The Lord afflicted the king with an illness; he suffered from a skin disease ¹  until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, ²  while his son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

Hezekiah welcomed ¹  them and showed them his whole storehouse, with its silver, gold, spices, and high quality olive oil, as well as his armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. ² 

Nebuchadnezzar ¹  took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items which King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned.

Huram also said, “Worthy of praise is the Lord God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself. ¹ 

All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. ¹ 

He summoned ¹  the officers of the units of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of land, and he then led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the royal throne.

He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in God’s temple that were in the care of Obed-Edom, the riches in the royal palace, and some hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.

King Uzziah suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, ¹  afflicted by a skin disease and banned from the Lord’s temple. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

When those days ¹  were completed, the king then provided a seven-day ²  banquet for all the people who were present ³  in Susa the citadel, for those of highest standing to the most lowly. ⁴  It was held in the court located in the garden of the royal palace.

It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known ¹  many young women were taken to Susa the citadel to be placed under the authority of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the royal palace ²  to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women.

This young woman pleased him, ¹  and she found favor with him. He quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her rations; he also provided her with the seven specially chosen ²  young women who were from the palace. He then transferred her and her young women to the best quarters in the harem. ³ 

When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet of wine, Haman was throwing himself down ¹  on the couch where Esther was lying. ²  The king exclaimed, “Will he also attempt to rape the queen while I am still in the building!” As these words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Hezekiah welcomed ¹  them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. ² 

If you are careful to ¹  obey these commands, then the kings who follow in David’s succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects. ² 

“‘For the Lord says concerning the palace of the king of Judah, “This place looks like a veritable forest of Gilead to me. It is like the wooded heights of Lebanon in my eyes. But I swear that I will make it like a wilderness whose towns have all been deserted. ¹ 

However, some of the officials ¹  of Judah heard about what was happening ²  and they rushed up to the Lord’s temple from the royal palace. They set up court ³  at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple. ⁴ 

I also told them, ¹  “If they are really prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, ²  let them pray earnestly to the Lord who rules over all. ³  Let them plead with him not to let the valuable articles that are still left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem be taken away ⁴  to Babylon.

He went down to the chamber of the royal secretary in the king’s palace and found all the court officials in session there. Elishama ¹  the royal secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, ²  Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were seated there.

Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace. There he questioned him privately and asked him, ¹  “Is there any message from the Lord?” Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is.” Then he announced, ²  “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” ³ 

So Ebed Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasure room in the palace. ¹  He got some worn-out clothes and old rags ²  from there and let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.