Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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1Kings
1Kings 1
¶1. Now, King David was old and advanced in years, and they covered him with garments, but he could not keep warm.
2. Therefore, his servants said to him, “Let them seek a young virgin for my lord the king, and let her stand before the king, and let her be of service to him, and lie in your bosom so that my lord the king may be warm.”
3. So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and they found Abishag the Shunammite, and they brought her to the king.
4. And the young woman was very beautiful, and she began attending to the king and ministered to him, but the king did not know her.
¶5. Now, Adonijah, son of Haggith, had exalted himself saying, “I will be king,” and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him,
6.and his father had not grieved him at any time by saying, “Why have you done this?” He also was very handsome, and his mother bore him after Absalom.
7. Moreover, he conferred with Joab ben-Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed Adonijah and helped him.
8. (But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah ben-Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and those who were David’s mighty men were not with Adonijah.)
9. And Adonijah sacrificed sheep, and cattle, and fatlings near the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel, and he called all his brothers, sons of the king, and all the men of Judah, servants of the king.
10. However, he did not call Nathan the prophet, or Benaiah, or the mighty men, or Solomon his brother.
¶11. Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah ben-Haggith has begun to reign, and David our lord does not know?
12.Therefore, come! Let me, I pray, give you counsel, that you may escape, and your son Solomon.
13.Go, and enter in to David the king and say to him, ‘O king, my lord, did you not swear to your handmaid saying, “Solomon your son shall certainly be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne?” Why, then, is Adonijah king?’
14.Behold, while you are still there, speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”
15. And so, Bathsheba went in to the king, to his chamber. (Now, the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king.)
16. And Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself before the king, and the king said, “What do you want?”
17. Then she said to him, “My lord, you swore to your handmaid by Jehovah your God, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall certainly be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’
18.But, behold, Adonijah has now become king, even though, my lord the king, you did not know.
19.Also, he has sacrificed a multitude of oxen, and fatlings, and sheep, and he has called all the king’s sons, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army. But Solomon your servant, he did not call.
20.And you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to make known to them who should sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him.
21.Otherwise, it will come to pass that when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be condemned as offenders.”
22. And behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.
23. And they announced to the king, “Behold, Nathan the prophet!” And he entered in before the king, and prostrated himself before the king, with his face to the ground.
24. And Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne?’
25.For he has gone down today and is sacrificing a multitude of oxen, and fatlings, and sheep, and he has called all the king’s sons, and captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and they are saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’
26.But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah ben-Jehoiada, and Solomon your servant, he did not call.
27.If this thing has been done by my lord the king, then you did not tell your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.”
28. Then David the king answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me!” And she came into the king’s presence, and she stood before the king.
29. And the king swore and said, “As Jehovah lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,
30.just as I swore to you by Jehovah, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Surely, Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my stead,’ so I will certainly do this day!”
31. Then Bathsheba bowed her face to the earth and prostrated herself before the king, and said, “Let my lord David the king live forever!”
32. And King David said, “Call Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah ben-Jehoiada to me!” And they came in before the king.
33. Then the king said to them, “You take the servants of your lord with you, and have my son Solomon to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.
34.And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet shall anoint him there as king over Israel, and you shall blow with the shofar and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’
35.Then you shall go up after him, and he shall come in and sit upon my throne, and he shall reign in my stead, for him have I commanded to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.”
36. And Benaiah ben-Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May Jehovah, the God of my lord the king, say so!
37.As Jehovah has been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord, King David!”
38. Then Zadok the priest went down, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah ben-Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they mounted Solomon on King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon.
39. And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon, and they blew with the shofar, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!”
40. And all the people came up after him, and the people were piping with pipes, and rejoicing with great joy such that the earth was rent with the sound of them.
41. Then Adonijah and all the guests with him heard it, and they stopped eating. And Joab heard the sound of the shofar and said, “Why is a sound of an uproar in the city?”
42. And while he was yet speaking, behold, Jonathan, son of Abiathar the priest, came in. Then Adonijah said, “Come in! For you are a valiant man and you bring good tidings.”
43. And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “Truly, our lord, David the king, has made Solomon king!
44.And the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah ben-Jehoida, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they made him to ride upon the king’s mule.
45.And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him king in Gihon, and they have gone up from there rejoicing, and the city is in an uproar. This is the sound that you heard.
46.And also, Solomon is sitting on the throne of the kingdom!
47.And also the king’s servants have come to bless our lord, King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and his throne greater than your throne!’ Then the king worshipped on the bed.
48.And the king also said this: ‘Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who this day has granted a man to sit on my throne while my eyes can see it.’”
49. And all who had been called, who were for Adonijah, were terrified, and they stood up and departed, each man going his own way.
50. Adonijah was also afraid because of Solomon, and he arose and departed, and he took hold of the horns of the altar.
51. Then it was reported to Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah fears Solomon the king, and behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me this day that he will not put his servant to death with the sword!’”
52. Then Solomon said, “If he is deserving, not a hair of his will fall to the ground, but if evil be found in him, then he will die.”
53. And King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar, and he came in and bowed himself to Solomon the king. Then Solomon said to him, “Go to your house!”
1Kings 2
¶1. Now, the days of David drew near that he should die, and he commanded Solomon his son, saying,
2.“I am going the way of all the earth. Therefore, be strong; yea, be a man
3.and keep the charge of Jehovah your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, and His Judgments, and His testimonies, just as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,
4.so that Jehovah may establish His word which He spoke to me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before me faithfully with all their heart and with all their soul, you will never fail,’ He said, ‘to have a man upon the throne of Israel.’
5.Moreover, you also know what Joab, the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner ben-Ner and to Amasa ben-Jether, that he slew them and shed the blood of war in peacetime, spilling blood of war on his belt that was about his loins and on his sandals that were on his feet.
6.Therefore, do according to your wisdom, and do not allow his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.
7.But deal kindly with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for thus they came to me when I fled from before Absalom your brother.
8.Behold, also with you is Shimei ben-Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day I fled to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Jehovah, saying, ‘May God damn me if I put you to death by the sword!’[1]
9.But do not now leave him unpunished, for you are a wise man, and you will know what you should do to him, but bring down his gray head with blood to Sheol!”
¶10. Then David slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David.
11. Now the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
12. And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was greatly established.
13. And Adonijah the son of Haggith went to Bathsheba, mother of Solomon, and she said, “Do you come peacefully?” Then he said, “Peacefully.”
14. Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.”
15. Then he said, “You know that the kingdom would have been mine and that all Israel had set their faces on me to be king, but the kingdom is turned about and has become my brother’s, for it was his from Jehovah.
16.So, as things are, I would make one request of you. Do not refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.”
17. Then he said, “If you will, speak to Solomon the king, for he will not refuse you, that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.”
18. And Bathsheba said, “Very well. I will speak to the king for you.”
19. Then Bathsheba went in to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king stood up to greet her, and he bowed to her. Then he sat down upon his throne, and a throne was set for the king’s mother, and she sat at his right hand.
20. And she said, “I would make one small request of you. Do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask me, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”
21. Then she said, “Let the king give Abishag the Shunammite to your brother Adonijah to wife.”
22. And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother, and he has both Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!”
23. Then King Solomon swore by Jehovah saying, “God do so to me, and more, if Adonijah has not spoken this word at the expense of his own life!
24.And now, as Jehovah lives, who established me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who made for me a house, just as he said, surely, Adonijah will be put to death this day!”
25. And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah ben-Jehoiada, and he fell upon him, and he died.
¶26. And the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Get you to Anathoth, to your fields, for you are a dead man! But I will not put you to death on this day because you carried the ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father and because you were afflicted in all that my father was afflicted.”
27. So, Solomon cast Abiathar out from being the Lord’s priest, to fulfill the word of the Lord which He spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
¶28. And the report came to Joab (for Joab had turned after Adonijah, although he had not turned after Absalom). Then Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and grasped the horns of the altar.
29. And it was reported to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and that, behold, he was at the altar. And Solomon sent Benaiah ben-Jehoiada, saying, “Go! Fall upon him!”
30. So, Benaiah went to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’” But he said, “No, but I will die here.” Therefore, Benaiah returned word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”
31. And the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and fall upon him and bury him, that you remove the blood from me and from my father’s house which Joab shed without cause.
32. And Jehovah shall return his blood upon his own head who fell upon two men more just and better than he, and slew them with the sword (my father David not knowing): Abner ben-Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa ben-Jether, captain of the army of Judah.
33.So will their blood return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his seed forever. But for David and for his seed, and for his house, and for his throne, there shall be peace forever from Jehovah.”
34. Then Benaiah ben-Jehoiada went up and fell upon him, and he killed him, and he was buried in his place in the wilderness.
35. And the king appointed Benaiah ben-Jehoiada in his stead over the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in the stead of Abiathar.
¶36. And the king sent and called for Shimei, and he said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem, and there shall you dwell. And from there, you shall not go forth anywhere whatsoever.
37.For on the day that you go out and cross over the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall surely die. Your blood will be upon your own head.”
38. Then Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has spoken, so will your servant do.” And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39. But it came to pass at the end of three years, two servants of Shimei ran away to Achish ben-Maachah, king of Gath. And men told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.”
40. Then Shimei rose up, and saddled his donkey, and departed for Gath, to Achish, to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.
41. And it was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.
42. And the king sent and called for Shimei. Then he said to him, “Did I not make you swear by Jehovah, and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘In the day you go forth, and go anywhere whatsoever, know for certain that you will surely die’? And you said, ‘The saying is good. I understand.’
43.Therefore, why have you not kept the oath of Jehovah and the commandment that I commanded you?”
44. The king also said to Shimei, “You know all the evil that your heart knows, which you did to David my father; therefore, Jehovah will return your evil upon your own head.
45.But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Jehovah forever.”
46. Then the King commanded Benaiah ben-Jehioada, and he went out and fell upon him, and he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
1Kings 3
¶1. And Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, King of Egypt, and took the daughter of Pharaoh. Then he brought her to the city of David until he had completed building his house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem.
2. Only, the people were sacrificing in the high places because a house for the name of the Lord had not been built before those days.
3. And Solomon loved Jehovah, walking in the statues of his father David, only he sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.
¶4. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place, and Solomon offered one-thousand burnt offerings upon that altar.
5. In Gibeon, Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask. What shall I give you?”
6. Then Solomon said, “You showed great kindness to your servant David my father, inasmuch as he walked before you in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you. And you have preserved for him this great kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7.Indeed, O Jehovah my God, you have now made your servant to reign in David my father’s stead. But I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in,
8.and your servant is in the midst of your people that you have chosen, a great people that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9.Therefore, give to your servant an understanding heart, that I might judge your people, discerning between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great nation of yours?”
10. And it was good in the eyes of the Lord that Solomon asked this.
11. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor asked for yourself riches, nor asked for the life of your enemies, but you have asked for yourself understanding to perceive justice.
12.Behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that no one like you has been before you, nor after you will any like you arise.
13.Moreover, I have also given you that which you have not asked for, both riches and honor, so that among the kings, there will not be any like you all your days.
14.And if you walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.”
15. And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and he offered up burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
¶16. Then two women, harlots, came to the king and stood before him.
17. And the one woman said, “If you please, my lord! This woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth, with her in the house.
18.And it came to pass on the third day after I gave birth that this woman also bore a child, and we were together. No one else was with us in the house; only we two were in the house.
19.And this woman’s son died during the night because she lay upon him,
20.and she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your maid-servant was asleep, and she laid him on her bosom and laid her dead son on my bosom.
21.And I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and behold, he was dead! But when I really looked at him in the morning, behold, it was not the son that I gave birth to!”
22. Then the other woman said, “No! My son is the live one, and the dead one is your son!” And this one said, “No! Your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one!” Thus, they spoke before the king.
23. And the king said, “This woman says, ‘This living one is my son, and the dead one is your son. But this one says, ‘No! Your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”
24. And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” And they brought the sword before the king.
25. Then the king said, “Divide the living boy in two, and give half to one and half to the other.”
26. And the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king, for she was moved with compassion for her son and said, “If you please, my lord! Give the living child to her! Please do not put him to death!” But the other one kept saying, “He should be neither mine nor yours. You men cut him in two!”
27. Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to her, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.”
28. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had made, and they feared the king because they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to execute judgment.
1Kings 4
¶1. So, King Solomon was king over all Israel.
2. And these were his chief officials: Azariah ben-Zadok the priest,
3.Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat ben-Ahilud, the recorder;
4.and Benaiah ben-Jehoiada, over the army; and Zadok and Abiathar, priests;
5.and Azariah ben-Nathan, over the officers; and Zabud ben-Nathan, a priest and friend of the King;
6.and Ahishar, over the household; and Adoniram ben-Abda, over the forced labor.
7. And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, and they provided food for the King and his house. One month each year, it was one man’s responsibility to make provision,
8.and these are their names: Ben-Hur in Mount Ephraim;
9.Ben-Dekar in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and in Bethshemesh, and Elon Beth-Hanan;
10.Ben-Hesed in the Arubboth had Sochoh and all the land of Hepher;
11.Ben-Abinadab, all of Naphath-Dor (he had Taphath, daughter of Solomon, as his wife);
12.Baana ben-Ahilud, Taanach, and Megiddo, and all Bethshean (which is near Zarethan) below Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;
13.Ben-Geber in Ramoth-Gilead had the villages of Jair[2] ben-Manasseh, which are in Gilead. He had the region of Argob that is in Bashan, sixty great cities with wall and bronze bar;
14.Ahinadab ben-Iddo, Mahanaim;
15.Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basmath, daughter of Solomon, for a wife);
16.Baana ben-Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth;
17.Jehoshaphat ben-Paruah, in Issachar;
18.Shimei ben-Ela, in Benjamin;
19.Geber ben-Uri, in the land of Gilead, territory of Sihon, King of the Amorites, and Og, King of Bashan, (and he was the only officer in that territory).
20. Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is by the sea in abundance, eating and drinking, and they were joyful.
21. And so it was that Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms, from the River to the land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
¶22. Now, Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal,
23.ten fat oxen, and twenty cattle out of the pasture, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, and gazelle, and roebuck, and fattened fowl,
24.for he had dominion over all the region across the River, from Tiphsah even unto Gaza, over all the kings beyond the River. And he had peace around him on all sides.
25. So, Judah and Israel lived securely, each man beneath his vine and beneath his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26. And Solomon had forty-thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve-thousand horsemen.
27. And these officers supported King Solomon and all who came to King’s Solomon’s table, each man in his month. They lacked nothing.
28. And men brought barley and straw for the horses and steeds to the place where the officers were, each man according to his quota.
29. And God gave Solomon wisdom, and very great understanding, and breadth of heart, as the sand that is on the seashore.
30. So, Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of any of the sons of the East and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
31. Indeed, he was wiser than any man, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame was in all the nations round about.
32. Moreover, he spoke three-thousand proverbs and his songs were a thousand and five.
33. And he spoke concerning the trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall. And he spoke of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fish.
34. And they came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who heard of his wisdom.
1Kings 5
¶1. And Hiram, King of Tyre, sent his servants to Solomon because he had heard that they anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David.
2. And Solomon sent to Hiram saying,
3.“You know that David my father was not able to build a house for the name of Jehovah his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet.
4.But now, Jehovah my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor adverse circumstance.
5.And behold, I intend to build a house for the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your stead, he will build the house for my name.’
6.Therefore, command now that cedars from Lebanon be cut down for me. And my servants will be with your servants, and I will give wages to your servants according to all that you say, for you know there is not a man among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
7. And it came to pass when Hiram heard the words of Solomon that he was exceedingly glad, and he said, “Blessed be Jehovah this day, who has given to David a wise son over this great people!”
8. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard that which you sent to me. I will do all that you desire concerning cedar trees and concerning cypress[3] trees.
9.My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea, and in the sea, I will make them rafts to go to the place that you designate for me, and I will take them apart there, and you will take them. And you will satisfy my requirement to provide food for my house.”
10. And so, Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and cypress trees, all his desire.
11. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his house, and twenty cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year.
12. And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon as He said to him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.
¶13. Then King Solomon conscripted forced labor out of all Israel, and the labor force consisted of thirty thousand men.
14. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts. They were in Lebanon a month, then two months at home. And Adoniram was over the labor force.
15. And so it was that Solomon had seventy thousand men to bear burdens and eighty thousand to hew in the mountain,
16.apart from Solomon’s chief officers who were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who had charge over the people who were doing the work.
17. And the King commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, in order to lay the foundation of the house with hewn stones.
18. And Solomon’s builders, and Hiram’s builders, and the Giblites hewed them and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
1Kings 6
¶1. And it came to pass, in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord.
2. And the length of the house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits, and twenty cubits was its width, and thirty cubits was its height.
3. And the length of the porch in front of the temple, the house, was twenty cubits, corresponding to the width of the house; its depth in front of the house was ten cubits.
4. And he made windows with narrowing frames for the house.
5. And he built a structure against the wall of the house all around, walls for the house round about, for the temple and the oracle, and he made chambers all around.
6. The lowest story was five cubits wide, and the middle, six cubits wide, and the third, seven cubits wide, for around the outside of the house, he made offsets so that they would not be fastened to the walls of the house.
7. And when the house was being built, it was built with finished stone from the quarry. Neither hammer nor ax, nor any tool of iron, was heard in the house while it was being built.
8. The entrance for the middle chamber was on the right side of the house, and they went up by winding steps to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third.
9. So, he built the house and completed it. And he covered the house with beams and rows of cedar.
10. And he built the structure against all the house, five cubits was its height, and it was fastened to the house with timbers of cedar.
¶11. And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,
12.“As for this house which you are building, if you walk in my statutes, and carry out my judgments, and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then with you will I establish my word which I spoke to David your father,
13.and I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and not forsake my people Israel.”
14. So, Solomon built the house and completed it.
15. And he built walls inside the house with cedar boards. Both the floor of the house and the walls of the ceiling, he covered with wood within, and he covered the floors of the house with cypress boards.
16. And he built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with cedar boards, both the floor and the walls, and he built it within for an oracle, for the Most Holy Place,
17.and the house in front of it, that is, the temple, was forty cubits.
18. And the facing of the cedar for the house was carved with knops and blossoming flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.
19. And he prepared the oracle within the house to put the ark of the covenant of the Lord there.
20. And the length of the oracle within was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits, and its height was twenty cubits. And he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar of cedar.
21. And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he made chains of gold to pass across the front of the oracle, which he also overlaid with pure gold.
22. And he overlaid the whole house with gold until the entire house was finished. Also, the entire altar that was by the oracle, he overlaid with gold.
23. And within the oracle, he made two cherubim of olive wood, ten cubits high.
24. And five cubits was one wing of the cherub, and five cubits was the second wing of the cherub, ten cubits from the tip of its wing to the tip of its other wing.
25. And the second cherub was ten cubits. The two cherubim had one measure and one form.
26. The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and likewise, the second cherub.
27. And he set the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and they spread the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched the wall, and the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
28. And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29. And he carved all the surrounding walls of the house with engravings: carvings of cherubim, and palms, and blossoming flowers, from the inner parts to the outer part.
30. And the floor of the house, he overlaid with gold, within and without.
31. And for the entrance of the oracle, he made doors of olive-wood, the pilaster, doorposts, a fifth part.
32. And on the two doors of olive wood, he carved carvings of cherubim, and palms, and blossoming flowers, and he overlaid them with gold, and he beat out the gold upon the cherubim and upon the palms.
33. And likewise, he made for the entrance of the temple doorposts of olive-wood from a fourth part.
34. And the two doors were of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were hinged, and the two leaves[4] of the second door were hinged.
35. And he carved cherubim, and palms, and blossoming flowers, and he overlaid the carved work evenly with gold.
36. And he built the inner court with three courses of hewn stone, and a course of hewn cedars.
37. In the fourth year, in the month of Zif, was the foundation of the house of the Lord laid.
38. And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was completed according to all His commands, and according to all His specifications. And he was seven years in building it.
1Kings 7
¶1. And Solomon built his own house, and his entire house was completed in thirteen years.
2. And he built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was one hundred cubits, and its width was fifty cubits, and its height was thirty cubits, with four rows of cedar pillars and hewn cedars upon the pillars.
3. And it was paneled with cedar above, over the side-chambers that lay atop forty-five pillars, fifteen per row.
4. And there were three rows of window frames, with light toward light in three ranks.
5. And all the entrances and posts were made square with frame-work, with light facing toward light in three ranks.
6. And he made a porch of pillars. Its length was fifty cubits, and its width was thirty cubits, and a porch was in front of them with pillars, and a canopy was over them.
7. And he made a porch for the throne where he would judge, the Porch of Judgment, and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor.
8. And his house where he was to live had another court within the porch which was of similar workmanship. He also made a house like this porch for the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Solomon had taken.
9. All these were of costly stones, according to the measurements of hewed stones, sawed with a saw, within and without, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the Great Court.
10. And the foundation was of costly stones, great stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits.
11. And above were costly stones according to the measure of hewed stones, and cedar,
12.and the Great Court round about had three courses of hewn stone and a course of hewn cedars, for both the inner court of the house of the Lord and the porch of this house.
¶13. And King Solomon sent, and brought Hiram from Tyre,
14.(the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, whose father had been a man of Tyre), an engraver of bronze, and he was filled with wisdom and understanding, and skill for making any work of bronze. And he came to King Solomon and wrought all his work.
15. And he fashioned the two pillars of bronze; the one pillar was eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed the second pillar.
16. And he made two chapiters of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the second chapiter was five cubits,
17.and networks of lattice-work, festoons of chain-work for the chapiters that were on top of the pillars: seven for the one chapiter and seven for the second chapiter.
18. And he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates all around on the one lattice-work to cover the chapiters that were on the top, and thus he did for the second chapiter.
19. And the chapiters that were on top of the pillars on the porch had lily-work of four cubits.
20. Moreover, there were also two hundred pomegranates in rows round about upon the second chapiter, even above the chapiters on the two pillars, next to the belly which was across the lattice-work.
21. And he raised up the pillars for the porch of the temple. And he raised up the right pillar and called its name Jachin, then he raised up the left pillar and called its name Boaz.
22. And on top of the pillars was lily-work. And the work of the pillars was completed.
23. And he made the molten sea, circular, ten cubits from its brim to its brim all around. And its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits compassed it about.
24. And beneath its brim all around, there were knops encompassing it, ten in a cubit, surrounding the sea in a circuit. Two rows of knops were cast when it was cast.
25. It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, and three facing west, and three facing south, and three facing east. And the sea was above them, and all their back parts were inward.
26. And its thickness was a handbreadth, and its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like a lily flower. It contained two-thousand baths.
¶27. And he made ten bronze bases: each base was four cubits long, and its width was four cubits, and its height, three cubits.
28. And this was the workmanship of each base: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges.
29. And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim, and upon the ledges was a stand above. And below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.
30. And each base had four bronze wheels with bronze bosses, and they had four feet as supports. Underneath the laver were supports cast with wreaths on each side.
31. And its opening within the chapiter and above was a cubit, and its opening was round. The work of the stand was a cubit and a half, and also at its opening were carvings, and their borders were square, not round.
32. And underneath the borders were four wheels, and the sides of the wheels were in the base, and the height of one wheel was one and a half cubit.
33. And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel. Their sides, and their rims, and their spokes, and their hubs were all cast.
34. And four supports were at the four corners of each base, and its supports were part of the base.
35. And on the top of the base was an encircling compass, half a cubit high, and on the top of the base its stays and its borders were one piece.
36. And on the surfaces of its sides and on its borders, he engraved cherubim, lions, and palms according to the space for each one, with wreaths round about.
37. He made ten bases like this, all of them had one casting, one size, and one shape.
¶38. And he made ten lavers of bronze. One laver contained forty baths. Each laver was four cubits, and on each of the ten bases was one laver.
39. And he placed five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house, and he placed the sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.
¶40. And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins. And Hiram finished doing all the work that he made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord:
41.two pillars, and two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two lattice-works for covering the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars;
42.and the four hundred pomegranates for the two lattice-works; two rows of pomegranates for one lattice-work for covering the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the faces of the pillars;
43.and the ten bases; and the ten lavers on the bases;
44.and the one sea; and the twelve oxen underneath the sea;
45.and the pans, and the shovels, and the basins – and all these vessels that Hiram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were burnished bronze.
46. The King cast them in the area of the Jordan, in the clayey ground between Succoth and Zarethan.
47. And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed because they were very, very many. The weight of the bronze was never ascertained.
¶48. And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house the Lord: the altar of gold; and the golden table upon which was the Bread of the Presence;
49.and the menorahs of pure gold, five on the right and five on the left before the oracle, and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;
50.and the cups; and the snuffers; and the basins, and the spoons, and the fire-pans, of pure gold; and the sockets for the doors of the innermost house, for the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the house for the temple, of gold.
51. So, all the work that King Solomon did for the house of the Lord was completed. And Solomon brought in the things his father David had consecrated. He put the silver, and the gold, and the vessels into the treasuries of the house of the Lord.
1Kings 8
¶1. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the city of David, that is, Zion.
2. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon for the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
3. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
4. And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up.
5. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were gathered to him were with him before the ark began sacrificing sheep and oxen which could not be counted or numbered for multitude.
6. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, the oracle of the house, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim,
7.for the cherubim spread two wings for the place of the ark, and from above, the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.
8. And the poles were extended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the oracle, but they could not be seen outside. And they are there to this day.
9. Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses placed there at Horeb when Jehovah made a covenant with the sons of Israel when they came out from the land of Egypt.
10. And it came to pass when the priests came out from the holy place that the cloud filled the house of the Lord.
11. And the priests were not able to stand to minister before the cloud because the Lord’s glory filled the house of the Lord.
¶12. Then Solomon said, “Jehovah said that He would dwell in thick darkness.
13.I have indeed built you a majestic house, a fixed place for you to dwell in forever.”
14. And the King turned his face about, and blessed all the Assembly of Israel, and the whole Assembly of Israel stood up.
15. And he said, “Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel, who spoke by His mouth to David, my father, and by His hand has fulfilled it, saying,
16.‘From the day that I brought my people Israel out from Egypt, I chose no city from all the tribes of Israel to build a house that my name might be there, but I chose David to be over my people Israel.’
17.And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel.
18.And Jehovah said to David my father, ‘Forasmuch as it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you have done well, in that it was in your heart.
19.Yet, you will not build the house, but your son, who will come forth from your loins; he will build the house for my name.’
20.And Jehovah caused His word to stand which He spoke, for I have risen up in the place of my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah said, and I have built the house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel.
21.And there, I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of Jehovah that He made with our fathers when He brought them out from the land of Egypt.”
22. And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the Assembly of Israel, and he spread his hands toward heaven.
23. And he said, “O Jehovah, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, preserving the covenant and lovingkindness for your servants who walk before you with all their heart,
24.you who has kept for your servant David my father what you spoke to him. Yea, you spoke with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled it, as at this day.
25.And now, O Jehovah, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father that which you spoke to him, saying, ‘ You will not lack a man before me to sit upon the throne of Israel – if only your sons take heed to their way, to walk before me as you have walked.’
26.And now, O God of Israel, let your word, I pray, be established which you spoke to your servant David, my father.
27.But will God indeed dwell on earth? Behold, heaven – even the heaven of heavens – cannot contain you! How much less this house that I have built?
28.Yet, you have regarded the prayer of your servant and his supplication, O Jehovah, my God, that you would hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying before you today,
29.that your eyes be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which you said, ‘My name will be there,’ that you hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place,
30.and hear the supplication of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place, that you hear in your dwelling-place in heaven; yea, hear and forgive.
31.If a man sins against his fellow, and an oath be laid upon him that he is made to swear, and the oath comes before your altar in this house,
32.may you hear in heaven, and act, and judge your servants, condemning the wicked, setting his wicked way upon his head, and justifying the righteous, to give to him according to his righteousness.
33.When your people Israel are smitten before an enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn back to you and confess your name, and they pray and plead with you for mercy in this house,
34.then hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land that you gave to their fathers.
35.When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and they pray toward this place, and they confess your name, and turn from their sin when you afflict them,
36.then hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, even your people Israel, that you may teach them the good way in which they should walk and give rain to your land that you gave to your people for an inheritance.
37.If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, blight, mildew, swarming locust, destroying locust, if it come to pass that their enemy presses hard on them in the land at their gates – whatever affliction, whatever illness –
38.any prayer, any supplication by any man or by all your people Israel if they confess, each man, the affliction of his heart, and he spreads out his hands toward this house,
39.then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to all his ways, for you will know his heart (for you, you alone, know the heart of all the sons of man),
40.that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our fathers.
41.And hear also the foreigner who is not of your people Israel when he comes from a distant land because of your renown,
42.for they will hear of your great renown, and of your mighty hand, and of your out-stretched arm. When he comes and prays toward this house,
43.hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner cries out to you, so that all peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as do your people Israel, and to know that this house which I have built is called by your name.
44.When your people go out to battle against an enemy in the way that you send them, and they pray to Jehovah toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,
45.then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and uphold their cause.
46.When they sin against you (for there is no man who does not sin), and you become angry with them and deliver them before an enemy, and they take them away as their captives to the land of the enemy, far or near,
47.but they turn back their heart in the land in which they were taken captive, and they repent and make supplication in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and committed iniquity! We have done wickedness!’,
48.and they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and they pray to you toward their land that you gave to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house that you have built for your name,
49.then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their supplication, and uphold their cause.
50.And forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against you, and grant them compassion in the presence of their captors so that they will have compassion on them,
51.because they are your people and your inheritance whom you brought out from Egypt, out of the midst of the iron furnace.
52.Let your eyes be open to the supplication of your servant and to the supplication of your people Israel, to hear them in all for which they cry out to you.
53.For you separated them for yourself from all peoples of the earth for an inheritance, as you said, by the hand of Moses your servant when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”
¶54. And it came to pass, when Solomon finished praying to Jehovah all this prayer and supplication, he arose from before the altar of Jehovah, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread out toward heaven.
55. And he stood, and he blessed all the Assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56.“Blessed is Jehovah, who has given His people Israel a resting place, according to all that He said. Not one word has fallen of all His good word which He spoke by the hand of His servant Moses.
57.May Jehovah our God be with us as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us or forsake us,
58.that He may incline our hearts to Him to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, and His statutes, and His judgments which He commanded our fathers.
59.And let these words with which I have sought favor before Jehovah, be near Jehovah our God day and night, that He may execute judgment for His servant and judgment for His people Israel, as the matter requires, day by day,
60.that all the peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah, He is God, and there is no other.
61.Let your heart be perfect with Jehovah our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”
¶62. Then the King and all Israel with him offered sacrifice before Jehovah.
63. And Solomon offered sacrifice for a peace offering, which he slaughtered before Jehovah, twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. And so, the King and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.
64. On that day, the King consecrated the middle of the court that is before the house of the Lord, for there he made the burnt offering, and the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings because the bronze altar before Jehovah was too small to hold the burnt offering, and the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65. And at that time, Solomon made a feast, and all Israel with him, a great Assembly from the entering in of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before Jehovah our God, seven days, then seven more days, even fourteen days.
66. On the eighth day, he sent the people away, and they blessed the King and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that Jehovah had done for David, His servant, and for His people Israel.
1Kings 9
¶1. And it came to pass, when Solomon finished building the house of the Lord, and the house of the King, and all Solomon’s desire that he was pleased to do,
2.that Jehovah appeared to Solomon a second time as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
3. And Jehovah said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication which you have made before me. I have sanctified this house that you have built, to put my name there forever, and my eyes and my heart will always be there.”
4.Now, if you walk before me as your father David walked, with a perfect heart and uprightly, doing all that I have commanded you, keeping my statutes and my judgments,
5.then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I spoke to David your father, saying, “You will not lack a man upon the throne of Israel.”
6.But, if you or your sons ever turn away from me and do not keep my commandments, my statutes that I have set before you, but depart and serve other gods and worship them,
7.then I will cut off Israel from the land that I gave them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name will I cast out from before me, and Israel will become a byword and a mockery among all nations.
8.As to this house which is exalted, all that pass by it will be astounded, and hiss, and say, ‘Why has Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house?’
9.Then men will say, ‘Because they forsook Jehovah their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and clung to other gods, and bowed themselves to them, and served them – that is why Jehovah has brought all this evil upon them.’”
¶10. And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, that Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the house of the king.
11. Hiram the king of Tyre supplied Solomon with timbers of cedar and cypress wood, and gold according to all his desire. Then King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12. And Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given to him, and they were not pleasing in his eyes.
13. Then he said, “What are these cities that you have given to me, my brother?” And he called them the land of Cabul[5] to this day.
14. Now, Hiram had sent to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold.
¶15. And this is the reason for the forced labor that King Solomon conscripted: to build the house of the Lord and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
16.(Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had come up and seized Gezer, and burned it with fire, and slew the Canaanites that lived in the city, and he gave it as a parting gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.)
17. So, Solomon built Gezer, and Lower Beth-horon,
18.and Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land,
19.and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and the cities of the chariotry, and the cities of the horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20. All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, they who were not of the sons of Israel,
21.their sons who remained in the land, whom the sons of Israel were not able to completely destroy, Solomon conscripted them for slave labor unto this day.
22. But of the sons of Israel, Solomon did not make slaves, but they were men of war, his servants, his officials, his officers, his captains of chariotry, and his horsemen.
23. These were the chief officers who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty who had charge over the people who were doing the work.
24. But, Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David to her house that Solomon built for her; then he built Millo.
25. And three times a year, Solomon offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar that he built to Jehovah, and he offered the sacrifices by him who was before Jehovah. So, he finished the house.
26. And King Solomon made ships in Ezion-geber that is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom.
27. And Hiram sent in the ships his servants, sailors who had knowledge of the sea, along with the servants of Solomon.
28. Then they went to Ophir and took from there four hundred twenty talents of gold and came to King Solomon.
1Kings 10
¶1. Then the Queen of Sheba, hearing of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, came to test him with difficult questions.
2. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, an abundance of gold, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him about everything that was in her heart,
3. and Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from the king that he could not reveal to her.
4. When the Queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
5.and the food of his table, and the order of his servants, and the attendance of his servers and their raiment, and his cup-bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.
6. Then she said to the king, “The report that I heard in my land of your words and wisdom was true,
7.and I did not believe the reports until I came and my eyes saw, and behold, the half was not told to me. You have exceeded in wisdom and prosperity the report that I heard.
8.Blessed are your men! These your servants are blessed who stand continually before you, hearing your wisdom.
9.Blessed be Jehovah your God who delighted in you, to set you upon the throne of Israel because of Jehovah’s eternal love for Israel, and He has made you king to execute judgment and righteousness.”
10. And she gave to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and a great abundance of spices, and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11. And also, ships of Hiram, that carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a great abundance of almug wood and precious stones.
12. And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord and the house of the king, and lyres, and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come in nor been seen to this day.
13. And King Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba all that she desired, which she had asked for, besides that which was given her by the hand of King Solomon. Then she departed and went to her own land, she and her servants.
14. And it came to pass, that the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,
15.apart from the men who were traders, and of the traffic of the merchants, and all the kings of Arabia, and governors of the land.
16. And King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield,
17.and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold, three minas of gold went into each buckler. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
18. The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with refined gold.
19. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind it, and stays were on either side on the place of the seat, with two lions standing beside the stays.
20. And twelve lions stood there upon the six steps, one on each side. The like has not been made for any other kingdom.
21. And all of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold, none were of silver. It was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.
22. For the king had Tarshish ships at sea along with Hiram’s ships. Once every three years the Tarshish ships came carrying gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
23. Thus, King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
24. Moreover, all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart.
25. And each of them brought his gift: vessels of silver and vessels of gold, garments, weaponry, spices, horses and mules, so much year by year.
26. And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen, and he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
27. And the king made silver in Jerusalem like stones and made cedars like the sycamores that are in the Shephelah for abundance.
28. And the source of Solomon’s horses was Egypt and Kue. The king’s merchants procured them from Kue at a price,
29.and a chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty. And likewise, by their hand, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.
1Kings 11
¶1. Moreover, King Solomon loved many foreign women besides the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites,
2.from the nations of which Jehovah said to the children of Israel, “You shall not go in to them; neither shall they come in to you. They will certainly turn your heart away after their gods.” To these, Solomon clung in love.
3. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. And his wives turned his heart away.
4. And it came to pass when Solomon was old that his wives turned his heart away to follow after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God like the heart of David his father.
5. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.
6. And Solomon did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and he did not fully follow after Jehovah like David his father.
7. Furthermore, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
8. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9. Therefore, Jehovah was angry with Solomon because he turned his heart away from Jehovah, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice
10.and had commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not go after other gods, but he did not obey what Jehovah commanded.
11. Therefore, Jehovah said to Solomon, “Because it has been this way with you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I commanded you, I most certainly will tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.
12.Yet, during your days, I will not do it for the sake of your father David. I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
13.Even so, I will not tear away the entire kingdom. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
¶14. Jehovah also raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the king’s seed in Edom.
15. For it had happened that when David was in Edom, Joab the captain of the army went up to bury the slain, then he killed every male in Edom.
16. Yea, Joab continued there for six months, along with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom.
17. But Hadad fled, he and men of Edom, some servants of his father, went into Egypt with him. Hadad was yet a young boy.
18. And they arose from Midian and went to Paran; and they took men from Paran with them, and they came to Egypt to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And he gave him a house, and commanded food for him, and gave him land.
19. And Hadad found great favor in the eyes of Pharaoh, and he gave him his sister-in law for a wife, a sister of Tahpenes the queen.
20. And the sister of Tahpenes bore him a son, Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house, and Genubath was in the house of Pharaoh among the sons of Pharaoh.
21. When Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab, captain of the army, was dead, then Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Send me away that I may go to my own land.”
22. And Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that, behold, you desire to depart to your own land?” And he said, “Nothing. Yet, let me go anyway.”
¶23. God also raised up as an adversary against him, Rezon ben-Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer, king of Zobah.
24. And he gathered men to himself, and he was captain over a band (when David slew them of Zobah). And they went to Damascus and dwelt in it. And they reigned in Damascus.
25. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, in addition to the evil that Hadad did. And he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.
¶26. Moreover, Jeroboam ben-Nebat an Ephrathite from Zereda, a servant to Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, also lifted his hand against the king.
27. And this is the reason for which he lifted a hand against King Solomon; he built Millo and closed the breach of the city of David his father.
28. Now, the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. And seeing that the young man was industrious, Solomon set him over all the burden-bearers of the house of Joseph.
29. And it came to pass at that time that Jeroboam went out from Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. And he had clothed himself with a new garment; and both of them were alone in a field.
30. Then Ahijah grasped the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces.
31. Then he said to Jeroboam, “You take ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and give ten tribes to you.
32.But, one tribe will remain his for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
33.Because they have forsaken me and bowed themselves to Ashtoreth, goddess of the Zidonians, to Chemosh, god of the Moabites, to Milcom, god of the children of Ammon, and they have not walked in my ways, my statutes and my judgments, to do what is right in my eyes like David his father.
34.However, I will not take the entire kingdom out of his hand, for I will make him ruler all the days of his life for my servant David’s sake, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes.
35.And I will take the kingdom out of the hand of his son and give it to you, ten tribes.
36.And to his son, I will give one tribe, that there may be a lamp for my servant David before me always in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.
37.And I will take you, and you will rule according to all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel.
38.And it shall come to pass, if you obey all that I command you, and walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes, to keep my statutes and my commandments as my servant David did, then I will be with you, and I will build an established house for you as I built for David. Yea, I have given Israel to you.
39.And I will afflict the seed of David because of this; howbeit not forever.’”
40. Then Solomon sought to put Jeroboam to death. But Jeroboam rose up and fled to Egypt unto Shishak, king of Egypt. And he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
41. And the remaining acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?
42. And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
43. And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father, and his son Rehoboam reigned in his stead.
1Kings 12
¶1. And Rehoboam went to Shechem for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.
2. And it came to pass that Jeroboam ben-Nebat heard this, but he was still in Egypt where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelled in Egypt.
3. And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4.“Your father made our yoke hard. So now, you lighten some of the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke that he placed upon us, and we will serve you.”
5. Then he said to them, “Go away for three days, and then return to me.” And so, the people left.
6. And Rehoboam the king consulted with the old men who stood in the presence of Solomon his father when he was alive, saying, “What answer do you advise should be returned to this people?”
7. And they spoke to him, saying, “If today you will be a servant to this people and serve them, then answer them and speak good words to them, and they will be your servants forever.”
8. But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they gave him, and he consulted with the young men who had grown up with him, who were standing before him.
9. And he said to them, “What answer do you advise that we should return to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten some of the yoke that your father put on us.’”
10. And the young men that grew up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus shall you say to this people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but now you make it lighter on us.’ Speak thus to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins!
11.My father indeed laid a heavy yoke on you, but I will now add to your yoke. My father chastened you with whips, but I will chasten you with scorpions.’”
12. Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day just as the king had spoken, saying, “Return to me on the third day.”
13. And the king answered the people harshly, and he forsook the counsel that the old men had given him.
14. And he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father chastened you with whips, but I will chasten you with scorpions.”
15. And so, the king did not listen to the people, for the turn of events was from Jehovah to establish His word which Jehovah spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam ben-Nebat.
16. And all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them. Therefore, the people sent back word to the king, saying, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance with the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look to your own house now, O David!” And Israel went to their tents.
17. But as for the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
18. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram who was over the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him with stones and he died. And King Rehoboam mounted a chariot in haste to escape to Jerusalem.
¶19. So, Israel rebelled against the house of David, to this day.
20. For it came to pass when all Israel had heard that Jeroboam was returned that they sent and called him to the assembled company and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David except the tribe of Judah alone.
¶21. And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem and assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one-hundred eighty thousand chosen warriors to wage war against the house of Israel in order to bring back the kingdom to Rehoboam ben-Solomon.
22. But the word of God came to Shemaiah, a man of God, saying,
23.“Speak to Rehoboam ben-Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
24.‘Thus says Jehovah: Do not go up, nor wage war against your brothers, the sons of Israel. Each man return to his house, for this thing is of me!’” And they obeyed the word of the Lord, and they turned back and departed according to the word of the Lord.
¶25. And Jeroboam built up Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and dwelt in it. And he went out from there and built up Penuel.
26. And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.
27.If this people go up to make sacrifices at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, then will the heart of this people return to their lord, Rehoboam, king of Judah. Yea, they will kill me and return to Rehoboam, king of Judah.”
28. So the king took counsel and made two golden calves. Then he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”
29. And he set one in Bethel and put the other in Dan.
30. And this thing became sin. And the people went before one, as far as Dan.
31. He also built a house of high places, and he made priests from the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
32. Moreover, Jeroboam made a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month like the feast that is in Judah, and he sacrificed on the altar. Thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made, and he appointed at Bethel priests of the high places that he had made.
33. Therefore, he sacrificed on the altar that he made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the month that he devised out of his own heart. Yea, he made a feast for the children of Israel and offered sacrifices on the altar.
1Kings 13
¶1. And behold, a man of God went from Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel, and Jeroboam was standing at the altar to make sacrifice.
2. And he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar! O altar! Thus says the Lord: Behold! A son will be born to the house of David. Josiah will be his name, and upon you will he sacrifice the priests of the high places who make sacrifices on you. Yea, they will burn up men’s bones on you!”
3. And he gave a sign that day, saying, “This is the sign which Jehovah has spoken. Behold, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.”
4. And it came to pass when the king heard the word of the man of God who cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But his hand that he stretched forth toward him withered, and he was not able to draw it back to himself.
5. Then the altar was split apart, and the ashes from the altar poured out according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
6. Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Entreat, I pray, the face of the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand will be restored to me!” And the man of God entreated the face of the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and it was as before.
7. And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and let me give you a gift.”
8. But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you would give me half your house, I will not come with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water in this place.
9.For thus was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread, and you shall not drink water, and you shall not return by the way that you go.’ ”
10. So, he went another way and did not return by the way that he had come to Bethel.
11. And a certain old prophet was living in Bethel. And his son came and told him every deed that the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also recounted to their father the words which he had spoken to the king.
12. And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons had seen the way that the man of God who came from Judah went.
13. Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So, they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it.
14. And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under a terebinth. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.”
15. And he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”
16. Then he said, “I cannot return with you and go in with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place.
17.For this was my charge by the word of the Lord: You shall not eat bread, and you shall not drink water there, nor shall you come back by the way that you go.”
18. And he said to him, “I am also a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” He lied to him.
19. So, he returned with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.
20. And it came to pass as they were sitting at the table that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.
21. And he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Because you have rebelled against the command of the Lord and did not keep the commandment which Jehovah your God commanded you,
22.but returned and ate bread and drank water in the place concerning which He said to you, ‘Eat no bread and drink no water,’ your corpse will not come to the sepulcher of your fathers.”
23. And it came to pass after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, the prophet who had brought him back saddled the donkey for him.
24. And when he had gone, a lion found him on the way and killed him, and his corpse was thrown down on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse.
25. And behold, men were passing by, and they saw the corpse thrown down on the road and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city in which the old prophet lived.
26. And the prophet who brought him back from the way heard it and said, “It is the man of God who rebelled against the command of the Lord. Therefore, Jehovah gave him to the lion, and it tore him and killed him according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.”
27. Then he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it.
28. So, he went and found his corpse thrown down on the road, and the donkey and the lion were standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey.
29. And the prophet lifted up the corpse of the man of God and laid it on the donkey, and he brought it back. And the old prophet came to the city to lament and to bury him.
30. And he laid his corpse in his own grave, and they mourned over him, “Alas, my brother!”
31. And it came to pass after he buried him that he spoke to his sons, saying, “At my death, bury me in the sepulcher in which the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones,
32.because the thing which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar that is in Bethel and against all the churches of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria will certainly come to pass.”
¶33. After this thing, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made more priests of the lowest of the people for the high places. Whoever would, he consecrated, and he became a priest of the high places.
34. And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, that it might be annihilated and destroyed from off the face of the earth.
1Kings 14
¶1. At that time, Abijah ben-Jeroboam fell sick.
2. And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise now, and disguise yourself that people may not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there. He spoke concerning me being king over this people.
3.So, take ten loaves in your hand, and cakes, and a flask of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the youth.”
4. Then the wife of Jeroboam did so; she arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah was not able to see for his eyes were set because of his age.
5. And Jehovah said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to seek a word from you concerning her son because he is sick. Speak to her thus and thus. And it will be when she comes in that she will make herself out to be a foreigner.”
6. And it came to pass when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the doorway that he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you make yourself a stranger? I have been sent to you with a hard message.
7.You go say to Jeroboam, ‘Thus says Jehovah God of Israel: because I exalted you from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel,
8.and tore the kingdom from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been as my servant David who kept my commandments and who walked after me with all his heart doing only what is right in my eyes,
9.but you have done more evil than all who were before you, and you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke me to anger, and you have cast me behind your back,
10.therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and I will cut off from Jeroboam everyone that pisses against a wall, bond or free, in Israel, and I will burn up what remains of the house of Jeroboam as a man burns dung until it is consumed.
11.He of Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dogs will devour, and he who dies in the field, fowl of the sky will eat, for Jehovah has spoken.’
12.So arise. Go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child will die.
13.And all Israel will mourn for him, and bury him because he alone of Jeroboam will come to the grave, for there was found in him something good toward Jehovah the God of Israel within the house of Jeroboam.
14.Moreover, Jehovah will this day raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam—but what? even now.
15.And Jehovah will strike Israel just as a reed is moved to and fro by the water, and He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers and will scatter them beyond the river because they made their Asherah poles, provoking Jehovah.
16.And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam which he committed and which he caused Israel to commit.”
17. Then the wife of Jeroboam arose and left, and went to Tirzah. She came to the threshold of the house, and the child died.
18. And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by the hand of His servant Ahijah the prophet.
¶19. Now, the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he waged war, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
20. And the days that Jeroboam reigned were twenty-two years, and he slept with his fathers. And Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
¶21. And Rehoboam ben-Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city where Jehovah chose to place His name, out of all the tribes of Israel. And his mother’s name was Naamah, the Ammonite.
22. And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done by their sins that they committed.
23. And they also built for themselves high places, yea, pillars and Asherah poles were on every high hill and under every green tree.
24. Moreover, there were male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel.
25. And it came to pass in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.
26. And he took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. Yea, he took everything; he even took all the shields of gold that Solomon had made.
27. Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place. And he entrusted them to the captains of the guards who guarded the entrance of the king’s house.
28. And it came to pass that whenever the king went into the house of the Lord, the guards would carry them out and then bring them back to the guards’ chamber.
29. Now, the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
30. And there was war continually between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
31. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite, and his son Abijam reigned in his stead.
1Kings 15
¶1. Now, in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam ben-Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah.
2. He reigned three years in Jerusalem, and his mother’s name was Maachah, daughter of Abishalom.
3. And he walked in all the sins of his father that he had done before him, and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God, as was the heart of David his father.
4. Yet for David’s sake, Jehovah his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem,
5.because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and he did not turn aside from all that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
6. And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
7. And the rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? There was also war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
8. And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Asa his son reigned in his stead.
¶9. Now, in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah,
10.and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem, and his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
11. And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, like David his father.
12. And he removed the male cult prostitutes from the land, and took away all the idols that his father had made.
13. Morever, he also removed his mother, Maachah, from being queen-mother because she made a destestable image for Asherah, and Asa cut down her abomination and burned it up in the brook Kidron.
14. Yet, the high places were not taken away; nevertheless, Asa’s heart was perfect with Jehovah all his days.
15. Moreover, the consecrated things of his father and his own consecrated things he brought into the house of the Lord, silver, and gold, and vessels.
16. And there was war between Asa and Baasha the king of Israel all their days.
17. And Baasha, king of Israel, went up against Judah. And he built Ramah that no one might go out or come in to Asa the king of Judah.
18. And Asa took all the silver and gold that remained among the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and he delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,
19.“Let there be a covenant between me and you, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent a present to you of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.”
20. And Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa and sent captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and he struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-Beth-Maachah, and all Chinneroth, and against all the land of Naphtali.
21. And it came to pass, when Baasha heard of it that he ceased building Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.
22. Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout Judah; none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its wood, with which Baasha had been building. And with them, King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.
23. And all the rest of the acts of Asa and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Only, in the time of his old age, he was diseased in his feet.
24. And Asa slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoshaphat his son became king in his stead.
¶25. And Nadab ben-Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.
26. And he did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and he walked in the way of his father, and in his sin by which he made Israel to sin.
27. And Baasha ben-Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him. Then Baasha struck him down in Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. For Nadab and all Israel had laid siege to Gibbethon,
28.and Baasha slew him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and became king in his stead.
29. And it came to pass when he reigned that he slew all the house of Jeroboam; he did not spare any that belonged to Jeroboam who breathed until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord that He spoke by the hand of his servant Ahijah the Shilonite
30.because of the sins of Jeroboam that he committed, and by which he made Israel to sin by his provocation with which he provoked Jehovah the God of Israel to anger.
31. And the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
32. And there was war between Asa and Baasha the king of Israel all their days.
¶33. In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha ben-Ahijah became king in Tirzah over all Israel for twenty-four years.
34. And he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he made Israel to sin.
1Kings 16
¶1. And the word of the Lord came to Jehu ben-Hanani against Baasha, saying,
2.“Inasmuch as I have raised you up from the dust, and set you as ruler over my people Israel, but you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sin,
3.behold, I will consume the posterity of Baasha and the posterity of his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam ben-Nebat.
4.He of Baasha who dies in the city, the dogs will devour, and he of him who dies in the field, fowl of the sky will eat.”
5. And the rest of the acts of Baasha, and that which he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
6. And Baasha slept with his fathers, and he was buried in Tirzah, and Elah his son reigned in his stead.
7. And moreover, by the hand of Jehu ben-Hanani the prophet, the word of the Lord came against Baasha and against his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the eyes of the Lord, provoking Him to anger by the work of his hands in being like the house of Jeroboam and because he killed him.
¶8. In the twenty-sixth year of Asa the king of Judah, Elah ben-Baasha became king over Israel in Tirzah for two years.
9. And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariotry, conspired against him when he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the house in Tirzah.
10. And Zimri came in, and he struck him and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa the king of Judah and reigned in his stead.
11. And it came to pass, when he became king, as soon as he sat on his throne, he slew all the house of Baasha. He left him not one that pisses against a wall, either of his kinsmen or his friends.
12. So, Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha according to the word of the Lord that He spoke to Baasha by the hand of Jehu the prophet,
13.for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son that they committed, and by which they made Israel to sin, provoking Jehovah the God of Israel to anger by their vanities.
14. And the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
¶15. In the twenty-seventh year of Asa the king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now, the people were encamped against Gibbethon which belonged to the Philistines.
16. And the people who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired and has also killed the king.” And all Israel made Omri, captain of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp.
17. Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon, and they laid siege to Tirzah.
18. And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over himself with fire and died
19.because of his sins that he committed, for doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam and his sin by which he made Israel to sin.
20. And the rest of the acts of Zimri and his conspiracy which he carried out, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
¶21. Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half the people went after Tibni ben-Ginath to make him king, and half went after Omri.
22. And the people who followed Omri were stronger than the people who followed Tibni ben-Ginath. So, Tibni died, and Omri became king.
¶23. In the thirty-first year of Asa the king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel for twelve years. He reigned six years in Tirzah.
24. And he purchased the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he built on the hill and called the name of the city that he had built after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill of Samaria.
25. And Omri did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord; yea, he did more evil than all who were before him,
26.for he walked in all the way of Jeroboam ben-Nebat and in his sin by which he made Israel to sin, provoking Jehovah the God of Israel by their vanities.
27. And the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he displayed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
28. So, Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his stead.
¶29. And Ahab ben-Omri began to reign over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa the king of Judah, and Ahab ben-Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.
30. And Ahab ben-Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than all who were before him.
31. And it came to pass—was it a small thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam ben-Nebat?—that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and he went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
32. He also erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria,
33.and Ahab made an Asherah pole. And Ahab did more to provoke Jehovah the God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
¶34. In his days, Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. He laid its foundation in Abiram his firstborn, and in Segub his youngest, he set up its gates, according to the word of the Lord that He spoke by the hand of Joshua ben-Nun.[6]
1Kings 17
¶1. And Elijah the Tishbite of the Tishbites of Gilead said to Ahab, “As Jehovah the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, may God damn me if there is dew or rain these years, except by my word!”
2. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
3.“Leave here and turn to the east, and hide by the wadi Cherith where it is near the Jordan.
4.And it will come to pass that you will drink from the wadi. And I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”
5. So, he went and did according to the word of the Lord. And he went and dwelt by the wadi Cherith where it is near the Jordan.
6. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the wadi.
7. And it came to pass after some days that the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
¶8. And the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
9.“Arise! Go to Zarephath which belongs to Zidon and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman to provide for you there.”
10. And he arose and went to Zarephath, and he came to the entrance of the city. And behold, a widow woman was there, gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel so that I may drink.”
11. And she went to fetch it, and he called to her and said, “Bring me, I pray you, a morsel of bread in your hand.”
12. But she said, “As Jehovah your God lives, I have nothing baked, but a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And behold, I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son so that we may eat it, and die.”
13. Then Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid, go do according to your word. Only, make me a little cake out of it first, and bring it out to me. And afterwards, make one for yourself and your son.
14.For thus says Jehovah the God of Israel: The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not decrease until the day Jehovah sends rain upon the face of the earth.”
15. So, she went and did according to the word of Elijah and she ate, he and she and her house, for a time.
16. The jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not decrease, according to the word of the Lord that He spoke by the hand of Elijah.
¶17. And it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick, and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
18. And she said to Elijah, “What is there between us, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to rememberance and kill my son.”
19. Then he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her bosom, and brought him up to the upper chamber where he dwelt, and laid him on his bed.
20. And he cried unto Jehovah and said, “O Jehovah my God, will you also bring evil upon the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?”
21. Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called out to Jehovah, saying, “O Jehovah my God, I beg you, let this child’s soul return to him!”
22. And Jehovah heard the voice of Elijah, and the child’s soul returned to him, and he revived.
23. Then Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber to the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “Behold, your son is alive!”
24. And the woman said to Elijah, “By this, I now know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord is truly in your mouth.”
1Kings 18
¶1. And when many days had passed, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”
2. So, Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now, the famine was severe in Samaria.
3. And Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now, Obadiah feared Jehovah greatly,
4.such that when Jezebel was killing off the prophets of Jehovah, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and he provided them bread and water.)
5. And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land, to all the springs of water and to all the wadis. Perhaps we will find green grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to kill some of the animals.”
6. So they divided the land between them, to go through it. Ahab went by himself one way, and Obadiah went by himself another way.
7. And when Obadiah was on the road, behold, Elijah met him. And when he recognized him, he fell on his face and said, “Is this you, my lord Elijah‽”
8. Then he said to him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here.’”
9. Then he said, “What sin have I committed that you would hand your servant over to Ahab to kill me?
10.As Jehovah your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my lord has not sent to search for you. And if they say, ‘He is not here,’ then he makes that kingdom or nation swear that it has not found you.
11.And now you are saying, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Elijah is here.”’
12.And it will come to pass when I have left you that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you off to a place I don’t know. And then, when I come to tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me; yet, your servant has feared Jehovah from my youth.
13.Has it not been told to my lord what I did when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred men by fifties in a cave and provided them bread and water?
14.But now you are saying, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Elijah is here,”’ and he will kill me!”
15. And Elijah said, “As the Lord of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely appear before him today.”
16. So, Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and he told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17. And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18. But he said, “I am not the troubler of Israel, but you and the house of your father are, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have gone after Baals.
19.So, send now and gather to me at Mount Carmel all Israel and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table!”
20. So, Ahab sent to all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets to Mount Carmel.
21. Then Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hobble around on two opinions? If Jehovah is God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him!” And the people did not answer him a word.
22. And Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of Jehovah, but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.
23.Therefore, let them give us two bullocks, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood, but let them not set it on fire. And I will prepare the other bullock, and I will place it on the wood, but not set it on fire.
24.Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of Jehovah, and it will be that the God who answers by fire, He is God”. Then all the people answered and said, “That’s good!”
25. And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bullock and prepare it first, because you are many. Then call on the name of your gods, but do not set it on fire.
26. So they took the bullock that was given to them and prepared it. And they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice and no answer. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, “Call out louder, for he is a god. He is meditating, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”
28. Then they cried out louder, and cut themselves, according to their custom, with knives and lancets until the blood gushed out on them.
29. And so it was when noon had passed that they began to prophesy until the offering up of the offering, but there was no voice, and no answer, and no response.
30. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me!” So, all the people came near him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
31. Then Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel will be your name.”
32. And with the stones, he rebuilt the altar in the name of Jehovah, and he made a trench round about the altar large enough to contain two measures of seed.
33. And he set the wood in order, and he cut the bullock into pieces and placed it on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34. Then he said, “Do it again!” So, they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time!” And they did it a third time.
35. And the water flowed around the altar, and even filled the trench with water.
36. And it came to pass at the offering up of the offering that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, “O Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your word!
37.Answer me, O Jehovah! Answer me, that this people may know that you, O Jehovah, are God, and that you may turn their heart back!”
38. Then the fire of Jehovah fell and consumed the offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
39. And all the people saw it, and they fell on their faces and said, “Jehovah, He is God! Jehovah, He is God!”
40. And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Do not let any of them escape!” And they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon, and he slaughtered them there.
41. And Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink for there is a sound of an abundance of rain.”
42. And Ahab got up to eat and to drink. Then Elijah went up to the top of Carmel and bent down to the earth, and put his face between his knees.
43. Then he said to his servant, “Now go up, and look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked. Then he said, “There is nothing.” And seven times, he said, “Return.”
44. And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, “Behold, a small dark cloud like the palm of a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, and say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down so that the rain does not stop you!’”
45. And it came to pass after a while that the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
46. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah. And he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to where you enter Jezreel.
1Kings 19
¶1. Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and all he had killed with the sword, all the prophets.
2. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “Thus may the gods do to me, and more, if by this time tomorrow, I do not make your life as the life of one of them!”
3. And he was afraid, and he rose up and fled for his life, and he came to Beersheba which is in Judah, and he left his servant there.
4. And he went a day’s journey into the wilderness. And he came, and sat down beneath a broom-bush, and he asked for his life to end. And he said, “It is too much! Take my life now, O Jehovah, for I am no better than my fathers.”
5. Then he lay down and slept beneath a broom-bush. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up. Eat.”
6. And he looked, and behold, by his head was a cake on burning coals and a jug of water. So, he ate and drank, and went back and lay down.
7. And the angel of the Lord touched him again a second time, and he said, “Get up. Eat. For the journey is too much for you.”
8. So he arose, and ate and drank, and on the strength of that meal, he walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
9. He then came to a cave and lodged there. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “ Why are you here, Elijah?”
10. And he said, “I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the God of Hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant. They have thrown down your altars, and they have killed your prophets with the sword, and I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.”
11. And He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before Jehovah.” And behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and mighty wind rent mountains and shattered rocks before Jehovah, but Jehovah was not in the wind. Then, after the wind was an earthquake, but Jehovah was not in the earthquake.
12. And after the earthquake was a fire, but Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire was a still, small voice.
13. And it came to pass when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face with his mantle and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. And, behold, a voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
14. And he said, “I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the God of Hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant. They have thrown down your altars, and they have killed your prophets with the sword, and I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.”
15. And the Lord said to him, “Go! Go back on your way, to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you come, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.
16.And anoint Jehu ben-Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha ben-Shaphat of Abel-Meholah as prophet in your stead.
17.And it will come to pass that he who escapes from the sword of Hazael will Jehu kill. And he who escapes from the sword of Jehu will Elisha kill.
18.Yet, I have seven thousand in Israel remaining, all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouth has not kissed him.”
19. So, he left there and found Elisha ben-Shaphat, and he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelve. And Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle on him.
20. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me, I pray, kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go! Return, for what have I done to you?”
21. So, he returned from him. And he took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them, and he boiled their flesh with the gear of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and ministered to him.
1Kings 20
¶1. And Ben-Hadad the king of Syria gathered his whole army, and thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and laid siege against Samaria, and waged war against it.
2. And he sent messengers to Ahab the king of Israel in the city, and said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad:
3.Your silver and your gold are mine, and your choice wives and children are mine.”
4. And the king of Israel answered and said, “According to your word, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.”
5. And the messengers came back and said, “Thus Ben-Hadad has spoken, saying, ‘Although I sent to you saying, “Give me your silver and your gold, and your wives and your children,”
6.yet, at this time tomorrow, I will send my servants to you and they will search your house, and the houses of your servants, and it will come to pass that they will seize whatever is pleasant in your eyes and take it away.’”
7. Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Mark now and see that this man is looking for trouble! For he sent to me for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I did not refuse him.”
8. And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or give consent.”
9. And so, he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Say to my lord the king, all that you sent for to your servant the first time will I do, but this thing I cannot do.” So the messengers left and brought him word.
10.Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, “Thus may the gods do to me, and more, if the dust of Samaria is enough for handfuls for all the people who are following me.”
11. And the king of Israel answered and said, “You say to him, ‘He who straps on his armor should not boast like the one who loosens it.’”
12. And it came to pass that he and the kings were drinking in the shelters when he heard this message, and he said to his servants, “Take your positions!” So, they took their positions against the city.
13. And behold, a certain prophet approached Ahab the king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord: Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I am giving it into your hand today, and you will know that I am Jehovah.”
14. And Ahab said, “By whom?” And he said, “Thus says the Lord: By the young men among the princes of the provinces.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” And he said, “You!”
15. Then he numbered the young men among the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two. And after them, he numbered all the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand.
16. And they went out at noon, and Ben-Hadad had made himself drunk in the shelters, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings helping him.
17. And the young men among the princes of the provinces went out first, and Ben-Hadad sent, and they reported to him, saying, “Men have come forth from Samaria.”
18. Then he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive. And if they have come out for battle, take them alive.”
19. So, the young men among the princes of the provinces and the army that was behind them went out from the city.
20. And each of them slew his own man. Then the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria escaped by horse, with horsemen.
21. And the king of Israel went out and struck horse and chariot, and he struck down the Syrians with a great slaughter.
22. Then the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Go! Strengthen yourself! Mark and consider what you must do, for at the turn of the year, the king of Syria will come up against you.”
23. And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore, they were stronger than we were. So, we should wage war with them in the plain. May the gods damn us if we will not be stronger than they!
24.Moreover, do this: remove each of the kings from his office and appoint governors in their stead.
25.Then you will number for yourself an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then let us wage war with them in the plain. May the gods damn us if we will not be stronger than they!” And he listened to their voice, and did accordingly.
26. And it came to pass at the turn of the year, Ben-Hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27. But the sons of Israel were mustered and provisioned, and they went out to meet them. And the sons of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the land.
28. Then a man of God drew near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord: Because the Syrians have said that Jehovah is a God of mountains, but He is not a God of valleys, I will give all this great multitude into your hand also, and you will know that I am Jehovah.”
29. And they encamped opposite one another for seven days. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel struck down one hundred thousand Syrian footmen in one day.
30. And the rest fled to Aphek, into the city. And the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben-Hadad also fled, and came into the city into an inner chamber.
31. And his servants said to him, “Behold, if you will, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. If you will, let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. It may be that he will preserve your life.”
32. So they put sackcloth on their loins and ropes on their heads, then they went to the king of Israel and said, “Ben-Hadad, your servant, has said, ‘I pray you, let me live!’” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33. And the men were looking for a sign, and they quickly picked up on it and said, “Your brother, Ben-Hadad!” Then he said, “Go! Bring him!” Then, Ben-Hadad came out to him, and had him to come up into the chariot.
34. And he said to him, “The cities that my father took from your father, I will give back, and you shall set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus as my father did in Samaria.” And Ahab said, “I will send you away with this covenant.” So, he made a covenant with him and sent him away.
35. And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of the Lord, “Strike me, I pray.” But the man refused to strike him.
36. Then he said to him, “Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, behold, when you leave me, a lion will kill you.” And when he walked away from him, the lion found him and killed him.
37. And he found another man and said, “Strike me, I pray!” So, the man hit him hard and wounded him.
38. And the prophet left and waited by the road for the king, and he disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
39. And it came to pass when the king passed by that he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man. If he goes missing, then it will be your life for his life, or else you must pay a talent of silver.’
40.And it came to pass while your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be. You yourself have determined it.”
41. Then he hurried and took the bandage off his eyes. And the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the prophets.
42. And he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Because you released the man I had devoted to destruction, therefore, your life will be for his life, and your people for his people.”
43. So, the king of Israel left for his house sullen and vexed, and he entered Samaria.
1Kings 21
¶1. And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab the king of Samaria.
2. And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard and it will be for me a garden of herbs, for it is close by my house, and instead of it, I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or if you prefer, I will give you its price in silver.”
3. And Naboth said to Ahab, “Jehovah forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”
4. So Ahab went to his house, sullen and vexed because of what Naboth the Jezreelite said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers!” Then he lay on his bed, and turned his face away, and would not eat food.
5. And Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit sullen and you are not eating food?”
6. And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or if you prefer, I will give you a vineyard for it.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard!’”
7. And Jezebel his wife said to him, “You should exercise kingly authority over Israel now. Get up! Eat food, and let your heart be glad. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8. Then she wrote letters in the name of Ahab, sealing them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who dwelled with Naboth in his city.
9. And she wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast, and make Naboth sit before the people.
10.And set two men, sons of Belial, before him and have them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and king!’ Then take him out and stone him so that he dies.”
11. And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in his city, did just as Jezebel had sent to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.
12. They proclaimed a fast and made Naboth sit before the people,
13.and two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat in front of him. And the men of Belial testified against him, with Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and king.” Then they took him out of the city and stoned him with stones, and he died.
14. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth was stoned and is dead.”
15. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead that Jezebel said to Ahab, “Get up! Take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”
16. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.
17. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18.“Get up! Go down to meet Ahab the king of Israel who is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth where he has gone down to take possession of it.
19.And you speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: Will you murder, and then also take possession?’ Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: In the place that the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick up your blood, even yours.’”
20. And Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he said, “I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord.
21.Behold, I will bring evil upon you, and I will utterly consume your posterity. Yea, I will cut off from Ahab him that pisses against a wall, both bond and free in Israel.
22.And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam ben-Nebat and like the house of Baasha ben-Ahijah, for the provocation by which you have provoked me and made Israel to sin.”
23. And Jehovah spoke also of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs will eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
24.He of Ahab who dies in the city, the dogs will devour, and he who dies in the field, fowl of the sky will eat.”
25. Indeed, there was none like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife incited.
26. He acted very abominably, walking after the idols according to all that the Amorites did whom Jehovah dispossessed before the children of Israel.
27. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words that he tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and he went about softly.
28. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29.“Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring about this evil in his days. In his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.”
1Kings 22
¶1. Now, three years passed without war between Syria and Israel.
2. And it came to pass in the third year that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to the king of Israel.
3. And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Are you aware that Ramoth-Gilead belongs to us? Yet, we are silent about taking it from the hand of the king of Syria!”
4. And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-Gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are; my people are as your people; my horses are as your horses.”
5. However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Seek first, I pray, the word of Jehovah.”
6. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about four hundred men, and he said to them, “Should I go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or should I forbear?” And they said, “Go up! The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
7. Then Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of Jehovah here that we may inquire by him?”
8. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah, Micaiah ben-Imlah, but, I hate him because he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” Then Jehoshaphat said, “Let the king not say so.”
9. So, the king of Israel summoned a certain officer and said, “Make haste! Micaiah ben-Imlah!”
10. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, dressed in robes, in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets were prophesying before them.
11. And Zedekiah ben-Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “Thus says Jehovah: With these, you will gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.”
12. And all the prophets prophesied thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and triumph! Jehovah has given it into the hand of the king!”
13. And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets, with one mouth, are good toward the king. I pray you, let your words be as the word of one of them, and say something good!”
14. And Micaiah said, “As Jehovah lives, that which Jehovah says to me, I will speak.”
15. Then he came to the king, and the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or should we forbear?” And he said to him, “Go up and triumph! Jehovah has given it into the hand of the king!”
16. And the king said to him, “How many times have I made you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of Jehovah‽”
17. And so, he said, “I saw all Israel scattered to the hills like sheep that have no shepherd. And Jehovah said, ‘These have no king; let each man return to his house in peace.’”
18. Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he does not prophesy good concerning me, but only evil?”
19. Then he said, “Therefore, hear the word of Jehovah! I saw Jehovah sitting on His throne and all the host of heaven standing about Him, on His right and on His left.
20.And Jehovah said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up and die at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one answered this way, and another answered that way.
21.Then a spirit came forth and stood before Jehovah, and he said, ‘I will persuade him.’ And Jehovah said to him, ‘How?’
22.And he said, ‘I will go forth and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And He said, ‘You will persuade him. Yea, you will succeed. Go and do so!’
23.And now, behold, Jehovah has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets. Yea, Jehovah has spoken evil concerning you!”
24. Then Zedekiah ben-Chenaanah drew near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of Jehovah pass from me to speak with you?”
25. And Micaiah said, “Behold, you will see on the day that you go into an innermost chamber to hide yourself.”
26. Then the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and return him to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son!
27.And say, ‘Thus says the king: You put this man in the prison, and feed him meager rations of bread and water until I come in peace.”
28. And Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace Jehovah has not spoken by me.” Then he said, “Hear, all you people!”
29. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-Gilead.
30. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” Then, the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.
31. Now, the king of Syria had commanded his thirty-two captains of the chariotry, saying, “Do not do battle with small or great, but only the king of Israel.”
32. And it came to pass when the captains of the chariotry saw Jehoshaphat that they said, “This must be the king of Israel!” Then, they turned aside to battle against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.
33. And when the captains of the chariotry saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
34. Then a man drew his bow indiscriminately and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. But then he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the camp, though I am wounded.”
35. And the battle increased on that day. And the king was propped up in the chariot facing the Syrians, and he died in the evening. And the blood from the wound ran out into the midst of the chariot.
36. And a cry rang out through the camp as the sun was going down, saying,“Each man to his city, and each man to his country!”
37. So the king died and was taken to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.
38. And one washed out the chariot at the pool of Samaria where the harlots bathed themselves, and the dogs licked up his blood, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke.
39. Now, the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, even the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
40. So, Ahab slept with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah reigned in his stead.
¶41. Now, Jehoshaphat ben-Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab the king of Israel.
42. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi.
43. And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father. He did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of Jehovah. Howbeit, the high places were not removed. The people continued sacrificing and making offerings in the high places.
44. And Jehoshaphat was at peace with the king of Israel.
45. Now, the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he displayed, and how he fought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
46. And the remnant of the temple sodomites that were left in the days of Asa his father, he exterminated from the land.
47. (Now, there was no king in Edom; a deputy acted as king.)
48. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go because the ships were broken at Ezion-Geber.
49. Then Ahaziah ben-Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships”, but Jehoshaphat would not.
50. And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, his father. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
¶51. Ahaziah ben-Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel.
52. And he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam ben-Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
53. Moreover, he served Baal, and bowed down to him, and he provoked Jehovah the God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.
Footnotes
[1] Literally, only “ – if I put you to death by the sword.” The curse intended with this oath is so unthinkable – calling for one’s own death and damnation – that it is not even uttered.
[2] That is, Havoth-Jair.
[3] Possibly “fir”.
[4] Hebrew: “hangings”.
[5] Hebrew uncertain.
[6] Joshua 6:26.