Now about that time  ¹Herod the king laid hands on some from the church in order to mistreat them.

And he did away with James, the brother of John, with the sword.

And when he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he went on to arrest Peter also (now those were the days of Unleavened Bread),

Whom also he seized and put in prison, delivering him to four  ¹quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.

So then Peter was kept in the prison;

but prayer was being made fervently by the church to God concerning him.

And when Herod was about to bring him forward, that night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and guards before the door were keeping the prison.

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and roused him, saying, Rise up quickly. And his chains fell off his hands.

And the angel said to him, Gird yourself and tie on your sandals. And he did so. And he said to him, Throw your cloak around you and follow me.

And he went out and followed him; yet he did not know that what was taking place through the angel was real, but thought that he was seeing a vision.

And passing the first guard and the second, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened of itself to them. And going out, they went forward one lane; and immediately the angel departed from him.

And Peter  ¹came to himself and said, Now I know truly that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me out of Herod's hand and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.

And when he became aware of this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, who was surnamed Mark, where there was a considerable number assembled together and praying.

And when he knocked at the door of the entry, a maiden named Rhoda came to listen.

And when she recognized Peter's voice, she did not open the gate for joy, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing before the entry.

But they said to her, You are crazy! But she insisted that it was so. And they said, It is  ¹his angel.

But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the gate, they saw him and were beside themselves.

And motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison, and he said, Report these things to  ¹James and the brothers. And going out, he went to another place.

Now when it became day, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers, they not knowing what had become of Peter.

And when Herod searched for him and did not find him,

he examined the guards and ordered that they be led off to execution. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

Now he was furious with the Tyrians and Sidonians. And they came to him with one accord; and having persuaded Blastus, the king's  ¹chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country was fed from the king's country.

And on an appointed day Herod arrayed himself in royal clothing and sat on the judgment seat; and he delivered a public address to them.

And the populace cried out, The voice of a god and not of a man!

And instantly an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God; and he was eaten by worms and  ¹expired.

But the word of  ¹God grew and multiplied.

And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

And he did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah, like the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel.

And he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had torn down; and he raised up altars to the Baals and made Asherahs, and he worshipped all the host of heaven and served them.

And he built altars in the house of Jehovah, concerning which Jehovah had said, In Jerusalem will My name be forever.

And he built altars to all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah.

And he caused his children to pass through fire in the  ¹valley of the son of Hinnom, and practiced soothsaying and enchantments and sorcery, and appointed mediums and spiritists; he did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah beyond measure, provoking Him to anger.

And he put the engraved image of the idol that he had made in the house of God, concerning which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;

And I will no longer remove the foot of Israel from the land that I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will be certain to do all that I have commanded them according to all the law and the statutes and the ordinances given through Moses.

And Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray to do more  ¹evil than the nations which Jehovah had destroyed before the children of Israel.

And Jehovah spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they would not listen.

Therefore Jehovah brought upon them the captains of the army which belonged to the king of Assyria, and they took Manasseh captive with hooks and bound him in bronze fetters and took him to Babylon.

And in his distress he entreated Jehovah his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.

And he prayed to Him, and He was entreated by him and heard his supplication; and He brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah indeed was God.

And afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David on the west side of the Gihon in the valley even to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he surrounded the Ophel with it and raised it very high. And he put the valorous captains in all the fortified cities in Judah.

And he removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of Jehovah and all the altars that he had built on the mount of the house of Jehovah and in Jerusalem, and he cast them out of the city.

And he restored the altar of Jehovah, and he sacrificed on it sacrifices of peace offerings and thank offerings; and he commanded Judah to serve Jehovah the God of Israel.

Nevertheless the people still sacrificed at the high places but did so to Jehovah their God.

Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Jehovah the God of Israel are there, written among the records of the kings of Israel.

His prayer also and how God was entreated by him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the sites where he built high places and set up the Asherahs and the idols before he humbled himself are there written among the records of  ¹Hozai.

And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house.

And Amon his son reigned in his place.

Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

And he did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as Manasseh his father had done. And Amon sacrificed to all the idols that Manasseh his father had made and served them.

And he did not humble himself before Jehovah as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon multiplied trespass.

And his servants conspired against him and killed him in his own house.

But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon.

And the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

And he did what was right in the eyes of Jehovah and walked in the ways of David his father and did not turn to the right or to the left.

And in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still  ¹young, he began to seek after the God of David his father. And in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places and the Asherahs and the idols and the molten images.

And they tore down the altars to the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars that were set upon them he hewed down; and the Asherahs and the idols and the molten images he shattered and ground them to dust and scattered it upon the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

And he burned the bones of the priests upon their own altars and so purged Judah and Jerusalem.

And in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around,

He also tore down the altars and beat the Asherahs and idols into dust, and he hewed down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

And in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphat the son of Azariah and Maaseiah the governor of the city and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder to repair the house of Jehovah his God.

And they came to Hilkiah the high priest and delivered the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the doorkeepers, had collected from the hands of Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And they delivered it into the hand of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of Jehovah; and those who did the work, who worked in the house of Jehovah, used it to mend and repair the house.

And they gave it to the carpenters and the builders for the purchase of hewn stones and timber for couplings and to make beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had destroyed.

And the men did the work faithfully, and the overseers over them were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise; and the Levites who were all skilled in musical instruments

Were over the burden bearers and supervised all who did the work from task to task; and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

And when they brought out the money that had been brought into the house of Jehovah, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Jehovah given through Moses.

And Hilkiah responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

And Shaphan brought the book to the king and in addition brought back word to the king, saying, All that was committed to the hand of your servants they are doing.

They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of Jehovah and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and into the hand of those who do the work.

Then Shaphan the scribe reported to the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read aloud in it before the king.

And when the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.

And the king commanded Hilkiah and Ahikam the son of Shaphan and Abdon the son of Micah and Shaphan the scribe and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,

Go; inquire of Jehovah for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah concerning the words of the book that has been found; for great is the wrath of Jehovah that has been poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of Jehovah by doing according to all that is written in this book.

And Hilkiah and those whom the king had commanded went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter); and they spoke to her to that effect.

And she said to them, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me,

Thus says Jehovah, I am now bringing evil upon this place and upon its inhabitants, even all the curses that are written in the book that they have read aloud before the king of Judah.

Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods, so as to 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.

But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus shall you say to him: Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, regarding the words which you have heard,

Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants and humbled yourself before Me and tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you, declares Jehovah.

I will then gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place and upon its inhabitants. And they brought word back to the king.

And the king sent word and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

And the king went up to the house of Jehovah, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites and all the people, both great and small; and he read aloud, in their hearing, all the words of the book of the covenant, which had been found in the house of Jehovah.

And the king stood up where he was and made a covenant before Jehovah to walk after Jehovah and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul by performing the words of the covenant which were written in this book.

And he made all who were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin enter into the covenant. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

And Josiah removed all the abominations out of all the lands that belonged to the children of Israel, and he made all who were found in Israel serve Jehovah their God; throughout his days they did not turn from following after Jehovah, the God of their fathers.

And Josiah held the Passover to Jehovah in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the passover sacrifice on the fourteenth day of the first month.

And he set the priests in their offices and encouraged them in the service of the house of Jehovah.

And he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were sanctified to Jehovah, Put the holy Ark into the house that Solomon the son of David, the king of Israel, built; it shall no longer be the burden on your shoulders. Now serve Jehovah your God and His people Israel,

And prepare yourselves according to your fathers' houses by youre divisions according to what David the king of Israel wrote and according to the document of Solomon his son.

And stand in the holy place for the groups of the fathers' houses of your brothers, the common people, and let each division of Levites stand for a portion of a father's house.

And slaughter the passover sacrifice, and sanctify yourselves and prepare it for your brothers, to act according to the word of Jehovah given through Moses.

And Josiah contributed to the common people lambs and kids from the flock, all for the passover offerings, to all who were found there, thirty thousand animals in number, and three thousand cattle; these were from the king's possessions.

And his officers contributed a freewill offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites; Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock and three hundred cattle.

Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, contributed to the Levites for the passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle.

So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites by their divisions, according to the command of the king.

And they slaughtered the passover sacrifices; and while the priests sprinkled the blood that they received from their hand, the Levites flayed them.

And they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the groups of the fathers' houses of the common people to offer to Jehovah, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle.

And they roasted the passover in fire according to the ordinance, and they boiled the holy offerings in pots and in cauldrons and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the common people.

And afterward they provided for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites provided for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.

And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place according to the command of David and Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun the king's seer. And the gatekeepers were at each gate; they did not need to turn from their service, for their brothers the Levites provided for them.

Thus all the service of Jehovah was prepared that same day, in order to hold the Passover and offer up burnt offerings upon the altar of Jehovah according to the command of King Josiah.

And the children of Israel who were found there held the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

And a Passover like that had never been held in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet, nor did any of the kings of Israel hold such a Passover as was held by Josiah and the priests and the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were found there and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was held.

After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco the king of Egypt went up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him.

And  ¹Neco sent messengers to him, saying, What have I to do with you, O king of Judah? I have not come up against you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has commanded me to hurry. Refrain for your own sake from interfering with God, who is with me, and He will not destroy you.

But Josiah would not turn his face from him, but he disguised himself so that he might fight with him; and he did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God but came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

And the archers shot at King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Take me away, for I have been wounded severely.

So his servants took him out of the chariot and put him in the chariot of his second-in-command, and they brought him to Jerusalem; and he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah. And all the male singers and female singers speak of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, for they have made it a custom in Israel; and they are there written in the lamentations.

Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his good deeds according to what is written in the law of Jehovah

And his acts, first and last, are there written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.