NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Revival, Resistance, and the Road to Exile — April 19
2 Chronicles 33-36
2 Chronicles 33
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 365N 109.1
2 But he did evil in the sight of the Lord , according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. 365N 109.2
3 For he rebuilt the [a] high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all [b] the host of heaven and served them. 365N 109.3
4 He also built altars in the house of the Lord , of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” 365N 109.4
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord . 365N 109.5
6 Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord , to provoke Him to anger. 365N 109.6
7 He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the [c] house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; 365N 109.7
8 and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.” 365N 109.8
9 So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. 365N 109.9
10 And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not [d] listen. 365N 109.10
11 Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with [e] hooks, bound him with [f] bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. 365N 109.11
12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 365N 109.12
13 and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God. 365N 109.13
14 After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. 365N 109.14
15 He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord , and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. 365N 109.15
16 He also repaired the altar of the Lord , sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. 365N 109.16
17 Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the [g] high places, but only to the Lord their God. 365N 109.17
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, indeed they are written in the [h] book of the kings of Israel. 365N 109.18
19 Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built [i] high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of [j] Hozai. 365N 109.19
20 So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place. 365N 109.20
21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 365N 109.21
22 But he did evil in the sight of the Lord , as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them. 365N 109.22
23 And he did not humble himself before the Lord , as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more. 365N 109.23
24 Then his servants conspired against him, and killed him in his own house. 365N 109.24
25 But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. 365N 109.25
2 Chronicles 34
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 365N 109.26
2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord , and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 365N 109.27
3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the [a] high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. 365N 109.28
4 They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 365N 109.29
5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 365N 109.30
6 And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with [b] axes. 365N 109.31
7 When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. 365N 109.32
8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the [c] temple, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. 365N 109.33
9 When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem. 365N 109.34
10 Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord ; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the Lord , to repair and restore the house. 365N 109.35
11 They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. 365N 109.36
12 And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skillful with instruments of music, 365N 109.37
13 were over the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. And some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers. 365N 109.38
14 Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord , Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. 365N 109.39
15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord .” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 365N 109.40
16 So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 365N 109.41
17 And they have [d] gathered the money that was found in the house of the Lord , and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” 365N 109.42
18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. 365N 109.43
19 Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 365N 109.44
20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, [e] Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 365N 109.45
21 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the 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.” 365N 109.46
22 So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of [f] Tokhath, the son of [g] Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect. 365N 109.47
23 Then she answered them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 365N 109.48
24 “Thus says the Lord : ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah, 365N 109.49
25 because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ ” ’ 365N 109.50
26 But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord , in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “ Concerning the words which you have heard— 365N 109.51
27 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you, ” says the Lord . 365N 109.52
28 “Surely 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 calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king. 365N 109.53
29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 365N 109.54
30 The king went up to the house of the Lord , with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord . 365N 109.55
31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord , to follow 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. 365N 109.56
32 And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 365N 109.57
33 Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel [h] diligently serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers. 365N 109.58
2 Chronicles 35
1 Now Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 365N 109.59
2 And he set the priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service of the house of the Lord . 365N 109.60
3 Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord : “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. 365N 109.61
4 Prepare yourselves according to your fathers’ [a] houses, according to your divisions, following the written instruction of David king of Israel and the written instruction of Solomon his son. 365N 109.62
5 And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites. 365N 109.63
6 So slaughter the Passover offerings, consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.” 365N 109.64
7 Then Josiah gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s possessions. 365N 109.65
8 And his leaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle. 365N 109.66
9 Also Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle. 365N 109.67
10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their places, and the Levites in their divisions, according to the king’s command. 365N 109.68
11 And they slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests sprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites skinned the animals. 365N 109.69
12 Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord , as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle. 365N 109.70
13 Also they roasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people. 365N 109.71
14 Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 365N 109.72
15 And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them. 365N 109.73
16 So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord , according to the command of King Josiah. 365N 109.74
17 And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 365N 109.75
18 There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 365N 109.76
19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept. 365N 109.77
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. 365N 109.78
21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.” 365N 109.79
22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo. 365N 109.80
23 And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.” 365N 109.81
24 His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 365N 109.82
25 Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah. And to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments. 365N 109.83
26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the Lord , 365N 109.84
27 and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 365N 109.85
2 Chronicles 36
1 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. 365N 109.86
2 [a] Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 365N 109.87
3 Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 365N 109.88
4 Then the king of Egypt made [b] Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took [c] Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt. 365N 109.89
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 365N 109.90
6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in [d] bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. 365N 109.91
7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. 365N 109.92
8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then [e] Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 365N 109.93
9 Jehoiachin was [f] eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord . 365N 109.94
10 At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, with the costly articles from the house of the Lord , and made Zedekiah, [g] [h] Jehoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem. 365N 109.95
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 365N 109.96
12 He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord . 365N 109.97
13 And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. 365N 109.98
14 Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. 365N 109.99
15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 365N 109.100
16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy. 365N 109.101
17 Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. 365N 109.102
18 And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord , and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. 365N 109.103
19 Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. 365N 109.104
20 And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 365N 109.105
21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. 365N 109.106
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 365N 109.107
23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a [i] house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up! 365N 109.108