He made the most holy place; its length was 30 feet, corresponding to the width of the temple, and its width 30 feet. He plated it with 600 talents of fine gold.

On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people home. They left happy and contented because of the good the Lord had done for David, Solomon, and his people Israel.

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and then enter the battle; but you wear your royal attire.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they entered the battle.

Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering burnt sacrifices and fat portions until evening. The Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah visited the king and declared their loyalty to him. The king listened to their advice.

There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb. (It was there that the Lord made an agreement with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt.)

Now, O Lord God of Israel, may the promise you made to your servant David be realized.

Then Rehoboam passed away and was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah replaced him as king.

Jeroboam did not regain power during the reign of Abijah. The Lord struck him down and he died.

They solemnly agreed to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with their whole heart and being.

The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame reached the border of Egypt, for he grew in power.

Jotham passed away and was buried in the City of David. His son Ahaz replaced him as king.

In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them,

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him, bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away to Babylon.

They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.

As for the descendants of Aaron, the priests who lived in the outskirts of all their cities, men were assigned to disburse portions to every male among the priests and to every Levite listed in the genealogical records.

Messengers delivered the letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah. This royal edict read: “O Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria.

Solomon took a census of all the male resident foreigners in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all.

All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place.

The Israelites fled from before the Judahite army, and God handed them over to the men of Judah.