He prayed: &#8220;O <sc>Lordsc> God of our ancestors,<n id="1" /> you are the God who lives in heaven<n id="2" /> and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you.

So Edom has remained free from Judah&#8217;s control to this very day.<n id="1" /> At that same time Libnah also rebelled and freed themselves from Judah&#8217;s control<n id="2" /> because Jehoram<n id="3" /> rejected the <sc>Lordsc> God of his ancestors.

<p class="bodytext">Jehoram<n id="1" /> received this letter from Elijah the prophet: &#8220;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> God of your ancestor David says: &#8216;You<n id="2" /> have not followed in the footsteps<n id="3" /> of your father Jehoshaphat and of<n id="4" /> King Asa of Judah,

Even though the invading Syrian army was relatively weak, the <sc>Lordsc> handed over to them Judah&#8217;s very large army,<n id="1" /> for the people of Judah<n id="2" /> had abandoned the <sc>Lordsc> God of their ancestors. The Syrians<n id="3" /> gave Joash what he deserved.<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">When Amaziah returned from defeating the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people<n id="1" /> of Seir and made them his personal gods.<n id="2" /> He bowed down before them and offered them sacrifices.

The <sc>Lordsc> was angry at Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, who said, &#8220;Why are you following<n id="1" /> these gods<n id="2" /> that could not deliver their own people from your power?&#8221;<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">Oded, a prophet of the <sc>Lordsc>, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: &#8220;Look, because the <sc>Lordsc> God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice.<n id="1" />

He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus whom he thought had defeated him.<n id="1" /> He reasoned,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Since the gods of the kings of Damascus helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.&#8221; But they caused him and all Israel to stumble.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Hezekiah sent messages throughout Israel and Judah; he even wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, summoning them to come to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple in Jerusalem<n id="1" /> and observe a Passover celebration for the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel.

So they sent an edict<n id="1" /> throughout Israel from Beer Sheba to Dan, summoning the people<n id="2" /> to come and observe a Passover for the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they had not observed it on a nationwide scale as prescribed in the law.<n id="3" />

Messengers<n id="1" /> delivered the letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah.p> <p class="bodytext">This royal edict read:<n id="2" /> &#8220;O Israelites, return to the <sc>Lordsc> God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return<n id="3" /> to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria.<n id="4" />

Hezekiah expressed his appreciation to all the Levites,<n id="1" /> who demonstrated great skill in serving the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="2" /> They feasted for the seven days of the festival,<n id="3" /> and were making peace offerings and giving thanks to the <sc>Lordsc> God of their ancestors.p>

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

<p class="bodytext">He removed the foreign gods and images from the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple and all the altars he had built on the hill of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple and in Jerusalem; he threw them outside the city.

<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.

Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged<n id="1" /> all who were in Israel to worship the <sc>Lordsc> their God. Throughout the rest of his reign<n id="2" /> they did not turn aside from following the <sc>Lordsc> God of their ancestors.p>

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>

Now, O <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, &#8216;You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel,<n id="1" /> provided that your descendants watch their step and obey my law as you have done.&#8217;<n id="2" />