At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival for seven days. This great assembly included people from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south.<n id="1" />

On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon<n id="1" /> sent the people home. They left<n id="2" /> happy and contented<n id="3" /> because of the good the <sc>Lordsc> had done for David, Solomon, and his people Israel.p>

Abijah launched the attack with 400,000 well-trained warriors,<n id="1" /> while Jeroboam deployed against him 800,000 well-trained warriors.<n id="2" />p>

and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out;<n id="1" /> they were shattered before the <sc>Lordsc> and his army. The men of Judah<n id="2" /> carried off a huge amount of plunder.

He met<n id="1" /> Asa and told him, &#8220;Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The <sc>Lordsc> is with you when you are loyal to him.<n id="2" /> If you seek him, he will respond to you,<n id="3" /> but if you reject him, he will reject you.

<p class="bodytext">He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers<n id="1" /> from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live<n id="2" /> when they saw that the <sc>Lordsc> his God was with him.

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.

After about two years his intestines came out because of the disease, so that he died a very painful death.<n id="1" /> His people did not make a bonfire to honor him, as they had done for his ancestors.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">In the seventh year Jehoiada made a bold move. He made a pact<n id="1" /> with the officers of the units of hundreds: Azariah son of Jehoram, Ishmael son of Jehochanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri.

Now the troops Amaziah had dismissed and had not allowed to fight in the battle<n id="1" /> raided<n id="2" /> the cities of Judah from Samaria<n id="3" /> to Beth Horon. They killed<n id="4" /> 3,000 people and carried off a large amount of plunder.p>

Azariah, the head priest from the family of Zadok, said to him, &#8220;Since the contributions began arriving in the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple, we have had plenty to eat and have a large quantity left over. For the <sc>Lordsc> has blessed his people, and this large amount remains.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">Afterward King Sennacherib of Assyria, while attacking Lachish with all his military might, sent his messengers<n id="1" /> to Jerusalem. The message was for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of<n id="2" /> Judah who were in Jerusalem. It read:

Who among all the gods of these nations whom my predecessors annihilated was able to rescue his people from my power?<n id="1" />

He wrote letters mocking the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel and insulting him with these words:<n id="1" /> &#8220;The gods of the surrounding nations could not rescue their people from my power. Neither can Hezekiah&#8217;s god rescue his people from my power.&#8221;<n id="2" />

When you perceived that his heart was faithful toward you, you established a<n id="1" /> covenant with him to give his descendants<n id="2" /> the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have fulfilled your promise,<n id="3" /> for you are righteous.p>

He sent letters throughout all the royal provinces, to each province according to its own script and to each people according to its own language,<n id="1" /> that every man should be ruling his family<n id="2" /> and should be speaking the language of his own people.<n id="3" />p>

At that time<n id="1" /> the sovereign master<n id="2" /> will again lift his hand<n id="3" /> to reclaim<n id="4" /> the remnant of his people<n id="5" /> from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros,<n id="6" /> Cush,<n id="7" /> Elam, Shinar,<n id="8" /> Hamath, and the seacoasts.<n id="9" />p>

<p class="poetry">he will swallow up death permanently.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">The sovereign <sc>Lordsc> will wipe away the tears from every face,p> <p class="poetry">and remove his people&#8217;s disgrace from all the earth.p> <p class="poetry">Indeed, the <sc>Lordsc> has announced it!<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">The light of the full moon will be like the sun&#8217;s glarep> <p class="poetry">and the sun&#8217;s glare will be seven times brighter,p> <p class="poetry">like the light of seven days,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">when the <sc>Lordsc> binds up his people&#8217;s fractured bones<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and heals their severe wound.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">This is what your sovereign master,<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> your God, says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Look, I have removed from your handp> <p class="poetry">the cup of intoxicating wine,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the goblet full of my anger.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">You will no longer have to drink it.p>