Daily Mass Readings for June 23, 2026: Gospel — Mt 7, 6. 12-14

⁹ The king heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 1 1 :¹ When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she was determined to destroy the entire royal line. ² So Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Ahaziah’s son Joash and stole him away from the rest of the royal descendants who were to be executed. She hid him and his nurse in the room where the bed covers were stored. So he was hidden from Athaliah and escaped execution. ³ He hid out with his nurse in the Lord’s temple for six years, while Athaliah was ruling over the land. ⁴ In the seventh year Jehoiada summoned the officers of the units of hundreds of the Carians and the royal bodyguard. He met with them in the Lord’s temple. He made an agreement with them and made them swear an oath of allegiance in the Lord’s temple. Then he showed them the king’s son. ⁵ He ordered them, “This is what you must do. One third of the unit that is on duty during the Sabbath will guard the royal palace. ⁶ Another third of you will be stationed at the Foundation Gate. Still another third of you will be stationed at the gate behind the royal guard. You will take turns guarding the palace. ⁷ The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord’s temple and protect the king. ⁸ You must surround the king. Each of you must hold his weapon in his hand. Whoever approaches your ranks must be killed. You must accompany the king wherever he goes.” ⁹ The officers of the units of hundreds did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath, and reported to Jehoiada the priest. 1 ⁰ The priest gave to the officers of the units of hundreds King David’s spears and the shields that were kept in the Lord’s temple. 1 ¹ The royal bodyguard took their stations, each holding his weapon in his hand. They lined up from the south side of the temple to the north side and stood near the altar and the temple, surrounding the king. 1 ² Jehoiada led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. They clapped their hands and cried out, “Long live the king!” 1 ³ When Athaliah heard the royal guard shout, she joined the crowd at the Lord’s temple. 1 ⁴ Then she saw the king standing by the pillar, according to custom. The officers stood beside the king with their trumpets, and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason, treason!” 1 ⁵ Jehoiada the priest ordered the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, “Bring her outside the temple to the guards. Put to death by the sword anyone who follows her.” The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord’s temple. 1 ⁶ They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance. There she was executed. 1 ⁷ Jehoiada then drew up a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, stipulating that they should be loyal to the Lord. 1 ⁸ All the people of the land went and demolished the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols to bits. They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altar. Jehoiada the priest then placed guards at the Lord’s temple. 1 ⁹ He took the officers of the units of hundreds, the Carians, the royal bodyguard, and all the people of the land, and together they led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Gate of the Royal Bodyguard, and the king sat down on the royal throne. 2 ⁰ All the people of the land celebrated, for the city had rest now that they had killed Athaliah with the sword in the royal palace. 2 1 (12:1 ) Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign. 1 4 :¹ In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Joash son of Joahaz, Joash’s son Amaziah became king over Judah. ² He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. ³ He did what the Lord approved, but not like David his ancestor had done. He followed the example of his father Joash. ⁴ But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. ⁵ When he had secured control of the kingdom, he executed the servants who had assassinated his father. ⁶ But he did not execute the sons of the assassins. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the scroll of the law of Moses, “Fathers must not be put to death for what their sons do, and sons must not be put to death for what their fathers do. A man must be put to death only for his own sin.” ⁷ He defeated 1 0 ,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley; he captured Sela in battle and renamed it Joktheel, a name it has retained to this very day. ⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel. He said, “Come, let’s meet face to face.” ⁹ King Jehoash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thornbush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn. 1 ⁰ You thoroughly defeated Edom, and it has gone to your head! Gloat over your success, but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?” 1 ¹ But Amaziah would not heed the warning, so King Jehoash of Israel attacked. He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face in Beth Shemesh of Judah. 1 ² Judah was defeated by Israel, and each man ran back home. 1 ³ King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, in Beth Shemesh. He attacked Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—a distance of about 6 0 ⁰ feet. 1 ⁴ He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace, and some hostages. Then he went back to Samaria. 1 ⁵ The rest of the events of Jehoash’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his successful war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 1 ⁶ Jehoash passed away and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam replaced him as king. 1 ⁷ King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived for 1 ⁵ years after the death of King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. 1 ⁸ The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 1 ⁹ Conspirators plotted against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent assassins after him, and they killed him there. 2 ⁰ His body was carried back by horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors in the City of David. 2 ¹ All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place. 2 ² Azariah built up Elat and restored it to Judah after the king had passed away. 2 ³ In the fifteenth year of the reign of Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash, Jeroboam son of Joash became king over Israel. He reigned for 4 ¹ years in Samaria. 2 ⁴ He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 2 ⁵ He restored the border of Israel from Lebo Hamath in the north to the sea of the rift valley in the south, just as in the message from the Lord God of Israel that he had announced through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher. 2 ⁶ The Lord saw Israel’s intense suffering; everyone was weak and incapacitated and Israel had no deliverer. 2 ⁷ The Lord had not decreed that he would blot out Israel’s memory from under heaven, so he delivered them through Jeroboam son of Joash. 2 ⁸ The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, including all his accomplishments, his military success in restoring Israelite control over Damascus and Hamath, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 2 ⁹ Jeroboam passed away and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Zechariah replaced him as king. 1 5 :¹ In the twenty-seventh year of King Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Amaziah’s son Azariah became king over Judah. ² He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for 5 ² years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. ³ He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁴ But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. ⁵ The Lord afflicted the king with an illness; he suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, while his son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land. ⁶ The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. ⁷ Azariah passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Jotham replaced him as king. ⁸ In the thirty-eighth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for six months. ⁹ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestors had done. He did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 1 ⁰ Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him; he assassinated him in Ibleam and took his place as king. 1 ¹ The rest of the events of Zechariah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 1 ² His assassination fulfilled the Lord’s message to Jehu, “Four generations of your descendants will rule on Israel’s throne.” And that is how it happened. 1 ³ Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah’s reign over Judah. He reigned for one month in Samaria. 1 ⁴ Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh. He killed him and took his place as king. 1 ⁵ The rest of the events of Shallum’s reign, including the conspiracy he organized, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 1 ⁶ At that time Menahem came from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He struck down all who lived in the city and the surrounding territory, because they would not surrender. He even ripped open the pregnant women. 1 ⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel. He reigned for 1 ⁰ years in Samaria. 1 ⁸ He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin. During his reign, 1 ⁹ Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid him 1 ,000 talents of silver to gain his support and to solidify his control of the kingdom. 2 ⁰ Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took 5 ⁰ shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria. Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land. 2 ¹ The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 2 ² Menahem passed away and his son Pekahiah replaced him as king. 2 ³ In the fiftieth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem’s son Pekahiah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for two years. 2 ⁴ He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 2 ⁵ His officer Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him. He and 5 ⁰ Gileadites assassinated Pekahiah, as well as Argob and Arieh, in Samaria in the fortress of the royal palace. Pekah then took his place as king. 2 ⁶ The rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 2 ⁷ In the fifty-second year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for twenty years. 2 ⁸ He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 2 ⁹ During Pekah’s reign over Israel, King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the territory of Naphtali. He deported the people to Assyria. 3 ⁰ Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He assassinated him and took his place as king, in the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah. 3 ¹ The rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 3 ² In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Uzziah’s son Jotham became king over Judah. 3 ³ He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 3 ⁴ He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done. 3 ⁵ But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple. 3 ⁶ The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 3 ⁷ In those days the Lord prompted King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah. 3 ⁸ Jotham passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz replaced him as king. 1 6 :¹ In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham’s son Ahaz became king over Judah. ² Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord his God, in contrast to his ancestor David. ³ He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. ⁴ He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. ⁵ At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz, but were unable to conquer him. ⁶ (At that time King Rezin of Syria recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. Syrians arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) ⁷ Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent. March up and rescue me from the power of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked me.” ⁸ Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute to the king of Assyria. ⁹ The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request; he attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the people to Kir and executed Rezin. 1 ⁰ When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there. King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design. 1 ¹ Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus. 1 ² When the king arrived back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and offered a sacrifice on it. 1 ³ He offered his burnt sacrifice and his grain offering. He poured out his libation and sprinkled the blood from his peace offerings on the altar. 1 ⁴ He moved the bronze altar that stood in the Lord’s presence from the front of the temple (between the altar and the Lord’s temple) and put it on the north side of the new altar. 1 ⁵ King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest, “On the large altar offer the morning burnt sacrifice, the evening grain offering, the royal burnt sacrifices and grain offering, the burnt sacrifice for all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their libations. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt sacrifice and other sacrifices on it. The bronze altar will be for my personal use.” 1 ⁶ So Uriah the priest did exactly as King Ahaz ordered. 1 ⁷ King Ahaz took off the frames of the movable stands, and removed the basins from them. He took “The Sea” down from the bronze bulls that supported it and put it on the stone pavement. 1 ⁸ He also removed the Sabbath awning that had been built in the temple and the king’s outer entranceway to the Lord’s temple, on account of the king of Assyria. 1 ⁹ The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 2 ⁰ Ahaz passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king. 1 7 :¹ In the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for nine years. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not to the same degree as the Israelite kings who preceded him. ³ King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched up to attack him; so Hoshea became his subject and paid him tribute. ⁴ The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt. Hoshea had sent messengers to King So of Egypt and had not sent his annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him. ⁵ The king of Assyria marched through the whole land. He attacked Samaria and besieged it for three years. ⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. ⁷ This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods; ⁸ they observed the practices of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from before them, and followed the example of the kings of Israel. ⁹ The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 1 ⁰ They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 1 ¹ They burned incense on all the high places just like the nations whom the Lord had driven away before them did. Their evil practices made the Lord angry. 1 ² They worshiped the disgusting idols in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command. 1 ³ The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.” 1 ⁴ But they did not pay attention and were as stubborn as their ancestors, who had not trusted the Lord their God. 1 ⁵ They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord. They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command. 1 ⁶ They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, and worshiped Baal. 1 ⁷ They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry. 1 ⁸ So the Lord was furious with Israel and rejected them; only the tribe of Judah was left. 1 ⁹ Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the Lord their God; they followed Israel’s example. 2 ⁰ So the Lord rejected all of Israel’s descendants; he humiliated them and handed them over to robbers, until he had thrown them from his presence. 2 ¹ He tore Israel away from David’s dynasty, and Jeroboam son of Nebat became their king. Jeroboam drove Israel away from the Lord and encouraged them to commit a serious sin. 2 ² The Israelites followed in the sinful ways of Jeroboam and did not repudiate them. 2 ³ Finally the Lord rejected Israel just as he had warned he would do through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from its land to Assyria and remains there to this very day. 2 ⁴ The king of Assyria brought foreigners from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 2 ⁵ When they first moved in, they did not worship the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them and the lions were killing them. 2 ⁶ The king of Assyria was told, “The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. They are killing the people because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land.” 2 ⁷ So the king of Assyria ordered, “Take back one of the priests whom you deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” 2 ⁸ So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. He taught them how to worship the Lord. 2 ⁹ But each of these nations made its own gods and put them in the shrines on the high places that the people of Samaria had made. Each nation did this in the cities where they lived. 3 ⁰ The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, the people from Cuth made Nergal, the people from Hamath made Ashima, 3 ¹ the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their sons in the fire as an offering to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 3 ² At the same time they worshiped the Lord. They appointed some of their own people to serve as priests in the shrines on the high places. 3 ³ They were worshiping the Lord and at the same time serving their own gods in accordance with the practices of the nations from which they had been deported. 3 ⁴ To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel. 3 ⁵ The Lord made a covenant with them and instructed them, “You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them. 3 ⁶ Instead you must worship the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability; bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. 3 ⁷ You must carefully obey at all times the rules, regulations, law, and commandments he wrote down for you. You must not worship other gods. 3 ⁸ You must never forget the covenant I made with you, and you must not worship other gods. 3 ⁹ Instead you must worship the Lord your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies.” 4 ⁰ But they paid no attention; instead they observed their earlier practices. 4 ¹ These nations were worshiping the Lord and at the same time serving their idols; their sons and grandsons are doing just as their fathers have done, to this very day. 1 8 :¹ In the third year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king over Judah. ² He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. ⁴ He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. ⁵ He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; in this regard there was none like him among the kings of Judah either before or after. ⁶ He was loyal to the Lord and did not abandon him. He obeyed the commandments that the Lord had given to Moses. ⁷ The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him. ⁸ He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city. ⁹ In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched up against Samaria and besieged it. 1 ⁰ After three years he captured it (in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign); in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign over Israel, Samaria was captured. 1 ¹ The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. 1 ² This happened because they did not obey the Lord their God and broke his covenant with them. They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. 1 ³ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 1 ⁴ King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, “I have violated our treaty. If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.” So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay 3 0 ⁰ talents of silver and 3 ⁰ talents of gold. 1 ⁵ Hezekiah gave him all the silver in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace. 1 ⁶ At that time King Hezekiah of Judah stripped the metal overlays from the doors of the Lord’s temple and from the posts that he had plated and gave them to the king of Assyria. 1 ⁷ The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 1 ⁸ They summoned the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna, the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet them. 1 ⁹ The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? 2 ⁰ Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me? 2 ¹ Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. 2 ² Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.’ 2 ³ Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you 2 ,000 horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 2 ⁴ Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 2 ⁵ Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it.’”’” 2 ⁶ Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 2 ⁷ But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” 2 ⁸ The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 2 ⁹ This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand! 3 ⁰ Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord when he says, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 3 ¹ Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 3 ² until I come and take you to a land just like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” 3 ³ Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 3 ⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power? 3 ⁵ Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 3 ⁶ The people were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.” 3 ⁷ Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 1 9 :¹ When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. ² He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, clothed in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. ³ They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This is a day of distress, insults, and humiliation, as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. ⁴ Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.’” ⁵ When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, ⁶ Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard, because the Assyrian king’s officers have insulted me. ⁷ Look, I will take control of his mind; he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down with a sword in his own land.”’” ⁸ When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. 1 ⁰ “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 1 ¹ Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. Do you really think you will be rescued? 1 ² Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar—rescued by their gods? 1 ³ Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’” 1 ⁴ Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 1 ⁵ Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. 1 ⁶ Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 1 ⁷ It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. 1 ⁸ They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 1 ⁹ Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.” 2 ⁰ Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. 2 ¹ This is what the Lord says about him: “‘“The virgin daughter Zion despises you, she makes fun of you; Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head after you. 2 ² Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted, and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel! 2 ³ Through your messengers you taunted the Sovereign Master, ‘With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods. 2 ⁴ I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’ 2 ⁵ Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out. In ancient times I planned it; and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. 2 ⁶ Their residents are powerless, they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field, or green vegetation. They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the east wind. 2 ⁷ I know where you live and everything you do. 2 ⁸ Because you rage against me, and the uproar you create has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle between your lips, and I will lead you back the way you came.” 2 9 “‘This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 3 ⁰ Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 3 1 “‘For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will accomplish this. 3 ² So this is what the Lord has said about the king of Assyria: “He will not enter this city, nor will he shoot an arrow here. He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, nor will he build siege works against it. 3 ³ He will go back the way he came. He will not enter this city,” says the Lord. 3 4 “‘I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.’” 3 ⁵ That very night the angel of the Lord went out and killed 18 5 ,000 in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses. 3 ⁶ So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 3 ⁷ One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king. 2 0 :¹ In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” ² He turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³ “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, and how I have carried out your will.” Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. ⁴ Isaiah had not yet left the middle courtyard when the Lord’s message came to him, ⁵ “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David has said: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. The day after tomorrow you will go up to the Lord’s temple. ⁶ I will add fifteen years to your life and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” ⁷ Isaiah ordered, “Get a fig cake.” So they did as he ordered and placed it on the ulcerated sore, and he recovered. ⁸ 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?” ⁹ Isaiah replied, “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said. Do you want the shadow to move ahead 1 ⁰ steps or to go back 1 ⁰ steps?” 1 ⁰ Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen 1 ⁰ steps, but not for it to go back ten steps.” 1 ¹ Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz. 1 ² At that time Merodach Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent messengers with letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill. 1 ³ Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them his whole storehouse, with its silver, gold, spices, and high quality olive oil, as well as his armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. 1 ⁴ Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 1 ⁵ Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries.” 1 ⁶ Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the Lord’s message, 1 ⁷ ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 1 ⁸ ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 1 ⁹ Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s message which you have announced is appropriate.” Then he added, “At least there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.” 2 ⁰ The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign and all his accomplishments, including how he built a pool and conduit to bring water into the city, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 2 ¹ Hezekiah passed away and his son Manasseh replaced him as king. 2 1 :¹ Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. ³ He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky and worshiped them. ⁴ He built altars in the Lord’s temple, about which the Lord had said, “Jerusalem will be my home.” ⁵ In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky. ⁶ He passed his son through the fire and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits and appointed magicians to supervise it. He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. ⁷ He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home. ⁸ I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey.” ⁹ But they did not obey, and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the Israelites. 1 ⁰ So the Lord announced through his servants the prophets: 1 ¹ “King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols. 1 ² So this is what the Lord God of Israel has said, ‘I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it. 1 ³ I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides. 1 ⁴ I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies, 1 ⁵ because they have done evil in my sight and have angered me from the time their ancestors left Egypt right up to this very day!’” 1 ⁶ Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end, in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the Lord. 1 ⁷ The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign and all his accomplishments, as well as the sinful acts he committed, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 1 ⁸ Manasseh passed away and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzzah, and his son Amon replaced him as king. 1 ⁹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. 2 ⁰ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done. 2 ¹ He followed in the footsteps of his father and worshiped and bowed down to the disgusting idols that his father had worshiped. 2 ² He abandoned the Lord, God of his ancestors, and did not follow the Lord’s instructions. 2 ³ Amon’s servants conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. 2 ⁴ The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place. 2 ⁵ The rest of Amon’s accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 2 ⁶ He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzzah, and his son Josiah replaced him as king. 1 :¹ After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. ² Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, “Go, ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.” ³ But the angel of the Lord told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up; go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. ⁴ Therefore this is what the Lord has said, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way. ⁵ When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you returned?” ⁶ They replied, “A man came up to meet us. He told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’”’” ⁷ The king asked them, “Describe the appearance of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” ⁸ They replied, “He was a hairy man and had a leather belt tied around his waist.” The king said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.” ⁹ The king sent a captain and his 5 ⁰ soldiers to retrieve Elijah. The captain went up to him while he was sitting on the top of a hill. He told him, “Prophet, the king says, ‘Come down!’” 1 ⁰ Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your 5 ⁰ soldiers!” Fire then came down from the sky and consumed him and his 5 ⁰ soldiers. 1 ¹ The king sent another captain and his 5 ⁰ soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him, “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’” 1 ² Elijah replied to them, “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your 5 ⁰ soldiers!” Fire from God came down from the sky and consumed him and his 5 ⁰ soldiers. 1 ³ The king sent a third captain and his 5 ⁰ soldiers. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, “Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these 5 ⁰ servants of yours. 1 ⁴ Indeed, fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. So now, please have respect for my life.” 1 ⁵ The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him to the king. 1 ⁶ Elijah said to the king, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. Is it because there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek a message? Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” 1 ⁷ And he did die in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken through Elijah. In the second year of the reign of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah, Ahaziah’s brother Jehoram replaced him as king of Israel, because he had no son. 1 ⁸ The rest of the events of Ahaziah’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.