When they first moved in, ¹  they did not worship ²  the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them and the lions were killing them.

The Lord made an agreement ¹  with them ²  and instructed them, “You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them.

In the third year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king over Judah.

The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, ¹  “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria.

Manasseh passed away ¹  and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzzah, and his son Amon replaced him as king.

The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censers ¹  and basins.

Naaman said, “If not, then please give your servant a load of dirt, enough for a pair of mules to carry, ¹  for your servant will never again offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to a god other than the Lord. ² 

Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’

The prophet told the king, “Two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of finely milled flour for a shekel; this will happen about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.”

Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild ¹  and told him, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container ²  of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead.

Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. ¹  So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab’s dynasty. This is what the letters said, ² 

The prophet ¹  got angry at him and said, “If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! ²  But now, you will defeat Syria only three times.”

They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, ¹  and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry. ² 

Instead you must worship the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability; ¹  bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him.

Now make a deal ¹  with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them.

In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. ¹  The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” ² 

“Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you ¹  faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, ²  and how I have carried out your will.” ³  Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. ⁴ 

Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What is the confirming sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple the day after tomorrow?”

I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria ¹  and the dynasty of Ahab. ²  I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides. ³ 

The king of Babylon deported to Babylon all the soldiers (there were 7,000), as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers. This included all the best warriors. ¹