When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to<n id="1" /> other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the <sc>Lordsc> his God, as his father David had been.<n id="2" />

Naaman went away angry. He said, &#8220;Look, I thought for sure he would come out, stand there, invoke the name of the <sc>Lordsc> his God, wave his hand over the area, and cure the skin disease.

One day,<n id="1" /> as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch,<n id="2" /> his sons<n id="3" /> Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword.<n id="4" /> They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.p>

<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.

<p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians<n id="1" /> defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus.<n id="2" /> He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him.<n id="3" />

The <sc>Lordsc> sent a messenger<n id="1" /> and he wiped out all the soldiers, princes, and officers in the army of the king of Assyria. So Sennacherib<n id="2" /> returned home humiliated.<n id="3" /> When he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons<n id="4" /> struck him down with the sword.

<p class="bodytext">The rest of the events of Manasseh&#8217;s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the prophets<n id="1" /> spoke to him in the name of the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel, are recorded<n id="2" /> in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

<p class="bodytext">In the eighteenth year of his reign, he continued his policy of purifying the land and the temple.<n id="1" /> He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city official, and Joah son of Joahaz the secretary to repair the temple of the <sc>Lordsc> his God.

It read: &#8220;This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: &#8216;The <sc>Lordsc> God of the heavens has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build for him a temple in Jerusalem<n id="1" /> in Judah. May the <sc>Lordsc> your God energize you who belong to his people, so you may be able to go back there!&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

Anyone from<n id="1" /> his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel &#8211; he is the God who is in Jerusalem.

This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses which the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the <sc>Lordsc> his God was on him.

<t /><n id="1" /><p class="bodytext">They will say to you, &#8220;Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations.<n id="2" /> Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?&#8221;<n id="3" />

One day,<n id="1" /> as he was worshiping<n id="2" /> in the temple of his god Nisroch,<n id="3" /> his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword.<n id="4" /> They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.p>

<p class="poetry">They seek me day after day;p> <p class="poetry">they want to know my requirements,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">like a nation that does what is rightp> <p class="poetry">and does not reject the law of their God.p> <p class="poetry">They ask me for just decrees;p> <p class="poetry">they want to be near God.p>

The sailors were so afraid that each cried out<n id="1" /> to his own god<n id="2" /> and they flung<n id="3" /> the ship&#8217;s cargo<n id="4" /> overboard<n id="5" /> to make the ship lighter.<n id="6" /> Jonah, meanwhile,<n id="7" /> had gone down<n id="8" /> into the hold<n id="9" /> below deck,<n id="10" /> had lain down, and was sound asleep.<n id="11" />

<p class="bodytext">Asa prayed<n id="1" /> to the <sc>Lordsc> his God: &#8220;O <sc>Lordsc>, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered.<n id="2" /> Help us, O <sc>Lordsc> our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army.<n id="3" /> O <sc>Lordsc> our God, don&#8217;t let men prevail against you!&#8221;<n id="4" />