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nor to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.

30 And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the Lord. 31 And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. 32 And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.

CHAP. XXXV. A solemn Passover kept. MOREOVER, Josiah kept a passover unto the Lord in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the Lord. 7 And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thou

sand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of

the king's substance.

10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment. 18 And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel, from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

EZRA.

CHAP. VII. Artaxerxes' kindness to Ezra.

11 THIS is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest. 131 make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests, and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. 15 And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem; 20 And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure-house. 25 And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. 26 And whosoever will not do the law of thy God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily

upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprison

ment.

CHAP. VIII. Ezra proclaimeth a Fast.

21 THEN I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. 22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. 23 So we fasted, and besought our God for this; and he was entreated of us. 24 Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them;

25 And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered. 31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava, on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. 32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.

CHAP. IX. Ezra's Prayer and Confession.

5 AND at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and, having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God, 6 And said, O, my God! I am ashamed and blush to lift up my

face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; 14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations, wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

NEHEMIAH.

CHAP. I. Nehemiah's grief for Jerusalem. THE words of Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah. 5. O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him; 6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of

Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have dealt very corruptly, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. 8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. 11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name; and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day.

CHAP. VIII. The law is read.

AND all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people ;) and, when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 8 So they read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. 9 And Nehemiah, and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the eople, This day is holy unto the Lord your

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