So when Rehoboam ¹  humbled himself, the Lord relented from his anger and did not annihilate him; ²  Judah experienced some good things. ³ 

The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed in his ancestor ¹  David’s footsteps at the beginning of his reign. ²  He did not seek the Baals,

The Lord put fear into all the kingdoms surrounding Judah; ¹  they did not make war with Jehoshaphat.

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. No one regretted his death; ¹  he was buried in the City of David, ²  but not in the royal tombs.

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 

But Amaziah did not heed the warning, ¹  for God wanted to hand them over to Joash because they followed the gods of Edom. ² 

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. ¹  He did not do what pleased the Lord, in contrast to his ancestor David. ² 

Ahaz gathered riches ¹  from the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and the officials and gave them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help.

But Hezekiah was ungrateful; he had a proud attitude, provoking God to be angry at him, as well as Judah and Jerusalem. ¹ 

But then Hezekiah and the residents of Jerusalem humbled themselves and abandoned their pride, and the Lord was not angry with them for the rest of Hezekiah’s reign. ¹ 

This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices ¹  to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. ²  My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’”

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 time will come when ¹  the skies ²  are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people ³  sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, ⁴  and turn away from their sin because you punish ⁵  them,

the food in his banquet hall, ¹  his servants and attendants ²  in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple, ³  she was amazed. ⁴ 

I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! ¹  Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me.

She gave the king 120 talents ¹  of gold and a very large quantity of spices and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. ² 

With the timber the king made steps ¹  for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments ²  for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that. ³ )

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

‘The Lord says this: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers. Each of you go home, for I have caused this to happen.”’” ¹  They obeyed the Lord and called off the attack against Jeroboam. ² 

When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, he gave this message to Shemaiah: ¹  “They have humbled themselves, so I will not destroy them. I will deliver them soon. ²  My anger will not be unleashed against ³  Jerusalem through ⁴  Shishak.