The world Yeshayahu lived in: Part I

(1) The prophecies of Yeshayahu son of Amotz, who prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the reigns of Uzziyahu, Yotam, Achaz, and Chizkiyahu, kings of Judah.

(2) Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, For Hashem has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up— And they have rebelled against Me!

(3) An ox knows its owner, A donkey its master’s crib: Israel does not know, My people takes no thought.”

(4) Ah, sinful nation! People laden with iniquity! Brood of evildoers! Depraved children! They have forsaken Hashem, Spurned the Holy One of Israel, Turned their backs [on Him].

(5) Why do you seek further beatings, That you continue to offend? (or: Why do you seek beatings, since you continue to offend?) Every head is ailing, And every heart is sick.

(6) From head to foot No spot is sound: All bruises, and welts, And festering sores— Not pressed out, not bound up, Not softened with oil.

(7) Your land is a waste, Your cities burnt down; Before your eyes, the yield of your soil Is consumed by strangers— A wasteland as overthrown by strangers!

(8) Fair Zion will be left Like a booth in a vineyard, Like a hut in a cucumber field, Like a city beleaguered.

(9) If Hashem Tzvakot had not left us some survivors, We would have been like S'dom (Sodom), another Amora (Gemora).

(23) In the fifteenth year of King Amaziah son of Yoash of Judah, King Yerav'am son of Yoash (different one!) of Israel became king in Shomron/Samaria—for forty-one years.

(24) He did what was displeasing to Hashem; he did not depart from all the sins that Yerav'am son of Navat had caused Israel to commit.

(25) It was he who restored the territory of Israel from Levo-Chamat to the sea of the Aravah, in accordance with the promise that Hashem, the God of Israel, had made through His servant, the prophet Yonah son of Amittai from Gat-Chepher.

(26) For Hashem saw the very bitter plight of Israel, with neither bond nor free left, and with none to help Israel.

(27) And Hashem resolved not to blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; and he delivered them through Yerav'am son of Yoash.

(28) The other events of Yerav'am’s reign, and all his actions and exploits, how he fought and recovered Damascus and Chamat for Judah in Israel, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

(29) Yerav'am slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel, and his son Zechariah succeeded him as king.

(1) In the twenty-seventh year of King Yerav'am of Israel, Azariah son of King Amaziah of Judah became king.

(2) He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

(3) He did what was pleasing to Hashem, just as his father Amaziah had done.

(4) However, the shrines were not removed; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings at the shrines.

(5) Hashem struck the king with a plague, and he was a leper until the day of his death; he lived in isolated quarters, while Yotam, the king’s son, was in charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

(6) The other events of Azariah’s reign, and all his actions, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Judah.

(7) Azariah slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the City of David; his son Yotam succeeded him as king.

(1) Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and proclaimed him king to succeed his father Amaziah.

(2) It was he who rebuilt Elot and restored it to Judah after King [Amaziah] slept with his fathers.

(3) Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

(4) He did what was pleasing to Hashem just as his father Amaziah had done.

(5) He applied himself to the worship of God during the time of Zechariah, instructor in the visions of God; during the time he worshiped Hashem, God made him prosper.

(6) He went forth to fight the Philistines, and breached the wall of Gat and the wall of Yavneh and the wall of Ashdod; he built towns in [the region of] Ashdod and among the Philistines.

(7) God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabs who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites.

(8) The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread to the approaches of Egypt, for he grew exceedingly strong.

(9) Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem on the Corner Gate and the Valley Gate and on the Angle, and fortified them.

(10) He built towers in the wilderness and hewed out many cisterns, for he had much cattle, and farmers in the foothills and on the plain, and vine dressers in the mountains and on the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.

(11) Uzziah had an army of warriors, a battle-ready force who were mustered by Jeiel the scribe and Maasseiah the adjutant under Hananiah, one of the king’s officers.

(12) The clan chiefs, valiants, totaled 2,600;

(13) under them was the trained army of 307,500, who made war with might and power to aid the king against the enemy.

(14) Uzziah provided them—the whole army—with shields and spears, and helmets and mail, and bows and slingstones.

(15) He made clever devices in Jerusalem, set on the towers and the corners, for shooting arrows and large stones. His fame spread far, for he was helped wonderfully, and he became strong.

(16) When he was strong, he grew so arrogant he acted corruptly: he trespassed against his God by entering the Temple of Hashem to offer incense on the incense altar.

(17) The priest Azariah, with eighty other brave priests of Hashem, followed him in (18) and, confronting King Uzziah, said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to offer incense to Hashem, but for the Aaronite priests, who have been consecrated, to offer incense. Get out of the Sanctuary, for you have trespassed; there will be no glory in it for you from Hashem Elokim.”

(19) Uzziah, holding the censer and ready to burn incense, got angry; but as he got angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in front of the priests in the House of Hashem beside the incense altar.

(20) When the chief priest Azariah and all the other priests looked at him, his forehead was leprous, so they rushed him out of there; he too made haste to get out, for Hashem had struck him with a plague.

(21) King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in isolated quarters as a leper, for he was cut off from the House of Hashem—while Yotam his son was in charge of the king’s house and governed the people of the land.

(22) The other events of Uzziah’s reign, early and late, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

(23) Uzziah slept with his fathers in the burial field of the kings, because, they said, he was a leper; his son Yotam succeeded him as king.

(8) In the thirty-eighth year of King Azariah of Judah, Zechariah son of Yerav'am became king over Israel in Samaria—for six months.

(9) He did what was displeasing to Hashem, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins which Yerav'am son of Navat had caused Israel to commit.

10) Shallum son of Yavesh conspired against him and struck him down before the people and killed him, and succeeded him as king.

(11) The other events of Zechariah’s reign are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

(12) This was in accord with the word that Hashem had spoken to Yehu: “Four generations of your descendants shall occupy the throne of Israel.” And so it came about.

(13) Shallum son of Yavesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah of Judah, and he reigned in Samaria one month.

(14) Then Menachem son of Gadi set out from Tirzah and came to Samaria; he attacked Shallum son of Yavesh in Samaria and killed him, and he succeeded him as king.

(15) The other events of Shallum’s reign, and the conspiracy that he formed, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

(16) At that time, [marching] from Tirzah, Menachem subdued Tiphsah and all who were in it, and its territory; and because it did not surrender, he massacred [its people] and ripped open all its pregnant women.

(17) In the thirty-ninth year of King Azariah of Judah, Menachem son of Gadi became king over Israel in Samaria—for ten years.

(18) He did what was displeasing to Hashem; throughout his days he did not depart from the sins which Yerav'am son of Navat had caused Israel to commit.

(19) King Pul of Assyria invaded the land, and Menachem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver that he might support him and strengthen his hold on the kingdom. (20) Menachem exacted the money from Israel: every man of means had to pay fifty shekels of silver for the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria withdrew and did not remain in the land.

(21) The other events of Menachem’s reign, and all his actions, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

(22) Menachem slept with his fathers, and his son Pekachiah succeeded him as king.

(23) In the fiftieth year of King Azariah of Judah, Pekachiah son of Menachem became king over Israel in Samaria—for two years.

(24) He did what was displeasing to Hashem; he did not depart from the sins which Jeroboam son of Navat had caused Israel to commit.

(25) His aide, Pekach son of Remaliah, conspired against him and struck him down in the royal palace in Samaria; with him were fifty Gileadites, with men from Argob and Arieh; and he killed him and succeeded him as king.

(26) The other events of Pekachiah’s reign, and all his actions, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

(27) In the fifty-second year of King Azariah of Judah, Pekach son of Remaliah became king over Israel and Samaria—for twenty years.

(28) He did what was displeasing to Hashem; he did not depart from the sins which Yerav'am son of Navat had caused Israel to commit. (29) In the days of King Pekach of Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-bethmaacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor—Gilead, Galilee, the entire region of Naphtali; and he deported the inhabitants to Assyria.

(30) Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekach son of Remaliah, attacked him, and killed him. He succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Yotam son of Uzziah.

(31) The other events of Pekach’s reign, and all his actions, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

(32) In the second year of King Pekach son of Remaliah of Israel, Yotam son of King Uzziah of Judah became king.

(33) He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.

(34) He did what was pleasing to Hashem, just as his father Uzziah had done.

(35) However, the shrines were not removed; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings at the shrines. It was he who built the Upper Gate of the House of Hashem.

(36) The other events of Yotam’s reign, and all his actions, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Judah.

(37) In those days, Hashem began to incite King Retzin of Aram and Pekach son of Remaliah against Judah.

(38) Yotam slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of his ancestor David; his son Achaz succeeded him as king.

(1) Yotam was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Jerushah daughter of Zadok.

(2) He did what was pleasing to Hashem just as his father Uzziah had done, but he did not enter the Temple of Hashem; however, the people still acted corruptly.

(3) It was he who built the Upper Gate of the House of Hashem; he also built extensively on the wall of Ophel.

(4) He built towns in the hill country of Judah, and in the woods he built fortresses and towers.

(5) Moreover, he fought with the king of the Ammonites and overcame them; the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents of silver and 10,000 kor of wheat and another 10,000 of barley; that is what the Ammonites paid him, and [likewise] in the second and third years.

(6) Yotam was strong because he maintained a faithful course before Hashem his God.

(7) The other events of Yotam’s reign, and all his battles and his conduct, are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

(8) He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

(9) Yotam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David; his son Achaz succeeded him as king.

(1) In the seventeenth year of Pekach son of Remaliah, Achaz son of King Yotam of Judah became king.

(2) Achaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was pleasing to Hashem his God, as his ancestor David had done,

(3) but followed the ways of the kings of Israel. He even consigned his son to the fire, in the abhorrent fashion of the nations which Hashem had dispossessed before the Israelites.

(4) He sacrificed and made offerings at the shrines, on the hills, and under every leafy tree.

(5) Then King Retzin of Aram and King Pekach son of Remaliah of Israel advanced on Jerusalem for battle. They besieged Achaz, but could not overcome [him].

(6) At that time King Retzin of Aram recovered Elat for Aram; he drove out the Judites from Elat, and Edomites came to Elat and settled there, as is still the case.

(7) Achaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria to say, “I am your servant and your son; come and deliver me from the hands of the king of Aram and from the hands of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.”

(8) Achaz took the gold and silver that were on hand in the House of Hashem and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent them as a gift to the king of Assyria.

(9) The king of Assyria responded to his request; the king of Assyria marched against Damascus and captured it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir and put Retzin to death.

(10) When King Achaz went to Damascus to greet King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, he saw the altar in Damascus. King Ahcaz sent the priest Uriah a sketch of the altar and a detailed plan of its construction.

(11) The priest Uriah did just as King Achaz had instructed him from Damascus; the priest Uriah built the altar before King Achaz returned from Damascus.

(12) When the king returned from Damascus, and when the king saw the altar, the king drew near the altar, ascended it,

(13) and offered his burnt offering and meal offering; he poured his libation, and he dashed the blood of his offering of well-being against the altar.

(14) As for the bronze altar which had been before Hashem, he moved it from its place in front of the Temple, between the [new] altar and the House of Hashem, and placed it on the north side of the [new] altar.

(15) And King Achaz commanded the priest Uriah: “On the great altar you shall offer the morning burnt offering and the evening meal offering and the king’s burnt offering and his meal offering, with the burnt offerings of all the people of the land, their meal offerings and their libations. And against it you shall dash the blood of all the burnt offerings and all the blood of the sacrifices. And I will decide about the bronze altar.”

(16) Uriah did just as King Achaz commanded.

(17) King Achaz cut off the insets—the laver stands—and removed the lavers from them. He also removed the tank from the bronze oxen that supported it and set it on a stone pavement—

18) on account of the king of Assyria. He also extended to the House of Hashem the sabbath passage that had been built in the palace and the king’s outer entrance.

(19) The other events of Achaz’s reign, and his actions, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Judah.

(20) Achaz slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David; his son Chezekiah succeeded him as king.