15:9 He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers 7 from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live 8 when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
16:7 At that time Hanani the prophet 9 visited King Asa of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.
24:6 So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest, 18 and said to him, “Why have you not made 19 the Levites collect 20 from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the Lord’s servant and by the assembly of Israel at the tent containing the tablets of the law?” 21
27:5 He launched a military campaign 28 against the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. That year the Ammonites paid him 100 talents 29 of silver, 10,000 kors 30 of wheat, and 10,000 kors 31 of barley. The Ammonites also paid this same amount of annual tribute the next two years. 32
33:18 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the prophets 45 spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, are recorded 46 in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
1 tn Heb “and Huram sent to him by the hand of his servants, ships, and servants [who] know the sea, and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir.”
2 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 30,285 lbs. (13,770 kg).
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
5 tn Heb “My little one is thicker than my father’s hips.” The referent of “my little one” is not clear. The traditional view is that it refers to the little finger (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). As the following statement makes clear, Rehoboam’s point is that he is more harsh and demanding than his father.
6 tn Or “for.”
7 tn Or “resident aliens.”
8 tn Heb “had fallen upon him.”
9 tn Heb “the seer.”
10 tn Heb “to seek the
11 tn Or “hate.”
12 tn Heb “all his days.”
13 tn The words “his name is” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
14 tn Or “seer.”
15 tn Heb “went out to his face.”
16 tn Heb “and love those who hate the
17 tn Heb “and because of this upon you is anger from before the
18 tn Heb “Jehoiada the head”; the word “priest” not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
19 tn Heb “sought.”
20 tn Heb “bring.”
21 tn Heb “the tent of testimony.”
22 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tn Heb “Stop yourself! Why should they strike you down?”
24 tn The verb יָעַץ (ya’ats, “has decided”) is from the same root as יוֹעֵץ (yo’ets, “counselor”) in v. 16 and עֵצָה (’etsah, “advice”) later in v. 16. The wordplay highlights the appropriate nature of the divine punishment. Amaziah rejected the counsel of God’s prophet; now he would be the victim of God’s “counsel.”
25 tn Heb “400 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the distance would have been about 600 feet (180 m).
26 tn Heb “stood against.”
27 tn Or “been unfaithful.”
28 tn Heb “he fought with.”
29 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the silver was 6,730 lbs. (3,060 kg).
30 sn As a unit of dry measure a kor was roughly equivalent to six bushels (about 220 liters).
31 tn Heb “10,000 kors of wheat and 10,000 of barley.” The unit of measure of the barley is omitted in the Hebrew text, but is understood to be “kors,” the same as the measures of wheat.
32 tn Heb “This the sons of Ammon brought to him, and in the second year and the third.”
33 tn Heb “turn [his] face from you.”
34 tn Heb “how much less.”
35 tn The verb is plural, suggesting that the preceding אֱלֹהֵיכֶם (’elohekhem) be translated “your gods,” rather than “your God.”
36 tn Heb “and speaking against him, saying.”
37 tn Heb “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.”
38 tn Or “an angel.”
39 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sennacherib) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
40 tn Heb “and he returned with shame of face to his land.”
41 tn Heb “and some from those who went out from him, from his inward parts.”
42 tn Or “he sacrificed his sons in the fire.” This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice (NEB, NASV “made his sons pass through the fire”; NIV “sacrificed his sons in the fire”; NRSV “made his sons pass through fire”). For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.
43 tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with a conjurer.” Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a בַּעֲלַת אוֹב (ba’alat ’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.
44 tn Heb “and he multiplied doing what is evil in the eyes of the
45 tn Or “seers.”
46 tn Heb “look, they are.”
47 tn Heb “from Manasseh and Ephraim.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the names “Manasseh and Ephraim” here by metonymy for the people of Manasseh and Ephraim.
48 tn Heb “all Judah and Benjamin.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the names “Judah and Benjamin” here by metonymy for the people of Judah and Benjamin.
49 tc The Hebrew consonantal text (Kethib) assumes the reading, “and the residents of.” The marginal reading (Qere) is “and they returned.”
50 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Neco) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
51 tn Heb “What to me and to you, king of Judah?”
52 tn Heb “Not against you, you, today, but against the house of my battle.”
53 tn Heb “Stop yourself from [opposing] God who is with me and let him not destroy you.”
54 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
55 tn Heb “Whoever [is] among you from all his people – may the