"In Pursuit of the Prize"
2 Chronicles 34 (NASB)
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.2 He did right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left.3 For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images.4 They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars that were high above them he chopped down; also the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images he broke in pieces and ground to powder and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.5 Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and purged Judah and Jerusalem.6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ruins,7 he also tore down the altars and beat the Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah an official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.9 They came to Hilkiah the high priest and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the doorkeepers, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.10 Then they gave it into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and the workmen who were working in the house of the LORD used it to restore and repair the house.11 They in turn gave it to the carpenters and to the builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin.12 The men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to supervise: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments.13 They were also over the burden bearers, and supervised all the workmen from job to job; and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.14 When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the LORD given by Moses.15 Hilkiah responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.16 Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and reported further word to the king, saying, Everything that was entrusted to your servants they are doing.17 They have also emptied out the money which was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hands of the supervisors and the workmen.18 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, Hilkiah the priest gave me a book. And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the kings servant, saying,21 Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD which is poured out on us because our fathers have not observed the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this.23 She said to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Tell the man who sent you to Me,24 thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah.25 Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place and it shall not be quenched.26 But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus you will say to him, Thus says the LORD God of Israel regarding the words which you have heard,27 Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you, declares the LORD.28 Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants. And they brought back word to the king.29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.30 The king went up to the house of the LORD and all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book.32 Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.33 Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the LORD God of their fathers.
2 Kings 21 (NASB)
1 Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.2 Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard than it in its place; if you like, I will give you the price of it in money.3 But Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.4 So Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food.5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?6 So he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in its place. But he said, I will not give you my vineyard.7 Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you now reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.8 So she wrote letters in Ahabs name and sealed them with his seal, and sent letters to the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city.9 Now she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people;10 and seat two worthless men before him, and let them testify against him, saying, You cursed God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.11 So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them.12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people.13 Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him; and the worthless men testified against him, even against Naboth, before the people, saying, Naboth cursed God and the king. So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.14 Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth where he has gone down to take possession of it.19 You shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the LORD, Have you murdered and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the LORD, In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth the dogs will lick up your blood, even yours.20 Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.21 Behold, I will bring evil upon you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel;22 and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you have made Israel sin.23 Of Jezebel also has the LORD spoken, saying, The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.24 The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and the one who dies in the field the birds of heaven will eat.25 Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.26 He acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.27 It came about when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently.28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,29 Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his sons days.
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.2 He did right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left.3 For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images.4 They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars that were high above them he chopped down; also the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images he broke in pieces and ground to powder and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.5 Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and purged Judah and Jerusalem.6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ruins,7 he also tore down the altars and beat the Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah an official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.9 They came to Hilkiah the high priest and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the doorkeepers, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.10 Then they gave it into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and the workmen who were working in the house of the LORD used it to restore and repair the house.11 They in turn gave it to the carpenters and to the builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin.12 The men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to supervise: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments.13 They were also over the burden bearers, and supervised all the workmen from job to job; and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.14 When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the LORD given by Moses.15 Hilkiah responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.16 Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and reported further word to the king, saying, Everything that was entrusted to your servants they are doing.17 They have also emptied out the money which was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hands of the supervisors and the workmen.18 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, Hilkiah the priest gave me a book. And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the kings servant, saying,21 Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD which is poured out on us because our fathers have not observed the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this.23 She said to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Tell the man who sent you to Me,24 thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah.25 Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place and it shall not be quenched.26 But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus you will say to him, Thus says the LORD God of Israel regarding the words which you have heard,27 Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you, declares the LORD.28 Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants. And they brought back word to the king.29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.30 The king went up to the house of the LORD and all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book.32 Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.33 Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the LORD God of their fathers.
2 Kings 21 (NASB)
1 Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.2 Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard than it in its place; if you like, I will give you the price of it in money.3 But Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.4 So Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food.5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?6 So he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in its place. But he said, I will not give you my vineyard.7 Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you now reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.8 So she wrote letters in Ahabs name and sealed them with his seal, and sent letters to the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city.9 Now she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people;10 and seat two worthless men before him, and let them testify against him, saying, You cursed God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.11 So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them.12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people.13 Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him; and the worthless men testified against him, even against Naboth, before the people, saying, Naboth cursed God and the king. So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.14 Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth where he has gone down to take possession of it.19 You shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the LORD, Have you murdered and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the LORD, In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth the dogs will lick up your blood, even yours.20 Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.21 Behold, I will bring evil upon you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel;22 and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you have made Israel sin.23 Of Jezebel also has the LORD spoken, saying, The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.24 The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and the one who dies in the field the birds of heaven will eat.25 Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.26 He acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.27 It came about when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently.28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,29 Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his sons days.