anointed him. And they clapped their bands and said, God save the King. And when Athaliah heard the noise of the Guard and of the People, she came to the People into the Temple; and behold the King stood by a Pillar, as the manner was; and the Princes, and the Trumpeters of the King. And all the People rejoiced and blew with Trumpets. And Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason! Treason! But Jehoiada commanded and she was slain, and he made a Covenant between the Lord, and the King, and the People. And they destroyed the House of Baal, and served the Lord. In the year 839, Joash, King of Judah, was slain by his servants, and Amaziah, his son, reigned in his stead; and he put to death the servants who had slain his father. And in the same year Jehohaaz, King of Israel, died, and was succeeded by his son Jehoash. And in his time Hazael, King of Syria, oppressed Israel. CHAPTER 87. THE DEATH OF ELISHA. Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. He was then ninety years of age, a wonder of Prophets, and had out-lived many successions in the Thrones of Israel and Judah. And Joash the King of Israel, came down unto him and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the Chariot of Israel and the Horsemen thereof. And Elisha said, Take bow and arrows; and he did, and shot from the window eastward,—and, Elisha said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou hast consumed them. And Elisha said to the King, Smite upon the ground; and he smote thrice and stayed. And Elisha said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times, then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it, whereas now, thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. And Elisha died, and they buried him; and as the Israelites were burying a Man they espied a band of Moabites, and they cast the Man into the Sepulchre of Elisha, and when he touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood upon his feet. And Joash the King of Israel, smote Benhadad the son of Hazael, the King of Syria; three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the Cities of Israel. CHAPTER 88. CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL. AND Amaziah, King of Judah, sent Messengers to Jehoash, King of Israel, saying, Come let us look one another in the face. And Jehoash answered, The Thistle that was in Lebanon, sent to the Cedar in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: And there passed by a wild Beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the Thistle. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up,-glory of this, and tarry at home. But Amaziah would not hear. And Jehoash, King of Israel, went up against Amaziah, and Judah was put to the worse, and fled every Man to their Tents. And Jehoash took Amaziah, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and took all the gold and silver vessels in the House of the Lord, and in the King's' house, and returned to Samaria. 758 Jotham the son of Uz- 742 Ahaz the son of Jo 761 Menahem died, and succeeded tham, began to reign, And Ahaz, King of Israel, took the silver and gold of the House of the Lord, and sent it for a present to the King of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant, come up and save me out of the hand of the King of Syria, and the King of Assyria hearkened unto him, and went up against Damascus, and took it. And King Ahaz went to Damascus, to meet Tiglath-pileser, King of Assyria, and saw an Altar that was at Damascus, and sent the pattern of it to Urijah the Priest, and Urijah built an Altar according to the pattern, against the King came from Damascus; which was a great sin, adopting the Altars of the Heathens who knew not the true God. CHAPTER 89. THE WICKEDNESS AND END OF THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. AND it came to pass in the seventh year of Hoshea, King of Israel, the 730th year before Christ, that Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, came up against Samaria, and besieged it. And at the end of three years he took it and carried away Israel into Assyria, and put them in Haloth and in Habor, by the River of Gozan, in the Cities of the Medes. And the King of Assyria brought Men from Babylon, and placed them in the Cities of Samaria, instead of the Children of Israel ;-because they obeyed not the voice of the their God, but transgressed his Covenant and all that Moses commanded, and would not hear them nor do them; and had feared other Gods, and walked in the statutes of the Heathen whom the Lord had cast out before them. And the Children of Israel did evil against the Lord, and built high places in all their Cities, and set up images and groves, in every high hill, and under every green tree, and they served Idols. Yet the Lord testified against Israel and Judah, by Jeremiah and all the Prophets, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways. Notwithstanding they would not hear, and rejected his statutes and his covenants, and became vain, and went after the Heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like them: And left all the Commandments of the Lord their God, and made them Molten Images, even two Calves, and made a Grove, and worshipped all the Host of Heaven, and served Baal. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight; there was none left but the Tribe of Judah only. Also Judah kept not the Commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. And the Lord rejected all the Children of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he cast them out of his sight. CHAPTER 90. THE HISTORY OF JUDAH AFTER THE CAPTIVITY OF ISRAEL. -THE GOOD KING HEZEKIAH. I IN the year 726 before Christ, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, began to reign over JUDAH, and he was a very. good King. In the first year of his reign he opened the doors of the House of the Lord; and brought inthe Priests, and said, Sanctify yourselves, and sanctify this house, for they have shut up the doors and put out the lamps, wherefore the Lord has delivered them to trouble. My sons, be not now negligent, for it is in my heart to make a Covenant with the Lord. So they cleansed the Temple, and prepared the Offerings; and the King went with all the Rulers and the People, and offered Burnt Offerings to the Lord. And Hezekiah sent and wrote letters to all Israel and Judah, saying, Turn again to the Lord your God, all ye that are, |