The Bible, Douay-Rheims Part 268

33:7. He set also a graven, and a molten statue in the house of G.o.d, of which G.o.d had said to David, and to Solomon his son: In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever.

33:8. And I will not make the foot of Israel to be removed out of the land which I have delivered to their fathers: yet so if they will take heed to do what I have commanded them, and all the law, and the ceremonies, and judgments by the hand of Moses.

33:9. So Mana.s.ses seduced Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to do evil beyond all the nations, which the Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of Israel.

33:10. And the Lord spoke to his people, and they would not hearken.

33:11. Therefore he brought upon them the captains of he army of the king of the a.s.syrians: and they took Mana.s.ses, and carried him bound with chains and fetters to Babylon.

33:12. And after that he was in distress he prayed to the Lord his G.o.d: and did penance exceedingly before the G.o.d of his fathers.

33:13. And he entreated him, and besought him earnestly: and he heard his prayer, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom, and Mana.s.ses knew that the Lord was G.o.d.

33:14. After this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon in the valley, from the entering in of the gate round about to Ophel, and raised it up to a great height: and he appointed captains of the army in all the fenced cities of Juda:

33:15. And he took away the strange G.o.ds, and the idol out of the house of the Lord: the altars also which he had made in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and he cast them all out of the city.

33:16. And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed upon it victims, and peace offerings, and praise: and he commanded Juda to serve the Lord the G.o.d of Israel.

33:17. Nevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high places to the Lord their G.o.d.

33:18. But the rest of the acts of Mana.s.ses, and his prayer to his G.o.d, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the Lord the G.o.d of Israel, are contained in the words of the kings of Israel.

33:19. His prayer also, and his being heard and all his sins, and contempt, and places wherein he built high places, and set up groves, and statues before he did penance, are written in the words of Hozai.

33:20. And Mana.s.ses slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house: and his son Amon reigned in his stead.

33:21. Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

33:22. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Mana.s.ses his father had done: he sacrificed to all the idols which Mana.s.ses his father had made, and served them.

33:23. And he did not humble himself before the lord, as Mana.s.ses his father had humbled himself, but committed far greater sin.

33:24. And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.

33:25. But the rest of the mult.i.tude of the people slew them that had killed Amon, and made Josias his son king in his stead.

2 Paralipomenon Chapter 34

Josias destroyeth idolatry, repaireth the temple, and reneweth the covenant between G.o.d and the people.

34:1. Josias was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one and thirty years in Jerusalem.

34:2. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father: he declined not, neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

34:3. And in the eighth year of his reign, when he was yet a boy, he began to seek the G.o.d of his father David: and in the twelfth year after he began to reign, he cleansed Juda and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the idols, and the graven things.

34:4. And they broke down before him the altars of Baalim, and demolished the idols that had been set upon them: and he cut down the groves and the graven things, and broke them in pieces: and strewed the fragments upon the graves of them that had sacrificed to them.

34:5. And he burnt the bones of the priests on the altars of the idols, and he cleansed Juda and Jerusalem.

34:6. And in the cities of Mana.s.ses, and of Ephraim, and of Simeon, even to Nephtali he demolished all.

34:7. And when he had destroyed the altars, and the groves, and had broken the idols in pieces, and had demolished all profane temples throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

34:8. Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land, and the temple of the Lord, he sent Saphan the son of Elselias, and Maasias the governor of the city, Joha the son of Joachaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his G.o.d.

34:9. And they came to Helcias the high priest: and received of him the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, and which the Levites and porters had gathered together from Mana.s.ses, and Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, and from all Juda, and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

34:10. Which they delivered into the hands of them that were over the workmen in the house of the Lord, to repair the temple, and mend all that was weak.

34:11. But they gave it to the artificers, and to the masons, to buy stones out of the quarries, and timber for the couplings of the building, and to rafter the houses, which the kings of Juda had destroyed.

34:12. And they did all faithfully. Now the overseers of the workmen were Jahath and Abdias of the sons of Merari, Zacharias and Mosollam of the sons of Caath, who hastened the work: all Levites skilful to play on instruments.

34:13. But over them that carried burdens for divers uses, were scribes, and masters of the number of the Levites, and porters.

34:14. Now when they carried out the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord, Helcias the priest found the book of the law of the Lord, by the hand of Moses.

34:15. And he said to Saphan the scribe: I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord: and he delivered it to him.

34:16. But he carried the book to the king, and told him, saying: Lo, all that thou hast committed to thy servants, is accomplished.

34:17. They have gathered together the silver that was found in the house of the Lord: and it is given to the overseers of the artificers, and of the workmen, for divers works.

34:18. Moreover Helcias the priest gave me this book. And he read it before the king.

34:19. And when he had heard the words of the law, he rent his garments:

34:20. And he commanded Helcias, and Ahicam the son of Saphan, and Abdon the son of Micha, and Saphan the scribe, and Asaa the king's servant, saying:

34:21. Go, and pray to the Lord for me, and for the remnant of Israel, and Juda, concerning all the words of this book, which is found: for the great wrath of the Lord hath fallen upon us, because our fathers have not kept the words of the Lord, to do all things that are written in this book.

34:22. And Helcias and they that were sent with him by the king, went to Olda the prophetess, the wife of Sellum the son of Thecuath, the son of Hasra keeper of the wardrobe: who dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second part: and they spoke to her the words above mentioned.

34:23. And she answered them: Thus saith the Lord the G.o.d of Israel: Tell the man that sent you to me:

34:24. Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will bring evils upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, and all the curses that are written in this book which they read before the king of Juda.

34:25. Because they have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to strange G.o.ds, to provoke me to wrath with all the works of their hands, therefore my wrath shall fail upon this place, and shall not be quenched.

34:26. But as to the king of Juda that sent you to beseech the Lord, thus shall you say to him: Thus saith the Lord the G.o.d of Israel: Because thou hast heard the words of this book,

34:27. And thy heart was softened, and thou hast humbled thyself in the sight of G.o.d for the things that are spoken against this place, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and reverencing my face, hast rent thy garments, and wept before me: I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.

34:28. For now I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be brought to thy tomb in peace: and thy eyes shall not see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and the inhabitants thereof. They therefore reported to the king all that she had said.

34:29. And he called together all the ancients of Juda and Jerusalem.