the prophet ¹  Jehu son of Hanani confronted him; ²  he said to King Jehoshaphat, “Is it right to help the wicked and be an ally of those who oppose the Lord? ³  Because you have done this the Lord is angry with you! ⁴ 

He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he married Ahab’s daughter. ¹  He did evil in the sight of ²  the Lord.

While Jehu was dishing out punishment to Ahab’s family, he discovered the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives who were serving Ahaziah and killed them.

King Joash disregarded ¹  the loyalty his father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s ²  son. As Zechariah ³  was dying, he said, “May the Lord take notice and seek vengeance!” ⁴ 

Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you ¹  before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating.” ² 

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

When Amaziah returned from defeating the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people ¹  of Seir and made them his personal gods. ²  He bowed down before them and offered them sacrifices.

In Jerusalem he made war machines carefully designed to shoot arrows and large stones from the towers and corners of the walls. He became very famous, for he received tremendous support and became powerful. ¹ 

But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. ¹  He disobeyed ²  the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar.

Hezekiah dammed up the source of the waters of the Upper Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the City of David. ¹  Hezekiah succeeded in all that he did.

Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard:

But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings, ¹  and ridiculed his prophets. ²  Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment. ³ 

He told David, ¹  ‘Since the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. ²  Nor did I choose a man as leader of my people Israel.

The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have taken my father David’s place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor of the Lord God of Israel

When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the Lord’s splendor over the temple, they got on their knees with their faces downward toward the pavement. They worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, ¹  “Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!”

The priests stood in their assigned spots, along with the Levites who had the musical instruments used for praising the Lord. ¹  (These were the ones King David made for giving thanks to the Lord and which were used by David when he offered praise, saying, “Certainly his loyal love endures.”) ²  Opposite the Levites, ³  the priests were blowing the trumpets, while all Israel stood there.

Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that is in front of the Lord’s temple. He offered burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, ¹  and the fat from the peace offerings there, because the bronze altar that Solomon had made was too small to hold all these offerings. ² 

They offer burnt sacrifices to the Lord every morning and every evening, along with fragrant incense. They arrange the Bread of the Presence on a ritually clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. Certainly ¹  we are observing the Lord our God’s regulations, but you have rejected him.

Then she saw ¹  the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters stood beside the king and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets, and the musicians with various instruments were leading the celebration. Athaliah tore her clothes and yelled, “Treason! Treason!” ² 

At the beginning ¹  of the year the Syrian army attacked ²  Joash ³  and invaded Judah and Jerusalem. They wiped out all the leaders of the people and sent all the plunder they gathered to the king of Damascus.