World English Bible · The divided kingdom
2 Kings 15
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In the twenty-seventh year of king of Israel, son of king of Judah began to reign. He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in . His mother's name was Jecoliah of . He did that which was right in eyes, according to all that his had done. However, the were not taken away. The people still and in the . struck the king, so that he was a to the day of his , and lived in a separate house. , the king's son, was over the household, judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of , and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? slept with his fathers; and they with his fathers in city; and his son reigned in his place. In -eighth year of king of Judah, the son of reigned over Israel in six months. He did that which was evil in sight, as his fathers had done. He didn't depart from the of the son of , with which he made Israel to . the son of conspired against him, and struck him before the people and killed him, and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the acts of , behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. This was word which he spoke to , saying, "Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on of Israel." So it came to pass. the son of began to reign in -ninth year of king of Judah, and he reigned for a month in . the son of Gadi went up from , came to , struck the son of in , killed him, and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the acts of , and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Then attacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its border areas, from . He attacked it because they didn't open their to him, and he ripped up all their women who were with child. 17In ninth year of king of Judah, the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel for ten years in . 18He did that which was evil in sight. He didn't depart all his days from the of the son of , with which he made Israel to . Pul the king of came against the land, and gave Pul one thousand of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm in his hand. exacted the money from Israel, even from all the of wealth, from each man fifty of silver, to give to the king of . So the king of turned back, and didn't stay there in the land. 21Now the rest of the acts of , and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 22 slept with his fathers, and his son reigned in his place. In the fiftieth year of king of Judah, the son of began to reign over Israel in for two years. He did that which was evil in sight. He didn't depart from the of the son of , with which he made Israel to . the son of , his captain, conspired against him and attacked him in , in the of the king's house, with and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites. He killed him, and reigned in his place. 26Now the rest of the acts of , and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. In the fifty-second year of king of Judah, the son of began to reign over Israel in for twenty years. He did that which was evil in sight. He didn't depart from the of the son of , with which he made Israel to . In the days of king of Israel, king of came and took , , , , , , and , all the land of ; and he carried them to . the son of Elah made a conspiracy against the son of , attacked him, killed him, and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of the son of . 31Now the rest of the acts of , and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. In the second year of the son of king of Israel, the son of king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in . His mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. He did that which was right in eyes. He did according to all that his had done. However the were not taken away. The people still and in the . He built the upper of house. Now the rest of the acts of , and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? In those days, began to send the king of and the son of against Judah. slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in his city; and his son reigned in his place.
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The world at this moment · The divided kingdom, 931 BC to 745 BC ›
Israel in the north and Judah in the south, often at odds, with Aram of Damascus as the immediate threat and Assyria growing in the distance.
- Aram of Damascus
- The immediate enemy for most of two centuries, close enough to raid every campaigning season and strong enough to take territory. Most of the wars in Kings that read like national emergencies are border wars with Damascus.
- Assyria
- Growing steadily in the distance. Shalmaneser III fights a coalition at Qarqar in 853 BC and his own inscription lists King Ahab of Israel among his opponents with two thousand chariots, the earliest Assyrian mention of an Israelite king. A later monument shows Jehu bowing and paying tribute. Assyria is not yet the destroyer, but it is already taking notes.
- Egypt
- Divided and unreliable, capable of the occasional raid, such as Shishak stripping the temple in Rehoboam's fifth year, but no longer an empire that governs the Levant.
- Further afield
- The Greeks adopt the alphabet, hold the first Olympiad by tradition in 776 BC, and begin to compose the Homeric poems. Rome is founded by tradition in 753 BC, a village of huts at this point. This is the century in which the classical world begins.