&#8220;Your father made us work too hard!<n id="1" /> Now if you lighten the demands he made and don&#8217;t make us work as hard, we will serve you.&#8221;<n id="2" />

In one day King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the <sc>Lordsc> God of their ancestors.<n id="1" />

The king ordered Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah,<n id="1" /> Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king&#8217;s servant,

Asa was so angry at the prophet, he put him in jail.<n id="1" /> Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time.p>

He placed the men at their posts, each holding his weapon in his hand. They lined up from the south side of the temple to the north side and stood near the altar and the temple, surrounding the king.<n id="1" />

Ahaz gathered riches<n id="1" /> from the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple, the royal palace, and the officials and gave them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help.p>

The <sc>Lordsc> was angry at Judah and Jerusalem and made them an appalling object of horror at which people hiss out their scorn,<n id="1" /> as you can see with your own eyes.

<p class="bodytext">That night God appeared<n id="1" /> to Solomon and said to him, &#8220;Tell me<n id="2" /> what I should give you.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">Then Solomon said, &#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> has said that he lives in thick darkness.

and Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered to serve the <sc>Lordsc>, led 200,000 skilled warriors.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Jehoshaphat was very wealthy and greatly respected. He made an alliance by marriage with Ahab,

Micaiah replied, &#8220;Look, you will see in the day when you go into an inner room to hide.&#8221;

They agreed<n id="1" /> to make large seagoing merchant ships;<n id="2" /> they built the ships in Ezion Geber.

The king, his officials, and the entire assembly in Jerusalem decided to observe the Passover in the second month.

Hezekiah said, &#8220;Now you have consecrated yourselves<n id="1" /> to the <sc>Lordsc>. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings<n id="2" /> to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple.&#8221; So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and whoever desired to do so<n id="3" /> brought burnt sacrifices.p>

As for this temple, which was once majestic,<n id="1" /> everyone who passes by it will be shocked and say, &#8216;Why did the <sc>Lordsc> do this to this land and this temple?&#8217;

He observed the daily requirements for sacrifices that Moses had specified for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and the three annual celebrations &#8211; the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Temporary Shelters.<n id="1" />

The king refused to listen to the people, because God was instigating this turn of events<n id="1" /> so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made<n id="2" /> through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.p>

and after several years<n id="1" /> went down to visit<n id="2" /> Ahab in Samaria.<n id="3" /> Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle to honor Jehoshaphat and those who came with him.<n id="4" /> He persuaded him to join in an attack<n id="5" /> against Ramoth Gilead.

&#8220;Be strong and brave! Don&#8217;t be afraid and don&#8217;t panic<n id="1" /> because of the king of Assyria and this huge army that is with him! We have with us one who is stronger than those who are with him.<n id="2" />