Study Desk

He built royal cities and owned a large number of sheep and cattle, for God gave him a huge amount of possessions.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky and worshiped them.

In the two courtyards of the Lord 's temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky.

In his pain Manasseh asked the Lord his God for mercy and truly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.

When he prayed to the Lord , the Lord responded to him and answered favorably his cry for mercy. The Lord brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh realized that the Lord is the true God.

Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem.

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

They gave money to the craftsmen and builders to buy chiseled stone and wood for the braces and rafters of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into disrepair.

"Go, seek an oracle from the Lord for me and those who remain in Israel and Judah. Find out about the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord 's fury has been ignited against us, because our ancestors have not obeyed the word of the Lord by doing all that this scroll instructs!"

Josiah observed a Passover festival for the Lord in Jerusalem. They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month.

Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your countrymen to do what the Lord commanded through Moses."

From his own royal flocks and herds, Josiah supplied the people with 30,000 lambs and goats for the Passover sacrifice, as well as 3,000 cattle.

They reserved the burnt offerings and the cattle for the family divisions of the people to present to the Lord , as prescribed in the scroll of Moses.

Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering burnt sacrifices and fat portions until evening. The Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's prophet. The guards at the various gates did not need to leave their posts, for their fellow Levites made preparations for them.

So all the preparations for the Lord 's service were made that day, as the Passover was observed and the burnt sacrifices were offered on the altar of the Lord , as prescribed by King Josiah.

So the Israelites who were present observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

After Josiah had done all this for the temple, King Necho of Egypt marched up to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River. Josiah marched out to oppose him.

But Josiah did not turn back from him; he disguised himself for battle. He did not take seriously the words of Necho which he had received from God; he went to fight him in the Plain of Megiddo.