est make it
against King Ahaz came from Damascus. And when the king was come from
Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king drew near unto the
altar, and offered thereon.

And he burnt his burnt offering and his meal offering, and poured his
drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon
the altar. And the brazen altar, which was before the Lord, he brought
from the forefront of the house, from between his altar and the house
of the Lord, and put it on the north side of his altar.

And King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, "Upon the great
altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meal offering,
and the king's burnt offering, and his meal offering, with the burnt
offering of all the people of the land, and their meal offering, and
their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt
offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: but the brazen altar
shall be for me to inquire by."

Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded.
And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver
from off them; and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that
were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stone. And the covered
way for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's
entry without, turned he unto the house of the Lord, because of the
king of Assyria.

{297}{298}

[Illustration]
THE POOL OF HEZEKIAH IN JERUSALEM

From a photograph belonging to the Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass.,
and used by special permission

In the East where the water supply is scanty, pools or reservoirs
are made with cement floors to retain water, supplied by surface
drainage, by springs, or by conduits conducting the water from a
considerable distance. The water supply for Jerusalem comes from
reservoirs near Bethlehem, called the "pools of Solomon." The
picture shows a pool, now surrounded by houses, in Jerusalem, which
is connected by tradition with the name of the great king Hezekiah.
This energetic and able ruler certainly built a number of reservoirs
so that the city might have water in case of siege. The underground
aqueduct, 1,708 feet long, a wonderful piece of ancient engineering
skill, leading from Gihon to the upper pool of Siloam, is thought by
many to have been his work
[End illustration]

{299}

HEZEKIAH.

(One of the best and most famous of all the kings of Judah wa