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And he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who had struck him, and said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria are helping them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were to cause him and all Israel to stumble.

And Ahaz lay with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, but did not bring him to the graves of the kings of Israel. And his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.

For many of the people, many from Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not been cleansed, but ate the passover not as was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, O good Jehovah, atone for

But the people still sacrificed in the high places, only to Jehovah their God.

And he sent messengers to him, saying, What do I have to do with you, O king of Judah? I am not coming against you today, but toward the house with which I have war; and Godsaid for me to hasten; stop yourself fromopposing God, who is with me, and He shall not destroy you.

Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself to fight against him, and did not listen to the words of Necho from the mouth of God; and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His Words, and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of Jehovah went up against His people, until there was no healing.

And these were they who went up from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, Addan and Immer (but they were not able to declare their father's house and their seed, whether they were of Israel):

These looked for their register among those who were counted by genealogy, but they were not found. And they were polluted from the priesthood.

From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to Jehovah. But the foundation of the temple of Jehovah was not laid.

But many of the priests and Levites, and heads of the fathers, the aged men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice. And many shouted aloud for joy,

But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the fathers of Israel said to them, It is not for you and for us to build a house to our God. But we ourselves will together build toJehovah the God of Israel, as King Cyrus theking of Persia has commanded us.

But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they could not cause them to stop until the matter came to Darius. And then they sent back a letter concerning this.

But because our fathers had provoked to wrath the God of Heaven, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, and he tore down this house, and he exiled its people to Babylon.

But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, King Cyrus placed an order to build this house of God.

Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God in Jerusalem. And from then even until now it has been building, but is not finished.

For I was ashamed to ask of the king troops and horsemen to help us against the enemy of the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is on all those who seek Him for good; but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.

For we were slaves, yet our God has not left us in our bondage, but has given mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to raise up the house of our God, and tomake stand its ruins, and to give to us awall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain. And we are not able to stand outside. And the work is not of one or two days. For we have greatly sinned in this thing.

But if you will turn to Me and keep My commandments, and do them, though you were cast out to the outermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to set My name there.