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28.18 had invaded the cities of the Lowland, and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Soco with the towns thereof, and Timnah with the towns thereof, Gimzo also and the towns thereof; and they dwelt there. For the brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he had cast away restraint in Judah, and acted treacherously against the. And Tillegath-pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. For Ahaz stripped the house of the, and the house of the king and the princes, and gave thereof unto the king of Assyria; but it helped him not.

And in the time of his distress did he act even more treacherously against the, this same king Ahaz. For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him; and he said: 'Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me.' But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the ; and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. And in every city of Judah he made high places to offer unto other gods, and provoked the, the God of his fathers. Now the rest of his acts, and all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem; for they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old; and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the eyes of the, according to all that David his father had done. He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the, and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the broad place on the east; and said unto them: 'Hear me, ye Levites: now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the, the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. For our fathers have acted treacherously, and done that which was evil in the sight of the our God, and have forsaken Him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the, and turned their backs. Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt-offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. Wherefore the wrath of the was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He hath delivered them to be a horror, an astonishment, and a hissing, as ye see with your eyes. For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the, the God of Israel, that His fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, be not now negligent; for the hath chosen you to stand before Him, to minister unto Him, and that ye should be His ministers, and offer unto Him.'