The First Book of Kings

1

1 And king David was old [ and] advanced in age; and they covered him with clothes, but he obtained no warmth. 2 And his servants said to him, Let there be found for my lord the king a young virgin; and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get warm. 3 And they sought for a fair damsel throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 And the damsel was very fair; and cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king knew her not. 5 And Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king; and he provided himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 And his father had not grieved him at any time in saying, Why doest thou so? and he was also a very comely man; and [ his mother] bore him after Absalom. 7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest; and they helped Adonijah and followed [ him]. 8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men whom David had, were not with Adonijah. 9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatted cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and invited all his brethren, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants; 10 but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he did not invite. 11 And Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith is king, and David our lord does not know [ it]? 12 And now, come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. 13 Go and get thee in to king David, and say to him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear to thy handmaid saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then does Adonijah reign? 14 Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee and confirm thy words. 15 And Bathsheba went in to the king into the chamber; and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered to the king. 16 And Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou? 17 And she said to him, My lord, thou hast sworn by Jehovah thy ° 1.17 Elohim God to thy handmaid, [ saying,] Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne. 18 And now behold, Adonijah is king; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not. 19 And he has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the captain of the host; but Solomon thy servant has he not invited. 20 And thou, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise it shall come to pass when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders. 22 And behold, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. 23 And they told the king saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. 24 And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? 25 For he is gone down this day, and has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, ° 1.25 Elohim God save king Adonijah! 26 But me, [ even] me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, he has not invited. 27 Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewn to thy servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? 28 Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king. 29 And the king swore, and said, [ As] Jehovah liveth, who has redeemed my soul out of all distress, 30 even as I swore to thee by Jehovah the° 1.30 Elohim God of Israel, saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. 31 And Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever. 32 And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. 33 And the king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon; 34 and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel; and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, Long live king Solomon! 35 And ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit on my throne; for he shall reign in my stead, and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. 36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, Amen: Jehovah, the° 1.36 Elohim God of my lord the king, say so too. 37 As Jehovah has been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David. 38 And Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. 39 And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, Long live king Solomon! 40 And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them. 41 And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard [ it] as they were finishing their repast; and Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, and he said, Wherefore this noise of the city in an uproar? 42 While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came; and Adonijah said [ to him], Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good news. 43 And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Indeed, our lord king David has made Solomon king. 44 And the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule; 45 and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise which ye have heard. 46 And also Solomon is sitting on the throne of the kingdom. 47 And moreover the king’s servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Thy ° 1.47 Elohim God make the name of Solomon more excellent than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne! And the king bowed himself on the bed. 48 And also thus said the king: Blessed be Jehovah, the° 1.48 Elohim God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it. 49 And all Adonijah’s guests were afraid, and rose up and went every man his way. 50 And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose and went and caught hold of the horns of the altar. 51 And it was told Solomon saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon; for behold, he has caught 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 And Solomon said, If he be a worthy man, there shall not one of his hairs fall to the earth; but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die. 53 And king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon; and Solomon said to him, Go to thy house.

2

1 And the days of David were at hand that he should die; and he enjoined Solomon his son saying, 2 I go the way of all the earth: be of good courage therefore, and be a man; 3 and keep the charge of Jehovah thy ° 2.3 Elohim God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest and whithersoever thou turnest thyself; 4 that Jehovah may confirm his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If thy sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, said he, a man upon the throne of Israel. 5 And thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and upon his sandals that were on his feet. 6 And thou shalt do according to thy wisdom, and not let his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace. 7 But shew kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table; for so they came up to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. 8 And behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day that I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Jehovah saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. 9 And now hold him not guiltless; for thou art a wise man, and thou shalt know what thou oughtest to do to him; but bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood. 10 And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 11 And 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 on the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly. 13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. 14 And he said, I have something to say to thee. And she said, Speak. 15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign; but the kingdom is turned about and is become my brother’s, for it was his from Jehovah. 16 And now I ask one petition of thee; refuse me not. And she said to him, Speak. 17 And he said, Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king — for he will not refuse thee — that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife. 18 And Bathsheba said, Well, I will speak for thee to the king. 19 And Bathsheba went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne; and he caused a throne to be set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right hand. 20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; refuse me not. And the king said to her, Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse thee. 21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother as wife. 22 And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. 23 And king Solomon swore by Jehovah saying, ° 2.23 Elohim God do so to me, and more also, — Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life! 24 And now [ as] Jehovah liveth, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. 25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; who fell on him, that he died. 26 And the king said to Abiathar the priest, Go to Anathoth, to thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death; but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou didst bear the ark of Adonai Jehovah before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. 27 And Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest to Jehovah, to fulfil the word of Jehovah, which he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. 28 And the report came to Joab ( for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom); and Joab fled to the tent of Jehovah, and caught hold of the horns of the altar. 29 And it was told king Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of Jehovah; and behold, he is by the altar. And Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall on him. 30 And Benaiah came to the tent of Jehovah and said to him, Thus saith the king: Come forth. And he said, No; for I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, 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; and take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me and from the house of my father. 32 And Jehovah shall requite the blood which he shed upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, without my father David’s knowledge: Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. 33 And their blood shall be requited upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever; but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from Jehovah. 34 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him, and put him to death; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35 And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his stead over the host; and Zadok the priest the king put in the stead of Abiathar. 36 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and abide there, and go not forth thence anywhere. 37 And it shall be that on the day thou goest forth, and passest over the torrent of Kidron, ... know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head. 38 And Shimei said to the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king has said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. 39 And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two servants of Shimei’s ran away to Achish son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei saying, Behold, thy servants are in Gath. 40 Then Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath, to Achish, to seek his servants; and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. 41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had come again. 42 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not make thee swear by Jehovah, and protest to thee, saying, Know for certain, that on the day thou goest forth, and walkest abroad anywhere, thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst to me, The word that I have heard is good. 43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah, and the commandment that I charged thee with? 44 And the king said to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness of which thy heart is conscious, which thou didst to David my father; and Jehovah returns thy wickedness upon thine own head; 45 and king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Jehovah for ever. 46 And the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; who went out and fell upon him, and he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

3

1 And Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had ended building his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. 2 Only, the people sacrificed on the high places; for there was no house built to the name of Jehovah, until those days. 3 And Solomon loved Jehovah, walking in the statutes of David his father; only, he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer up upon that altar. 5 In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and° 3.5 Elohim God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewn unto thy servant David my father great loving-kindness, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great loving-kindness, that thou hast given him a son who sits upon his throne, as it is this day. 7 And now, Jehovah my° 3.7 Elohim God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father; and I am but a little child: I know not to go out and to come in. 8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9 Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people, to discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy numerous people? 10 And the word pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 And° 3.11 Elohim God said to him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself discernment to understand judgment; 12 behold, I have done according to thy word: behold, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there hath been none like unto thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and glory; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will prolong thy 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 Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. 16 Then came two women, harlots, to the king, and stood before him. 17 And the first woman said, Ah, my lord! I and this woman abode in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. 18 And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; no stranger was with us in the house, only we two were in the house. 19 And this woman’s child died in the night; because she had lain upon it. 20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom. 21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; and I considered it in the morning, and behold, it was not my son, whom I bore. 22 And the other woman said, No, for the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this one said, No, but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king. 23 Then said the king, The one says, This that is living is my son, and thy son is the dead; and the other says, No, for thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. 24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. 26 Then spoke the woman whose was the living child to the king, for her bowels yearned over her son, and she said, Ah, my lord! give her the living child, and in no wise put it to death. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine; divide it. 27 And the king answered and said, Give this one the living child, and in no wise put it to death: she is its mother. 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of° 3.28 Elohim God was in him, to do justice.

4

1 And king Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 And these are the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok was priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, chronicler; 4 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 5 and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the superintendents; and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, the king’s friend; 6 and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the levy-service. 7 And Solomon had twelve superintendents over all Israel; and they provided food for the king and his household: each man his month in the year had to make provision. 8 And these are their names: Ben-Hur, in mount Ephraim. 9 Ben-Deker in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-Beth-hanan. 10 Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; he had Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher. 11 Ben-Abinadab had all the upland of Dor; Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife. 12 Baana the son of Ahilud had Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zaretan beneath Jizreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-Meholah, as far as beyond Jokneam. 13 Ben-Geber, in Ramoth-Gilead; he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bars of bronze. 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, at Mahanaim. 15 Ahimaaz, in Nephtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon as wife. 16 Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth. 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar. 18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin. 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, and of Og the king of Bashan; and [ he was] the only superintendent that was in the land. 20 Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. 21 And Solomon ruled over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. 22 And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal, 23 ten fatted oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, and gazelles, and fallow-deer, and fatted fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all on this side the river, from Tiphsah as far as Gazah, over all the kings on this side the river; and he had peace on all sides round about. 25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And those officers provided food for king Solomon, and for all who came to king Solomon’s table, every man in his month: they let nothing be wanting. 28 And the barley, and the straw for the horses and coursers, they brought to the place where [the superintendents] were, every man according to his charge. 29 And ° 4.29 ElohimGod gave Solomon wisdom and very great understanding and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore. 30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the sons of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations round about. 32 And he spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. 33 And he spoke of the trees, from the cedar-tree that is on Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of cattle, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34 And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

5

1 And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father; for Hiram always loved David. 2 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3 Thou knowest that David my father could not build a house unto the name of Jehovah his ° 5.3 ElohimGod, because of the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet. 4 But now Jehovah my° 5.4 ElohimGod has given me rest on every side: there is neither adversary nor evil event. 5 And behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of Jehovah my° 5.5 ElohimGod, as Jehovah spoke to David my father saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy stead, he shall build a house unto my name. 6 And now command that they hew me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say; for thou knowest that there is not among us any that are experienced in cutting timber like to the Zidonians. 7 And it came to pass when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and 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 the things which thou sentest to me for: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of cypress. 9 My servants shall bring [ them] down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will convey them by sea [ in] rafts to the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt receive them. And thou shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my household. 10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar-trees and cypress-trees [according to] all his desire. 11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat as food for his household, and twenty measures of beaten oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. 12 And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league. 13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, two months at home; and Adoniram was over the levy. 15 And Solomon had seventy thousand that bore burdens, and eighty thousand stone-masons in the mountains; 16 besides the overseers whom Solomon had set over the work, three thousand three hundred, who ruled over the people that wrought in the work. 17 And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 18 And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Giblites hewed them, and prepared timber and stones to build the house.

6

1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Jehovah. 2 And the house that king Solomon built for Jehovah was sixty cubits in length, and twenty in breadth, and thirty cubits in height. 3 And the porch, in front of the temple of the house, was twenty cubits in length, in front of the house broadways, [ and] ten cubits was its breadth, in front of the house. 4 And for the house he made closed windows with fixed lattices. 5 And against the wall of the house he built floors round about, [ against] the walls of the house, round about the temple and the oracle; and he made side-chambers round about. 6 The lowest floor was five cubits broad, and the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for in the [ thickness of the wall of] the house he made resets round about outside, that nothing should be fastened in the walls of the house. 7 And the house, when it was being built, was built of stone entirely made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was being built. 8 The entrance to the side-chambers of the middle [ floor] was in the right side of the house; and they went up by winding stairs into the middle [ floor], and out of the middle into the third. 9 And he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. 10 And he built the floors against all the house, five cubits high; and they held to the house by the timbers of cedar. 11 And the word of Jehovah came to Solomon saying, 12 As to this house which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and practise mine ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then will I perform my word as to thee which I spoke unto David thy father; 13 and I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. 14 And Solomon built the house and finished it. 15 And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the walls of the roof; he overlaid [ them] on the inside with wood, and overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 16 And he built twenty cubits of the innermost part of the house, both floor and walls, with boards of cedar; and he built [ them] for it within, to [ be] the oracle, the most holy place. 17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits [long]. 18 And the cedar of the house within was carved with colocynths and half-open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. 19 And he prepared the oracle in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of Jehovah. 20 And the oracle within was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof; and he overlaid it with pure gold; and he overlaid the cedar-wood altar — 21 and Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold, and shut off the oracle in front with chains of gold, and overlaid it with gold. 22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, the whole house entirely; also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. 23 And he made in the oracle two cherubim of olive-wood, ten cubits high; 24 and one wing of the cherub was five cubits, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub, ten cubits from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing; 25 and the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one form. 26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so of the other cherub. 27 And he set the cherubim in the midst of the inner house; and the wings of the cherubim were stretched forth, so that the wing of the one touched the wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched, wing to wing, in the midst of the house. 28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. 29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved sculptures of cherubim, and palm-trees, and half-open flowers, within and without. 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 lintel [ and] side posts were the fifth part [ of the breadth of the house]. 32 The two doors were of olive-wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, and palm-trees and half-open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm-trees. 33 And he also made for the doorway of the temple posts of olive-wood, of the fourth part [ of the breadth of the house]. 34 And the two folding-doors were of cypress-wood: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35 And he carved on them cherubim, and palm-trees, and half-open flowers; and overlaid them with gold fitted on the carved work. 36 And he built the inner court of three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar-beams. 37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of Jehovah laid, in the month Zif; 38 and in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished in all its parts, and according to all the fashion of it. So he was seven years in building it.

7

1 And Solomon was thirteen years building his own house; and he finished all his house. 2 And he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was a hundred cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar-pillars, with cedar-beams upon the pillars; 3 and it was covered with cedar above upon the side-chambers, which were on forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row. 4 And there were cross-beams in three rows, and window was against window in three ranks. 5 And all the doors and posts were square, with an architrave; and window was against window in three ranks. 6 And he made the porch of pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits; and there was a porch in front of them; and there were pillars, and steps in front of them. 7 And he made the porch for the throne where he judged, the porch of judgment; and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor. 8 And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. And he made, like to this porch, a house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Solomon had taken. 9 All these [ buildings] were of costly stones, hewn stones, according to the measures, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation to the coping, and on the outside as far as the great court. 10 And the foundations were of costly stones, great stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. 11 And above were costly stones, hewn stones, according to the measures, and cedar. 12 And the great court round about had three rows of hewn stones, and a row of cedar-beams; and so it was for the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and the porch of the house. 13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. 14 He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was full of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, to do all kinds of works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and made all his work. 15 And he formed the two pillars of brass; the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed the second pillar. 16 And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits; 17 [ and] nets of checker-work, wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. 18 And he made pomegranates, namely two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars; and so he did for the other capital. 19 And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily-work [ as] in the porch, four cubits. 20 And the capitals upon the two pillars, above also, close to the enlargement which was behind the network, had two hundred pomegranates in rows round about, [ also] on the other capital. 21 And he set up the pillars for the porch of the temple; and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz. 22 And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work; and the work of the pillars was finished. 23 And he made the sea, molten, ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about. 24 And under the brim of it round about there were colocynths, encompassing it, ten in a cubit enclosing the sea round about; two rows of colocynths, cast when it was cast. 25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. 26 And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim was like the work of the brim of a cup, with lily-blossoms; it held two thousand baths. 27 And he made ten bases of brass: four cubits was the length of one base, and the breadth four cubits, and the height three cubits. 28 And the work of the bases was this: they had panels, and the panels were between the fillets. 29 And on the panels that were between the fillets were lions, oxen and cherubim; and over the fillets there was a base above; and beneath the lions and oxen were garlands of festoon-work. 30 And every base had four wheels of brass, and axles of brass; and on its four corners were shoulder-pieces: under the laver were shoulder-pieces molten, behind every garland. 31 And the mouth of it within the crown and above was a cubit; and its mouth was rounded, [ as] the work of the base, a cubit and a half; and also upon its mouth was sculpture; but their panels were square, not round. 32 And the four wheels were under the panels; and the supports of the wheels were in the base; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. 33 And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their supports, and their rims, and their spokes and their naves were all molten. 34 And there were four shoulder-pieces to the four corners of one base; of the base itself were its shoulder-pieces. 35 And in the top of the base there was a circular elevation of half a cubit round about; and on the top of the base its stays and its panels were of the same. 36 And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its panels cherubim, lions and palm-trees, according to the space upon each; and garlands were round about. 37 After this [manner] he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, one form. 38 And he made ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths; every laver was four cubits; upon every one of the ten bases one laver. 39 And he put the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, over against the south. 40 And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the bowls. So Hiram ended doing all the work that he made for king Solomon [ for] the house of Jehovah: 41 two pillars, and the globes of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, two; and the two networks, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; 42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were upon the pillars; 43 and the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases; 44 and one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea; 45 and the pots, and the shovels, and the bowls. And all these things, which Hiram made king Solomon for the house of Jehovah, were of bright brass. 46 In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay-ground between Succoth and Zaretan. 47 And Solomon left all the vessels [ unweighed] from their exceeding number; the weight of the brass was not ascertained. 48 And Solomon made all the vessels that were [ in] the house of Jehovah: the golden altar; and the table of gold, whereon was the shewbread; 49 and the candlesticks 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 basons, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, for the folding-doors of the inner house, the most holy place, [ and] for the doors of the house, of the temple. 51 And all the work was finished that king Solomon made for the house of Jehovah. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated; the silver and the gold and the vessels he put among the treasures of the house of Jehovah.

8

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, that 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 Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent: the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And king Solomon, and all the assembly of Israel that were assembled to him, [ who were] with him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude. 6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah to its place, into the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim; 7 for the cherubim stretched forth [ their] wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its staves above. 8 And the staves were long, so that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle, but they were not seen without. And there they are to this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, when Jehovah made [ a covenant] with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Jehovah, 11 and the priests could not stand to do their service because of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah. 12 Then said Solomon: Jehovah said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 13 I have indeed built a house of habitation for thee, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. 14 And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel; and the whole congregation of Israel stood. 15 And he said: Blessed be Jehovah the° 8.15 Elohim God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; but I have chosen David to be over my people Israel. 17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the° 8.17 Elohim God of Israel. 18 But Jehovah said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart; 19 nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. 20 And Jehovah has performed his word which he spoke; and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and I have built the house unto the name of Jehovah the° 8.20 Elohim God of Israel. 21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 22 And Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of the whole congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward the heavens. 23 And he said, Jehovah, ° 8.23 Elohim God of Israel! there is no° 8.23 Elohim God like thee, in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart; 24 who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him; thou spokest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled [ it] with thy hand, as at this day. 25 And now, Jehovah, ° 8.25 Elohim God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy sons take heed to their way, to walk before me as thou hast walked before me. 26 And now, O° 8.26 Elohim God of Israel, let thy words, I pray thee, be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David my father. 27 But will° 8.27 Elohim God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens, and the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! 28 Yet have respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, Jehovah, my° 8.28 Elohim God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day; 29 that thine eyes may be open upon this house night and day, upon the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. 30 And hearken unto the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place, and hear thou in thy dwelling-place, in the heavens, and when thou hearest, forgive. 31 If a man have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to adjure him, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; 32 then hear thou in the heavens, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, giving him according to his righteousness. 33 When thy people Israel are put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house; 34 then hear thou in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land that thou gavest unto their fathers. 35 When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, because thou hast afflicted them; 36 then hear thou in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. 37 If there be famine in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blight, mildew, locust, caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their gates; whatever plague, whatever sickness there be: 38 what prayer, what supplication soever be made by any man, of all thy people Israel, when they shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house; 39 then hear thou in the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest ( for thou, thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men), 40 that they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. 41 And as to the stranger also, who is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake42 ( for they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy mighty hand, and of thy stretched-out arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house, 43 hear thou in the heavens thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; in order that all peoples of the earth may know thy name, [ and] that they may fear thee as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. 44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to Jehovah toward the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name; 45 then hear thou in the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their right. 46 If they have sinned against thee, ( for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and give them up to the enemy, and they have carried them away captives unto the enemy’s land, far or near; 47 and if they shall take it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done iniquity, we have dealt perversely; 48 and if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name; 49 then hear thou in the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their right; 50 and forgive thy people their sin against thee, and all their transgressions whereby they have transgressed against thee, and give them to find compassion with those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them51 ( for they are thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron) — 52 thine eyes being open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. 53 For thou hast separated them from among all peoples of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spokest through Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Jehovah. 54 And it was so, that when Solomon had ended praying all this prayer and supplication to Jehovah, he arose from before the altar of Jehovah, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth to the heavens, 55 and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 Blessed be Jehovah, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there has not failed one word of all his good promises which he spoke through Moses his servant! 57 Jehovah our° 8.57 Elohim God be with us, as he was with our fathers; let him not forsake us nor cast us off: 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 ordinances, which he commanded our fathers. 59 And let these my words, with which I have made supplication before Jehovah, be nigh to Jehovah our° 8.59 Elohim God day and night, that he maintain the right of his servant, and the right of his people Israel, as the matter of each day shall require; 60 that all peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah is° 8.60 Elohim God, that there is none else; 61 and that your heart may be perfect with Jehovah our° 8.61 Elohim God, to walk in his statutes and to keep his commandments, as at this day. 62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifices before Jehovah. 63 And Solomon sacrificed a sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he sacrificed to Jehovah, twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Jehovah. 64 The same day the king hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offerings, and the oblations, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar that was before Jehovah was too small to receive the burnt-offerings, and the oblations, and the fat of the peace-offerings. 65 And at that time Solomon held the feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath unto the torrent of Egypt, before Jehovah our° 8.65 Elohim God, seven days and seven days, 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 goodness that Jehovah had done to David his servant, and to Israel his people.

9

1 And it came to pass when Solomon had completed the building of the house of Jehovah, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, 2 that Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And Jehovah said to him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication which thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. 4 And [ as for] thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, [ and] wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances; 5 then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. 6 [ But] if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments, my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other° 9.6 Elohim gods, and worship them; 7 then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and the house, which I have hallowed to my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a by word among all peoples; 8 and this house, [ which] is high, every one that passes by it shall be astonished at, and shall hiss, and they shall say, Why has Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house? 9 And they shall say, Because they forsook Jehovah their° 9.9 Elohim God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have attached themselves to other° 9.9 Elohim gods, and have worshipped them and served them; therefore has Jehovah brought upon them all this evil. 10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah and the king’s house, 11 Hiram the king of Tyre having furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and cypress-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire, — that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him; and they did not please him. 13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul to this day. 14 And Hiram had sent to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold. 15 And this is the account of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build the house of Jehovah, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 — Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, and burned it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 — And Solomon built Gezer, and lower Beth-horon, 18 and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, 19 and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and cities for chariots, and cities for the horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and on Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel, 21 their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, upon them did Solomon impose a tribute of bondservice until this day. 22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen; but they were men of war, and his servants, and his chiefs, and his captains, and captains of his chariots, and his horsemen. 23 These were the chief superintendents that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, that ruled over the people that wrought in the work. 24 But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David to her house which he had built for her: then he built Millo. 25 And three times in the year did Solomon offer up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar that he had built to Jehovah, and he burned incense upon that which was before Jehovah. So he finished the house. 26 And king Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion-Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon; 28 and they went to Ophir, and fetched thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

10

1 And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon in connection with the name of Jehovah, and came to prove him with enigmas. 2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices and gold in very great abundance, and precious stones; and she came to Solomon, and spoke to him of all that was in her heart. 3 And Solomon explained to her all she spoke of: there was not a thing hidden from the king that he did not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba saw all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built, 5 and the food of his table, and the deportment of his servants, and the order of service of his attendants, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Jehovah, there was no more spirit in her. 6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine affairs, and of thy wisdom; 7 but I gave no credit to the words, until I came and mine eyes had seen; and behold, the half was not told me: in wisdom and prosperity thou exceedest the report that I heard. 8 Happy are thy men! happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee, who hear thy wisdom! 9 Blessed be Jehovah thy ° 10.9 Elohim God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel! Because Jehovah loves Israel for ever, therefore did he make thee king, to do judgment and justice. 10 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in very great abundance, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as those which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 11 ( And the fleet also of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir sandal-wood in very great abundance, and precious stones. 12 And the king made of the sandal-wood a balustrade for the house of Jehovah, and for the king’s house, and harps and lutes for the singers. There came no such sandal-wood, nor was there seen to this day.) 13 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides what he gave her of the bounty of king Solomon. And she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants. 14 And the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 15 besides what [ came] by the dealers, and by the traffic of the merchants, and by all the kings of Arabia, and by the governors of the country. 16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold, — he applied six hundred [shekels] of gold to one target; 17 and three hundred shields of beaten gold, — he applied three minas of gold to one shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 And the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with refined gold: 19 the throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was rounded behind; and there were arms on each side at the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the arms; 20 and twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. 21 And all king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of precious gold: none were of silver, [ which] was not of the least account in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had on the sea a Tarshish-fleet, with the fleet of Hiram: once in three years came the Tarshish-fleet, bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. 23 And king Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which° 10.24 Elohim God had put in his heart. 25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and clothing, and armour, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year. 26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he placed them in the chariot-cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. 27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance. 28 And the exportation of horses that Solomon had was from Egypt: a caravan of the king’s merchants fetched a drove [ of horses], at a price. 29 And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred [ shekels] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so they brought [ them] by their means, for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Syria.

11

1 But king Solomon loved many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, Hittites; 2 of the nations of which Jehovah had said to the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in to you; they would certainly turn away your heart after their° 11.2 Elohim gods: to these Solomon was attached in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 And it came to pass when Solomon was old, [ that] his wives turned away his heart after other° 11.4 Elohim gods; and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his° 11.4 Elohim God, as the heart of David his father. 5 And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the° 11.5 Elohim goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and followed not fully Jehovah, as David his father. 7 Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, on the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their° 11.8 Elohim gods. 9 And Jehovah was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from Jehovah the° 11.9 Elohim God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, not to go after other° 11.10 Elohim gods; but he kept not what Jehovah had commanded. 11 And Jehovah said to Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done by thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes which I commanded thee, I will certainly rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant: 12 notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father’s sake; I will rend it out of the hand of thy son; 13 only, I will not rend away all the kingdom: I will give one tribe to thy son, for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen. 14 And Jehovah stirred up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the king’s seed in Edom. 15 Now it came to pass when David was in Edom, when Joab the captain of the host had gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom16 ( for Joab abode there six months with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom), 17 that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad being yet a little child. 18 And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran, and took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt; who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, and he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20 And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son; and Tahpenes brought him up in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household, among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 And Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead; and Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country. 22 And Pharaoh said to him, What then dost thou lack with me, that behold, thou desirest to go to thine own country? And he said, Nothing; but in any case let me depart. 23° 11.23 Elohim God stirred him up yet an adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from Hadadezer king of Zobah, his lord. 24 And he collected men to him, and became captain of a band, when David slew them [ of Zobah]; and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus. 25 And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad [ did]; and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. 26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant ( whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman), even he lifted up his hand against the king. 27 And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon was building Millo, and closing the breach of the city of David his father; 28 and the man Jeroboam was strong and valiant; and Solomon saw the young man that he was industrious, and he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. 29 And it came to pass at that time that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah seized the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces; 31 and said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces; for thus saith Jehovah the° 11.31 Elohim God of Israel: Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee; 32 but one tribe shall he have for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel: 33 because they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the° 11.33 Elohim goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the° 11.33 Elohim god of the Moabites, and Milcom the° 11.33 Elohim god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my sight, and my statutes and mine ordinances, as David his father. 34 But I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand; for I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes; 35 but I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, — the ten tribes. 36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen for myself to put my name there. 37 And I will take thee, that thou mayest reign over all that thy soul desireth, and thou shalt be king over Israel. 38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that which is right in my sight, in keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, that I will be with thee, and build thee a lasting house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. 39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. 40 And Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam; and Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt; and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. 41 And the rest of the 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 Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

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1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And it came to pass when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it ( now he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt; 3 and they sent and called him), that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 Thy father made our yoke grievous; and now lighten thou the grievous servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee. 5 And he said to them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. 6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, How do ye advise to return answer to this people? 7 And they spoke to him saying, If this day thou wilt be a servant to this people, and wilt serve them and answer them and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever. 8 But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, who had grown up with him, that stood before him. 9 And he said to them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people who have spoken to me saying, Lighten the yoke which thy father put upon us? 10 And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying, Thus shalt thou say to this people that have spoken to thee saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and lighten thou it for us, — thus shalt thou say to them: My little [ finger] is thicker than my father’s loins; 11 and whereas my father laid a heavy yoke upon you, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 12 And Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed saying, Come again to me on the third day. 13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 15 So the king hearkened not to the people; for it was brought about by Jehovah, that he might give effect to his word, which Jehovah spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 And all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them; and the people answered the king saying, What portion have we in David? And [ we have] no inheritance in the son of Jesse: To your tents, O Israel! Now see to thine own house, David! And Israel went to their tents. 17 But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18 And king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the levy; but all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam hastened to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 19 And Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day. 20 And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, that they sent and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel: none followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. 21 And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of° 12.22 Elohim God came to Shemaiah the man of° 12.22 Elohim God, saying, 23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remainder of the people, saying, 24 Thus saith Jehovah: Go not up, nor fight with your brethren, the children of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing is from me. And they hearkened to the word of Jehovah, and returned to depart, according to the word of Jehovah. 25 And Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. 28 And the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. And he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy ° 12.28 Elohim gods, Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt! 29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin; and the people went [ to worship] before the one, as far as Dan. 31 And he made a house of high places, and made priests from all classes of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. 32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made; and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33 And he offered upon the altar that he had made in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he made a feast for the children of Israel, and he offered upon the altar, burning incense.

13

1 And behold, there came a man of° 13.1 Elohim God from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, to Bethel; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar! thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burned upon thee. 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign that Jehovah hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. 4 And it came to pass when the king heard the word of the man of° 13.4 Elohim God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not bring it back again to him. 5 And the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of° 13.5 Elohim God had given by the word of Jehovah. 6 And the king answered and said to the man of° 13.6 Elohim God, Intreat now Jehovah thy ° 13.6 Elohim God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me again. And the man of° 13.6 Elohim God intreated Jehovah, and the king’s hand was restored to him again, and became as before. 7 And the king said to the man of° 13.7 Elohim God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a present. 8 And the man of° 13.8 Elohim God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place; 9 for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou shalt go. 10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he had come to Bethel. 11 Now there dwelt a certain old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of° 13.11 Elohim God had done that day in Bethel; the words that he had spoken to the king, them they told also to their father. 12 And their father said to them, Which way went he? for his sons had seen which way the man of° 13.12 Elohim God went, who came from Judah. 13 And he said to his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon, 14 and went after the man of° 13.14 Elohim God, and found him sitting under a terebinth; and he said to him, Art thou the man of° 13.14 Elohim God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 15 And he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 16 And he said, I cannot return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place. 17 For it was said to me by the word of Jehovah, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou wentest. 18 And he said to him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Jehovah saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. He lied unto him. 19 Then he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. 20 And it came to pass as they sat at the table, that the word of Jehovah came to the prophet that brought him back; 21 and he cried to the man of° 13.21 Elohim God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the word of Jehovah, and hast not kept the commandment that Jehovah thy ° 13.21 Elohim God commanded thee, 22 but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to thee, Eat no bread and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come to the sepulchre of thy fathers. 23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled the ass for him, for the prophet that he had brought back; 24 and he departed. And a lion met him by the way and slew him; and his corpse was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the corpse. 25 And behold, men passed by, and saw the corpse cast in the way and the lion standing by the corpse; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 26 And the prophet that brought him back from the way heard [ of it] and said, It is the man of° 13.26 Elohim God who was disobedient to the word of Jehovah; therefore Jehovah has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and slain him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke to him. 27 And he spoke to his sons saying, Saddle me the ass; and they saddled it. 28 And he went and found his corpse cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the corpse: the lion had not eaten the corpse, nor torn the ass. 29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of° 13.29 Elohim God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back; and the old prophet came into the city, to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid his corpse in his own sepulchre; and they mourned over him [saying], Alas, my brother! 31 And it came to pass after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons saying, When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre in which the man of° 13.31 Elohim God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the word that he cried by the word of Jehovah against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria, shall certainly come to pass. 33 After this thing Jeroboam turned not from his evil way, but made again from all classes of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became [ one] of the priests of the high places. 34 And by this thing there was sin on the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

14

1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam was sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and go to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who told me that [ I should be] king over this people. 3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cakes, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he will tell thee what shall become of the lad. 4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. And Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age. 5 And Jehovah said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee about her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her; for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign to be another. 6 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou to be another? But I am sent to thee with a hard [message]. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith Jehovah the° 14.7 Elohim God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, 8 and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee; and thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do only that which is right in my sight; 9 but thou hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast gone and made thee other° 14.9 Elohim gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: 10 therefore behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. 11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat; for Jehovah hath spoken. 12 And thou, arise, go to thine own house; when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and they shall bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward Jehovah the° 14.13 Elohim God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. 14 And Jehovah shall raise up for himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day; and what? ... even now. 15 And Jehovah will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their Asherahs, provoking Jehovah to anger. 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, wherewith he has sinned, and made Israel to sin. 17 And Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to Tirzah; when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died. 18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spoke through his servant Ahijah the prophet. 19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, 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 the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there; and his mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 22 And Judah did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed more than all that their fathers had done. 23 And they also built for themselves high places, and columns, and Asherahs on every high hill and under every green tree; 24 and there were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel. 25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, [ that] Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 And he took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all; and he took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made. 27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the couriers who kept the entrance of the king’s house. 28 And it was so, that as often as the king entered into the house of Jehovah, the couriers bore them, and brought them again into the chamber of the couriers. 29 And 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 between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all [ their] days. 31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

15

1 And in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abijam to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Maachah, a daughter of Abishalom. 3 And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his° 15.3 Elohim God, as the heart of David his father. 4 But for David’s sake Jehovah his° 15.4 Elohim God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem; 5 because David did that which was right in the sight of Jehovah, and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Urijah the Hittite. 6 And there had been 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? And there was 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 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah; 10 and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Maachah, daughter of Abishalom. 11 And Asa did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, as David his father. 12 And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his father had made. 13 And also Maachah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol for the Asherah; and Asa cut down her idol, and burned it in the valley of Kidron. 14 But the high places were not removed; only, Asa’s heart was perfect with Jehovah all his days. 15 And he brought into the house of Jehovah the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated, silver and gold and vessels. 16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 And Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, in order to let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18 And Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and gave 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 at Damascus, saying, 19 There is a league between me and thee, [ as] between my father and thy father; behold, I send thee a present of silver and gold: go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 20 And Ben-Hadad hearkened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his forces against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-Beth-Maachah, and all Kinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21 And it came to pass when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. 22 And king Asa called together all Judah: none was exempted; and they carried away the stones and the timber from Ramah, with which Baasha had been building; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. 23 And the rest of all 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 was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead. 25 And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign 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 sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel sin. 27 And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which [belonged] to the Philistines, when Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon. 28 And Baasha slew him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. 29 And it came to pass when he was king, he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left to Jeroboam none that breathed; until he had destroyed him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite, 30 because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and wherewith he made Israel to sin; by his provocation with which he provoked Jehovah the° 15.30 Elohim 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 king of Israel all their days. 33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, for twenty-four years. 34 And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin where with he made Israel to sin.

16

1 And the word of Jehovah came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, 2 Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins; 3 behold, I will take away Baasha and his house, and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 4 Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth of his in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat. 5 And the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what 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 was buried in Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his stead. 7 And also through the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani the word of Jehovah came against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of Jehovah, provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he had smitten him. 8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah for two years. 9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half [ his] chariots, conspired against him; and he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was the steward of his house in Tirzah; 10 and Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned in his stead. 11 And it came to pass when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not a male, neither of his kinsmen nor of his friends. 12 And Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spoke against Baasha through Jehu the prophet, 13 for all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and wherewith they made Israel to sin, provoking Jehovah the° 16.13 Elohim God of Israel to anger with 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 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 that were encamped heard say, Zimri has conspired, and has also smitten the king; and all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17 And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. 18 And it came to pass when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the citadel of the king’s house, and burned the king’s house over him with fire; 19 and he died for his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of Jehovah, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, making Israel to sin. 20 And the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his conspiracy which he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 21 Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri. 22 But the people that followed Omri overcame the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath; and Tibni died, and Omri reigned. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, — twelve years; he reigned six years in Tirzah. 24 And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver; and built on the hill, and called the name of the city that he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. 25 And Omri wrought evil in the sight of Jehovah, and did worse than all that were before him. 26 And he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins wherewith he made Israel to sin, provoking Jehovah the° 16.26 Elohim God of Israel to anger with their vanities. 27 And the rest of the acts of Omri, what he did, and his might which he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 28 And Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. 29 And Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 And Ahab the son of Omri wrought evil in the sight of Jehovah more than all that were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as if it was a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of 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 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did more to provoke Jehovah the° 16.33 Elohim God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. 34 In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundation in Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates in Segub his youngest, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke through Joshua the son of Nun.

17

1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, As Jehovah the° 17.1 Elohim God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except by my word. 2 And the word of Jehovah came to him saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the torrent Cherith, which is before the Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the torrent; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 And he went and did according to the word of Jehovah; he went and abode by the torrent Cherith, which is before the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent. 7 And it came to pass after a while that the torrent dried up, for there had been no rain in the land. 8 And the word of Jehovah came to him saying, 9 Arise, go to Zarephath, which is by Zidon, and abide there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to maintain thee. 10 And he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow woman was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11 And she went to fetch [ it], and he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. 12 And she said, As Jehovah thy ° 17.12 Elohim God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 13 And Elijah said to her, Fear not; go, do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first; and bring it to me; and afterwards make for thee and for thy son. 14 For thus saith Jehovah the° 17.14 Elohim God of Israel: The meal in the barrel shall not waste, neither shall the oil in the cruse fail, until the day that Jehovah sendeth rain upon the face of the earth! 15 And she went and did according to the word of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate a whole year. 16 The meal in the barrel did not waste, neither did the oil in the cruse fail, according to the word of Jehovah which he had spoken through Elijah. 17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of° 17.18 Elohim God? art thou come to me to call mine iniquity to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19 And he said to her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried to Jehovah and said, Jehovah, my° 17.20 Elohim God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to Jehovah and said, Jehovah, my° 17.21 Elohim God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again! 22 And Jehovah heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he lived. 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, See, thy son lives. 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of° 17.24 Elohim God, and that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth.

18

1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of Jehovah came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the face of the earth. 2 And Elijah went to shew himself to Ahab. And the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, who was the steward of his house ( now Obadiah feared Jehovah greatly; 4 and it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and maintained them with bread and water); 5 and Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land, to all the fountains of water and to all the torrents, perhaps we may find grass to save the horses and the mules alive, so that we may not have to destroy some of [ our] beasts. 6 And they divided the land between them to pass through it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7 And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him; and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it indeed thou, my lord Elijah? 8 And he said to him, I [ am he]: go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah! 9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou givest thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to put me to death? 10 As Jehovah thy ° 18.10 Elohim God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord has not sent to seek thee; and when they said, He is not [ here], he took an oath of the kingdom or nation that they found thee not. 11 And now thou sayest, Go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah! 12 And it shall come to pass when I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah shall carry thee whither I know not; and when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will kill me; and I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth. 13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of Jehovah, how I hid a hundred men of Jehovah’s prophets by fifty in a cave, and maintained them with bread and water? 14 And now thou sayest, Go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah! and he will kill me. 15 And Elijah said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will certainly shew myself to him to-day. 16 Then Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Is it thou, the troubler of Israel? 18 And he said, I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of Jehovah, and thou hast followed the Baals. 19 And now send, gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, who eat at Jezebel’s table. 20 So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah drew near to all the people, and said, How long do ye halt between two opinions? if Jehovah be° 18.21 Elohim God, follow him; and if Baal, follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 22 And Elijah said to the people, I, only I, remain a prophet of Jehovah; and Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks: and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and put it on the wood, and put no fire; and I will sacrifice the other bullock, and put it on the wood, and put no fire. 24 And call ye on the name of your° 18.24 Elohim gods, and I will call on the name of Jehovah; and the° 18.24 Elohim god that answers by fire, let him be° 18.24 Elohim God. And all the people answered and said, The word is good. 25 And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose one bullock for yourselves, and sacrifice it first; for ye are the many; and call on the name of your° 18.25 Elohim god, but put no fire. 26 And they took the bullock which had been given them, and sacrificed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us! But there was no voice, and none answered. And they leaped about the altar that had been made. 27 And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud; for he is a° 18.27 Elohim god; for he is meditating, or gone aside, or he is on a journey; perhaps he sleeps, and will awake. 28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with swords and spears, till the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And it came to pass when midday was past, that they prophesied until the [ time] of the offering up of the oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any that answered, nor any attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, Draw near to me. And all the people drew near to him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah which was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Jehovah came saying, Israel shall be thy name; 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah, and made a trench round about the altar, of the capacity of two measures of seed; 33 and he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four pitchers with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood. 34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. 35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. 36 And it came to pass at [ the time of] the offering up of the oblation, that Elijah the prophet drew near, and said, Jehovah, ° 18.36 Elohim God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art ° 18.36 Elohim God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things by thy word. 37 Answer me, Jehovah, answer me, that this people may know that thou Jehovah art ° 18.37 Elohim God, and [ that] thou hast turned their heart back again. 38 And the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and 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° 18.39 Elohim God! Jehovah, he is° 18.39 Elohim God! 40 And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape! And they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the torrent of Kishon, and slaughtered them there. 41 And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 And Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed down on the earth, and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, [ There is] nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, Behold there is a cloud, small as a man’s hand, arising out of the sea. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Harness and go down, that the pour of rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heavens became black [ with] clouds and wind, and there was a great pour of rain. And Ahab got on the chariot, and went to Jizreel. 46 And the hand of Jehovah was upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jizreel.

19

1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and in detail how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2 And Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, So do the° 19.2 Elohim gods [ to me], and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time! 3 And when he saw [ that], he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 And he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a certain broom-bush, and requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough: now, Jehovah, take my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 5 And he lay down and slept under the broom-bush. And behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, Arise, eat! 6 And he looked, and behold, at his head was a cake, baked on hot stones, and a cruse of water. And he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of Jehovah came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise, eat; for the journey is too great for thee. 8 And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of° 19.8 Elohim God. 9 And there he went into a cave, and lodged there. And behold, the word of Jehovah [ came] to him, and he said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10 And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah the° 19.10 Elohim God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I am left, I alone, and they seek my life, to take it away. 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before Jehovah. And behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Jehovah: Jehovah was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake: Jehovah was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake, a fire: Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire, a soft gentle voice. 13 And it came to pass, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice [ came] to him and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 14 And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah the° 19.14 Elohim God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I am left, I alone, and they seek my life, to take it away. 15 And Jehovah said to him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when thou comest, anoint Hazael king over Syria; 16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint prophet in thy stead. 17 And it shall come to pass, [ that] him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. 18 Yet I have left [myself] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him. 19 And he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing [ with] twelve yokes before him, and he with the twelfth; and Elijah went over to him, and cast his mantle on him. 20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and I will follow thee. And he said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to thee? 21 And he returned back from him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. And he arose and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.

20

1 And Ben-Hadad king of Syria assembled all his host; and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it. 2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said to him, Thus says Ben-Hadad: 3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, the goodliest, are mine. 4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. 5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Ben-Hadad saying: I sent to thee indeed, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; 6 but to-morrow about this time I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thy sight, they shall put in their hand and take away. 7 And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this [ man] seeks mischief; for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not. 8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, Hearken not, nor consent. 9 And he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do; but this thing I cannot do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. 10 And Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, The° 20.10 Elohim gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me! 11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell [ him], Let not him that girdeth on boast himself as he that putteth off! 12 And it came to pass when he heard this word, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the tents, that he said to his servants, Set yourselves. And they set themselves against the city. 13 And behold, a prophet drew near to Ahab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith Jehovah: Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah. 14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith Jehovah: By the servants of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he said, Thou. 15 And he numbered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he numbered all the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand. 16 And they went out at noon; and Ben-Hadad drank himself drunk in the tents, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings that helped him. 17 And the servants of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-Hadad sent out, and they told him saying, There are men come out of Samaria. 18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive. 19 And these servants of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army that followed them. 20 And they slew every one his man; and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen. 21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. 22 And the prophet drew near to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen thyself, and understand, and see what thou shalt do; for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their° 20.23 Elohim gods are° 20.23 Elohim gods of the mountains; therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them on the plateau, shall we not be stronger than they? 24 And do this: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put governors in their stead; 25 and number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot; and we will fight against them on the plateau: shall we not be stronger than they? And he hearkened to their voice, and did so. 26 And it came to pass, at the return of the year, that Ben-Hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. 27 And the children of Israel were numbered and victualled, and they went against them; and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats; but the Syrians filled the land. 28 And the man of° 20.28 Elohim God drew near, and spoke to the king of Israel and said, Thus saith Jehovah: Because the Syrians have said, Jehovah is a° 20.28 Elohim god of the mountains, but he is not a° 20.28 Elohim god of the valleys, I will give all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. 29 And they encamped one over against the other seven days; and it came to pass that on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel smote of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day. 30 And the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men of them that were left. And Ben-Hadad fled, and came into the city, [ from] chamber to chamber. 31 And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will save thy life. 32 And they girded sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-Hadad says, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. 33 And the men took it as a good omen, and hastened to catch what came from him, and they said, Thy brother Ben-Hadad. ... And he said, Go, bring him. And Ben-Hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34 And [Ben-Hadad] said to him, The cities that my father took from thy father I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thyself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. And I [ said Ahab] will send thee 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 another by the word of Jehovah, Smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him. 36 Then said he to him, Because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, behold, when thou departest from me, the lion will slay thee. And when he had departed from him, the lion found him and slew him. 37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him violently, and wounded [ him]. 38 And the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a sash over his eyes. 39 And as the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me and said, Keep this man; if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver. 40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So [ is] thy judgment: thyself hast decided [ it]. 41 Then he hastily took the sash away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him, that he was of the prophets. 42 And he said to him, Thus saith Jehovah: Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man that I had devoted to destruction, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his people. 43 And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.

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1 And it came to pass after these things, [ that] Naboth the Jizreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jizreel, by the side of the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spoke to Naboth saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, for it is near, by the side of my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; if it seem good to thee, I will give thee its value in money. 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee! 4 And Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word that Naboth the Jizreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and ate no bread. 5 And Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is thy spirit sullen, and thou eatest no bread? 6 And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jizreelite and said to him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee a vineyard for it; and he said, I will not give thee my vineyard. 7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, Dost thou now exercise sovereignty over Israel? arise, eat bread, and let thy heart be glad: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite. 8 And she wrote a letter in Ahab’s name, and sealed it with his seal, and sent the letter to the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. 9 And she wrote in the letter saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people; 10 and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, and they shall bear witness against him saying, Thou didst curse° 21.10 Elohim God and the king; and carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. 11 And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles that dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letter that she had sent to them: 12 they proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 13 And there came the two men, sons of Belial, and sat before him; and the men of Belial witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed ° 21.13 Elohim God and the king. And they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. 14 And they sent to Jezebel saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. 15 And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite, which he refused to give thee for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead. 16 And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite, to take possession of it. 17 And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to take possession of it. 19 And thou shalt speak unto him saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him saying, Thus saith Jehovah: In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs lick thy blood, even thine. 20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, mine enemy? And he said, I have found [thee]; because thou hast sold thyself to do evil in the sight of Jehovah. 21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male, and him that is shut up and left in Israel; 22 and I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel also spoke Jehovah saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the moat of Jizreel. 24 Him that dieth of Ahab in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat. 25 ( Surely there was none like to Ahab, who did sell himself to do evil in the sight of Jehovah, Jezebel his wife urging him on. 26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel.) 27 And it came to pass when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. 28 And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

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1 And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. 2 And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, Do ye know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we keep quiet without taking it out of the hand of the king of Syria? 4 And he said to Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. 5 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, this day of the word of Jehovah. 6 And the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, and the Lord will give it into the king’s hand. 7 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah besides, that we might inquire of him? 8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah; but I hate him, for he prophesies no good concerning me, but evil: [ it is] Micah the son of Imlah. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 9 Then the king of Israel called a chamberlain, and said, Fetch quickly Micah the son of Imlah. 10 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his throne, in the open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, Thus saith Jehovah: With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have exterminated them. 12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-Gilead, and prosper; for Jehovah will give it into the king’s hand. 13 And the messenger that went to call Micah spoke to him saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets [ declare] good to the king with one assent: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak good. 14 And Micah said, As Jehovah liveth, even what Jehovah shall say to me, that will I speak. 15 And he came to the king. And the king said to him, Micah, shall we go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he said to him, Go up, and prosper; for Jehovah will give it into the hand of the king. 16 And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but truth in the name of Jehovah? 17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And Jehovah said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he prophesies no good concerning me, but evil? 19 And he said, Hear therefore the word of Jehovah: I saw Jehovah sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him, on his right hand and on his left; 20 and Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead? And one said after this manner, and another said after that manner. 21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him. 22 And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice [ him], and also succeed: go forth, and do so. 23 And now, behold, Jehovah has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and Jehovah has spoken evil concerning thee. 24 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micah upon the cheek, and said, Where now went the Spirit of Jehovah from me to speak to thee? 25 And Micah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go from chamber to chamber to hide thyself. 26 And the king of Israel said, Take Micah and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; 27 and thou shalt say, Thus says the king: Put this [man] in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. 28 And Micah said, If thou return at all in peace, Jehovah has not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O peoples, all of you! 29 And 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 will enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. 31 And the king of Syria commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots saying, Fight neither with small nor great, but with the king of Israel only. 32 And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely that is the king of Israel; and they turned against him to fight; and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And it came to pass that when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 34 And a man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the fastenings and the corslet. And he said to his charioteer, Turn thy hand, and drive me out of the camp; for I am wounded. 35 And the battle increased that day; and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and he died at even; and the blood of the wound ran out into the hollow of the chariot. 36 And there went the cry throughout the host at the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country! 37 And the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. 38 And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked his blood, where the harlots bathed: according to the word of Jehovah, which he had spoken. 39 And the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and 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 And Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. 41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 43 And he walked in all the way of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of Jehovah. Only, the high places were not removed: the people offered and burned incense still on the high places. 44 And Jehoshaphat was at peace with the king of Israel. 45 And the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might which he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 46 And the remainder of the sodomites, which were left in the days of his father Asa, he put away from out of the land. 47 And there was no king in Edom: a deputy reigned. 48 Jehoshaphat made Tarshish-ships to go to Ophir for gold; but they went not, for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. 49 Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy 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 the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; and he reigned two years over Israel. 52 And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. 53 And he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked Jehovah the° 22.53 Elohim God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.