Bible Verses About Kings

saying to them, "Don't bring the captives here, because you intend to do something that will bring guilt on us against ADONAI. It will only add to our sins and guilt, for our guilt is great, and there is fierce anger against Isra'el."

So the armed soldiers left the captives and the spoil there with the leaders and the whole community;

while the men named above took charge of the captives and from the spoil clothed those among them who were inadequately clothed, giving them garments and shoes, providing them food and drink and anointing them with oil. After placing all the weak among them on donkeys, they brought them to Yericho, the City of Date-Palms, to their kinsmen; only then did they return to Shomron.

It was at that time that King Achaz sent to the kings of Ashur to help him.

For again the people from Edom had come, attacking Y'hudah and carrying off captives.

The P'lishtim too had invaded the cities in the Sh'felah and in the Negev of Y'hudah; they had captured Beit-Shemesh, Ayalon, G'derot, Sokho with its villages, Timnah with its villages and Gimzo with its villages; and they settled there.

For ADONAI brought Y'hudah low because of Achaz king of Isra'el, since he had caused disturbances in Y'hudah and acted very treacherously against ADONAI.

Tilgat-Piln'eser king of Ashur attacked and besieged Achaz instead of strengthening him -

even though Achaz had stripped the house of ADONAI and the palaces of the king and princes and had given the plunder to the king of Ashur, it didn't help him at all.

During his time of distress this same King Achaz added to his treachery against ADONAI

by sacrificing to the gods of Dammesek, who had attacked him, reasoning, "The gods of the kings of Aram helped them, so I will sacrifice to them, and then they'll help me." But they became the ruin of him and of all Isra'el.

Achaz collected the equipment from the house of God, broke to pieces the equipment from the house of God and sealed the doors of the house of ADONAI; then he made himself altars in every corner of Yerushalayim.

In every city of Y'hudah he made high places for offering to other gods, thus provoking ADONAI the God of his ancestors.

Other activities of Achaz and his ways [of doing things], from beginning to end, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y'hudah and Isra'el.

Achaz slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city, in Yerushalayim; because they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Isra'el. Then Hizkiyahu his son took his place as king.

M'nasheh was twelve years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for fifty-five years in Yerushalayim.

He did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, following the disgusting practices of the nations whom ADONAI had expelled ahead of the people of Isra'el.

For he rebuilt the high places which Hizkiyahu his father had smashed; he erected altars for the ba'alim, made sacred poles and worshipped all the army of heaven and served them.

He erected altars in the house of ADONAI, concerning which ADONAI had said, "My name will be in Yerushalayim forever."

He erected altars for all the army of heaven in the two courtyards of the house of ADONAI.

He made his children pass through the fire [as a sacrifice] in the Ben-Hinnom Valley. He practiced soothsaying, divination and sorcery; and he appointed mediums and persons who used spirit guides. He did much that was evil from ADONAI's perspective, thus provoking him to anger.

He set the carved image of the idol he had made in the house of God, concerning which God had told David and Shlomo his son, "In this house and in Yerushalayim, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Isra'el, I will put my name forever.

Also I will not remove the feet of Isra'el from the land I assigned your ancestors, if only they will take heed to obey every order I have given them, that is, all the Torah, laws and rulings that came through Moshe."

M'nasheh caused Y'hudah and the people of Yerushalayim to go astray, so that they did even worse things than the nations whom ADONAI destroyed ahead of the people of Isra'el.

ADONAI spoke to M'nasheh and to his people, but they paid no attention.