One day I went to the house of a man named Shemaiah son of Delaiah. Delaiah was the son of Mehetabel. Shemaiah had to stay in his house. Shemaiah said,
When Baal Hanan died, Hadad [224] ruled that country. Hadad was from the city of Pau. Hadad’s wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred. (Mezahab was Matred’s father.)
Then Solomon built a row of rooms around the main part of the temple. These rooms were built on top of each other. {This row of rooms was three stories tall.}
So all Ahab’s family will die. I will not let any male child in Ahab’s family live. It doesn’t matter if that male child is a slave or a free person in Israel.
Ahaz gathered the things from God’s temple {\cf2\super [328]} and broke them to pieces. Then he closed the doors of the Lord’s temple. He made altars {\cf2\super [329]} and put them on every street corner in Jerusalem.
Hezekiah fixed the doors of the Lord’s temple {\cf2\super [335]} and made them strong. Hezekiah opened the temple again. He did this in the first month of the first year after he became king.
They shut the doors of the porch of the temple and let the fire go out in the lamps. They stopped burning incense {\cf2\super [337]} and offering burnt offerings {\cf2\super [338]} in the Holy Place {\cf2\super [339]} to the God of Israel.
So I called these leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam. And I called Joiarib and Elnathan. (These men were teachers.)
“Surely, some of you priests could close the temple doors and light the fires correctly. I am not pleased with you. I will not accept your gifts.” The Lord All-Powerful said these things.
Every person that does evil hates the light. That person will not come to the light. Why? Because then the light will show all the bad things he has done.
All the people in Jerusalem became very upset. They all ran and grabbed Paul. They dragged him out of the holy area of the temple. {\cf2\super [430]} The temple gates were closed immediately.