2 Kings 15:18-20

15:18 He did evil in the sight of ¹  the Lord; he did not repudiate ²  the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. ³ 

During his reign, 15:19 Pul ⁴  king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid ⁵  him ⁶  a thousand talents ⁷  of silver to gain his support ⁸  and to solidify his control of the kingdom. ⁹  15:20 Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took fifty shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria. ¹⁰  Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land.

Jeremiah 22:13-17

Judgment on Jehoiakim

22:13 “‘Sure to be judged ¹¹  is the king who builds his palace using injustice

and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms. ¹² 

He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing.

He does not pay them for their labor.

22:14 He says, “I will build myself a large palace

with spacious upper rooms.”

He cuts windows in its walls,

panels it ¹³  with cedar, and paints its rooms red. ¹⁴ 

22:15 Does it make you any more of a king

that you outstrip everyone else in ¹⁵  building with cedar?

Just think about your father.

He was content that he had food and drink. ¹⁶ 

He did what was just and right. ¹⁷ 

So things went well with him.

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’ ¹⁸ 

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ¹⁹ 

22:17 But you are always thinking and looking

for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means.

Your eyes and your heart are set

on killing some innocent person

and committing fraud and oppression. ²⁰ 

Daniel 11:20

11:20 There will arise after him ²¹  one ²²  who will send out an exactor ²³  of tribute to enhance the splendor of the kingdom, but after a few days he will be destroyed, ²⁴  though not in anger or battle.

Micah 7:3

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ²⁵ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ²⁶ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ²⁷ 

[15:18]  ¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[15:18]  ² tn Heb “turn away from.”

[15:18]  ³ tc The MT of v. 18 ends with the words, “all his days.” If this phrase is taken with what precedes, then one should translate, “[who encouraged Israel to sin] throughout his reign.” However, it may be preferable to emend the text to בְיֹמָיו (bÿyomav), “in his days,” and join the phrase to what follows. The translation assumes this change.

[15:19]  ⁴ sn Pul was a nickname of Tiglath-pileser III (cf. 15:29). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 171-72.

[15:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “gave.”

[15:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “Pul.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:19]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75,000 pounds of silver (cf. NCV “about seventy-four thousand pounds”); NLT “thirty-seven tons”; CEV “over thirty tons”; TEV “34,000 kilogrammes.”

[15:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “so his hands would be with him.”

[15:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “to keep hold of the kingdom in his hand.”

[15:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and Menahem brought out the silver over Israel, over the prominent men of means, to give to the king of Assyria, fifty shekels of silver for each man.”

[22:13]  ¹¹ sn Heb “Woe.” This particle is used in laments for the dead (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 34:5) and as an introductory particle in indictments against a person on whom judgment is pronounced (cf., e.g., Isa 5:8, 11; Jer 23:1). The indictment is found here in vv. 13-17 and the announcement of judgment in vv. 18-19.

[22:13]  ¹² tn Heb “Woe to the one who builds his house by unrighteousness and its upper rooms with injustice using his neighbor [= countryman] as a slave for nothing and not giving to him his wages.”

[22:14]  ¹³ tc The MT should be emended to read חַלֹּנָיו וְסָפוֹן (khallonayv vÿsafon) instead of חַלֹּנָי וְסָפוּן (khallonay vÿsafon), i.e., the plural noun with third singular suffix rather than the first singular suffix and the infinitive absolute rather than the passive participle. The latter form then parallels the form for “paints” and functions in the same way (cf. GKC 345 §113.z for the infinitive with vav [ו] continuing a perfect). The errors in the MT involve reading the וְ once instead of twice (haplography) and reading the וּ (u) for the וֹ (o).

[22:14]  ¹⁴ tn The word translated “red” only occurs here and in Ezek 23:14 where it refers to the pictures of the Babylonians on the wall of the temple. Evidently this was a favorite color for decoration. It is usually identified as vermilion, a mineral product from red ocher (cf. C. L. Wickwire, “Vermilion,” IDB 4:748).

[22:15]  ¹⁵ tn For the use of this verb see Jer 12:5 where it is used of Jeremiah “competing” with horses. The form is a rare Tiphel (see GKC 153 §55.h).

[22:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Your father, did he not eat and drink and do justice and right.” The copulative vav in front of the verbs here (all Hebrew perfects) shows that these actions are all coordinate not sequential. The contrast drawn here between the actions of Jehoiakim and Josiah show that the phrase eating and drinking should be read in the light of the same contrasts in Eccl 2 which ends with the note of contentment in Eccl 2:24 (see also Eccl 3:13; 5:18 [5:17 HT]; 8:15). The question is, of course, rhetorical setting forth the positive role model against which Jehoiakim’s actions are to be condemned. The key terms here are “then things went well with him” which is repeated in the next verse after the reiteration of Josiah’s practice of justice.

[22:15]  ¹⁷ sn The father referred to here is the godly king Josiah. He followed the requirements for kings set forth in 22:3 in contrast to his son who did not (22:13).

[22:16]  ¹⁸ tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”

[22:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

[22:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Your eyes and your heart do not exist except for dishonest gain and for innocent blood to shed [it] and for fraud and for oppression to do [them].” The sentence has been broken up to conform more to English style and the significance of “eyes” and “heart” explained before they are introduced into the translation.

[11:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “on his place.”

[11:20]  ²² sn The one who will send out an exactor of tribute was Seleucus IV Philopator (ca. 187-176 B.C.).

[11:20]  ²³ sn Perhaps this exactor of tribute was Heliodorus (cf. 2 Maccabees 3).

[11:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “broken” or “shattered.”

[7:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ²⁷ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.