Manasseh Reigns in Judah

1 ^jManasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to ^kthe abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places ^lthat his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made ^mAsheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ⁿ“In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in ^othe two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 ^pAnd he burned his sons as an offering ^qin the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and ^rused fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with ^smediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And ^tthe carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, ⁿI will put my name forever, 8 and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land ^uthat I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses.” 9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Manasseh’s Repentance

10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 11 ^vTherefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and ^wbound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God ^xand humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 He prayed to him, and ^yGod was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. ^zThen Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

14 Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of ^aGihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into ^bthe Fish Gate, and carried it around ^cOphel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. 15 And ^dhe took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. 16 He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 ^eNevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and ^fhis prayer to his God, and the words of ^gthe seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the ^hChronicles of the Kings of Israel. 19 And his prayer, and how ^yGod was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites ⁱon which he built high places and set up the ⁱAsherim and the images, before ^xhe humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers.¹ 20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

Amon’s Reign and Death

21 ^jAmon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images ^kthat Manasseh his father had made, and served them. 23 And he did not humble himself before the Lord, ^las Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more. 24 And his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his house. 25 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon. And the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

Josiah Reigns in Judah

1 ^mJosiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the ⁿAsherim, and the carved and the metal images. 4 And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the ^oincense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the ⁿAsherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and ^oscattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 ^pHe also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And in the ^qcities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins² all around, 7 he broke down the altars and beat the ⁿAsherim and the images ^rinto powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

The Book of the Law Found

8 ^sNow in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the ^tgovernor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, ^uthe recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9 They came to ^vHilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from ^qManasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord. And the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord gave it for repairing and restoring the house. 11 They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for binders and ^wbeams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. 12 And the men did the work faithfully. Over them were set Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to have oversight. ^xThe Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over ^ythe burden-bearers and directed all who did work in every kind of service, and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

14 While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the house of the Lord, ^vHilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given through³ Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 16 Shaphan brought the book to the king, and further reported to the king, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 17 They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of the Lord and have given it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king.

19 And when the king heard the words of the Law, ^zhe tore his clothes. 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is ^athe wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Huldah Prophesies Disaster

22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent⁴ went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. 23 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken me and ^bhave made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore ^amy wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. 26 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 27 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 28 Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.

29 ^cThen the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 31 And the king ^dstood in his place ^eand made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 And Josiah took away ^fall the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

1 ^bHe went away from there and came to ^chis hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And ^don the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^emany who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 ^fIs not this ^gthe carpenter, the son of Mary and ^hbrother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ⁱthey took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, ^j“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And ^khe could do no mighty work there, except that ^lhe laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And ^mhe marveled because of their unbelief.

ⁿAnd he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

7 ^oAnd he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to ^pwear sandals and not put on two tunics.¹ 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, ^qshake off the dust that is on your feet ^ras a testimony against them.” 12 ^sSo they went out and ^tproclaimed ^uthat people should repent. 13 ^tAnd they cast out many demons and ^vanointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

14 ^wKing Herod heard of it, for Jesus’² name had become known. Some³ said, ^x“John the Baptist⁴ has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 ^xBut others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is ^ya prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 ^zFor it was Herod who had sent and seized John and ^abound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 ^zFor John had been saying to Herod, ^b“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod ^cfeared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he ^dheard him gladly.

21 But an opportunity came when Herod ^eon his birthday ^fgave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, ^gup to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s⁵ head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his ^hdisciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

30 ^ijThe apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and ^kthey had no leisure even to eat. 32 ^lAnd they went away in ^mthe boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and ⁿrecognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he ^osaw a great crowd, and ^ohe had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 ^pSend them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, ^q“You give them something to eat.” And ^rthey said to him, ^s“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii⁶ worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, ^t“Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he ^ulooked up to heaven and ^vsaid a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

45 ^wImmediately he ^xmade his disciples get into ^ythe boat and go before him to the other side, ^zto Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, ^ahe went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when ^bevening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about ^bthe fourth watch of the night⁷ he came to them, walking on the sea. ^cHe meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and ^dwere terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ^e“Take heart; it is I. ^eDo not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for ^fthey did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts ^gwere hardened.