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For there were a great many people in the assembly of Israel, from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, the four tribes, who had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the passover unlawfully. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, May the good LORD pardon all the people of Israel,

After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent Rab-shakey together with his servants, and they came to Jerusalem (but he himself was besieging Lachish, and all his commanders with him) to all the people of Judah that were in Jerusalem, saying,

But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people; but they would not hearken.

But when he was in distress, he prayed before the LORD his God and reverenced greatly the LORD God of his fathers,

And not to sacrifice again to strange gods, nor to offer burnt offerings to them, but before the LORD their God only.

And he did not humble himself before the LORD his God, as Manasseh humbled himself before the LORD his God; but Amon committed sins more and more.

But the people of the land slew all those who had conspired against King Arnon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they cooked in pots and in caldrons and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people.

But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with you, O king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, O king of Judah; for indeed I have not come to fight against you. The LORD has told you to frighten me; cease from meddling with God, who is with me, that he may not destroy you.

And he also rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by the name of the LORD; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart and would not pray before the LORD God of Israel.

But they laughed at the messengers of the LORD and despised their words and mocked his prophets until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were removed from the priesthood.

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

But many of the priests and the Levites and the chiefs of the fathers, old men, who had seen the first house in its glory, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, and many raised their voices with trumpets and with joy,

But Zerubbabel and Joshua and the rest of the chiefs of the fathers of Israel said to them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house to our God; for we ourselves together will build a house to the LORD God of Israel, as Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.

But the eye of God was upon the exiles of Judah, and they did not cease till the matter went to Darius; and then they returned an answer concerning this matter.

But because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Chaldeans, who destroyed this house and carried the people away into Babylon.

But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia. Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt.

For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers, an army and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is with all of those who seek him for good; but his power and his wrath are against all who forsake him.