Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guards carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom. ¹ 

The king said to him, “How many times must I make you solemnly promise in ¹  the name of the Lord to tell me only the truth?”

Our God, you drove out ¹  the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it as a permanent possession ²  to the descendants of your friend ³  Abraham.

They traveled throughout Judah and assembled the Levites from all the cities of Judah, as well as the Israelite family leaders. They came to Jerusalem, ¹ 

This is what you must do. One third of you priests and Levites who are on duty during the Sabbath will guard the doors.

They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.

They assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves. Then they went in to purify the Lord’s temple, just as the king had ordered, in accordance with the word ¹  of the Lord.

But Manasseh misled the people of ¹  Judah and the residents of Jerusalem so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites.

They slaughtered the Passover lambs and the priests splashed the blood, ¹  while the Levites skinned the animals.

After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple and the royal palace, and accomplished all his plans for the Lord’s temple and his royal palace, ¹ 

All the work ordered by Solomon was completed, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid until it was finished; the Lord’s temple was completed.

King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.

(13:23) ¹  Abijah passed away ²  and was buried in the City of David. ³  His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign ⁴  the land had rest for ten years.

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a foot disease. ¹  Though his disease was severe, he did not seek the Lord, but only the doctors. ² 

But the Lord was unwilling to destroy David’s dynasty ¹  because of the promise ²  he had made to give David a perpetual dynasty. ³ 

He followed their advice and joined Ahab’s son King Joram ¹  of Israel in a battle against King Hazael of Syria ²  at Ramoth Gilead in which the Syrians defeated Joram.

The list of Joash’s ¹  sons, the many prophetic oracles pertaining to him, and the account of his building project on God’s temple are included in the record of the Scroll of the Kings. ²  His son Amaziah replaced him as king.

Ahaz gathered the items in God’s temple and removed them. He shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and erected altars on every street corner in Jerusalem.

Ahaz passed away ¹  and was buried in the City of David; ²  they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.

Afterward King Sennacherib of Assyria, while attacking Lachish with all his military might, sent his messengers ¹  to Jerusalem. The message was for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of ²  Judah who were in Jerusalem. It read: