds binding e
[h]~ to the peace of
sheep

33
14. And he said, “Take them alive.” And they took them alive and slew them at the pit
of the shearing house, even forty-two men; neither left he any of them.
Then Jehu set out for Samaria, and stayed overnight as the shepherd’s inn along the
way. While he was there, he met the brothers of King Ahaziah of Judah. “Who are you?”
he asked them. And they replied, “We are brothersa of King Ahaziah. We are going to
Samaria to visit the sons of king Ahab and of the Queen Mother, Jezebel.”
“Grab them!” Jehu shouted to his men. and he took them out to the cistern and killed
all forty-two of them.
15. And when he had departed from there, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab
coming to meet him: and he saluted him: and said to him, “Is thy heart right, as
my heart is with thy heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” “If it be, give me
thine hand;” and he took him up into his chariot.
16. And he said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD,” so they made him
ride in his chariot.
17. And when he came to Samaria, he slew ball that remained unto Ahab in Samaria,
till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which He spoke to
Elijah.
As he left the inn, he met Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, who was coming to meet him.
After they had greeted each other, Jehu said to him, “Are you as loyal to me, as I am to
you?” “Yes.” Jehonadab replied. “Then give me you hand.” Jehu said. And he helped him
into the royal chariot.
“Now come along with me,” said Jehu, “and see how much I have done for the LORD.”
So, Jehonadab rode along with him. When he arrived in Samaria, he butchered all-of
Ahab’s friends and relatives, just as Elijah, speaking the Word of the LORD, had
predicted.
18. And Jehu gathered all-of the people together, and said unto them, “cAhab served
Baal a little, but Jehu will serve them much.
19. *** “Now therefore, call unto me all-of the dprophets of Baal, all-of his servants
and all-of his priests: let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to
Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live.” But Jehu did it is subtilty, to
the intent that he might destroy all-of the worshippers of Baal.
20. And Jehu said, “Proclaim a solid assembly for Baal,” and they proclaimed it.
21. And Jehu sent through all-of Israel: and all-of the worshippers of Baal came, so
that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the ehouse of
Baal: and the house of Baal was ffull from one end to another.
22. And he said unto him that was over the vestry, “bring forth vestments for all the
worshippers of Baal.” And he brought forth vestments,
23. And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said
unto the worshippers of Baal, “Search, and look that there be none of the servants
of the LORD, but worshippers of Baal only”
24. And when they went into offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed eighty
men outside, and said, “If any of the men who I have brought into your hands
escape, he that lets him go, ghis life shall be, for the one of him.”
25. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering, the burnt
offering, that Jehu said to the hguard, and to the captains, “iGo in and slay them;
let none come forth. And they smote them with jthe edge of the sword, and the
guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.
26. And they brought forth the kimages of Baal and burned them.
27. And they broke down the statue of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and
made it la draught house unto this day.

a e g k
Literally, kinsmen of 1 Kings 16:32; 2 1 Kings 16:31,32 [h]~ statues
King Ahaziah Kings 11:18 h
1 Samuel 22:17; 2 l
Ezra 6:11; Daniel
b f
9:8 [h]~ so full, that they Kings 11:4,6 2:5; 3:29
c
1 Kings 16:31,32 stood mouth to i
1 Kings 18:40
d mouth j
1 Kings 18:19; 22:6 [h]~ the mouth

34
28. Thus, Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
So, Jehu issued a decree, “Summon all-of the prophets, and priest of Baal, and call
together all-of his worshippers. See to it that everyone of them comes, for we
worshippers of Baal are going to have a great celebration to praise him. Any of the Baal
worshippers who don’t come will be put to death.” [It is clear that the “prophets of Baal”
were false, because if they were real, then they would have realised that this was a trap
to exterminate them all.]
So, Jehu’s plan was to exterminate them! He sent messengers throughout all-of Israel,
summoning all-of these who worshipped Baal, and they all came and filled the temple
of Baal from one end to the other. He instructed the head of the robing room, “Be sure
that every worshipper wears one of these special robes.”
Then Jehu and Jehonadab (son of Rechab) went into the temple to address the people;
“Check to make sure that only those who worship Baal are here. Don’t let anyone inside
who worships the LORD!”
As the priests of Baal began offering sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu and his 80 men
and told them, “If you let any escape you will pray for it with your own life.” [A very
good incentive to make sure that you do your job properly]
As soon as the priest as finished sacrificing the burnt offerings, Jehu went out and told
his officers and men, “Go in and kill everyone of them ~ don’t let a single one of them
escape.”
So, they slaughter them all, and dragged their bodies outside. Then Jehu’s men went
inside the temple, dragged out the pillar used for the worship of Baal, and burned it.
They wrecked the temple and turned it into a public toilet, which it still is today. Thus,
Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship in Israel. [It is interesting to note that the
Chinese Communist Party [CCP] have been demolishing Mosques in China and also
making them into public toilets. Maybe someone in the CCP has been reading the Bible?]
29. Howbeit, From the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, awho made Israel to sin,
Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, bthe golden calves that were in Bethel
and that were in Dan.
30. And the LORD said unto Jehu, because you have done well in executing that which
is right in mine eyes, and has done unto the house of Ahab according to all that
was in my heart, cthy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of
Israel.
31. BUT Jehu dtook no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel, with all-of
heart: for he departed not from sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.
However, Jehu dd not didn’t destroy the golden calves at Bethel and at Dan ~ this was
the great sin of Jeroboam (the son of Nebat), for it resulted in all-of Israel sinning against
the LORD God of Israel.
Afterwards, the LORD said to Jehu, “You have done well in following my instructions to
destroy the dynasty of Ahab. Because of this I will cause your son, your grandson and
your great grandson to be the kings of Israel. [So, with promise from the LORD, Jehu
became complacent and did not follow God, with all-of his heart, for he continued to
worship Jeroboam’s golden calves, that had been the cause of such a great sin
in Israel. Like Jehu, we also have to be very careful, not to become complacent,
knowing that salvation is available to all who confess the Jesus is the son of God.
Because of that truth, he expects us all to go and make disciples, in obedience to His
commandments.]
32. In those days, the LORD ebegan fto cut Israel short: and gHazael smote them in all
of the coasts of Israel.

a d f g
1 Kings 14:16 [h]~ observed not [h]~ to cut off the 8:12
b
1 Kings 12:28,29 e
13:25; 14:25 ends ~ [to reduce
c the Land size of
15:12
Israel]

35
33. From Jordan aeastward, all-of the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites,
and the Manassites, bfrom Aeror, which is by the river Arnon, ceven Gilead and
Bashan.
34. Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not
written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
35. And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Jehoahaz, his
son reigned in his stead.
36. And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria, was twenty-eight years.
And because of the continued sin in Israel, the LORD started to whittle down the size of
the nation of Israel. King Hazael conquered several sections of the land, east of the
Jordan River, as well as all-of Gilead, Gad, and Reuben; He also conquered parts of
Manasseh from the Aeror river in the valley of Arnon, as far as Gilead and Bashan. [There
is a clear warning here for all nations, if you continue to sin, and pass laws, which are
clearly against God’s word, He will allow tribulation to come upon your nation, and in
some cases, reduce the physical size of your national borders.]
The rest of the Jehu’s activities are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel. When
Jehu died as was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz became the new king. In all,
Jehu reigned as king of Israel, in Samaria, for twenty-eight years.

a b c
[h]~ towards the Deuteronomy 2:36 [h]~ even unto
rising of the sun Gilead and Bashan

36
CHAPTER ELEVEN: ATHALIAH’S MASSACRE, JOASH IS CROWNED KING
In this chapter we see that God Almighty knows the end from the beginning, and He
raises up people to do dangerous things, at the risk of their own lives, to make sure that
God’s plans come to pass.
1. And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she
arose and destroyed all-of the royal seed.
2. But aJehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took bJoash, the
son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain; and
they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so
that he was not slain.
3. And he was with her hidden in the house of the LORD for six years. And Athaliah
did rule over the land.
When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, heard that Jehu had killed her son,
she killed all of his children, except for his one-year-old son Joash. Joash was rescued
by his Aunt Jehosheba, who was a sister of King Ahaziah (for she was the daughter of
King Jehoram, Ahaziah’s father). She stole him away from the rest of the king’s children,
who were waiting to be slain, and hid him and his nurse in a storeroom of the Temple.
[This arrangement was practical, because Jehosheba was married to Jehoiada, the High
Priest.] They lived there in the Temple, for six years, under the protection of the High
Priest.
4. And in the seventh year, cJehoiada (the High Priest) sent and fetched the rulers
over hundreds, with the dcaptains, and the eguard, and brought them into the
House of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in
the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son.
5. [C] And he commanded them saying, “This is the thing that shall do; A third part
of you fthat enter in on the Sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the King’s
house;
6. [C] “And a third part shall be at the Gate of gSur; and a third part at the gate
behind the guard: so, shall you keep the watch of the house, hthat it be not broken
down.
7. [C] “And two iparts of all-of you that go forth on the Sabbath, even they shall keep
the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
8. [C] “And you shall jcompass the king round about, every man with his weapon in
his hand: and he that comes within the ranges let him be slain: and be you all with
the king, as he goes out and as he comes in.
9. And the captains over the hundreds did according to all-of the things that Jehoiada
the (high) priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come
in on the Sabbath, with them that should go out on the Sabbath, and came to
Jehoiada the priest.
10. And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give King David’s spears and
k
shields, that were in the temple of the LORD.
11. And the guard stood with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the
right lcorner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and
the temple.
12. And he brought forth the king’s son, and put mthe crown upon him, and gave him
n
the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him: and they clapped their
hands, and said, oGod save the king.
In the 7th year of Queen Athaliah’s reign, Jehoiada, the high priest summoned the officers
of the palace guard, and the queen’s bodyguard. He met them in the Temple, then swore

a d i n
In 2 Chronicles 2 Samuel 20:23 Or, companies Exodus 25:16; 31:18
22:11; she is called e
10:25 j
6:14 o
[h]~ let the king live
Jehoshabeth f k
b
1 Chronicles 9:25 2 Samuel 8:7
[h]~ Or. Jehoash; g l
2 Chronicles 23:5 [h]~ shoulder
verse 21; 12:1 h m
c [h]~ from breaking 2 Samuel 1:10
2 Chronicles 22:11
up

37
them to secrecy before the LORD, and showed them the king’s son. Then, he gave them
their instructions: One third of those that are on duty on the sabbath, are to guard the
Palace. The other two-thirds shall guard at the temple; surround the king, with the
spears and shields given by King David to the temple, surrounding & protecting the king
and killing anyone who tried to break through ~ protecting the king at all times.
[So, the officers and men followed Jehoiada, the High Priest’s instructions, showing that
the authority of God’s representative, is greater that any earthly ruler.]
They brought to Jehoiada the men who were going off duty on the Sabbath, and also
those who were coming on duty, and he armed them with the supply of shields and
spears in the Temple that had belonged to King David.
The guards, with weapons ready, stood across the front of the sanctuary, and surrounded
the altar, which was near Joash’s hideaway.
Then Jehoiada brought out the young prince, and put the crown upon his head, and gave
him a copy of the Ten Commandments, and anointed him, King. Then everyone clapped
and shouted, “Long LIVE the KING!”
13. And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the
people in the Temple of the LORD.
14. And when she looked, behold, the king stood by athe pillar, as the manner was,
and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all-of the people of the land
rejoiced, and bblew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried,
“Treason, Treason!”
15. But Jehoiada the high priest commanded the captains of the hundreds,c the officers
of the Host, and said unto them, “Have her forth without the ranges: and him the
follows her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, ‘Let her not be slain in the
House of the LORD’.”
16. And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by which dthe horses came
into the king’s house: and there she was slain.
When Athaliah heard all-of the noise, she ran into the Temple, and saw the new king
standing by the pillar, as was the custom at times of coronation, surrounded by her
bodyguard, and many trumpeters; and everyone was rejoicing, and blowing trumpets.
“Treason! Treason!” she screamed, and began to tear her clothes. [It’s strange that she
cried treason here, but refused to cry out murderer, when she slaughtered all of the
king’s sons!]
“Get her out of here!” shouted Jehoiada to the officers of the royal guard. “Don’t kill her
here in the Temple. But kill anyone who tries to come to her rescue.” So, they dragged
her to the palace stables and killed her there.
17. And eJehoiada made a covenant between the LORD, and the king, and the people,
that they should be the LORD’s People; fbetween the king also and the people.
18. And all-of the people went into the ghouse of Baal, and broke it down; hhis altars
and his images broke they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan, the priest of
Baal, before the altars. And the priest appointed iofficers over the House of the
LORD.
19. And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all-of
the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the House of the
LORD, and came by the way jof the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he
sat on the throne of the kings.
20. And all-of the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet; and they slew
Athaliah with the sword, beside the king’s house.
21. Seven years old was Jehoash (Joash) when he began to reign.
Jehoiada made a treaty between the LORD, the king, and the people, that they would
be the LORD’s people. He also made a contract between the king and the people.

a c g j
23:3; 2 Chronicles 2 Chronicles 23:14 10:21,26 See verse 6
34:31 d
2 Chronicles 23:15 h
Deuteronomy 12:3
b
See verse 15; 2 e
Joshua 24:25 i
[h]~ offices, 2
Chronicles 24:1-14 f Chronicles 24:11
2 Samuel 5:3

38
Everyone went over to the Temple of Baal and tore it down, breaking the altars, and
destroying the images & pillars, and killing Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the Baal
altar. And Jehoiada set guards at the Temple of the LORD. Then he, and the officers and
the guards and all of the people led the king from the Temple, past the guardhouse, and
into the palace. And he sat upon the king’s throne.
So, everyone was happy, and the city settled back into quietness after Athaliah’s death.
Joash was seven years old when He became king, to rule over Israel.

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE TEMPLE IS REPAIRED, JOASH KILLED BY SERVANTS

1. In the 7th years of Jehu, aJehoash (Joash) began to reign: and forty years he
reigned in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah, of bBeersheba.
2. And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of
his life, wherein Jehoiada the high priest instructed him.
3. But cthe high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt
incense in the high places.
It was seven years after Jehu became king of Israel, that Jehoash became king of Judah.
He reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. (His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba). All-of
his life, Jehoash did what was right because Jehoiada the high priest instructed him. Yet
even so, he did not destroy the shrines on the hills ~ the people still sacrificed and burnt
incense there, because the High Priest did not tell him that this was wrong.
4. And Jehoash said to the priests. “All the money of the dedicated things, that is
brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of everyone that passes the
account, the money that everyone is set at, and all-of the money that comes into
any man’s heart to bring into the house of the LORD,
5. “Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them drepair
the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found.
6. But it was so, that in the e23rd year of Jehoash’s reign, fthe priests had not repaired
the breaches of the house.
7. *** The king Jehoash called Jehoiada the high priest and the other priests, and
said unto them, “Why repair you not the breaches of the house? Now, therefore,
receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the
house.
8. And the priests consented to receive no more money for the people, either to repair
the breaches of the house.
9. But Jehoiada the high priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set
is beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the LORD: and
the priests that kept the gdoor put therein all-of the money that was brought into
the house of the LORD.
10. And it was so that when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that
the king’s hscribe and the ihigh priest came up, and they put up in bags, and the
money that was found in the House of the LORD.
11. And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work,
that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they jlaid it out to the
carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD.
12. And the masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber, and hewed stone, to
repair the breaches of the House of the LORD, and for all that kwas laid out for the
house to repair it.

a d h k
See verse 15; 2 Ezekiel 27:9,27 [h]~ Secretary; 1 [h]~ went forth
Chronicles 24:1-14 e
[h]~ twentieth and Kings 4:3
b i
Joshua 15:28 third year 2 Chronicles 24:11;
c
1 Kings 15:14: 2 f
2 Chronicles 24: 5,6 26:20; 31:10
j
kings 14:4 g
[h]~ threshold [h]~ brought it forth

39
13. Howbeit, there were not made for the House of the LORD abowls of silver, snuffers,
basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was
brought into the house of the Lord:
14. But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD.
15. Moreover, bthey reckoned not with the men, into whose hands they delivered the
money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully.
16. The ctrespass money, and the dsin money was not brought into the house of the
LORD: eIt was for the priests.
One day, King Jehoash said to Jehoiada, “The Temple building needs repairing. Whenever
anyone brings a contribution to the LORD, whether it is a regular offering, or tithe, or a
special gift offering, use it to repay for whatever repairs are necessary.”
Yet, (like today’s priests and politicians, they find reasons not to obey and spend money
people’s money on repairs. They would rather it goes into their own deep pockets.)
Several years pass! But in the 23rd year of the King’s reign, the Temple was still in
disrepair! So, Jehoash called for Jehoiada and all-of the other priests and asked them,
“Why haven’t you done anything about repairing the Temple? Your punishment is as
follows. If we cannot trust the Temple priests, with this money then we have a problem!
Don’t use anymore of the Temple treasury money for your own needs; from now on, it
must all be spent on repairing the Temple to a good condition.”
[Lesson: Priests, Pastors & Politicians: If you don’t do what you have promised, there
will come a time, when God’s righteous judgement will come upon you, and you will no
longer get paid.]
So, the priests agreed to set up a “special repair fund” that would not go through their
hands at all, lest it be diverted to be used for their personal needs. Jehoiada bored a
hole in the lid of a large chest, and set it on the right-hand side of the altar, at the
Temple entrance.
The doorkeepers put all-of the people’s contributions into it. Whenever the chest became
full, the king’s financial secretary and the High Priest counted it, and put it into bags,
and gave it to the construction superintendents, to pay the carpenters, stonemasons,
quarrymen, timber dealers, and stone merchants, and to buy other materials needed to
repair the Temple of the LORD.
It was not used to buy silver cups, gold snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or similar articles,
but only articles for the repairing of the Temple of the LORD. They could not trust the
priests with is money, but no accounting was necessary from the construction
superintendents, for they were honest and faithful men.
However, the money that was contributed for “guilt offerings,” and “sin offerings” was
given to the priests, for their own use. It was not put into the chest. [It is ironic that
these two offerings were not used to repair the Temple, because the Priests were “guilty”
before the Lord, for not doing as they had promised, and it was a “sin”, to steal money
from the Temple treasury for your own use. Priests, Pastors and Politicians, should all
remember that!]
17. Then fHazael, king of Syria, went up and fought against gGath, and took it: and
Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. [As punishment for the disobedience of
the Priests, God allows the King of Syria to steal land from Israel, thus reducing its
physical size.]
18. And Jehoash king of Judah htook all-of the hallowed things that Jehoiada and
Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and ihis own
hallowed things, and all-of the gold, that was found in the treasury of the House of
the LORD, and sent it to Hazael the King of Syria: and jhe kwent away from
Jerusalem.

a d h k
1 Kings 7:50; Leviticus 4:24,29 1 Kings 15:18; 2 [h]~ went up
Compare with 2 e
Leviticus 7:7; Kings 16:8;
Kings 25: 14,15 Numbers 18:9 18:15,16
b i
22:7 f
8:12 See verse 4
c j
Leviticus 5:15,18 g
1 Samuel 17:4 2 Chronicles 23:24

40
About this same time, King Hazael, king of Syria. Went to war against Gath and captured
it; then he moved his troops onwards towards Jerusalem to attack it. To appease the
Syrian king, and prevent the attack, King Jehoash took all the sacred objects that his
ancestors ~ Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah, had dedicated,
along with what he, himself had dedicated, and all-of the gold in the treasuries of the
Temple, and the palace, and sent it to Hazael. So, Hazael called off the attack.
19. And the rest of the acts of Jehoash (Joash), and all that he did, are they not written
in the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
20. And ahis servants arose and made a conspiracy, and slew Jehoash in bthe house of
Millo, which goes down to Silla.
21. So, Jozachar, the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants,
smote him and he died: And they buried him with his fathers, in the city of David:
and Amaziah, his son reigned in his stead.
The rest of the history of Jehoash (Joash), is recorded in the Annals of the Kings of
Judah.
But his own officers plotted against him and assassinated him in his royal residence at
Millo, on the road to Silla. The assassins were Jozachar, the son of Shimeath, and
Jehozabad, son of Shomer, both trusted aides. He was buried in the royal cemetery, in
the city of David, and his son Amaziah, became the new king.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ELISHA DYING, PROPHESIES 3 VICTORIES OVER SYRIA

1. In the ctwenty-third year of Jehoash (Joash), the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah,
Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel, in Samaria, and he reigned for seventeen
years.
2. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and dfollowed the sins
of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ewhich made Israel to sin; he departed no
therefrom.
Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, began his 17-year reign over Israel during the 23rd year of
Joash the king of Judah. But he was an evil king, and he followed the wicked paths of
Jeroboam, who caused all-of Israel to sin.
[So, by now we should have realised that when kings consistently sin, (over
generations), despite warnings from the prophets, then punishment follows.
God’s word has not changed! If nations today continually turn away from God, and His
righteousness, and pass laws, which are clearly against God’s word, and then refuse to
listen to the Holy Spirit speak through today’s prophets, then God’s anger shall be
kindled against that nation also. Expect no less ~ God does not bless unrighteousness!]
3. And fthe anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into
the hands of gHazael King of Syria, and into the hands of hBenhadad the son of
Hazael, all their days. [So, because of their continual sin they had constant war,
no peace, and many of their crops were taken as taxes.]
4. And Jehoahaz ibesought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for jHe saw
the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.
5. And the LORD gave Israel a Saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of
the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in ktheir tents as before times.
6. Nevertheless, they departed NOT from the sins of the house of Jeroboam,
who made Israel sin, but lwalked therein: and mthere nremained groves also in
Samaria. [Sometimes when I study these scriptures, I am amazed at the apparent
stupidity of the nation’s ~ they refused to learn from their mistakes; and as a
result, they unfortunately repeat them!

a e i m
14:5; see verse 21 1 Kings 14:16 Psalm 78:34 1 Kings 16:33
b f j n
[h]~ Or, Bethmillo Judges 2:14 14:16 [h]~ stood
c g k
[h]~ 23rd year 8:12 2 Samuel 18:17
d h l
[h]~ walked after See verses 24 & 25 [h]~ he walked

41
 But then, I realise that nothing has changed through the ages; we still don’t learn
from our mistakes either, and we also repeat them.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s we were saying that Nazism will never be tolerated again!
We will do whatever it takes to stamp it out! We will never allow Communism to
spread outside of Russia, but alas, it has spreads to many countries and now
threatened world peace.
7. Neither did he leave of the people of Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots,
and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria, had destroyed (the rest of his
army), and made them like the dust aby threshing.
So, the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He continually “allowed” King Hazael of
Syria and his son Benhadad to conquer them, so that there was not peace and they did
not prosper.
But Jehoahaz prayed for the LORD’s help, and the LORD listened to him: for the LORD
saw how terribly the king of Syria was oppressing Israel. So, the LORD raised up leaders
among the Israelis, to rescue them from the tyranny of the Syrians, and then Israel lived
in safety again, as they had in former times.
But they continued to sin, following the evil ways of Jeroboam; and they continued to
worship the goddess Asherah at Samaria. Finally, the LORD reduced Jehoahaz’s army to
fifty mounted troops, ten chariots, and 10,000 infantry men: for the king of Syria had
destroyed the rest of Israel’s army, as though they were dust beneath his feet.
8. Now, the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they
not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
9. And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash
(the son of Jehoahaz) reigned in his stead.
The rest of the history of Jehoahaz is recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Joash, reigned in Israel for 16
years.
10. In the 37th year of the reign of Joash king of Judah, began bJehoash, the son of
Jehoahaz to reign over Israel, in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years.
11. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all-
of the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: but he walked
therein.
12. And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might, wherewith he
fought against Amaziah, king of Judah, are they not written in the Books of the
Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
13. And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was
buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel.
Joash came to the throne in the 37th year of the reign of King Joash of Judah. [Don’t get
confused, there are two different people, with two different fathers.] But he was an evil
man, for, like Jeroboam, he encouraged the people to worship idols and led them into
sin. The rest of the history of the reign of Joash, including his wars against King Amaziah
of Judah, are written in The Annals of the Kings of Israel. Joash died and was buried in
Samaria with the other kings of Israel and Jeroboam II became the new king.
14. Now cElisha was fallen sick with his sickness, whereof he died. And Joash the king
of Israel came down to him and wept over his face, and said, “O dmy father, my
father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
15. And Elisha said unto him, “Take bow and arrows.” And he took unto him bow and
arrows.
16. And he said to the king of Israel, “ePut thine hand upon the bow.” And he put his
hand upon it: And Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands.
17. And he said, “Open the window eastward.” And he opened it. Then Elisha said,
“Shoot!” and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the LORD’s deliverance, and the

a c e
Amos 1:3 9:1 [h]~ make thine
b
12:1 d
2:12 hand to ride

42
 arrow of deliverance from Syria: for you shall smite the Syrians in aAphek, till you
have consumed them.
18. And Elisha said, “Take the arrows.” And he took them. And he said unto the king,
“Smite them on the ground!” And he smote them three times and stopped.
19. And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have smitten the
ground five or six times; then you would have smitten Syria till you had consumed
it; whereas now, you shall smite them but only bthree times.
When Elisha was dying of his illness, King Joash visited him and wept over him “My
father! My father! You are the you are the strength of Israel,” he said.
Elisha told him, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did. “Open the eastern window,”
he instructed. Then he told the king to put his hand upon the bow, and Elisha laid his
own hand upon the king’s hand. “Shoot!” Elisha commanded, and he did.
Then Elisha proclaimed, “This is the LORD’s arrow, full of victory over Syria; for
you will completely conquer the Syrians at Aphek. Now, pick up other arrows
and strike them against the floor.” So, the king picked up the arrows and struck
the floor only three times. And the prophet became angry with him. “You should have
struck the floors five or six times,” he exclaimed, “For then you would have beaten Syria
until they were completely destroyed; but now, you will only be victorious three times.”
[God gave the victory to Israel, as spoken by the prophet Elisha ~ BUT the king limited
the victory by his actions! Even today, we have to learn to hear and completely
understand the Prophet’s words, so that we also do not limit the power of God’s promises
to us!]
20. And then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the cMoabites invaded
the land at the beginning of the new year.
21. And it came to pass as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band
of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man
d
was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his
feet.
So, Elisha died and was buried in a sepulchre.
In those days, bandit gangs of Moabites used to invade the land of Israel every spring,
(the beginning of the Hebrew calendar New Year). Once some men who were burying
their friend spied those marauders coming, and not wishing to get caught on the open
ground unprotected, they hastily threw his body into the tomb of Elisha. And as soon as
the body touched the bones of Elisha, the dead man revived, and jumped to his feet!
At that moment, I am not sure whether they were more scared of the Moabite gangs
coming to attack them, or the man who was just raised from the dead. I am sure that
they all fled, and talked about it later.
22. But eHazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all-of the days of Jehoahaz.
23. And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had
respect unto them, because of his covenant with fAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and
would not destroy them, neither cast He them from his presence, as YET!
24. So, Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead.
25. And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz gtook again out of the hand of Benhadad the son
of Hazael, the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz, his father by
war. hThree times did Joash beat him and recovered the cities of Israel.
King Hazael of Syria had oppressed Israel during the entire reign of king Jehoahaz. But
the LORD was gracious to the people of Israel, and they were not totally destroyed. For
God pitied them, and also, He was honouring His Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. And this covenant is still in operation today!
Then king Hazael of Syria died, and his son Benhadad reigned in his place. King Joash
of Israel (the son of Jehoahaz) was successful on three separate occasions in conquering
the cities that his father had lost to Benhadad, exactly as the Lord had promised by the

a d g h
1 Kings 20:26 [h]~ went down [h]~ returned and See verses 18,19:
b
See verse 25 e
8:12 took compare with Amos
c f 1:4
1:1; 3:7; 24:2 Exodus 32:13

43
prophet Elisha. [It could have been many more, had king Joash not limited the victory,
by only striking the floor three times.]
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: JEHOASH SPOILS JERUSALEM, JONAH PROPHESIES
1. In the second year of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel reigned aAmaziah
the son of Joash, king of Judah. [Don’t get confused, they are two different
people, with the same name!]
2. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign and he reigned for
twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of
Jerusalem.
Who was Jehoaddan?
Details Description
Jehoaddan Hebrew: ‫יהועדן‬, Dutch: Jehoaddan
Also known as “Joadan", "Jehoaddan", "‫"יהועדן‬
Birthdate Circa 835 BCE
Death Circa 820 BCE
Birthplace Jerusalem, Israel
Immediate family • Daughter of Jehoiada (High Priest) & Jehosheba
• Wife of Jehoash – 7th king of Judah
• Mother of Amaziah – 8th king of Judah; Neri & Amoz
• Sister of Zechariah Ben Jehoyada ~ the Prophet;
Pediah, High Priest, and Joachim.
3. And He (Amaziah) did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not
like David his forefather: he did according to all-of the things as Joash his father
did.
4. b
Howbeit, the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice
and burnt incense on the high places.
During the 2nd year of the reign of King Joash of Israel, King Amaziah began his reign
over Judah. Amaziah was 25 years old when he began his reign, and he reigned in
Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan, the daughter of Jehoiada,
the High Priest, from Jerusalem.
He was a good king in the LORD’s sight, although not quite like his forefather David; but
he was as good a king as his father Joash. However, like his father, he did not destroy
the shrines on the hills, so people still sacrificed and burnt incense there.
5. As it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, he slew the
servants that had murdered his father.
6. But the children of the murderers he slew not: according to that which is written in
the law of the book of Moses; wherein the LORD commanded, saying, “cThe fathers
shall not be put to death for the children, NOR the children be put to death for the
fathers: but every many shall be put to death for his own sins.
7. d
He (Amaziah) slew of Edom, in the valley of Salt (the Dead Sea Valley) ten
thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.
As soon as he had a firm grip on the kingdom, he killed the men who had murdered his
father; but he didn’t kill their children, for the LORD had commanded through the Law
of Moses that fathers shall not be killed for the sins of their children, nor children killed
for the sins of their fathers: everyone must pay the penalty for their own sins.
Once Amaziah killed 10,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley; he also conquered Selah, and
renamed it as Joktheel, as it is called to this day.
8. e
Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king
of Israel, saying, “Come let us look one another in the face.”

a c e
12:21; see verse 6; Deuteronomy 24:16; See verse 14; 2
2 Chronicles 25:1-4 Ezekiel 18:4,20 Chronicles 25:17-24
b d
12:3; 15:4,35 2 Chronicles 25:11

44
9. And Jehoash, the king of Israel, sent to Amaziah King of Judah saying, “aThe thistle
that was in Lebanon, sent to the bcedar that was in Lebanon, saying, “Give thy
daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon,
and trod down the thistle.
10. “You have indeed smitten Edom, and cyour heart has been lifted up: Glory of this,
and tarry dat home: for why should you meddle in your hurt, that you should fall,
and Judah with you?
11. *** But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore. Jehoash, King of Israel went up; and
he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at eBeth Shemesh,
which belonged to Judah
12. And Judah was fput to the worse before Israel: and they fled every man to his
tents.
13. And Jehoash, king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the
son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall
of Jerusalem, gfrom the gate of Ephraim, unto the corner gate, 400 cubits.
14. And he took hall-of the gold and silver, and in the treasures of the king’s house,
and hostages, and returned to Samaria.
One day, he sent a message to King Joash of Israel, (the son of Jehoahaz, the grandson
of Jehu) daring him to mobilize his army and come out and fight
But King Joash replied; “The thistle of Lebanon demanded of the mighty cedar tree,
‘Give your daughter to be a wife for my son.’ But just then a wild animal passed by and
stepped on the thistle and trod it into the ground! You have destroyed Edom and are
very proud about it; but my advice to you is be content with your glory and stay home.
Why provoke disaster for both yourself and Judah?” But King Amaziah refused to listen
to wisdom, so King Joash mustered his army. The battle began at Beth Shemesh, one
of the cities of Judah, and Judah was defeated, and the army fled home!
King Amaziah was captured, and the army of Israel marched upon Jerusalem and broke
down its walls, from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, as distance of about 600
feet.
King Joash took many hostages and all-of the gold and silver from the Temple, and
palace treasury, also the gold cups. Then he returned to Samaria.
15. iNow, the rest of the acts of Jehoash, which he did, and his might, and how he
fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the
Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
16. And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of
Israel; and Jeroboam II his son reigned in his stead.
The rest of the history of Joash and his war with King Amaziah of Judah are recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Israel. When Joash died, he was buried in Samaria with the
other kings of Israel. And his son Jeroboam II became the new king.
17. jAnd Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived another fifteen years after the
death of Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.
18. And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the
Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
19. kNow they made conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to lLachish; but
they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there.
20. And they brought him on horses: and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers
in the city of David.
Amaziah lived 15 years longer than Joash, and the rest of his biography is recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Judah. There was a plot against his life in Jerusalem, so he
fled to Lachish, but his enemies’ sent assassins and killed him there. His body was

a d h j
Judges 9:8 [h]~ at thy house 1 Kings 7:51; 2 See verse 22; 2
b
Judges 9:15 e
Joshua 15:10 Kings 12:18 Chronicles 25:25 -
c f i
13:12,13 26:2
Deuteronomy 8:24; [h]~ smitten k
g 2 Chronicles 25:27
2 Chronicles 26:16; Nehemiah 8:16 l
Ezekiel, 28:2,5,17 Joshua 10:3

45
returned on horses, and he was buried with his fathers, in the city of David section of
the City of Jerusalem.
21. And all-of the people of Judah took aAzariah (also called Uzziah), who was sixteen
years old, and made him king, instead of his father Amaziah.
22. He built bElath, and restored it to Judah, after that, the king slept with his fathers.
Then his son Azariah (also called Uzziah), became the new king at the age of 16 years.
After his father’s death he built Elath and restored it to Judah.
23. In the 15th year of Amaziah the son of Joash King of Judah, Jeroboam II the son of
Joash king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned for 41 years.
24. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the
sins Jeroboam I, the son of Nebat, cwho made Israel to sin.
25. He restored the coast of Israel, dfrom the entering of Hamath, unto ethe sea of the
plain, according to the Word of the LORD God, which he spoke by the hand of his
servant fJonah, son of Amittai, the prophet, which was at gGath Hepher.
26. For the LORD hsaw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for ithere was not
any shut up, not any left, not any helper for Israel.
27. And the LORD said that he would not blot out the name of Israel from under
heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam II the son of Joash.
Meanwhile over in Israel, Jeroboam II had become king during the 15th year of the reign
of King Amaziah of Judah. Jeroboam II’s reign lasted 41 years.
But he was as evil as Jeroboam I (the son of Nebat) who had led Israel into sin by
worshipping idols. Jeroboam II recovered the lost territories of Israel between Hamath
and the Dead Sea, just as the LORD God of Israel had predicted through Jonah, (son of
Amittai) the prophet from Gath Hepher. For the LORD saw the bitter plight of Israel ~
she had no-one to help her. And He had promised that He would not blot out the name
of Israel from under heaven, so He used Jeroboam II to save her.
28. Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam II, and all that he did, and his might, how he
warred, and how he recovered jDamascus, and Hamath, kwhich belonged to Judah,
for Israel, are they not written in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
29. And Jeroboam II slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel: and Zachariah
his son reigned in his stead.
The rest of Jeroboam II’s biography ~ all that he did, and his great power, and his wars,
and how he recovered Damascus from the Syrians, and Hamath (which had been
captured by Judah) ~ is recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
When Jeroboam II died, he was buried with the other kings of Israel and his son
Zachariah became the new king of Israel.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE REIGNS OF ZACHARIAH, MENAHEM & PEKAHIAH

1. In the 27th year of Jeroboam II king of Israel, lbegan Azariah (Uzziah), son of
Amaziah king of Judah to reign.
2. He was 16 years old when he began his reign and he reigned for 52 years in
Jerusalem. And His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.
Who was Jecholiah? She was the wife of Amaziah, the king if Judah.
3. m
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his
father Amaziah had done;
4. n
Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt
incense on the high places.

a d i m
In 2 Chronicles 15:13 1 Kings 8:65 Deuteronomy 32:36 2 Chronicles 26:3,4
& 2 Chronicles 26:1, he e
Deuteronomy 3:17; j
1 Kings 11:24 n
14:4
is called Uzziah 4:49 k
b
2 Samuel 8:6; 1
1 Kings 9:26; 2 f
Jonah 1:1 Chronicles 8:5,6; 2
Kings 16:6 g Chronicles 8:3
c
Joshua 19:13
1 Kings 14:16 h l
14:21
13:4

46
As we have studied these 15 chapters of Second Kings, we find that king after king failed
to have the altars in the high places removed; neither is it recorded that the prophets,
nor the high priests, warned them that these places were a sin before the LORD. Were
they left there as a test to the nation? The Laws of Moses clearly stated that you shall
worship no other God but Adonai, so there was no excuse for their punishment, for not
obeying the Laws of Moses, which they covenanted to do.
The new king of Judah was Azariah (also called Uzziah). His father’s name was Amaziah,
the former king of Judah. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, the wife of Amaziah. He was
16 years old when he began his reign and he reigned for 52 years. He commenced his
reign when Jeroboam II had been reigning in Israel for 27 years.
Azariah was a good king, and he pleased the LORD, just like his father had done before
him. But just like his father, and many other kings before him, he failed to remove the
altars and the shrines in the hills, where people sacrificed and burnt incense. Even
though he reigned for 52 years, there is little recorded about his achievements.
5. And the LORD asmote the king (Azariah) with leprosy, so that he was a leper until
the day of his death, and bdwelt in a several house. And Jotham, the king’s son,
was over the house, judging the people of the land.
6. And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the
Book of the chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
7. So, Azariah slept with his fathers: and they buried him with his fathers, in the city
of David: and Jotham his son, reigned in his stead.
After his son Jotham was born, Azariah did not remove the shrines in the high places,
so, the LORD God of Israel smote him with leprosy, which lasted until the day of his
death; so, he lived in isolation, in a house by himself. His son Jotham was the “acting
King’’, ruling the people in his place.
8. In the 38th year of the reign of Azariah king of Judah, did Zachariah the son of
Jeroboam II reign over Israel in Samaria; but he only reigned for 6 months!
9. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done:
he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam I, the son of Nebat, cwho made all of
Israel to sin.
10. And Shallum, the son of Jabesh, conspired against him, and dsmote him before the
people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
11. And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the Book of the
chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
12. This was the Word of the LORD, which He spoke unto Jehu, saying, “Thy sons shall
sit upon the thrones of Israel unto the 4th generation.” And so, it came to pass,
(just as the Lord had spoken it!)
• The new king of Israel: Zachariah (Zechariah)
• Father’s name: Jeroboam II
• The Length of his reign: 6 months
• Reigning at that time in Judah, was king Azariah, who had been the king there for
38 years (and ruled for a total of 52 years.)
But Zachariah was an evil king in the LORD’s opinion, just like his ancestors. Like
Jeroboam I, (the son of Nebat), he encouraged Israel to sin, by worshipping idols. Then
Shallum, (the son of Jabesh,) conspired against him and assassinated him at Ibleam,
and took the throne for himself.
The rest of the history of Zachariah’s reign is found in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
[So, the Lord’s promise to Jehu, came true, that his son, grandson, and great-grandson,
would all be kings of Israele].
13. Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the 39th year of fAzariah (Uzziah) king
of Judah, and he reigned a full month in Samaria.

a b d f
See verse 7; 2 Leviticus 13:46 Amos 7:9 Matthew 1:8,9 called
Chronicles 26: 20-23 c
1 Kings 14:16 e
See 2 Kings 10:30 Ozias

47
14. For Menahem, the son of Gadi, went up from aTirzah, and came to Samaria, and
smote Shallum, (the son of Jabesh) in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his
stead.
15. And the rest of the acts of Shallum and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they
are written in the books of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
• The new king of Israel: Shallum
• Father’s Name: Jabesh
• Reigning in Judah at that time: In the 38th year of the reign of king Azariah
(Uzziah).
One month after Shallum became king, Menahem, (the son of Gadi) came to Samaria
from Tirzah, and assassinated Shallum and took his throne. Additional details about King
Shallum, and his conspiracy, are recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
16. *** Then Menahem smote Tiphsah and all that were therein, and the coasts from
Tirzah: because they opened not to him, Therefore, he smote it; and all-of bthe
women that were with child were ripped up.
17. In the 39th year of the reign of Azariah king of Judah, began Menahem, (the son of
Gadi), to reign over Israel, and he reigned for ten years in Samaria.
18. And He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all-of his
days from the sins of Jeroboam I (the son of Nebat), who made all-of Israel to sin.
19. And Pul, the King of Assyria, came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul one
thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom
in his hand. [Notice he did not go to the LORD for this protection!]
20. And Menahem cexacted the money of Israel, even of all-of the mighty men of
wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So, the
king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
• The new king of Israel’s name: Menahem
• Length of his reign: 10 years in Samaria
• Concurrent with: King Azariah of Judah, who have been the king there for the
previous 39 years.
But Menahem was an evil king. He worshipped idols, as did king Jeroboam I had done
so before him, and he led the people of Israel into grievous sin.
Then King PUL of Assyria invaded the land; but King Menahem paid a ransom of $2
million, so he turned around and went back home. Menahem extorted the money from
the rich by enforcing a special tax of $2,000 for each family.
21. And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in
the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
22. And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah, his son, reigned in his stead.
The rest of the history of King Menahem is written in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
When he died, his son, Pekahiah became the new king.
23. In the 50th year of Azariah the king of Judah, Pekahiah, the son of Menahem began
to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for 2 years.
24. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam
I, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
25. But Pekah, the son of Remaliah, a dcaptain of his, conspired against him, and smote
him in Samaria, in ethe palace of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh, and with
him 50 men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room.
26. And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written
in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
• Name of the new king of Israel: Pekahiah
• Father’s name: King Menahem
• Length of reign: 2 years, in Samaria
• Concurrent with: King Azariah of Judah, who had been reigning there for 50 years.

a c e
1 Kings 14:17 [h]~ caused to come 1 Kings 16:18; 2
b
8:12 forth (as a tax) Chronicles 36:10
d
7:2

48
But Pekahiah was an evil king, and he continued the idol-worship begun by Jeroboam I,
(the son of Nebat), who led Israel down the evil trail.
Then Pekah (son of Remaliah), the commanding general of his army, conspired against
him with 50 men from Gilead, and assassinated him in the palace at Samaria. Argob
and Arieh were also slain in the revolt. So, Pekah became the new king. The rest of the
history of King Pekahiah is recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
27. In the 52nd year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekah, the son of Remaliah began to
reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for 20 years.
28. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: for he departed not from
the sins of Jeroboam I, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
29. In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, came aTiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took
b
Ijon, and cAbel Beth Maachah, and Janoah, and dKadesh, and eHazor, and Gilead,
and Galilee, and all-of the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive into Assyria.
30. And Hoshea, the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah, the son of Remaliah,
and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the 20th year of Jotham,
the son of Azariah (Uzziah).
31. And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in
the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
32. In the 2nd year of Pekah (son of Remaliah) king of Israel, began Jotham (the son
of Azariah) King of Judah to reign.
33. He was 25 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem.
And his mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok, the high Priest.
34. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD: he did according to all that his
father Azariah had done.
35. fHowbeit, the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned
incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the House of the LORD.
36. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the
Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
37. And in those days, the LORD began to send against Judah, gRezin, the King of Syria,
and hPekah, the son of Remaliah.
38. And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of
David, his forefather: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
• The new king of Israel: Pekah
• Father’s name: Remaliah
• Length of Reign: 20 years in Samaria
• Concurrent with: King Azariah of Judah who have reigned the for 52 years.
Pekah too, was an evil king, and he continued in the sins of Rehoboam I (son of Nebat),
who led all-of Israel into sin by worshipping idols. It was during his reign that King
Tiglathpileseri, led an attack against Israel. He captured the cities of Ijon, Abel Beth
Maacah, Janoah, Kadesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and all of the land of Naphtali; and he
took the people away to Assyria as captives. Then Hoshea, (the son of Elah), plotted
against Pekah and assassinated him; and he took the throne for himself.
• New king of Israel: Hoshea
• Concurrent with: Jotham (son of Azariah (Uzziah)) king of Judah, who have been
the king for 20 years.
The rest of the history of Pekah’s reign is recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
• New king of Judah: Jotham
• Father’s name: King Azariah
• Age when he became king: 25 years old
• Duration of his reign: 16 Years in Jerusalem
• Mother’s name: Jerusha (daughter of Zadok, the High Priest)

a d g
16:7; Isaiah 9:1; Also Joshua 19:37 16:5
called Pul in verse 9 e
1 Kings 9:15: See h
See verse 27
b
1 Kings 15:20 Joshua 11:1 i
Also called Pul in
c f
2 Samuel 20:14,15 14:4 verse 19 above

49
 • Concurrent with: Pekah (son of Remaliah), who have been king there for 2 years.
Generally speaking, Jotham was a good king, like his father Azariah, he followed the
LORD. But like his father, he did not destroy the shrines on the hills, where the people
still sacrificed and burned incense. It was during King Jotham’s reign that the Upper
Gate of the Temple was built. The rest of Jotham’s history is written in The Annals of the
Kings of Judah. In those days, the LORD raised up King Rezin of Syria, and King Pekah
of Israel to attack Judah. When Jotham died, he was buried with the other kings of Judah
in the royal cemetery, in the City of David section of Jerusalem. Then his son Ahaz
became the new king.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: AHAZ MAKES A NEW ALTAR AND DEFILES THE TEMPLE
As we have studied the Kings of Judah and Israel through these last 15 chapters, we
see the kings progressively turning the people away from the LORD God of Israel, and
encouraging them to worship idols and other gods. The LORD God has been patient and
He even allows King Ahaz to defile the Temple, but after mercy, comes judgement!

1. In the 17th year of Pekah, (son of Remaliah), Ahaz the son of Jotham king of
Judah began to reign.
2. a
Ahaz was 20 years old when he began his reign, and he reigned for 16 years
in Jerusalem, and he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his
God, like his forefather David.
3. But he walked in the ways of the Kings of Israel, yes, band made his sons to
pass through the fire, caccording to the abominations of the heathen, whom
the LORD had cast out from before the Children of Israel.
4. And dhe sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and eon the hills, and
under every green tree.
• The new King of Judah: Ahaz
• Father’s name: Jotham
• Age when He began to reign: 20
• Character of his reign: Evil
• Reigning in Israel at this time: king Pekah, (son of Remaliah), who had been king
of Israel for 17 years.
But he did not follow the LORD as his ancestor David had done; he was as wicked as the
kings of Israel. He even killed his own son by offering him as a burnt sacrifice to the
gods, following the heathen customs of the nations around Judah ~ nations which the
LORD had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land. He also sacrificed and
burned incense at the shrines on the hills, and at the numerous altars in the groves of
trees. [All-of these things were forbidden by the Laws of Moses!]
5. f
Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to
Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but gcould not overcome him.
6. At that time Rezin, king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from
h
Elath: and the Syrians to Elath and dwelt there unto this day.
7. i
So, Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser (Pul), king of Assyria, saying I am thy
servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria,
and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
8. And Ahaz (robbed the temple of the Lord), he jtook the silver and the gold that was
found in the House of the LORD, and in the treasures of the King’s house, and sent
it for a kpresent to the king of Assyria.

a c g j
See verse 4; 2 21:2 21 Chronicles 28:5,6 12:18
Chronicles 28:1-4 d
14:4 h
[h]~ (Eloth); 14:12 k
1 Kings 15:19
b
Leviticus 18:21; e
1 Kings 14:23 i
2 Chronicles
Psalm 106:37,38 f 28:16,20,21
Isaiah 7:1,4-9

50
9. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against
a
Damascus and took it (from the king of Syria), and carried the people of it captive
to bKir, and slew Rezin.
Then king Rezin of Syria, and king Pekah (son of Remaliah) of Israel, declared war on
King Ahaz of Judah and besieged Jerusalem, but they did not conquer it. [So, we now
have Jews fighting against Jews, supported by the Syrians.] However, at that same time,
king Rezin attacked Elath and recovered it for Syria; and he drove out all-of the Jews
and sent Syrians to live there, as they do to this day. [This now means that that 10
tribes of Israel that were living in Elath, have now been disbursed across the Assyrian
empire, where they inter-marry, and cause all sorts of problems later].
King Ahaz, sent a message to king Tiglathpileser (Pul) of Assyria, begging him to come
and help him fight the attacking armies of Syria and Israel. King Ahaz robbed the Temple
of all its silver and gold, and from the royal vaults, and sent it as an advance payment
to the Assyrian king.
So, the Assyrians attacked Damascus, the capital of Syria. They took away the
population of the city as captives, re-settling them in Kir, and King Rezin of Syria was
killed.
10. And King Ahaz went to cDamascus, to meet Tiglathpileser (Pul) King of Assyria, and
saw an altar (to other gods) that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah
the priest, the fashion on the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all-of the
workmanship thereof.
11. And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from
Damascus: so, Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus
12. And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and dthe king
approached to the altar, and offered thereon. [This is an altar to another god.]
13. And he burnt his burnt offering, and his meat offering, and poured his drink
offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon that altar.
14. And he brought also ethe brazen altar, which was before the LORD, from the
forefront of the house, from between fthe altar and the house of the LORD, and put
it on the north side of dthe altar.
15. And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “Upon gthe great altar burn
h
the morning burnt offering and the evening meat offering, and the king’s burnt
sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land,
and their meat offerings: and their drink offerings: and sprinkle upon it all the blood
of the burnt offering, and all-of the blood of the sacrifice: and the brazen altar shall
be for me to inquire by”.
16. Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.
King Ahaz journeyed to Damascus to meet with King Tiglathpileser (Pul) and to thank
him for helping him the battle against the king of Syria and the king of Israel. While he
was there, he notices an unusual altar in the heathen temple. He jotted down its
dimensions and made a sketch of it and sent it back to Urijah the priest, with a detailed
description.
Urijah built one just like it be following the instructions and had it ready for the king’s
return, who, upon his return from Damascus, inaugurated it with an offering. The king
presented a burnt offering, and a grain offering, and poured a drink offering over it, and
sprinkled blood upon it. [To realise the seriousness of his actions, he has just made
sacrifices to another god inside the God of Israel’s Holy Temple. The Temple is now
defiled; but there is more, and it gets worse!]
Then he ordered the removal of the old brazen altar from the front of the Temple (it had
stood between the Temple entrance and the new altar) and he placed the brazen altar
on the north side of the new altar.

a c e h
[h]~ Dammesek [h]~ Dammesek 2 Chronicles 4:1 Exodus 29:39-41
b d f
Isaiah 22:6; Amos 2 Chronicles 26: See verse 11
1:5; 9:7 16,18,19 g
See verse 11

51
He instructed Urijah the priest to use the new altar for the sacrifices of burnt offerings,
the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, and the offerings
of the people, including their drink offerings. The blood from the burnt offerings and
sacrifices, was to be sprinkled over the new altar. So, the old altar was only to be used
for divination. “The old bronze altar,” he said, “will be for my personal use only.” Urijah
the priest did exactly what the king had instructed him to do. He obeyed a “worldly”
king, not the “eternal” king.
Urijah the priest did not try to correct the king, and tell him that what he was doing was
against the covenant made with Israel, through the Laws of Moses. [What the king did
was wrong, but what the priest did was also wrong, by not drawing the king’s attention
to the word of God.
Priests and pastors in the church today have the same responsibility, to draw attention
to any action by government leadership, that is contrary to the word of God. [If] you
warn them and they don’t change [then] their sin is upon their heads; BUT [if] you see
the sin and do not warn them, [THEN] the sin is upon your heads!
17. And the king cut off athe borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off
them; and took down bthe sea from off the (12) brazen oxen, that were under it,
and put it upon a pavement of stones.
18. And the covert for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s
entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for the King of Assyria.
19. Now, the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the Book of
the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
20. And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David:
and Hezekiah his son, reigned in his stead.
The king continued to defile the Temple. He dismantled the wheeled stands in the
Temple, removed their crosspieces and the water vats that they supported, and removed
the great tank from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed it upon the stone pavement.
In deference to the king of Assyria he also removed the festive passageway that he had
constructed between the palace and the temple.
And the rest of the history of the reign of King Ahaz is recorded in The Annals of the
Kings of Judah. When Ahaz died, he was buried in the royal cemetery, in the City of
David section of Old Jerusalem, and his son Hezekiah became the new king.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: SAMARIA CAPTURED: ISRAEL TAKEN INTO CAPTIVITY

As we study this chapter, we see some of the attributes of God come into play; God is a
righteous God, God is a merciful God, and God is a just God. If people or nations refuse
to repent, turn from their wicked ways & refuse to cease worshipping other gods, then
He removes His protection from them, and “allows them” to be taken into captivity.

1. In the 12th year Ahaz king of Judah, began Hoshea, the son of Elah to reign in
Samaria, over Israel for 9 years.
2. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of
Israel had done before him.
• The new king of Israel: Hoshea
• Father’s name: Elah
• Length of reign: 9 years in Samaria
• Character of his reign: EVIL ~ but not as bad as some of the other kings of Israel
• Reigning in Judah at the time: King Ahaz, who had been king for 12 years.
3. Against him came up cShalmaneser, king of Assyria: and Hoshea became his
servant, and dgave him epresents.
4. *** And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent
messengers to SO, the king of Egypt, and brought no presents to the king of

a c d
1 Kings 7:27,28,38 18:9; Hosea 10:14; [h]~ rendered
b
1 Kings 7:23,25 see verse 7; 18:9-12 e
[h]~ tribute

52
 Assyria, as he had done year by year (previously): Therefore, the king of Assyria
shut him up, and bound him in prison.
5. Then athe king of Assyria came up throughout all-of the land, and went up to
Samaria, and besieged it for 3 years.
King Shalmaneser of Assyria Attacked and defeated king Hoshea, so Israel had to pay
heavy annual taxes to Assyria. This was the beginning of God’s punishment upon them.
Then Hoshea conspired against the king of Assyria, by asking king SO, of Egypt to help
him shake free of Assyria’s power, but this treachery was discovered. At the same time,
he refused to pay the annual tribute tax to Assyria. So, the king of Assyria put him in
prison, and in chains, for his rebellion. Now, the land was filled with Assyrian troops for
three years, besieging Samaria, the capital city of Israel.
6. b
In the 9th year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and ccarried Israel
away captives into Assyria, and placed them din Halah, and in Habor by the river
of eGozan, in the cities of the fMedes.
7. For it was so, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God,
which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of the
Pharoah, king of Egypt, and had feared other gods.
8. And walked in the statutes of the heathen, gwhom the LORD cast out from before
the children of Israel, which they had made.
9. And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the
LORD their God, (thinking that He could not see their actions) and they built them
high places in all-of the cities, hfrom the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
10. iAnd they set them up jimages and groves, in every high hill, and under every green
tree:
11. And there they burnt incense in all-of the high places, as did the heathen, whom
the LORD had carried away before them: and wrought wicked things to provoke
the LORD to anger: [Now we see, the LORD’s patience, then His warnings, then His
punishment, and now His Anger!]
12. For they served idols, kwhereof the LORD had said unto them, “You shall not do
this thing.”
13. Yet the LORD ltestified against Israel, and against Judah, mby all-of the prophets,
and by all-of nthe seers, saying, “Turn you from your wicked ways, and keep My
commandments and My statutes, according to all-of the Law which I commanded
your fathers, and which I sent to you, oby My servants, the prophets.
14. Notwithstanding, they would not hear, they hardened their necks, like the necks of
their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.
15. And they rejected His statutes, and His covenant that He made with their fathers,
and His testimonies, which He testified against them: and they followed vanity, and
became vain, and went after the heathen, that were round about them, concerning
whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. [If we look
at the world today, and we look at some churches today, we see exactly the same
thing! The things of the world which God had forgiven the OLD Testament people
to turn away from, the New Testament churches are turning back to again,
rejecting the warnings about refusing to repent! Without Repentance, no-one shall
see God, but they will feel His wrath, as He deals with a rebellious generation.]
16. And they left all-of the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them
molten images, ptwo calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all-of the host of
heaven, and served Baal. [When their fathers came out of Egypt, they rebelled against
God and Aaron made a golden calf and the whole nation was punished with it, spending 40
years in the wilderness, until a whole generation died out ~ (except for Joshua and Caleb).

a e j n
18:9 19:12 [h]~ statues 2 Samuel 24:11
b f k o
18:10 Isaiah 13:17; 21:2 Exodus 20:4 [h]~ By the hand of
c
Leviticus 26:32,33; g
16:3 l
Nehemiah 9:30 my Prophets
p
Deuteronomy h
18:8 m
[h]~ by the hands 1 Kings 12:28
28:36,64; 29:27,28 i of; See verse 23
d
1 Kings 14:23
18:11

53
 When the people of Sodom and Gomorrah refused to turn away from their evil, they were
also wiped out; so now they have made TWO calves ~ this is not going to end well for
Israel.]
17. And athey caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and bused
divination and cenchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the
LORD, to provoke him to anger.
18. *** Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel, and REMOVED THEM OUT OF
HIS SIGHT: there was none left but the tribe of Judah donly. [God had now removed
His blessings and His protection from the 10 tribes of Israel, and is now only caring
for the tribes of Judah & the Levites]
19. And Judah (also) kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked
in the statutes of Israel which they made.
20. And the LORD “REJECTED ALL-OF THE SEED OF ISRAEL”, and afflicted them, and
delivered them into the hands of spoilers, until He had cast them out of His sight.
21. For eHe rent Israel from the house of David; and fthey made Jeroboam, the son of
Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and gmade them
sin a great sin.
22. For the children of Israel walked in all-of the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they
departed not from them.
23. Until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all-of his servants
the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this
day. [If the LORD is prepared to do that to His chosen people, His chosen nation,
set aside as His “example nation”, as punishment for their continual sins, how much
more can we expect to be punished, if we continue, as a nation, that sins before
God, by passing laws that are clearly against God’s written laws?]
Finally, in the 9th year of King Hoshea’s reign, the city of Samaria fell, and all-of the
people of Israel were taken into captivity and exiled to Assyria. They were placed in
colonies (we call them re-education centres these days), in the city of Halah and along
the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and among the cities of the Medes.
This disaster came upon the nation of Israel because they worshipped other gods, thus
sinning against the LORD their God, who brought them, safely out of their slavery in
Egypt. They had followed the evil customs of the nations which the LORD had cast out
from before them. The people of Israel had also secretly done many things which were
wrong, and they had built altars to other gods, throughout the land.
They had placed Obelisks and Idols at the top of every hill and under every green
tree; and they had burned incense to the gods of the very nations which the LORD had
cleared out of the land when Israel came in.
So, the people of Israel had done many evil things, and the LORD was very angry. Yes,
they worshipped idols, despite the LORD’s specific and repeated warnings!
If we look around the world
today, we see hundreds of
Obelisks of all shapes and
sizes. We also see statues of
calves and bulls, this one is
outside the United Nations
Building, a building that
represents the whole world.
Do you really think that the
LORD is going to ignore these
sins against His word?
Again and again, the LORD had sent prophets to warn both Israel and Judah (insert your
own country name here) to turn from their evil ways; He had warned them to OBEY His
commandments, which He had given to their ancestors, through the prophets.

a c e g
16:3 Leviticus 19:26 1 Kings 11:11,31 1 Kings 14:16
b d f
Deuteronomy 18:10 1 Kings 11:13, 32 1 Kings 12: 20,28

54
But Israel (and other nations around the world) would not listen! The people were as
stubborn as their ancestors, and refused to believe in the LORD their God.
Like is recorded elsewhere in the scriptures, they proudly proclaimed that “we are the
sons of Abraham; God will never destroy the Temple, or Jerusalem or us, His chosen
people.” They got it wrong then and sooner than later they will find out that God does it
again!
They defiled all-of the commandments of the LORD their God (all 10 of them) and made
two calves from molten gold. They made detestable, shameful idols, and worshipped
Baal, and the sun, the moon, and the stars. They even burned their own sons and
daughters to death on the altars of Molech, as offerings to this idol god. They consulted
fortune-tellers and used magic, and sold themselves to do evil. So, the LORD was very
angry. He swept them from His sight (He consciously decided not to look at them!)
reducing the land size until only the tribe of Judah remained on the land given to Israel.
But sadly, the Tribe of Judah, the tribe from which Jesus would come, refused to obey
the commandments of the LORD their God; they too walked in the same evil paths that
Israel had walked. So, the LORD rejected all-of the descendants of Jacob. He
punished them by delivering them to their attackers, until they were all destroyed. For
the 10 tribes of Israel split off from the kingdom of David, and chose Jeroboam I, (the
son of Nebat) as its king. Then Jeroboam drew Israel away from following the LORD. He
made them sin a great sin, and the people of Israel never quit doing the evil that
Jeroboam had led them into, until the LORD finally swept them away, just as all-of the
prophets had warned would happen. So, Israel was carried off into captivity into the land
of the Assyrians, where they remain until this day.
24. aAnd the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from
Ava, and from bHamath, and from cSepharvarim, and placed them in the cities of
Samaria, instead of the children of Israel.
25. *** And so it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there; that they feared not
the LORD; [They did not even question why they had been evicted out of their
Promised Land; the Land that the LORD had given to the fathers.] Therefore, the
LORD sent lions in amongst them, which slew some of them.
26. *** Wherefore they spoke to the king of Assyria saying, “The nations which thou
have removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the
God of the land; Therefore, He has sent lions among them, and, behold, they slew
them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.”
27. Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Carry thither one of the priests,
whom you brought from there: and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach
them the manner of the God of the land.” [Go and evangelise them, teach them
about the God of the Land of Israel.]
28. Then one of the Priests whom they had carried away from Samaria, came and dwelt
in dBethel, and taught them, how they should fear the LORD.
29. Howbeit, every nation made gods of their own, and put them in ethe houses of the
high places, which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein
they dwelt.
30. And the men of fBabylon made Succoth-Benoth, and the men of Cuth, made Nergal,
and the men of Hamath, made Ashima.
31. And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children
in fire to gAdramelech and Ana-Melech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
32. So, they feared the LORD, and hmade unto themselves (of the lowest of them)
priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them, in the houses of the high
places.

a c e h
Ezra 4:2,9,10 See verse 31; 18:34; 1 Kings 12:31; 13:32 1 Kings 12:31
b
1 Kings 8:65 19:13 f
See verse 24
d
1 Kings 12:29 g
19:37

55
33. They feared the LORD, and served their own gods (at the same time) after the
a

manner of the nations, bwhom they carried way from thence.

34. Unto this day, they do unto the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither
do they after the statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and the
commandments, which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, cwhom He
named Israel.
35. With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, “You Shall
not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to
them: [That seems pretty clear: “You shall have no other gods but ME!”]
36. But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, with great power and
a stretched-out arm, Him shall you fear (with reverential fear), and Him shall you
worship (in Spirit and in Truth), and to Him shall you do sacrifice; (by submitting
yourself as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto him.)
37. And the statutes, and the ordinances of the Law, and the Commandments; which
he wrote for you, you shall observe to do forevermore: and you shall not fear other
gods; (for greater is He that is within you, than he that is in the world.)
38. And the covenant that I have made with you, dyou shall not forget; neither shall
you fear other gods.
39. But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He shall deliver you out of the hand of
all-of your enemies.
40. Howbeit, they did not listen, but they did after their former manner.
41. So, these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their
children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so they do unto this day.
In 722 BCE, the king of Assyria transported colonies of people from Babylon, Cuthah,
Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and re-settled them in the cities of Samaria, replacing
the people of Israel, which were exiled into Babylon, and places along the Habor River.
So, the Assyrians took over Samaria, and the other cities of Israel. But since these
Assyrians colonists did not worship the LORD when they first arrived, the LORD sent
lions among them to kill some off them.
Then they sent a message to the king of Assyria: “We colonists here in Israel don’t know
the laws of the god of the land, and he has sent lions among us to kill us, because we
have not worshipped him.” [Here is an interesting situation; They don’t believe in the
God of Israel, but they must have heard stories about what the God of Israel had done
previously for their people. When they are attacked by lions, they discern that this is
punishment, because they did not worship him when they first come into the Land of
the Jews. Sadly, many Christians don’t have that same level of spiritual discernment,
and react incorrectly, when tribulations come upon them].
Then the king of Assyria decreed, that one of the exiled priests from Samaria should
return to Israel and teach the new residents the laws of the god of the land. So, one of
them (un-named) to Bethel and taught the colonists from Babylon “how to” worship the
LORD. [He would have had to be also to speak Chaldean Aramaic to communicate with
them, as well as Hebrew. Later, when King Nebuchadnezzar captures Jerusalem and all
the Jews are taken to Babylon, some of the original texts of the Book of Daniel (and
others) were written in Chaldean Aramaic.]
But these colonists also worshipped their own idol gods. Those from Babylon,
worshipped idols of their god Succoth-Benoth; those from Cuth, worshipped their god
Nergal; and the men of Hamath, worshipped Ashima. The gods Nibhaz and Tartak were
worshipped by the Avites, and the people from Sephar, even burned their own children
on the altars of their gods Adrammelech, and Anam Melech.
They also worshipped the LORD, and they appointed from among themselves priests,
(who were not from the tribe of Levi) to sacrifice to the LORD on the hilltop altars, which
is not the correct place to worship Adonai.

a
Zephaniah 1:5 b
[h]~ OR, who carried c
Genesis 32:28; 1 d
. Deuteronomy 4:23
them away from Kings 18:31
thence.

56
But they continued to follow the religious customs of the nations from where they came.
The God of Israel, was just another add-on. He was not above ALL OTHER GODS! And
this is still going on among them today.
Here in Australia, Jesus, the God of all creation, the Son of the Living God, is just added
onto the “Dreamtime gods of the nation” which had been roaming around the nation
from the time of creation. They have the smoking ceremony, so that the smoke clouds
out and covers the Truth, because John 14:6 says that Jesus is the TRUTH! No man gets
to heaven through a smoking ceremony, only through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Wake up Australia!
In many places, this is still going on today ~ they follow their former practises instead
of truly worshipping the LORD, or obeying the laws that He gave to the descendants of
Jacob, (whose name was later changed to Israel). For the LORD had made a contact
with them ~ that were NEVER, EVER, to worship, or make sacrifices to any other heathen
gods. They were to worship only the LORD, who had brought them out of the land of
Egypt, with such tremendous miracles and power. The descendants of Jacob were to
OBEY ALL-OF God’s laws, and never, ever worship other gods.
For God had said, “You must never forget the covenant I made with you: Never
worship other gods. You must worship only the LORD; He will save you from
all-of your enemies.”
Moral of this story: You cannot worship other gods, or have something that
you consider more important than Jesus Christ in your life, and still expect God
Almighty to bless you!

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: HEZEKIAH’S GOOD REIGN; SENNACHERIB INVADES.

In 885 BC, King David began to reign in Judah and he reigned in Judah 7.5 years, and
a further 33 years for all-of Israel. King Hezekiah reigned in Judah from 716/15–687/86
(depending upon which dating system you use). This means that for 169 years, the
rulers of Judah and of Israel, were evil kings ~ to some degree or other.
1. Now it came to pass in the 3rd year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that
Hezekiah son of Ahaz King of Judah, began to reign.
2. He was 25 years old when he began to reign; and he reigned in Jerusalem for 29
years. His mother’s name was also Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.
3. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that
David, his forefather did.
• New King of Judah: Hezekiah
• Father’s name: Ahaz
• Length of his reign: 29 years in Jerusalem
• His age at the beginning of his reign: 25 years old
• His Mother’s name: Abi (daughter of Zechariah)
• Character of his reign: Good, (similar to that of his ancestor David)
• Reigning in Israel at that time: King Hoshea, (son of Elah) who had been king
there for 3 years.
4. a
He removed the high places, and broke the images (statues), and cut
down bthe groves, and broke in pieces the cbrazen serpent that Moses had
made: for unto these days, the children of Israel did burn incense to it:
and he called it dNehus Tan.
5. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; eso that after him was none like him among
all-of the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
6. For He fclave to the LORD, and departed not gfrom following him, but kept his
commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

a d f
2 Chronicles 31:1 [h]~ That is, “a Joshua 23:8
b
Micah 5:14 piece of brass” g
[h]~ from after Him
e
c
Numbers 21:8,9 23:25

57
7. And the LORD was with him: and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and
he arebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.
8. He bsmote the Philistines, even unto Gaza and the borders thereof, from the tower
of the watchmen, to the fenced city.
King Hezekiah was a righteous king, he had the revelation that the shrines on the hills
and the groves were evil, so he took steps to cleanse and purify Judah. He removed the
shrines on the hills, broke down the obelisks, knocked down the shameful idols of
Asherah, and broke up the bronze serpent that Moses erected, because the people of
Israel had begun to worship it, by burnings incense to it; even though, as King Hezekiah
pointed out, it was merely a piece of bronze.
He trusted very strongly in the LORD God of Israel. In fact, none of the kings that were
before, or after him, were as close to God as he was. [He was closer to God than king
David was]. For he followed the LORD in everything, and carefully obeyed all God’s
commandments to Moses.
Because of this closeness and his obedience, the LORD was with him, and prospered
him in everything that he did. Then he rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused
to pay the tribute tax any longer. He also conquered the Philistines, as far distant as
Gaza and its suburbs, destroying the cities both large and small.
9. And cit came to pass in the 4th year of King Hezekiah’s reign, which was the 7th year
of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria, came up
against Samaria, and besieged it.
10. And at the end of 3 years, they captured it, even in the 6th year of Hezekiah, that
is the 9th year of Hoshea, king of Israel, Samaria, that capital city of Samaria was
taken.
11. And the king of Assyria, did take away all of the people of Israel (in captivity) in
Assyria, and put them in Halah, and in Harbor, by the river of Gozan, and in the
cities of the Medes.
12. [And the reason that God “allowed” this to happen was,] Because they observed
not the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed their covenant, and all that
Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded, and would not hear, then, not do
them.
And it was during the 4th year of king Hezekiah’s reign, (which was the 7th years of the
reign of king Hoshea, the king of Israel,) that king Shalmaneser, king of Assyria attacked
Israel and began to besiege of the city of Samaria.
Three years later, (during the reign of king Hezekiah, and the 9th year of the reign of
king Hoshea of Israel), Samaria fell and all-of the Israelites were captured. The king of
Assyria transported the Israelite captives into Assyria and put them in colonies (we call
them re-education centres today), located at Halah, and along the banks of the Habor
River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Why did God “allow” this? Because they refused to listen to the LORD their God, or to
do what He wanted them to do. Instead, they had transgressed his covenant, and
disobeyed all-of the laws given to them by Moses, the servant of the LORD.
Now some people will say, “well, they served this punishment, because they refused to
obey God and his commandments.” And that is true; but God’s word is unchanging, so
His commandments to His church are also binding upon the nations. Jesus said, “Love
the LORD your God with ALL-OF your Mind, Body and Strength, and LOVE YOUR
NEIGHBOUR, as you love yourself.”
How many church organizations can claim that they do that ~ 100%?
How many Christians can claim as individuals, that they do this ~ 100%?
In Australia; How many Christians voted for same-sex marriages to become legal in our
nation, when the word of God clearly states that “marriage” is a “holy estate”, between
a man and a woman?
Therefore, this clearly means that a “marriage” between two men, or two women, is an
“UNHOLY ESTATE” AND BY GOD’S STANDARDS, IS NOT A “MARRIAGE” AT ALL!

a b c
16:7 Isaiah 14:29 See verse 12

58
But now the prophecy in the Book of Revelation is being fulfilled. “LIES” will be promoted
as “TRUTH” (even into our LAWS) and TRUTH, WILL BE SUPPRESSED!
Laws now exist that doctors and pharmacies can prescribe abortion pills for young girls
to murder unborn children, without the parents being informed.
Laws now exist for children to be given suppression drugs, to change their sexual
orientation. God Almighty made only two sexes, MALE & FEMALE. But now, we have a
third gender in law, for the undecided.
The church is asleep! Wake up Australia!!! God Almighty will “allow” the nation to be
persecuted, if they do not act to repeal these ungodly laws. This is a warning! God’s
Word never changes. without repentance no-one, (not even billionaires) will see God!
If the nation’s leaders refuse to listen to God’s warnings, don’t complain when we are
confronted by war once again! Maybe this time, we will end up in captivity!
13. Now, ain the 14th year of king Hezekiah did bSennacherib king of Assyria come up
against all-of the fenced cities of Judah, and captured them. [So now, all-of the
geographical land of Israel deeded to the Hebrews by the LORD God of Israel, is
now in the hands of the king of Assyria.]
14. And Hezekiah sent to the king of Assyria to cLachish, saying, “I have offended;
return from me: that will you put on my will I bear.” And the king of Assyria
appointed unto Hezekiah three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold.
15. And Hezekiah dgave him all-of the silver that was found in the house of the LORD,
and in the treasures of the king’s house.
16. At that time did Hezekiah cut off all-of the gold from the doors of the Temple, and
from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave eit to the king
of Assyria.
Later, during the 14th year of the reign of the reign of king Hezekiah, king Sennacherib
of Assyria besieged and captured all of the fortified cities of Judah. King Hezekiah sued
for peace and sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong.
I will pay whatever tribute you demand, if you will only go away.” The king of Assyria
then demanded $1,500,000.
To gather this amount, King Hezekiah used all-of the silver, stored in the Temple treasury
(that belonged to the God of Israel), as well the silver in the palace treasury. He even
stripped off the gold from the Temple doors, and from the doorposts, that he had
previously overlaid with gold, and gave it all to the Assyrian king. [The nation of Israel
now has no reserves. They must now trust in the LORD completely!]
17. fAnd the king of Assyria sent gTartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to
king Hezekiah with a hgreat host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came
to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by ithe conduit
of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field.
18. And when they had called to the king (the king did not come out, but sent a
delegation) jEliakim, the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna,
the kscribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, lthe recorder.
19. And Rabshakeh said unto them, “Speak you now unto Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the
great king of Assyria, what confidence is this wherein you trust’?”
20. You msay, (but they are but nvain words). ‘oI have counsel and strength for the war.
Now, on whom do you trust, that you rebel against me’?
21. “Now, behold, you ptrust upon qthe staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt,
upon which, if a man lean it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharoah, king
of Egypt, unto all that trust in him.

a e i n
2 Chronicles 32:1; [h]~ them Isaiah 7:3 [h]~ words of the lips
Isaiah 36:1 f
19:37; Isaiah 36:2- j
Isaiah 22:15,19,20 o
[h]~ but counsel &
b
[h]~ Sanherib 38; see also 2 k
[h]~ secretary; strength are for the
c
Joshua 10:3; 2 Chronicles 32:9-32 12:10; 19:2 war.
g p
Chronicles 32:9 Isaiah 20:1 l
2 Samuel 8:16 [h]~ trustiest thee
d h q
12:18; 16:8 [h]~ heavy m
[h]~ talk Isaiah 30:2-7

59
22. ‘But if you say unto me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God: is it not He, awhose high
places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and
Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar, in Jerusalem’? [This Assyrian maybe
did not know it, but by making these statements, by mocking the LORD God of
Israel, He was now BATTLING AGAINST A FAR SUPERIOR ENEMY.]
23. *** “Now therefore, I pray thee, give bpledges to my lord, the king of Assyria, and
I will deliver 2,000 horses, if you are able to find 2,000 horsemen to ride upon
them. [ You are so weak, that even if we gave you 2,000 horses, you have not got
enough men to ride them!]
24. “How then will you turn away the face of even one captain, of the least of my
master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?”
25. “Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD
said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it’!”
26. Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Sheba, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh,
“Speak, I pray thee cin the Aramaic language: for we understand it: and talk not
with us in the Hebrew language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.”
27. But Rabshakeh said unto them; “Has my master sent me to your master, and to
thee, to speak these words? Has he not sent me to speak to the men on the walls,
that they may eat their own dung, and ddrink their own urine with you?”
28. Then Rabshakeh stood and cried out with a loud voice in the Hebrew language, and
spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:
29. “Thus says the king, ‘Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to
deliver you out of his hand:
30. “Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD will surely
deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria:
31. “Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus says the king of Assyria; eMake an agreement
with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat you every man of his own
vine, and every one of his own fig trees, and drink you, every one the waters of
his own fcistern:
32. “Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, ga land of corn and
wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil, and of honey, that you may
live, and not die: and hearken not to Hezekiah, when he hpersuaded you, saying,
‘The LORD will deliver us’.
33. “iHas any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the
king of Assyria?
34. “Where are the gods of jHamath, and of kArpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim,
Hena, and Iva? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
35. “Who are there among the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country
out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver should deliver Jerusalem out of my
hand?”
36. But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for Hezekiah’s
commandment was saying; “Answer him not.”
37. Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna,
the scribe, and Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah, with their clothes rent, and told
him the words of Rabshakeh.
Nevertheless, the king of Assyria, sent his field marshal, his treasurer, and his chief of
staff from Lachish with a great army, and they camped along the highway, beside the
field where the cloth was bleached, near the conduit of the upper pool, to intimidate the
Nation of Judah.

a
See verse 4; 2 written in Aramaic, e
Or, seek my favour, i
19:12; Isaiah
Chronicles 32:12 the Chaldean [h]~ make with me a 10:10,11
b language] blessing j
[h]~ hostages; 14:14 d
1 Kings 8:65;
c [h]~ the water of f
[h]~ Or, pit k
Ezra 4:7; Daniel 2:4 Isaiah 10:9;
their own feet g
[both of these books Deuteronomy 8:7,8 Jeremiah 49:23
were originally h
[h]~ deceived

60
They demanded that Hezekiah come out to speak to them, but instead, he sent a truce
delegation of the following men: Eliakim, his business manager, Shebna, his secretary,
and Joah, the royal historian.
Then the Assyrian general sent this message to king Hezekiah: “The great king of Assyria
says, ‘No one can save you from my power! You need more than mere promises of help
before rebelling against me; [and refusing to pay your yearly tribute tax]. But which of
your allies will give you more than words? Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, you will find that
she is a stick that breaks under your weight and pierces your hand. The Egyptian
Pharoah is totally unreliable! And if you say, “We are trusting the LORD to rescue us” ~
just remember, that he is the very one whose hilltop altars you have destroyed. For you
require everyone to worship at the altar in Jerusalem!
[Satan comes to DECEIVE, rob, kill, and destroy.] Here the Field marshal was deceiving
the people, by saying that the altars and shrines on the hilltops, were there to worship
the Lord God of Israel ~ which was NOT true! They were commanded by the LORD God
of Israel, to worship Him at the altar in Jerusalem!
He then continues to mock them; “I’ll tell you what! Make a bet with my master, the
king of Assyria! If you still have 2,000 men who can ride horses, we’ll provide the horses.
And with an army as small as yours, you are not even a threat to the least lieutenant in
charge of the smallest contingent in my master’s army. [This field marshal had forgotten
what the LORD God of Israel can do, through just 300 men. God had used Gideon and
300 men in a battle against 30,000 men and defeated them, just 400 years before.]
“Even if Egypt supplies you with horses and chariots, it will do no good. And do you think
that we come here on our own? NO! The LORD sent us and told us, “Go and destroy this
nation!” [Another lie! God never goes against His word. He has promised to protect this
land, and “His chosen people!” A remnant will always be saved!]
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to them; “Please speak in Aramaic, for we
understand it; (because this is a private conversation and we don’t want the people up
on the wall to hear what we are discussing.)
But the Assyrian field marshal replied, “Has my master sent me here to speak to you
and your master only? Hasn’t he sent me to speak to the people on the wall too? They
are doomed to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine ~ just like you and
your king!”
Then the Assyrian Ambassador shouted in Hebrew in a loud voice, directly to the people
on the wall. “Listen to the great king of Assyria! Don’t let Hezekiah fool you! He will
never be able to save you from my power. Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the
LORD to rescue you! Don’t listen to Hezekiah. Surrender! You can live here in peace, in
your own land, until I take you to another land, just like this one ~ with plentiful crops,
grain, wine, olive trees, and honey. All-of this instead of death. Don’t listen to Hezekiah,
when he tries to persuade you that the LORD will deliver you!
Have any of the gods of the other nations ever delivered their people from the king of
Assyria? What happened to the gods of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena and Iva? Did
they rescue Samaria? What God has ever been able to save any nation from my power?
But the people on the wall remained silent, for the king had instructed them to say
nothing ~ and they obeyed their king!
Then Eliakim, (son of Hilkiah) the business manager, and Shebna, the king’s secretary,
and Joah, (the son of Asaph), the historian, went to King Hezekiah with their clothes
torn, and told him what the Assyrian general had said.
[ The Assyrian general did not know it, but He had mocked God Almighty, the LORD God
of Israel stating that he was unable to save the nation of Judah from the king of Assyria.
That challenge rolled around the throne room in heaven, and is answered in the next
chapter!]
Hezekiah trusted the LORD in all things, so the only solution to this problem, to this
challenge of God’s authority here on this earth, was to take it to the LORD, and in
Chapter 19, that is exactly what He does.

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CHAPTER NINETEEN: HEZEKIAH’S PRAYER; PROPHECY AGAINST
SENNACHERIB
1. And it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and
a
covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. [When
problems & situations come upon your nation; leaders should follow Hezekiah’s
example ~ take the problem to the LORD ~ don’t try to solve it yourself!]
2. And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna, the scribe, and
the elders of the priests, covered in sackcloth, to Isaiah, the Prophet, the son of
Amoz. [Notice, that Hezekiah sends the representatives of the worldly king, and
the representatives of the Godly king, BOTH dressed in sackcloth to see Isaiah, the
Prophet, God’s servant. I did not see any leader, of any nation, do that when COVID
spread across the earth. Maybe they all need to learn the lesson of Hezekiah ~
because it WORKS!]
3. And they said unto Isaiah, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of trouble, and
of rebuke, and bblasphemy: for the children are come to the birth (canal), and there
is not strength to bring forth.
4. c
It maybe that the LORD thy God will hear all-of the words of Rabshakeh, whom
the king of Assyria his Master has sent, dto reproach the living God: and will reprove
the words that the LORD thy God has heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for ethe
remnant that are fleft. [Notice when the king’s representatives, and the priests
spoke to him they said “Lift up your prayers to YOUR God, they did not say; lift up
your prayers to OUR God.” One would think that they would all be serving the SAME
God!]
5. So, the servants of the king came to Isaiah.
When Hezekiah heard their report, he also tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and
went into the Temple to pray. Then he told Eliakim, Shebna, and some of the older
priests, to clothe themselves in sackcloth and go to Isaiah (son of Amoz) the prophet,
with this message: “King Hezekiah says: ‘This is a day of trouble, insult, and dishonour.
It is as when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has not strength enough to
deliver it. Yet perhaps, the LORD your God has heard the Assyrian general defying the
Living God, and will rebuke him. Oh, pray for the few of us, the remnant, that are left’.”
6. And Isaiah said unto them; “Thus shall you say unto your master, ‘Thus says the
LORD; Be not afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servant of
the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7. [P] ‘Behold, I will send a blast, upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall
return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land’.”
Isaiah replied, “The LORD says, ‘Tell your master not to be troubled by the sneers these
Assyrians have made against me.’ For the King of Assyria will receive bad news from
home and will decide to return; and the LORD will see to it that he is killed when he
arrives there!” [Don’t worry about him, I am going to sort Him out for blaspheming me!
Warning! Blaspheming God is very dangerous for your eternal health!]
8. So, Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against gLibnah: for
he had heard that he had departed from hLachish.
9. And when he heard say of Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, ‘Behold he has come out to
fight against thee, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah saying,
10. Thus, shall you speak to Hezekiah, king of Judah, saying, “Let not your God, in
whom you trust deceive you, saying, ‘Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the
hands of the King of Assyria’.
11. “Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all-of the lands,
destroying them utterly; and shall you be delivered?’

a c e g
1 Kings 20:31 2 Samuel 16:12 17:6; Isaiah 1:9 Joshua 10:29
b d f h
[h]~ Or, provocation 18:35 [h]~ found 18:14

62
12. “aHave the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed;
as bGozan, and cHaran, and Rezeph, and the children of dEden, which were in
Thelasar?
13. “eWhere is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad and the king of the city of
Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Iva?
Then the Assyrian general returned to his king at Libnah (for he had heard that he had
moved from Lachish) Soon afterwards (just like it said in the word from the LORD
through Isaiah the prophet) news reached the king that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was
coming to attack him, so he sent back this message to Hezekiah: “Don’t be fooled by
that God you trust in! Don’t believe it when He says I won’t conquer Jerusalem! You
know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria done wherever they have gone; they have
completely destroyed everything. Why would you be any different? Have the gods of the
other nations delivered them ~ such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and Eden in the
land of Thelasar? The former kings of Assyria destroyed them all. What happened to the
king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim,
Hena, and Iva?”
14. And Hezekiah received the fletter from the hand of the messengers, and read it:
and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread out the letter before
the LORD.
15. And gHezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, “O LORD God of Israel, which
dwells hbetween the cherubims, thou are the God, even thou alone, of all-of the
kingdoms of the earth; thou have made the heavens and the earth.
16. “LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open LORD, thine eyes and see: and hear
the word of Sennacherib, which has sent him to reproach the “Living God”.
17. “Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands.
18. *** “And have icast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but jthe work
of men’s hands: wood and stone, therefore, they have destroyed them.
19. *** “Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us, out of his
hand, that all-of the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the LORD God,
even you only.” [all-of the rest are counterfeit!]
King Hezekiah took the letter from the Messengers, read it, and then went over to the
Temple, and spread the letter out before the LORD. Then he prayed this prayer: “O,
LORD God of Israel, sitting on your throne, high above the angels, (Cherubims), you
alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You created the heavens and the
earth. Bend low, O LORD, and listen. Open your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to this
man’s defiance of the living God. LORD it is true that the kings of Assyria have destroyed
all-of those nations, and have burned their idol gods. But they weren’t gods at all: they
were destroyed because they were only things that mankind had made of wood and
stone. O LORD our God, we plead with you to save us from his power; then, all-of the
kingdoms of the earth will know (without any doubt) that you alone are God.”
20. Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God
of Israel, that what you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, kI
have heard.
21. “This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin, the
daughter of Zion has despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of
Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee.
22. “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you exalted
your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Even against lthe Holy One of Israel.
23. “By mthy messengers you have reproached the LORD, and have said; ‘With the
multitude of my chariots, I am come up to the heights of the mountains, to the

a e i m
18:33 18:34 [h]~ given [h]~ by the hand of;
b
17:6 f
2 Chronicles 32:17; j
Psalm 115:4 18:17
c
Genesis 11:31 compare with verse 9 k
20:5
g
d
Ezekiel 27:23; Amos 2 Chronicles 32:20 l
Psalm 71:22; Isaiah
h
1:5 Exodus 25:22 5:24; Jeremiah 51;5

63
 sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the atall cedar trees thereof and the choice fir
trees thereof; and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest
b
of his Carmel.
24. “I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet, have I
dried up all-of the rivers of cbesieged places.
25. “Have you not heard dlong ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have
formed it? Now have I brought it to pass, that you should be to lay waste fenced
cities into ruinous heaps.
26. *** “Therefore, their inhabitants were eof small power, they were dismayed and
confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as fthe
grass on the housetops, and as corn, blasted before it be grown up.
27. “But I know your gabode; your going out, and your coming in, and they rage against
me. [You are continually under surveillance!]
28. ***[P] “Because thy rage against Me and they tumult is come up into to MY ears,
therefore, I will put hMy hook in your nose, and my bridle in your lips, and I will
turn you back by the way you came.
29. [P] “And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall eat this year isuch things as grow
of themselves, and in the second year that which springs up of the same; and in
the third year, sow you and reap and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
30. And the jremnant that has escaped of the house of Judah shall yet take root
downward, and bear fruit upward.
31. For out of Judah shall go forth a remnant, and kthey shall escape out of Mount Zion,
l
the zeal of the LORD of Hosts shall do this.
32. ***[P] Therefore, thus says the LORD, concerning the King of Assyria; “He shall
not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield,
nor cast a bank against it.
33. [P] “By the way that he came, so shall it be the way that He goes, and he shall not
come into the city,” says the LORD.
34. [P] For I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake, and for my servant David’s
sake.
Then Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: “The LORD God of Israel says, “I have heard
your prayers! And this is my reply, to king Sennacherib (for what he has said and done).
The virgin daughter of Zion is not afraid of you! The daughter of Jerusalem scorns and
mocks at you. Whom have you defied and blasphemed? And toward whom have you felt
so cocky? It is the Holy One of Israel!”
“You have boasted. “My chariots have conquered the highest mountains, yes, the peaks
of Lebanon. I have cut down the tallest cedars and the choicest cypress pine trees, and
have conquered the farthest borders. I have been refreshed at conquered wells, and I
destroyed the strength of Egypt, by just walking by!”
“Why haven’t you realised long before this, that it is I, the LORD God of Israel, who lets
you do these things? I decreed your conquests of all-of those fortified cities! So, of
course the nations that you conquered had no power against you! They were like grass
shrivelling in the hot sun, and like grain blighted before it was even half-grown.
“I know everything about you! I know all-of your plans, and where you are going next;
and I also know the evil things that you said about Me! And because of your arrogance
against Me, I am going to put a hook in your nose, and a bridle on your mouth, and turn
you back along the road that you came here!

a
[h]~ tallness and formed it of e
[h]~ Short of hand i
Leviticus 25:5,11
b ancient times; should f j
[h]~ Or, and his fruit Psalm 129:6 And escaping the
I now bring it to be
fields g
[h]~ sitting; Psalm house of Judah that
laid waste? And
c
[h]~ fenced 139:2 remains
fenced cities to be k
d
[h]~ Or, how I have ruinous heaps? h
Ezekiel 29:4; 38:4 [h]~ the escaping
l
made it long ago, Isaiah 9:7

64
“And this is the proof that I will do as I have promised: This year my people will eat the
volunteer wheat, (the wheat that comes up by itself, in fallow soil). They will also use it
for seed for next year’s crop; and in the 3rd year they will have a bountiful harvest.
“O, my people Judah, those of you that have escaped the ravages of the siege shall
become a great nation once again: you shall be deeply rooted in the soil, and bear much
fruit for God. A remnant of My people shall become strong in Jerusalem. The LORD is
eager for this to happen!
“And my command concerning the king of Assyria is that he shall not enter this city! He
shall not stand before it with a shield, nor build a ramp up against the walls, nor even
shoot an arrow towards it. He shall return by the road he came on. For I will defend and
save this city, for the sake of My own name, and for the sake of my servant David.”
35. And ait came to pass that night, that the Angel of the LORD went out, and smote
in the camp of the Assyrians 185,000: and when they arose in the morning, behold,
they were all dead corpses.
36. [FP] So, Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt
in Nineveh.
37. [FP] And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch, his god,
that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they
escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his reigned in his stead.
That very night after the message was given, the Angel of the LORD, (Jesus in His
spiritual form), killed 185,000 Assyrian troops and dead bodies were seen all across the
landscape in the morning. [Now this event may make you realise that another facet of
Jesus Christ is that He is not always “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”.]
Then king Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, and as he was worshipping in the temple
of his god Nisroch, his two sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword.
They escaped into eastern Turkey ~ the land of Ararat, and his son Esarhaddon became
the new king.

CHAPTER TWENTY: HEZEKIAH’S ILLNESS; ISAIAH PREDICTS THE BABYLONIAN

CAPTIVITY
1. In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet, Elijah (son of Amoz)
came to him, and said unto him, “Thus says the LORD, bSet your house in order:
for you shall die and not live.”
2. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying.
3. “I beseech thee, O LORD, cremember now how I have walked before thee in truth,
and with a perfect heart, and dhave done that which is good in thy sight. And
Hezekiah wept esore.
4. And it came to pass, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle fcourt, that the
word of the LORD came to him saying,
5. [P] “Turn again, and tell Hezekiah, gthe captain of my people, ‘Thus says the LORD
the God of David your ancestor, hI have heard your prayer, I have seen iyour tears:
behold, I will heal thee: On the third day, you shall go up to the house of the LORD.
6. [P] “And I will add unto your days fifteen years; and I will deliver you, and this city
out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and jI will defend this city for my own sake,
and for my servant David’s sake.
7. And Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs,” and they took it and laid it on the boil, and
he recovered.
Hezekiah now became deathly sick, and Elijah the prophet went to see him.

a
2 Chronicles 32:21; c
Nehemiah 5:19 g
Notice God says i Psalm 39:12; 56:8
Hosea 1:7 d
18:3 captain (because j
19:34
b
[h]~ give charge e God is their king); 1
[h]~ with great
concerning your Samuel 9:16; 10:1
weeping h
house. f 19:20
[h]~ city

65
[Warning: whenever a true prophet of God “comes to visit”, make sure that your spiritual
ears and eyes are open, because they do not come for a “social visit”, they come because
they have been sent by the LORD, for a specific purpose, or to deliver a specific message.
“Set your affairs in order, write your will, and then prepare to die.” Isaiah told him. “The
LORD says that you won’t recover.” Upon hearing this message from the LORD, Hezekiah
turned his face to the wall and began to pray saying; “O LORD,” he pleaded, “remember
how I always tried to obey you, and to please you in everything I do …. “Then he broke
down and cried.
So, before Elijah had even left the palace courtyard, the LORD spoke to him again. “Go
back to Hezekiah, the leader of My people, and tell him that the LORD God of his ancestor
David, had heard his prayer and seen his tears. I will heal him, and three days from
now, he will be out of bed and at the Temple. I will add 15 years to his life, and save
him and this city from the king of Assyria. And it will all be done for the glory of My own
name, and for the sake of My servant David.
Isaiah then instructed Hezekiah to boil some dried figs and make a paste of them and
spread it on the boil. And he recovered, just as the word of God had predicted.
8. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, “aWhat shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me,
and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD on the third day?”
9. And Isaiah said, “This sign shall you have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the
thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, of go back ten
degrees?”
10. And Hezekiah answered, “It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees:
NO, but let the shadow return backwards ten degrees.”
11. And Isaiah the prophet, cried out to the LORD: and He brought the shadow ten
degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the bdial of Ahaz.
Meanwhile, Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “Do a miracle, to prove to me that the LORD
will heal me, and that I will be able to go to the Temple again in three days from now.”
“All right, the LORD will give you a proof,” Isaiah told him. “Do you want to shadow on
the sun dial to go forward ten points, or backward ten points?” “The shadow always goes
forward, Hezekiah replied, “make it go backwards ten points”
[At this time in history Egyptian
sundials were made like miniature
staircases, so that the shadow would
go up and down the steps from
morning till evening.] This was no
small task that Hezekiah was asking
from the LORD. Assuming that the
sun shines for 12 hours per day,
which equals 180 degrees in the
cycle of a day. Hezekiah was asking
the LORD to stop the sun, and move
it back 10 degrees, and restart it
again. That means that Hezekiah
was asking the LORD to move the
sun back 40 minutes, and then,
restart it again. [Alternatively, stop
the earth in its orbit, as it rotates one
cycle every 24 hours, move is back
the equivalent of 40 minutes, and
then restart the earth’s orbit again.]

So, Isaiah asked the LORD to do this, and He caused the shadow to move ten points
backward on the sundial that King Ahaz had erected at the palace!

a b
19:29 [h]~ degrees.

66
12. At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters
a

and a present unto Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
13. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his precious
things, the silver, the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointments, and all the
house of his barmour, and all that is found in his treasures: there was nothing in
his house, nor in all-of his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.
At that time Merodach-baladan, (the son of King Baladan of Babylon) sent ambassadors
with greetings and presents to Hezekiah, for he Had learned that he had been very sick.
Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them all of his treasures ~ the silver, gold, spices,
aromatic healing oils, the armoury, in fact nothing was hidden from them.
14. Then Isaiah the prophet unto Hezekiah, and said unto him, “what said these men?
And from where did they come?” And Hezekiah said, “They are come from a far
country, even from Babylon.”
15. And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “All-
of the things that are in my house they have seen: there is nothing among my
treasures that I have not shown them.”
16. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah: “Hear the Word of the LORD,
17. [P] “Behold, that day comes, that all that is in your house, and all that your fathers
had laid up in store for this day, shall be carried off to BABYLON: nothing shall be
left, says the LORD.
18. [P] “And your sons that shall issue from thee, which you shall beget, shall they
take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
19. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, “Good is the word of the LORD which you have
spoken.” And he said, “Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?”
Then Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men want? Where
are they from?” “They came from far away Babylon,” Hezekiah replied. “What have you
shown them in your palace?” Isaiah asked. And Hezekiah replied, “Everything, I showed
them all-of my treasures, I hid nothing from them,”
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the LORD: The time will come, when
everything in this palace shall be carried off to Babylon. All the treasures of your
ancestors shall be taken ~ nothing shall be left. Some of your own sons shall be taken
away, and made into eunuchs, to serve in the palace of the king of Babylon.
King Hezekiah died in 687 BC ~ but the LORD extended his life by 15 years, so these
events took place 15 years earlier in 702 BC. Isaiah prophesied the destruction of
Jerusalem and Israel being taken captive into Babylon 105 years before the event took
place.
20. cAnd the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he dmade a pool,
and a conduit, and ebrought water into the city, are they not written in the book of
the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
21. And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh, his son, reigned in his stead.
The rest of the history of King Hezekiah, and his great deeds, including the pool and the
water conduit he made, and how he brought fresh water into the city, are recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Judah. When he died, he was buried with his fathers in the
royal cemetery in the City of David, in the old section of Jerusalem.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THE WICKED REIGNS OF MANASSEH AND AMON

1. Manasseh fwas 12 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for 55 years
in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.
2. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of
the heathen, who the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

a
See verse 10; Isaiah c
2 Chronicles 32:32 f
Manasseh was born extended Life; go to
39:1-8 d during the 15 years verse 18:4
18:17
b
[h]~ Or, Jewels e of Hezekiah’s
2 Chronicles 32:30

67
3. For he built up again, the high places, awhich Hezekiah his father had destroyed:
and he reared up altars of Baal, and made a grove, bas did king Ahab, king of
Israel; and worshipped call-of the hosts of heaven, and served them.
4. And dhe built altars in the House of the LORD, of which the LORD said, “I will put
MY name.”
5. And he built altars for all-of the hosts of heaven in ethe two courts of the House of
the LORD. [So now the whole temple complex is defiled!]
6. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used
enchantments, and dealt with the familiar spirits, and wizards: He wrought much
wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. [When the scripture,
or a prophet says that God gets angry, watch out, because now punishment is
about to descend upon the people, or the nation.]
7. [P] And he set a graven in image of the grove that he had made, in the House, of
which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, “fIn this House, and in
Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all-of the tribes of Israel, will I put My name
forever:
8. [CP] “gNeither will I make the feet of Israel move anymore out of the land which I
gave to their fathers: ONLY [IF] they will observe to do according to all that I have
commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded
them.
9. “BUT THEY HEARKENED NOT: and Manasseh seduced them to do more-evil than
the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.
New King of Judah: Manasseh
Age at the beginning of his reign: 12 Years
Lenth of his reign: 55 years
Name of his mother: Hephzibah
Character of his reign: EVIL, He did the same things the nations had done that were
thrown out of the land, to make room for the people pf Israel.
He rebuilt the hilltop shrines, which his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He built altars
for Baal and made a shameful Asherah idol, just as Ahab the king of Israel had done.
Heathen altars to the sun god, moon god, and the gods of the stars were placed even
in the Temple of the LORD ~ in the very city and the building that the LORD had selected,
to honour His own name. He was worshipping “Creation”, NOT the Creator!
And he sacrificed one of his sons as a burnt offering on a HEATHEN ALTAR! He practised
black magic, and used fortune-telling, and patronized mediums and wizards. He was
totally under the control of the WRONG SPIRIT!
So, the LORD was very angry, for Manasseh was an evil man in God’s opinion. Manasseh
even set up a shameful Asherah-idol in the Temple ~ defiling it, the very place which
the LORD God of Israel had spoken to David and Solomon about when He said, “I will
place My name forever in this Temple, and in Jerusalem ~ the city I have chosen, from
among all-of the cities of the tribes of Israel. [IF] the people of Israel will only follow the
instructions I gave them through Moses, [THEN] I will never again expel them from this
land of their fathers.
BUT the people refused to listen to the LORD, and Manasseh seduced them to do even
more evil that the surrounding nations had done, even though Jehovah had destroyed
those nations for their evil ways, when the people of Israel entered the land.
10. And the LORD spoke by His Prophets, saying,
11. [P] h“Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, iand has done
wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, AND HAS Made
Judah also to sin with his idols:

a d f i
18:4 Jeremiah 7:30; See verse 4 1 Kings 21:26
b
1 Kings 16:32,33 Ezekiel 7:20 g
2 Samuel 7:10
e
c
17:16; 23:5 1 Kings 6:36; 7:12; h
23:26; 24:3,4;
2 Kings 23:12 Jeremiah 15:4;

68
12. *** [P] “Therefore, thus says the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I AM bringing such
evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever hears it, aboth of his ears shall
tingle.
13. [P] “And I will stretch over Jerusalem, the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the
house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem, as a man wipes a dish, and turning it
upside down.
14. [P] “And I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance, and deliver them into the
hand of their enemies; for they shall become a prey and a spoil to all-of their
enemies.
15. [P] “Because they have done that which was evil in MY sight, and have provoked
me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this
day.
16. “Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem
from one end to another; beside his sin, wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing
that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.”
Then the LORD declared through His prophets. “Because King Manasseh has done these
evil things, and is even more wicked than the Amorites, who were in this land long ago,
and because he has the people of Judah into idolatry: I will bring such evil upon
Jerusalem and Judah, that the ears of those who hears this, will tingle with horror.
[NOTE: for all those Christians that think that God would never do this, read this
carefully. God says, “I will being evil upon Jerusalem and Judah.” He did not say, “I
will allow evil to come upon them!” NO! He is going to make this happen, because of
the nation’s sin. Now. [IF] God can do this to Israel, His chosen people, who have been
“set apart” as the example nation for all to see, [THEN] He can do it to any nation
which turns away from Him and refuses to follow His Laws and His commandments. NO
NATION is exempt from this judgement!]
I will cause the kings of Israel to conquer Jerusalem, and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man
wipes a dish and then turns it upside down to dry. THEN I will reject even those few of
my people who are left, and I will hand them over to their enemies. For they have
angered Me ever since I brought their ancestors out of Egypt.
In addition to the idolatry which God hated, into which Manasseh led the people of Judah,
he murdered great numbers of innocent people, because he had them sacrificed on
altars to idol gods. And Jerusalem was filled from end to end with the bodies of his
victims.
17. Now bthe rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and the sin that he
sinned, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
18. And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in his own house, in the garden
of cUzza: and Amon his son, reigned in his stead.
The rest of the history of Manasseh’s evil reign is recorded in The Annals of the Kings of
Judah. When he died, he was not buried in the royal cemetery in Jerusalem, like the
kings of Judah before him, but in his garden of his palace at Uzza.
His son Amon became the new king.
19. dAmon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reign two years
in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, of
Jot-bah.
20. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh
did.
21. And he walked in all of the ways that his father walked in, and served the idols,
that his father served, and worshipped them:
22. And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the ways
of the LORD.

a b c
1 Samuel 3:11 2 Chronicles 33:11- See verse 26
19 d
See verse 24

69
Name of the new king of Judah: Amon
His age at the beginning of his reign: 22 years old
Length of his reign: 2 years, in Jerusalem
His mother’s name: Meshullemeth
Character of his reign: EVIL
He did all-of the evil things that his father did before him; he worshipped idols, and
turned his back completely on the LORD God of his ancestors. He refused to listen to
God’s instructions, to correct his ways.
23. And the servants of Amon, conspired against him, and slew the king in his own
house.
24. And the people of the land slew all-of them that had conspired against king Amon:
and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
25. And the rest of the acts, of Amon that he did, are they not written in the Book of
the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
26. And he was buried in his sepulchre ain the garden in Uzza: and bJosiah his son
reigned in his stead.
But his aides conspired against him and killed him in his palace. Then a large group of
citizens killed all-of the assassins and placed Amon’s son upon the throne. The rest of
Amon’s biography is recorded in The Annals of the kings of Judah. He was buried in a
crypt in the garden in Uzza, with his father, and his son Josiah became the new king.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: JOSIAH’S GOOD REIGN: HULDAH’S PROPHECY

1. Josiah cwas eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years
in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of
Boscath.
2. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all-of the
ways of David his ancestor, and turned not aside to the right nor to the left.
The new King of Judah: Josiah
His age at the beginning of his reign: 8 years old
Duration of his reign: 31 years in Jerusalem
Name of his mother: Jedidah (daughter of Adaiah of Boscath)
Character of his reign: GOOD, for he followed in the steps of his ancestor King David,
obeying the LORD completely.
3. d
And it came to pass, in the 18th year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan
the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD,
saying,
4. “Go up to Hilkiah, the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is ebrought into
the house of the LORD, which the keepers, of the fdoor have gathered of the people:
5. “And let them deliver it into the hands of the doers of the work, that have oversight
of the House of the LORD, to repair the breaches of the house.
6. Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone, to
repair the house.
7. Howbeit, gthere was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered
into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.
In the 18th year of King Josiah’s reign, he sent his secretary Shaphan (son of Azaliah,
son of Meshullam) to the Temple to give instructions to Hilkiah, the High Priest: “Collect
the money given to the priests at the door of the Temple, when the people come to
worship.” [Notice, there is no compelling message about tithes, and about “robbing God.”
It is clearly a FREE-WILL OFFERING]. “Give this money to the building superintendents,
so that they can hire carpenters, and masons, to repair the Temple, and to buy timber
and stone.” The building superintendents were not required to keep an account of their

a c e
See verse 18 2 Chronicles 34:1,2 12:4
b d f
In Matthew 1:10 he See verse 20; 2 [h]~ threshold
is called Josias; Chronicles 34:8-28 g
12:15

70
expenditures, for they were honest men. They knew that God would deal with them if
they wrongly used money given to God for their own use. Look how far we have fallen;
nowadays there has to be annual general meetings, where every cent has to be
accounted for, because nowadays, the men in these positions are no longer trusted by
members, or the government.
8. And Hilkiah the High Priest, said unto Shaphan the scribe, “aI have found the Book
of the Law in the House of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and
he read it.
9. And Shaphan, the scribe, came to the king, and brought the king word again, and
said, “Thy servants have bgathered the money that was found in the House, and
have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight
of the House of the LORD.
10. And Shaphan, the scribe, showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah, the High Priest has
delivered me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
11. And it came to pass, that when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,
that he rent his clothes.
12. And the king commanded Hilkiah, the priest, and cAhikam, the son of Shaphan, and
Achbor, the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah, a servant of
the king’s, saying;
13. “Go and inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for the all-of Judah,
concerning the words of this book, that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD
that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words
of this book, to do according unto ALL that is written concerning us.”
14. So, Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah went
unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Har-
has, the keeper of the dwardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem, ein the college;)
and they communed with her.
One day, Hilkiah the High Priest went to Shaphan the scribe and exclaimed, “I have
discovered a scroll in the Temple, with God’s Law written on it!” He gave the scroll to
Shaphan to read. When Shaphan reported to the king about the progress of the repairs
at the Temple, he also mentioned the scroll found by Hilkiah. Then Shaphan read it to
the king. When the king heard what was written in it, he tore his clothes in terror.
He commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, the king’s assistant, and
Ahikam (Shaphan’s son), and Achbor (Michaiah’s son), to ask the LORD, “What shall we
do? For we have not been following the instructions of this book: you must be very angry
with us, for neither we, nor our ancestors have followed your commands.”
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah went to the
Mishnah section of Jerusalem to find Huldah, the prophetess. (She was the wife of
Shallum, son of Tikvah, son of Har-has, who was in charge of the Palace tailor shop).
[Please note, the king commanded the high priest to go to the Prophetess, to get
instructions for the LORD. Here the high priest (a man) has to listen to a prophetess (a
woman), and obey her instructions from the LORD].
[Just imagine, your pastor coming to the elders of your church and telling them, “I have
great news, I have just found a copy of the Bible, hidden in one of the draws of an old
desk in the storeroom in the church. I have been reading it, and I find that we have not
been following all-of the instructions of this book. Shall we go and find a prophet to
inquire of the LORD for us, or should we just bury it again, because it does not agree
with our agenda?” Now you have to decide, what would be the response of your church.]
15. And she said unto them; “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent
you to me,

a b d
Compare with [h]~ melted [h]~ garments
Deuteronomy 31:24- c
25:22; Jeremiah e
Or, in the second part
26; 2 Chronicles 26:24; 39:14; 40:5
34:14

71
16. [P] “Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the
inhabitants thereof, even all-of the words of the book which the king of Judah has
read:
17. *** [P] “aBecause they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other
gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all-of the works of their hands;
therefore, my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.
18. “But to the king of Judah, which sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you to
him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel, as touching the words that you have heard;
19. [P] “Because your heart was tender, and you have bhumbled yourself before the
LORD, when you heard what I spoke against this place, and against the inhabitants
thereof, that they should become ca desolation and a curse, and have rent your
clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard you, says the LORD.
20. *** [P] “Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and you shall be
gathered into your grave in peace: and your eyes shall not see the evil which I will
bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.
The prophetess delivered this message from the LORD God of Israel: “tell the man who
sent you to me, that I am going to destroy this city and its people, just as I stated in
the book that you have read. For the people of Israel have thrown me aside and have
worshipped other gods, and have made me very angry; and my anger can’t be stopped.
BUT because you were sorry, and concerned and humbled yourself before the LORD
when you read the book and its warnings, that this land would be cursed and desolate,
and because you have torn your clothes, and wept before me in contrition, I will listen
to your plea. The death of this nation will not occur until after you die ~ you will not see
the evil which I will bring upon this place.” So, they took the message to the king.
[So, how would your church react, to the revelation of the scriptures within the Bible?
Are you following all-of the scriptures, to make you one of the two acceptable churches
in Revelations chapter 2 & 3; Or, do you need a makeover? What would the prophet’s
message to YOUR CHURCH BE?]

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: KING JOSIAH DESTROYS THE IDOLATRY IN JUDAH

After the king had read the Book of the Law that was found in the previous chapter and
receiving the warning from Huldah, the Prophetess, King Josiah responded:

1. And dthe King sent, and they gathered unto him all-of the elders of Judah and of
Jerusalem.
2. And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all-of the men of Judah and
all-of the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and
all-of the people, eboth small and great: and fhe read in their ears all-of the words
of the Book of the Covenant, which was found in the House of the LORD.
Then the king sent for the elders, and other leaders, of Judah and Jerusalem, to go to
the Temple with him. [When the king summons the elders and other leaders to go to
the Temple with him, something must have happened, so everyone attended, to find out
what was going on.]
So, all-of the Priests, the prophets (and prophetesses), and the people, small and great,
of Jerusalem and Judah gathered there at the Temple so that the king could read to
them the entire Book of God’s Law, which had been discovered in the Temple. [The “Book
of the Law” is a common phrase, that refers to the book of Deuteronomy, as an
expansion of the Moral Law, or Covenant Law based around the Ten Commandments.
The “Book of the Law” is referenced in Deuteronomy 28:61, 29:21, 30:10, 31:26, Joshua
1:8, 8:31, 34, 24:26, 2 Kings 22:8, 11, 2 Chronicles 17:9, 25:4, 34:14, 15, Nehemiah
8:1-3, 8, 18, 9:3 (and 17:18). The Book of Deuteronomy (up to Chapter 30) was placed

a b d e
21:22: see also 1 Kings 21:29 See verse 3; 2 [h]~ from small even
Deuteronomy c
Leviticus 26:31,32 Chronicles 34:39-42 unto great
29:25,26 f
Deuteronomy 31:11

72
beside the Ark of the Covenant (Deuteronomy 31:26). [Contrast the 10 Commandments
which were placed inside the Ark, Ex 40:20.]
3. And the king stood by aa pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, bto walk
after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His
statutes, with all-of their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this
covenant, that were written in this book. And all-of the people stood to the
Covenant.
4. And the king commanded Hilkiah, the High Priest, and the priests cof the second
order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the Temple of the LORD
all-of the vessels that were made for dBaal, and for the grove, and for all-of the
host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem, in the fields of eKidron,
and carried the ashes of them to Bethel.
5. And he fput down the gidolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained,
to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round
about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the
moon, and to the hplanets, and to iall-of the hosts of heaven. [So, who were the
“Second Order Priests? Historians and some translations indicate this word
should be translated “Second in Rank”, the priest (or priests), who would perform
the duties of the High Priest, if he was ill.]
6. And he brought out the grove from the House of the LORD, without Jerusalem,
unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small into
powder, and cast the powder thereof jupon the graves of the children of the people.
[that have been murdered as a sacrificial offering.]
7. And he broke down the houses of kthe Sodomites, that were by the House of the
LORD, where the women wove hangings for the groves. [Josiah was a righteous king,
and the “Church” is “supposed to be full of the Royal Priesthood”. He destroyed all-of these
things, and the houses of the Sodomites, because they are an abomination in the sight of
the LORD, but we, “the Church” allows them (the Sodomites) to become priests in God’s
House, “the church”; preaching to the congregations. How far we have fallen from the pure
word of the Gospel of the LORD. As there was punishment prophesied for this generation,
in the time of King Josiah, do you think that YOUR CHURCH and YOUR NATION will be
exempt from punishment?]
8. And he brought all-of the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high
places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba, and broke
down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua
the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city.
9. l
Nevertheless, the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the LORD
in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren.
10. And he defiled mTopheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no
man nmight make his son, or his daughter pass through the fire to oMolech.
11. And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun at the
entering in of the House of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the
p
chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots, of the sun with
fire.
12. And the altars, that were qon the top of the Upper Chamber of Ahaz, which the
kings of Judah had made, and the altars which rManasseh had made in the two
courts of the House of the LORD, did the king beat down, and sbroke them down
from there, and cast the dust of them into tthe brook Kidron.

a h m r
11:14 [h]~ Or, 12 signs, or Isaiah 30:33, 21:5
b
Deuteronomy 13:4 constellations Jeremiah 7:31,32 s
[h]~ Or, run from
i n
c
25:18; Jeremiah 21:3 Leviticus 18:21 them
j o t
52:24 2 Chronicles 34:4 1 Kings 11:7 See verses 4 & 6
d k p
21:3,7 Deuteronomy 23:17 [h]~ eunuch, or,
e
2 Samuel 15:23 l
Compare Ezekiel office
q
f
[h]~ cause to cease 44:10-14 with Jeremiah 19:13;
g Leviticus 21: 17-22 32:29; Zephaniah
[h]~ Chemarims
1:5

73
13. And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of
a
the “Mount of Corruption,” which Solomon, the King of all-of Israel, had built for
Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh, the abomination of
the Moabites, and for Milcom, the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the
king defile.
14. And he broke in pieces the images (statues), and cut down the groves, and filled
their places with the bones of men.
The King stood by a pillar in front of the people, and he and they made A SOLEMN OATH
to the LORD to OBEY Him, at ALL TIMES, and EVERYTHING the Book commanded. [Is
YOUR CHURCH LEADERSHIP & THE CONGREGATION prepared to make a similar oath
before the LORD? That is the challenge of the 21st century!]
Then the king instructed Hilkiah, the High Priest, and the rest of the priests, and the
guards of the Temple to destroy all-of the equipment used in the worship of Baal,
Asherah, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars. The king had it all burnt in the fields
of the Kidron Valley, outside Jerusalem, and he collected and carried the ashes and took
them to Bethel.
He killed all-of the heathen priests (who were not of the Tribe of Levi) who had been
appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had burned incense on the shrines
on the hills throughout Judah and even in Jerusalem.
They had also offered incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon stars and planets. They
were worshipping CREATION ~ not the CREATOR!
He removed the shameful idol of Asherah from the Temple and took it outside Jerusalem
to Kidron Brook; there he burned it and beat it into dust, and threw the dust on the
graves of the common people.
He also tore down the houses of the male prostitutes around the Temple, where the
women, wove robes for the Asherah-Idol. [Yet today, we have government laws which
says that “SAME-SEX UNIONS” ARE OK, and some churches say it is OK for Homosexuals
to be pastors, and for same sex unions to be performed in churches. BUT God’s word
has not changed! The Word of God still says that homosexual behaviour is an
abomination in the sight on the LORD. It also says that PEOPLE who refuse to change
their lifestyles, will not enter heaven, but suffer eternal torment on the Abyss. If you
currently go to a church which follows this format, then, “Depart from among them!”]
He brought back to Jerusalem, the priests of the LORD, who were living in other cities
of Judah, and tore down all-of the shrines on the hills, where they had burned incense,
even those as far away as Geba and Beersheba.
He also destroyed the shrines at the entrance of the palace of Joshua, the former mayor
of Jerusalem, located on the left side as one enters the city gate.
However, these priests, (the priests of the high places) did not serve at the altar of the
LORD in Jerusalem, even though they ate with the other priests. [So, there were “priests
of the world,” mingling with “Priests of the LORD”, desensitizing the Holy Priests.]
Then the king destroyed the altar of Topheth, in the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom, so
that no-one could ever use it again to burn his son, or daughter to death, as a sacrifice
to Molech. He tore down the statues of horses and chariots, located near the entrance
to the Temple, next to the quarters of Nathan-melech the eunuch. These had been
donated by former kings of Judah, to the sun god.
Then he tore down the altars which the king of Judah had built, on the palace roof above
the Ahaz room. He also destroyed the altars which Manasseh had built in the two courts
of the Temple, He smashed them to bits, and scattered the pieces in the Kidron Valley.
Next, he removed the shrines on the hills east of Jerusalem, and south of Destruction
Mountain (the Mount of Olives) where Solomon has built these shrines to Ashtoreth, the
evil goddess of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh, the evil god of Moab, and for Milcom,
the evil god of the Ammonites.

a
[h]~ That is, the
Mount of Olives; 1
Kings 11:7

74
He also smashed the obelisks, and cut down the shameful idols of Asherah: then he
defiled those places by scattering human bones over them.
15. Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place athat Jeroboam, the son
of Nebat, bwho Israel to sin, had made; both that altar and the high place he broke
down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the
grove.
16. And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres, that were there in the
mount, and sent and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon
the altar, and polluted it, caccording to the Word of the LORD, which the man of
God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.
17. Then he said, “What title is that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is dthe
sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things
that you have done against the altar at Bethel.”
18. And he said, “Let him alone; let no man move his bones.” So, they left his bones
e
alone, with the bones fof the prophet, that came out of Samaria.
19. And all-of the houses also of the high places that were in Samaria, which the kings
of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to
them according to all that acts that he done in Bethel.
20. And he slew all-of the priests of the high places, that were there upon the altars,
and burned men’s bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.
King Josiah also tore down the altar and shrine at Bethel, which Jeroboam 1, son of
Nebat, had made, when he led Israel into sin. He crushed the stones to dust, and burned
the shameful idol of Asherah.
As Josiah was looking around, he noticed several graves on the side of the mountain.
He ordered his men to bring out the bones in them and to burn them there upon the
altar at Bethel, to defile it, just as the LORD’s prophet had declared would happen to
Jeroboam’s altar.
“What is that monument over there?” he asked. And the men of the city told him. “It is
the grave of the prophet who came from Judah, and proclaimed that which you have
just done, would happen here at the altar at Bethel.” Then King Josiah replied, “Leave it
alone. Don’t disturb his bones.”
[Here we had an interesting encounter. The people of the city knew the prophecy given
by the dead prophet buried at this site. They watched as King Josiah’s actions made that
prophecy come true, right before their very eyes.] So, they did not burn his bones or
the bones of the prophet from Samaria.
Then King Josiah demolished all-of the shrines on the hills in Samaria. They had been
built by the various evil kings of Israel, and had made the LORD God of Israel very angry.
But now he crushed them into dust, just as he had done at Bethel. He executed the
priests of the heathen shrines upon their own altars, and he burnt their bones upon their
own altars to defile them. Finally, he returned to Jerusalem, after cleaning the nation of
all-of the evil shrines. Now it is time to cleanse the hearts of the people.
21. And the king commanded all-of the people saying, “gKeep the Passover unto the
LORD your God, as it is written in the Book of the Covenant.”
22. hSurely there was not held such a Passover from the days of the judges that judged
Israel, nor in all-of the days of the Kings of Israel, nor the kings of Judah.
23. But in the 18th year of the reign of King Josiah, wherein the Passover was held to
the LORD in Jerusalem.
Then the king issued orders for his people to observe the Passover ceremonies, as
recorded by the LORD their God in The Book of the Covenant. There had not been a
Passover celebration like that since the days of the Judges of Israel, and there was never
another like that in all-of the days of the kings of Israel and Judah. This Passover took
place in the 18th year of the reign of King Josiah, and it was celebrated in Jerusalem.

a d g
1 Kings 12:28,29,33 1 Kings 13:1,30 2 Chronicles 35:1-17
b e h
1 King 14:16 [h]~ to escape 2 Chronicles 35:
c
1 Kings 13:2 f
1 Kings 13:11,31 18.19

75
By cleansing the whole nation of Israel of all its evil shrines, altars and groves, to other
gods, and then celebrating this Passover, King Josiah was spiritually bringing the whole
nation back into the Covenant with God. He continued the cleaning process in the
following verses.
24. Moreover, the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the aimages
(teraphim), and the idols, and all-of the abominations that were spied in the land
of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform bthe words
of the Law, which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the
House of the LORD.
25. cAnd like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all-
of his heart, and with all-of his soul, and dwith all-of his might, according to the law
of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
King Josiah also exterminated the mediums, and wizards, and every kind of idol worship,
both in Jerusalem and throughout the whole land. For Josiah wanted to follow all-of the
laws that were written in the Book that Hilkiah the high priest found in the House of the
LORD.
There was no other king that who so completely turned to the LORD and followed all-of
the Laws of Moses; and no king before the time of Josiah (or after him) that has
approached his record of obedience. [There are many sermons preached about David &
Solomon, but Josiah was more obedient than both of them.]
26. Notwithstanding, (what Josiah had done) the LORD turned not from the fierceness
of His great wrath, wherewith His anger was kindled against Judah, ebecause of all-
of the fprovocations that Manasseh has provoked Him with.
27. And the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also out of My sight, as gI have (already)
removed Israel, and will, cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the
house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there’.”
28. Now, the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the
Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
But the LORD still did not hold back His great anger against Judah, caused by the evil
that King Manasseh had done. For the LORD had said, “I will destroy Judah, just as I
have destroyed Israel; and I will discard My chose city of Jerusalem, and the Temple
that I said was mine.” The rest of the biography of Josiah is written in the Annals of the
Kings of Judah.
29. hIn the days of iPharoah Nechoh, King of Egypt, went up against the King of Assyria,
to the Euphrates River; and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at
j
Megiddo, when he had seen him.
30. And his servants carried him in a chariot, ldead from Megiddo, and brought him to
k

Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And mthe people of the land took
Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king, in his father’s
stead.
In those days, King Nechoh of Egypt attacked the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River,
and King Josiah went to assist him; but King Nechoh killed Josiah at Megiddo when he
saw him. His officers took his body back in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and
buried him in the grave he had selected. And his son Jehoahaz was chosen by the nation
as its new king.
31. nJehoahaz (aka. Shallum) was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; and
he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutai, the
daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

a f j n
[h]~ teraphim [h]~ angers Zechariah 12:11 [h]~ Also called
b
Deuteronomy 18:11 g
17:18,20; 18:11; k
9:28 Shallum’; 1
c 21:13 l Chronicles 3:15;
18:5 2 Chronicles 35:24
Jeremiah 22:11
d
Deuteronomy 6:5
h
2 Chronicles 35:20- m
See verse 34; 2
e 23 Chronicles 36:1-4
21:11 i
Jeremiah 46:2

76
32. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his
fathers (ancestors) had done.
33. And Pharoah Nechoh put him in bands at aRiblah in the land of Hamath, that he
might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of one hundred talents
of silver, and one talent of gold.
34. And Pharaoh Nechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his
father and bchanged his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came
to Egypt, and died there.
35. And Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharoah; but he taxed the land to give
the money, according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and
gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it
unto Pharoah Nechoh.
The new king of Judah: Jehoahaz
Age when he became king: 23 years old
Length of his reign: 3 months in Jerusalem
His Mother’s name: Hamutai, (the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah)
Character of his reign: Evil, like the other kings who had preceded him.
Pharaoh Nechoh jailed him at Riblah in Hamath, to prevent him reigning in Jerusalem,
and he levied a tax against Judah totalling $230,000. The Egyptian king then chose
Eliakim, another of Josiah’s sons, to reign in Jerusalem; and he changed his name to
Jehoiakim. Then he took king Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died.
36. cJehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zebu Dah, the daughter of
Pedaiah of Ruma.
37. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his
fathers (ancestors) had done.
New king of Judah: Jehoiakim
Age when he began to reign: 25 years old
Length of his reign: 11 years in Jerusalem
His mother’s name was Zebu Dah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Ruma
Character of his reign: EVIL, like the other kings that preceded him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: JERUSALEM TAKEN CAPTIVE BY NEBUCHADNEZZAR

1. [FP] In dhis days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became
his servant, ethree years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
2. [FP] fAnd the LORD sent against him bands of Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians,
and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them
against Judah, to destroy it, gaccording to the Word of the LORD, which he spoke
h
by His servants the prophets.
3. [FP] Surely, at the commandments of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove
them out of His sight, ifor the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;
4. [FP] And also, for the jinnocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with
innocent blood: which the LORD would not pardon. [An unforgivable sin!]
In the previous chapter, the LORD had said He was going “to remove Judah, out of His
sight, just like He had already done for Israel.” Here we start to see, the fulfilment of
those prophecies beginning to come to pass.
During the reign of King Jehoiakim, King Nebuchadnezzar, of Babylon attacked
Jerusalem; (just like Jeremiah had prophesied at the Temple steps, every day, for 23
years ~ even though the false prophets said, “that we are seeds of Abraham and it would
never happen!”).

a c f i
25:6; Jeremiah 2 Chronicles 36:5 Jeremiah 25:9 21:11
39:5,6 d
2 Chronicles 36:6: g
20:17; 21: 12-14: j
21:16
b
Genesis 41:45; Daniel 1:1 23:27
24:17; Daniel 1:7 e
Jeremiah 25:1 h
[h]~ by the hands of

77
Jehoiakim surrendered, and paid a tribute tax to Babylon for 3 years, and then he
rebelled. And the LORD sent bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites
against Judah, in order to destroy the nation, just as the LORD had warned, through His
prophets, that He would. It is clear that these disasters were brought against Judah at
the direct command of the LORD. [If you look today at the Middle East, you see those
same enemies, also sending bands against Israel to destroy it. Here is a clear warning
to all nations. If you do not listen to the warnings of the Lord’s Prophets, then expect
similar treatment! The USA were warned to turn back to God, and they did not listen,
and they got 9/11. Parts of Australia did not listen, and we got massive bushfires, and
an inland Tsunami. God does not change his word. It shall not return void!]
The LORD had decided to wipe Judah out of his sight, because of the many sins of
Manasseh, for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not
pardon it.
5. a
Now, the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in
The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
6. So, Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin, his son, reigned in his stead.
7. And the king of Egypt came not again anymore out of his land: for bthe king of
Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt, unto the river Euphrates, all that
pertained to Egypt.
The rest of the history of the life of Jehoiakim is recorded in The Annals of the Kings of
Judah. When he died, his son, Jehoiachin became the new king. The Egyptian Pharoah
never returned to attack after that, because the king of Babylon had occupied the entire
land, previously claimed by Egypt ~ all-of Judah, from the Brook of Egypt, to the
Euphrates River.
8. c
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned (only)
three months in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Nehashta, the daughter of
Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.
The New king of Judah: Jehoiachinc (also known as Jeconiah and Coniah)
The age at the beginning of his reign: 18 years old
The Length of his reign: Only 3 months in Jerusalem
Name of his mother: Nehashta, the daughter of Elnathan, a citizen of Jerusalem.
10. [FP] At that time, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar came up against Jerusalem, and
the city dwas besieged.
11. [FP] And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants
did besiege it.
12. [FP] And eJehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his
mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his fofficers: and the King of Babylon
g
took him in the 8th year of hhis reign.
13. [FP] And he carried out then all-of the treasures on the house of the LORD, and
i
the treasures of the king’s house, and jcut in pieces, all the vessels of gold, which
k
Solomon king of Israel had made in the Temple of the LORD, las the LORD had
said.
14. [FP] And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all-of the princes, and all-of the mighty
men of valour, even mten thousand captives, and all-of the craftsmen and smiths:
none remained, save nthe poorest sort of the people of the land.
15. [FP] And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the
king’s wives, and his officers (eunuchs), and the mighty of the land, those carried
he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

a
2 Chronicles 36:8 Coniah in Jeremiah h
[h]~ l
Jeremiah 20:5
b 22:24,28 Nebuchadnezzar’s 8th m
Compare Jeremiah d
See verse 16
46:2, with Jeremiah [h]~ came into siege year; Jeremiah 25:1 n
e i
25:12
37:5,7 Jeremiah 24:1; 20:17
c
Also called Jeconiah 29:1,2 j
2 Chronicles 36:7:
f
in 1 Chronicles 3:16; [h]~ eunuchs Ezra 1:7
Jeremiah 24:1; and g
25:27 k
1 Kings 7:48-50

78
16. And All-of the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one
thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon
brought captive to Babylon.
During his reign, the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city of Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived during the siege, and king Jehoiachin, all-of his officials,
and the queen mother, surrendered to him. The surrender was accepted, and Jehoiachin
was imprisoned in Babylon during the 8th year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign.
The Babylonians carried home all-of the treasures from the Temple (as we learn later,
for safe keeping) and from the royal palace; and they cut apart all-of the gold bowls
which King Solomon had placed in the Temple at the LORD’s directions.
King Nebuchadnezzar took 10,000 captives from Jerusalem, including all-of the princes,
and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen and smiths. So, only the poorest and the least
skilled people were left in the land. [Without smiths, they could not make spears, or
swords.]
Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his wives and his eunuch officials, and the queen
mother, to Babylon. He also took 7,000 of the best troops, and 1,000 craftsmen and
smiths ~ all-of whom were strong and fit for war.
17. And athe king of Babylon made Mattaniah, bhis father’s brother, king in his stead,
and cchanged his name to Zedekiah.
18. Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 11 years in
Jerusalem.
19. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that
Jehoiakim had done.
20. [FP] For through the anger of the LORD, it came to pass in Jerusalem and in Judah,
until He had cast them out from His presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the
king of Babylon.
Then the king of Babylon appointed king Jehoiachin’s great-uncle Mattaniah, to be the
next king, and he changed his name to Zedekiah.
The new king of Judah; Mattaniah (Zedekiah)
Age when he became king: 21 years old
Length of his reign: 11 years in Jerusalem
His mother’s name: Hamutai, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
So, the LORD, finally in His anger, destroyed the people of Jerusalem and Judah. But
now, King Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, setting up the scenario for the
destruction of Jerusalem.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: JERUSALEM IS BESIEGED AND CAPTURED AGAIN.

1. And it came to pass din the 9th year of his reign, in the 10th month, in the 10th day
of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came; he and all-of his host
against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it
roundabout.
2. And the city was besieged until the 11th year of King Zedekiah, [for a period of 2
years]
3. And on the 9th day, of the e4th month (of the Hebrew calendar), the famine prevailed
in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
Because king Zedekiah of Judah rebelled against Babylon (see chapter 24) King
Nebuchadnezzar became angry and mobilized his entire army, and laid siege to
Jerusalem, arriving on 25th March, of the 9th year of the reign of king Zedekiah of Judah.
The siege continued into the 11th year of his reign; no-one was allowed in/out of
Jerusalem. The last food was eaten on 4th July.

a c d e
Jeremiah 37:1 23:34 2 Chronicles 36:17; Jeremiah 39:2; 52:6
b
1 Chronicles 3:15; 2 Jeremiah 34:1,2;
Chronicles 36:10 39:1,2

79
4. And the city was broken up, and aall-of the men of war fled by night, by the way of
the gate between two walls, which is by bthe king’s garden: (now the Chaldees
were against the city roundabout): and cthe king went the way towards dthe plain.
5. And the army of the Chaldees, pursued after the king, and overtook him in the
plans of Jericho: and all-of his army were scattered from him.
6. So, they took the king and ebrought him up to the king of Babylon to fRiblah; and
they ggave judgement upon him.
7. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and (then) hput out the eyes
of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him (into captivity)
to Babylon. [He was “spiritually blind” & now was made “physically blind” as well”.
The last vision he ever saw, was his own sons being murdered, in front of him, and
being unable to do anything.]
And that night, the king and his troops became cowards, and fled through a hole that
they made in the wall, leaving the rest of the inhabitants to starve to death. They fled
towards the Arabah, through a gate that lay between the double walls, near the king’s
garden.
The Babylonian troops surrounding the city took off after the king and captured him in
the plains of Jericho, and all-of his men scattered.
He was taken to Riblah where he was tried and sentenced before the king of Babylon.
He was forced to watch, as his sons were killed before his eyes; then his eyes were put
out, and he was bound with chains and taken away to Babylon.
8. And in 5th month, on the i7th day of the month, which is the 19th year of King
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, jcaptain of the guard, a
servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
9. [FP] And khe burnt the House of the LORD, and the king’s house, and lall-of the
houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house he burnt with fire.
10. [FP] And all-of the army of the Chaldees that were with the captain, mbroke down
the walls of Jerusalem round about.
11. Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the nfugitives that fell
away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan
the captain of the guard carry away.
12. But the captain of the guard left oof the poor of the land, to be vinedressers and
husbandmen.
13. And the ppillars of brass, that were in the house of the LORD, and qthe bases, and
r
the brazen sea that was in the House of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in
pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
14. And sthe pots, and the shovels, and tthe snuffers, and the spoons, and all-of the
vessels of brass, wherewith they ministered, they took away.
15. And the fire pans, and the bowls, ad such things that were f gold, and of silver, in
silver, the captain of the guard took away.
16. uThe two pillars, vone sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house
of the LORD; wthe brass of all-of these vessels were without weight.
17. xThe height of one of the pillars was 18 cubits, and the chapiter (the top mounting)
was brass, and the height of the chapiter was 3 cubits; and the wreathen work.
And the pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all-of brass: and like unto
these the second pillar, with wreathen work.
General Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal bodyguard arrived at Jerusalem from
Babylon on the 22nd July of the 19th year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.

a g k r
See verse 12: [h]~ spoke 2 Chronicles 36:19 1 Kings 7:23
Jeremiah 39:4-10 judgement with him; l
Hosea 8:14 s
Exodus 27:3
b
Nehemiah 3:15 Jeremiah 4:12 m t
h
Nehemiah 1:3 1 Kings 7:50
c
Ezekiel 12:12 [h]~ made blind; n u
[h]~ fallen away See verse 13
d Ezekiel 12:13
2 Samuel 5:28 i
o
24:14; Jeremiah 40:7 v
[h]~ the one sea
e Jeremiah 52:12
Jeremiah 32:4 j
p
1 Kings 7:15 w
1 Kings 7:47
f [h]~ chief marshal;
23:33 q
1 Kings 7:27 x
1 Kings 7:15-18
Genesis 37:36

80
He burned down the Temple, the palace, and all-of the other houses of any worth. He
then supervised the Babylonian army in tearing down the walls of Jerusalem.
The remainder of the people in the city, and the Jewish deserters, who had declared
their allegiance to the King of Babylon, were all taken as exiles into Babylon. But the
poorest of the people were left to farm the land.
The Babylonians broke up the pillars of the Temple, and the bronze tank, and its bases,
and carried all-of the brass off to Babylon. They also took all-of the pots, shovels,
firepans, snuffers, spoons, and other bronze instruments, used in the sacrifices. The
gold and silver bowls, with all-of the rest of the gold and silver, was melted down into
bullion.
It was impossible to estimate the weight of the 2 pillars and the great tank and its bases
~ all made for the Temple by King Solomon ~ because they were so heavy. Each pillar
was 27 feet high, with an intricate bronze network of pomegranates decorating the 4’6”
.capitals (chapiters) at the tops of the pillars.
18. And the captains of the guard took aSeraiah, the chief priest, and bZephaniah, cthe
second priest, and the 3 keepers at the ddoor:
19. And out of the city he took an eofficer that was set over the men of war, and f5
men of them that gwere in the King’s presence, which were found in the city, and
the hprincipal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and 60
men of the people of the land that were found in the city:
20. And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these and brought them to the king of
Babylon at iRiblah in the land of Hamath.
21. And the king of Babylon smote them and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath.
So, Judah was carried away pout of their land. [Just as the word of the Lord had
been spoken, by His servants the prophets.]
The General took Seraiah, the chief priest, his assistant, Zephaniah, and the three
Temple guards, to Babylon as captives. A commander of the army of Judah, the chief
Recruiting officer, 5 of the king’s counsellors, and 60 farmers, all-of whom were found
hiding in the city, were taken by General Nebuzaradan to the king of Babylon at Riblah,
where they were put to the sword and died. So, Judah was exiled from its own land.
22. And as for the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon had left, even over them he made jGedaliah governor, the son of
Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
23. And when all-of the kcaptains of the armies heard that the king of Babylon had
made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael, the son
of Nethaniah, and Johanan, the son of Careah, and Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth,
the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah, the son of Maachathite, they are their men.
24. And Gedaliah swore to them, and to their men, and said unto them, “Fear not to
be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon;
and it shall be well with you.”
25. But lit came to pass in the 7th month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son
of Elishama, of the royal seed came, and 10 men with him, and smote Gedaliah,
that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
26. And all-of the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies arose
and fled to mEgypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah (the son of Ahikam, the grandson of
Shaphan) as governor over the people left in Judah. When the Israeli guerilla forces
learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, some of these
underground leaders and their men joined him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael, the

a f j m
1 Chronicles 6:14 Jeremiah 52:25 Jeremiah 38:14; 40:5 Jeremiah 43:4-7
b g k
Jeremiah 21:1; [h]~ saw the king’s See verse 24:
29:25; 37:3 face Jeremiah 40:7-9
c h l
23:4 [h]~ scribe of the Jeremiah 41:1-3,
d
[h]~ threshold captain of the Host compare with
i Jeremiah 40:14
e
[h]~ eunuch 23:33

81
son of Nethaniah; Johanan, the son of Kareah; Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth, the
Netophathite; and Jaazaniah, son of Maachathite, and their men.
Gedaliah vowed that if they gave themselves up and submit to the Babylonians, they
would be allowed to live in the land and would not be exiled.
But 7 months later, Ishmael, who was a member of the royal line, went to Mizpah, with
10 men, and killed Gedaliah and all-of his court ~ both the Jews and the Babylonians.
Then all-of the men of Judah and the guerilla leaders fled to Egypt, for they were afraid
of the Babylonians would do to them.
27. aAnd it came to pass, 37th year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the
12th month, and the 20th day of the month, that Evilmerodach, king of Babylon, in
the year he began his reign, bdid lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, out
of prison;
28. Ahe he spoke ckindly to him, and set him on his throne, above the throne of the
kings that were with him in Babylon:
29. And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all
the days of his life.
30. And his allowance was a continual allowance, given him of the king, a daily rate for
every day, all the days of his life.
King Jehoiachin was released from prison on the 27th day of the last month of his 37
years of captivity.
This occurred during the first year of the reign of King Evilmerodach of Babylon. He
treated Jehoiachin kindly, and gave him preferential treatment over all-of the other
kings, who were being held as prisoners in Babylon. Jehoiachin was given civilian
clothing, to replace his prison garments, and for as long as he lived, he ate regularly at
the king’s table. The king also gave him a daily cash allowance, for the rest of his life.

So ends the record of what is known as Second Kings, which was in fact chapter 47 of
the “Book of Kings” until 300 BC, when the Septuagint was translated from Hebrew into
Greek.

a b c
See verse 30; Genesis 40:13 [h]~ good things
Jeremiah 52:31-34 with him

82