e neglected to pay further tribute or not, he
offended the king of Assyria, who marched upon Jerusalem, but was arrested
in his purpose by the miraculous destruction of his army, which caused him
to retreat with shame into his own country. After this his reign was
peaceful and splendid, and he accumulated treasures greater than had been
seen in Jerusalem since the time of Solomon. He also built cities, and
diverted the course of the river Gihar to the western side of his capital,
and made pools and conduits. It was in these years of prosperity that he
received the embassadors of the king of Babylon, and showed unto them his
riches, which led to his rebuke by Isaiah, and the prophecy of the future
captivity of his people.

(M138) He was succeeded by his son, Manasseh, B.C. 698, who reigned
fifty-five years; but he did not follow out the policy of his father, or
imitate his virtues. He restored idolatry, and "worshiped all the hosts of
heaven," and built altars to them, as Ahab had done in Samaria. He was
also cruel and tyrannical, and shed much innocent blood; wherefore, for
these and other infamous sins, the Lord, through the mouth of the
prophets, declared that "he would wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish,"
and would deliver the people into the hands of their enemies.

(M139) His son, Amon, followed in the steps of his father, but after a
brief reign of two years, was killed by his servants, B.C. 639, and was
buried in the sepulchre of his family, in the garden of Uzza.

(M140) Then followed the noble reign of Josiah--the last independent king
of Judah--whose piety and zeal in destroying idolatry, and great reforms,
have made him the most memorable of all the successors of David. He
repaired the temple, and utterly destroyed every vestige of idolatry,
assisted by the high priest Hilkiah, who seems to have been his prime
minister. He kept the great feast of the passover with more grandeur than
had ever been known, either in the days of the judges, or of the kings,
his ancestors; nor did any king ever equal him in his fidelity to the laws
of Moses. But notwithstanding all his piety and zeal, God was not to be
turned from chastising Judah for the sins of Manasseh, and the repeated
idolatries of his people; and all that Josiah could secure was a promise
from the Lord that the calamities of his country should not happen in his
day.

(M141) In the thirty-first year of his reign, Necho, the king of Egypt,
made war again