1. Now king David was old and stricken in years;
and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
2. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there
be sought 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 heat.
3. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout
all the coasts 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. Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself,
saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen,
and fifty men to run before him.
6. And his father had not displeased him at any
time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very
goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.
7. And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah,
and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped
him.
8. But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the
mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
9. And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle
by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called 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 called not.
11. Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the
mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the
son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?
12. Now therefore 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 unto king David, and say
unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid,
saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he
shall sit upon my throne? why then doth 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 Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the
chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite
ministered unto the king.
16. And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto
the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?
17. And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest
by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon
thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.
18. And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now,
my lord the king, thou knowest it not:
19. And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep
in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar
the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy
servant hath he not called.
20. And thou, my lord, O 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
shall be counted offenders.
22. And, lo, 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 upon my
throne?
25. For he is gone down this day, and hath slain
oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called 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, 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,
hath he not called.
27. Is this thing done by my lord the king, and
thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the
throne of my lord the king after him?
28. Then king David answered and said, Call me
Bath-sheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood
before the king.
29. And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth,
that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,
30. Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of
Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me,
and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly
do this day.
31. Then Bath-sheba 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. The king also said unto 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, God save king Solomon.
35. Then ye shall come up after him, that he may
come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king 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: the LORD God of my lord the king say so
too.
37. As the LORD hath 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. So 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 an horn of oil out
of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet;
and all the people said, God save 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 had made an end of eating. And when Joab
heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise
of the city being in an uproar?
42. And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the
son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, Come
in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings.
43. And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah,
Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.
44. And the king hath 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 in Gihon: and they are come up from thence
rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that
ye have heard.
46. And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the
kingdom.
47. And moreover the king's servants came to bless
our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better
than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And
the king bowed himself upon the bed.
48. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the
LORD God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this
day, mine eyes even seeing it.
49. And all the guests that were with Adonijah
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 on the horns of the altar.
51. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah
feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns
of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me to day that
he will not slay his servant with the sword.
52. And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a
worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth:
but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.
53. So king Solomon sent, and they brought him
down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon:
and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.
First Kings - Chapter 2
1. Now the days of David drew nigh that he should
die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2. I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong
therefore, and shew thyself a man;
3. And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to
walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments,
and his judgments, 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 the LORD may continue his word which he
spake concerning me, saying, If thy children 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 on the
throne of Israel.
5. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son
of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the
hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto 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 in his shoes that were on his feet.
6. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let
not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.
7. But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai
the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table:
for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.
8. And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the
son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous
curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to
meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will
not put thee to death with the sword.
9. Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou
art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him;
but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood. 10. So 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: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty
and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
12. Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his
father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
13. And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba
the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably?
And he said, Peaceably.
14. He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto
thee. And she said, Say on.
15. And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom
was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should
reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's:
for it was his from the LORD.
16. And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me
not. And she said unto him, Say on.
17. And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon
the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag
the Shunammite to wife.
18. And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for
thee unto the king.
19. Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon,
to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet
her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and
caused a seat 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; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto
her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.
21. And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be
given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.
22. And king Solomon answered and said unto 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. Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying,
God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this
word against his own life.
24. Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, which hath
established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and
who hath made me an 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; and he fell upon him that he died.
26. And unto Abiathar the priest said the king,
Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy
of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because
thou barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and
because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was
afflicted.
27. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest
unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which
he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28. Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned
after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab
fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns
of the altar.
29. And it was told king Solomon that Joab was
fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the
altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying,
Go, fall upon him.
30. And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD,
and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said,
Nay; but 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 unto him, Do as he hath said,
and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the
innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of
my father.
32. And the LORD shall return his blood upon his
own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than
he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing
thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of
Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
33. Their blood shall therefore return 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 the LORD.
34. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and
fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house
in the wilderness.
35. And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada
in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put
in the room of Abiathar.
36. And the king sent and called for Shimei, and
said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there,
and go not forth thence any whither.
37. For it shall be, that on the day thou goest
out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain
that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own
head.
38. And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is
good: as my lord the king hath 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 of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of
Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy
servants be in Gath.
40. And 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 was come again.
42. And the king sent and called for Shimei, and
said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested
unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out,
and walkest abroad any wither, that thou shalt surely die? and
thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.
43. Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the
LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?
44. The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest
all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst
to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness
upon thine own head;
45. And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the
throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.
46. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada;
which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom
was established in the hand of Solomon.
First Kings - Chapter 3
1. And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king
of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the
city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house,
and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
2. Only the people sacrificed in high places, because
there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those
days.
3. And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes
of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in 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 upon that altar.
5. In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a
dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
6. And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy
servant David my father great mercy, 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 kindness, that
thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this
day.
7. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant
king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child:
I know not how to go out or 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 thy servant an understanding
heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and
bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
10. And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon
had asked this thing.
11. And God said unto 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 understanding to discern judgment;
12. Behold, I have done according to thy words:
lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that
there was none like 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 honour: 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 lengthen 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 the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace
offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
16. Then came there two women, that were harlots,
unto the king, and stood before him.
17. And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this
woman dwell 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 that
I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were
together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we
two in the house.
19. And this woman's child died in the night; because
she overlaid it.
20. And she arose at midnight, and took my son
from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her
bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
21. And when I rose in the morning to give my child
suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the
morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.
22. And the other woman said, Nay; but the living
is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the
dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before
the king.
23. Then said the king, The one saith, This is
my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith,
Nay; but 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 spake the woman whose the living child
was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she
said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay
it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but
divide it.
27. Then the king answered and said, Give her the
living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
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 God was in him, to do judgment.
First Kings - Chapter 4
1. So king Solomon was king over all Israel.
2. And these were the princes which he had; Azariah
the son of Zadok the priest,
3. Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes;
Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder.
4. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the
host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:
5. And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers:
and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's
friend:
6. And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram
the son of Abda was over the tribute.
7. And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel,
which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man
his month in a year made provision.
8. And these are their names: The son of Hur, in
mount Ephraim:
9. The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim,
and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan:
10. The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained
Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:
11. The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor;
which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
12. Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach
and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah beneath
Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even unto the place
that is beyond Jokneam:
13. The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him
pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in
Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in
Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:
14. Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:
15. Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath
the daughter of Solomon to wife:
16. Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in
Aloth:
17. Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:
18. Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:
19. Geber the son of Uri was in the country of
Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og
king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which 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 reigned over all kingdoms from
the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto 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 threescore measures of meal,
23. Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures,
and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer,
and fatted fowl.
24. For he had dominion over all the region on
this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the
kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round
about him.
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 victual for king
Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every
man in his month: they lacked nothing.
28. Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries
brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man
according to his charge.
29. And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding
exceeding much, 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 children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the
Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol:
and his fame was in all nations round about.
32. And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his
songs were a thousand and five.
33. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree
that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of
the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping
things, and of fishes.
34. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom
of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his
wisdom.
First Kings - Chapter 5
1. And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto
Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the
room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
2. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
3. Thou knowest how that David my father could
not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars
which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under
the soles of his feet.
4. But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on
every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.
5. And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto
the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father,
saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room,
he shall build an house unto my name.
6. Now therefore command thou that they hew me
cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy
servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according
to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is
not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
7. And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words
of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the
LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this
great people.
8. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered
the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy
desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.
9. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon
unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the
place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged
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 fir trees
according to all his desire.
11. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures
of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure
oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.
12. And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised
him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two
made a league together.
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, and two months
at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.
15. And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand
that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;
16. Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which
were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled
over the people that wrought in the work.
17. And the king commanded, and they brought great
stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation
of the house.
18. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders
did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and
stones to build the house.
First Kings - Chapter 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 the LORD.
2. And the house which king Solomon built for the
LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth
thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
3. And the porch before the temple of the house,
twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth
of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the
house.
4. And for the house he made windows of narrow
lights.
5. And against the wall of the house he built chambers
round about, against the walls of the house round about, both
of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:
6. The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad,
and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits
broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests
round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls
of the house.
7. And the house, when it was in building, was
built of stone 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 in building.
8. The door for the middle chamber was in the right
side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the
middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.
9. So he built the house, and finished it; and
covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.
10. And then he built chambers against all the
house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber
of cedar.
11. And the word of the LORD came to Solomon,
saying,
12. Concerning this house which thou art in building,
if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and
keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform
my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:
13. And I will dwell among the children of Israel,
and will not forsake my people Israel.
14. So Solomon built the house, and finished it.
15. And he built the walls of the house within
with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls
of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and
covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.
16. And he built twenty cubits on the sides of
the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar:
he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for
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 knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone
seen.
19. And the oracle he prepared in the house within,
to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
20. And the oracle in the forepart 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 so
covered the altar which was of cedar.
21. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure
gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the
oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.
22. And the whole house he overlaid with gold,
until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that
was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
23. And within the oracle he made two cherubims
of olive tree, each ten cubits high.
24. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub,
and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost
part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were
ten cubits.
25. And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the
cherubims were of one measure and one size.
26. The height of the one cherub was ten cubits,
and so was it of the other cherub.
27. And he set the cherubims within the inner house:
and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the
wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other
cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another
in the midst of the house.
28. And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
29. And he carved all the walls of the house round
about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open
flowers, within and without.
30. And the floor of the house he overlaid with
gold, within and without.
31. And for the entering of the oracle he made
doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part
of the wall.
32. The two doors also were of olive tree; and
he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open
flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the
cherubims, and upon the palm trees.
33. So also made he for the door of the temple
posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.
34. And the two doors were of fir tree: the two
leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the
other door were folding.
35. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees
and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved
work.
36. And he built the inner court with three rows
of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.
37. In the fourth year was the foundation of the
house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:
38. And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul,
which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all
the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So
was he seven years in building it.
First Kings - Chapter 7
1. But Solomon was building his own house thirteen
years, and he finished all his house.
2. He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon;
the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof
fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four
rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
3. And it was covered with cedar above upon the
beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row.
4. And there were windows in three rows, and light
was against light in three ranks.
5. And all the doors and posts were square, with
the windows: and light was against light in three ranks.
6. And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof
was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the
porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam
were before them.
7. Then he made a porch for the throne where he
might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with
cedar from one side of the floor to the other.
8. And his house where he dwelt had another court
within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also
an house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like
unto this porch.
9. All these were of costly stones, according to
the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without,
even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside
toward the great court.
10. And the foundation was of costly stones, even
great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
11. And above were costly stones, after the measures
of hewed stones, and cedars.
12. And the great court round about was with three
rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner
court of the house of the LORD, and for 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
filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all
works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all
his work.
15. For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen
cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either
of them about.
16. And he made two chapiters of molten brass,
to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter
was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five
cubits:
17. And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain
work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars;
seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.
18. And he made the pillars, and two rows round
about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon
the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.
19. And the chapiters that were upon the top of
the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.
20. And the chapiters upon the two pillars had
pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the
network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about
upon the other chapiter.
21. And he set up the pillars in the porch of the
temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof
Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and he called the name
thereof Boaz.
22. And upon the top of the pillars was lily work:
so was the work of the pillars finished.
23. And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the
one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height
was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round
about.
24. And under the brim of it round about there
were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round
about: the knops were cast in two rows, 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 set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.
26. And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim
thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies:
it contained two thousand baths.
27. And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits
was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof,
and three cubits the height of it.
28. And the work of the bases was on this manner:
they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges:
29. And on the borders that were between the ledges
were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was
a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions
made of thin work.
30. And every base had four brasen wheels, and
plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters:
under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every
addition.
31. And the mouth of it within the chapiter and
above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work
of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it
were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.
32. And under the borders were four wheels; and
the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height
of a wheel was a cubit and a half a cubit.
33. And the work of the wheels was like the work
of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their
felloes, and their spokes, were all molten.
34. And there were four undersetters to the four
corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base
itself.
35. And in the top of the base was there a round
compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges
thereof and the borders thereof were of the same.
36. For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and
on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees,
according to the proportion of every one, and additions round
about.
37. After this manner he made the ten bases: all
of them had one casting, one measure, and one size.
38. Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver
contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon
every one of the ten bases one laver.
39. And he put five bases 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 basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that
he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD:
41. The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters
that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks,
to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top
of the pillars;
42. And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks,
even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two
bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars;
43. And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases;
44. And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;
45. And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons:
and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the
house of the LORD, were of bright brass.
46. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them,
in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.
47. And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed,
because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the
brass found out.
48. And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained
unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of
gold, whereupon the shewbread was,
49. And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on
the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with
the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,
50. And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons,
and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of
gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place,
and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple.
51. So was ended all the work that king Solomon
made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things
which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the
gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house
of the LORD.
First Kings - Chapter 8
1. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel,
and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the
children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they
might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the
city of David, which is Zion.
2. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves
unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is
the seventh month.
3. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests
took up the ark.
4. And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and
the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that
were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites
bring up.
5. And king Solomon, and all the congregation of
Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the
ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered
for multitude.
6. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant
of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the
most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.
7. For the cherubims spread forth their two wings
over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and
the staves thereof above.
8. And they drew out the staves, that the ends
of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle,
and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.
9. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables
of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD 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
the LORD,
11. So that the priests could not stand to minister
because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the
house of the LORD.
12. Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would
dwell in thick darkness.
13. I have surely built thee an house to dwell
in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.
14. And the king turned his face about, and blessed
all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel
stood;)
15. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel,
which spake 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 an house, that my name might be therein; but I
chose David to be over my people Israel.
17. And it was in the heart of David my father
to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
18. And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas
it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst
well that it was in thine 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 the LORD hath performed his word that he
spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit
on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built
an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
21. And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein
is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when
he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
22. And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD
in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread
forth his hands toward heaven:
23. And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no
God like thee, in heaven above, or on 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 thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and
hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
25. Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with
thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying,
There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne
of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they
walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
26. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray
thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my
father.
27. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold,
the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much
less this house that I have builded?
28. Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy
servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto
the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee
to day:
29. That thine eyes may be open toward this house
night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said,
My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer
which thy servant shall make toward this place.
30. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy
servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward
this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when
thou hearest, forgive.
31. If any man trespass against his neighbour,
and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath
come before thine altar in this house:
32. Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge
thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his
head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his
righteousness.
33. When thy people Israel be smitten down 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 heaven, and forgive the sin
of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which
thou gavest unto their fathers.
35. When heaven is 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, when thou
afflictest them:
36. Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin
of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach 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 in the land famine, if there be
pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller;
if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever
plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
38. What prayer and supplication soever be made
by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every
man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward
this house:
39. Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place,
and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways,
whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the
hearts of all the children of men;)
40. That they may fear thee all the days that they
live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
41. Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not
of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy
name's sake;
42. (For they shall hear of thy great name, and
of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall
come and pray toward this house;
43. Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and
do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that
all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do
thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which
I have builded, is called by thy name.
44. If thy people go out to battle against their
enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto
the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the
house that I have built for thy name:
45. Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their
supplication, and maintain their cause.
46. If they sin against thee, (for there is no
man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver
them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto
the land of the enemy, far or near;
47. Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the
land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make
supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives,
saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed
wickedness;
48. And so return unto thee with all their heart,
and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led
them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which
thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen,
and the house which I have built for thy name:
49. Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication
in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,
50. And forgive thy people that have sinned against
thee and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed
against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried
them captive, that they may have compassion on them:
51. For they be thy people, and thine inheritance,
which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the
furnace of iron:
52. That thine eyes may be 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 didst separate them from among all
the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest
by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers
out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.
54. And it was so, that when Solomon had made an
end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD,
he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his
knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
55. And he stood, and blessed all the congregation
of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56. Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto
his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath
not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised
by the hand of Moses his servant.
57. The LORD our God be with us, as he was with
our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:
58. That he may incline our hearts unto him, to
walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes,
and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.
59. And let these my words, wherewith I have made
supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day
and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the
cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:
60. That all the people of the earth may know that
the LORD is God, and that there is none else.
61. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the
LORD our 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
sacrifice before the LORD.
63. And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings,
which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen,
and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all
the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.
64. The same day did the king hallow the middle
of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there
he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of
the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before
the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat
offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65. And at that time Solomon held a feast, and
all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in
of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven
days and seven days, even fourteen days.
66. On the eighth day he sent the people away:
and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and
glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for
David his servant, and for Israel his people.
First Kings - Chapter 9
1. And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished
the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and
all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,
2. That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second
time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
3. And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy
prayer and thy supplication, that 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 mine heart shall be there perpetually.
4. And 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 my judgments:
5. Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom
upon 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 and my
statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods,
and worship them:
7. Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which
I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my
name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb
and a byword among all people:
8. And at this house, which is high, every one
that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they
shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to
this house?
9. And they shall answer, Because they forsook
the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the
land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped
them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD 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 the LORD,
and the king's house,
11. (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon
with cedar trees and fir 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
which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.
13. And he said, What cities are these which thou
hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul
unto this day.
14. And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents
of gold.
15. And this is the reason of the levy which king
Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own
house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo,
and Gezer.
16. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and
taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites
that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter,
Solomon's wife.
17. And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the
nether,
18. and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness,
in the land,
19. And all the cities of store that Solomon had,
and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and
that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon,
and in all the land of his dominion.
20. And all the people that were left of the Amorites,
Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of
the children of Israel,
21. Their children that were left after them in
the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly
to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice
unto 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
princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his
horsemen.
23. These were the chief of the officers that were
over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over
the people that wrought in the work.
24. But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city
of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then
did he build Millo.
25. And three times in a year did Solomon offer
burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built
unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before
the LORD. So he finished the house.
26. And king Solomon made a navy 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 navy his servants, shipmen
that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
28. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence
gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king
Solomon.
First Kings - Chapter 10
1. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame
of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove
him with hard questions.
2. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great
train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious
stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him
of all that was in her heart.
3. And Solomon told her all her questions: there
was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.
4. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's
wisdom, and the house that he had built,
5. And the meat of his table, and the sitting
of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their
apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up
unto the house of the LORD; 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 thy acts and of thy wisdom.
7. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came,
and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told
me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
8. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants,
which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.
9. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted
in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD
loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment
and justice.
10. And she gave the king an hundred and twenty
talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious
stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which
the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
11. And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold
from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees,
and precious stones.
12. And the king made of the almug trees pillars
for the house of the LORD, and for the king's house, harps also
and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor
were seen unto this day.
13. And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba
all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon
gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own
country, she and her servants.
14. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon
in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold.
15. Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and
of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of
Arabia, and of the governors of the country.
16. And king Solomon made two hundred targets
of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.
17. And he made three hundred shields of beaten
gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put
them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
18. Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory,
and overlaid it with the best gold.
19. The throne had six steps, and the top of the
throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on
the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.
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 pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted
of in the days of Solomon.
22. For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish
with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish,
bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
23. So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of
the earth for riches and for wisdom.
24. And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear
his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
25. And they brought every man his present, vessels
of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and
spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
26. And Solomon gathered together chariots and
horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and
twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots,
and with the king at Jerusalem.
27. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem
as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that
are in the vale, for abundance.
28. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt,
and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at
a price.
29. And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt
for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred
and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the
kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.
First Kings - Chapter 11
1. But king Solomon loved many strange women,
together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
2. Of the nations concerning which the LORD said
unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither
shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your
heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
3. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses,
and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
4. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old,
that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his
heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart
of David his father.
5. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess
of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
6. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD,
and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.
7. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh,
the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem,
and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
8. And likewise did he for all his strange wives,
which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
9. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because
his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared
unto him twice,
10. And had commanded him concerning this thing,
that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which
the LORD commanded.
11. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch
as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and
my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely 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: but I will rend it out of the
hand of thy son.
13. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom;
but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake,
and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.
14. And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto
Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom.
15. For it came to pass, when David was in Edom,
and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain,
after he had smitten every male in Edom;
16. (For six months did Joab remain there 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 they took men with them out of Paran, and they came
to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house,
and appointed him victuals, and gave him land.
19. And Hadad found great favour in the sight
of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own
wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.
20. And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath
his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath
was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh.
21. And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept
with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead,
Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own
country.
22. Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast
thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine
own country? And he answered, Nothing: howbeit let me go in any
wise.
23. And God stirred him up another adversary,
Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king
of Zobah:
24. And he gathered men unto him, and became captain
over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus,
and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus.
25. And he was an adversary to Israel all the
days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred
Israel, and reigned over Syria.
26. And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite
of Zereda, 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 built Millo, and repaired the breaches
of the city of David his father.
28. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour:
and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made
him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.
29. And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam
went out of Jerusalem, that 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. And Ahijah caught the new garment that was
on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:
31. And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces:
for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend
the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes
to thee:
32. (But he shall have one tribe 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 that they have forsaken me, and have
worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the
god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon,
and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine
eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his
father.
34. Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom
out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his
life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he 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, even ten tribes.
36. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that
David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem,
the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.
37. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign
according to all that thy soul desireth, and 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
is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments,
as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee
a sure 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. Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam.
And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of
Egypt, and 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.
First Kings - Chapter 12
1. And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel
were come to Shechem to make him king.
2. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son
of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled
from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)
3. That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam
and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam,
saying,
4. Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore
make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke
which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
5. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three
days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
6. And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men,
that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said,
How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
7. And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt
be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and
answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy
servants for ever.
8. But he forsook the counsel of the old men,
which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that
were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
9. And he said unto them, What counsel give ye
that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying,
Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
10. And the young men that were grown up with
him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people
that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy,
but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them,
My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.
11. And now whereas my father did lade you with
a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised
you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
12. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam
the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again
the third day.
13. And the king answered the people roughly,
and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;
14. And spake to them after the counsel of the
young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will
add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but
I will chastise you with scorpions.
15. Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the
people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform
his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto
Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16. So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened
not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion
have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse:
to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So
Israel departed unto their tents.
17. But as for the children of Israel which dwelt
in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
18. Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over
the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died.
Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot,
to flee to Jerusalem.
19. So Israel rebelled against the house of David
unto this day.
20. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard
that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto
the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was
none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah
only.
21. And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he
assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin,
an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors,
to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again
to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22. But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the
man of 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 remnant of the people, saying,
24. Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor
fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every
man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore
to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to
the word of the LORD.
25. Then 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 the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people
turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah,
and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
28. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made
two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you
to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought
thee up out of the land of Egypt.
29. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other
put he in Dan.
30. And this thing became a sin: for the people
went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
31. And he made an house of high places, and made
priests of the lowest of the people, which 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 unto the feast
that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in
Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed
in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
33. So he offered upon the altar which he had
made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in
the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained
a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar,
and burnt incense.
First Kings - Chapter 13
1. And, behold, there came a man of God out of
Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood
by the altar to burn incense.
2. And he cried against the altar in the word
of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold,
a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name;
and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that
burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
3. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This
is the sign which the LORD 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 king Jeroboam heard
the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar
in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying,
Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him,
dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
5. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured
out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God
had given by the word of the LORD.
6. And the king answered and said unto the man
of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for
me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God
besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again,
and became as it was before.
7. And the king said unto the man of God, Come
home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
8. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou
wilt give me half thine 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 the
LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by
the same way that thou camest.
10. So he went another way, and returned not by
the way that he came to Bethel.
11. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel;
and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God
had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto
the king, them they told also to their father.
12. And their father said unto them, What way
went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went,
which came from Judah.
13. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass.
So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
14. And went after the man of God, and found him
sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of
God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
15. Then he said unto him, Come home with me,
and eat bread.
16. And he said, I may not 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 the LORD,
Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again
to go by the way that thou camest.
18. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou
art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying,
Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread
and drink water. But he lied unto him.
19. So he went back with him, and did eat bread
in his house, and drank water.
20. And it came to pass, as they sat at the table,
that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him
back:
21. And he cried unto the man of God that came
from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast
disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment
which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
22. But camest back, and hast eaten bread and
drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee,
Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto
the sepulchre of thy fathers.
23. And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread,
and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit,
for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the
way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the
ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
25. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase
cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they
came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26. And when the prophet that brought him back
from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who
was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD
hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain
him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.
27. And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me
the ass. And they saddled him.
28. And he went and found his carcase cast in
the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the
lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.
29. And the prophet took up the carcase of the
man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and
the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
30. And he laid his carcase in his own grave;
and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
31. And it came to pass, after he had buried him,
that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me
in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones
beside his bones:
32. For the saying which he cried by the word
of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses
of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely
come to pass.
33. After this thing Jeroboam returned not from
his evil way, but made again of the lowest 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 this thing became sin unto the house of
Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face
of the earth.
First Kings - Chapter 14
1. At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell
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 get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the
prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
3. And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels,
and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall
become of the child.
4. And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and
went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could
not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
5. And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the
wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for 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 herself to be another
woman.
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 thyself to be another?
for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.
7. Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD 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 yet thou hast not been as my servant
David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all
his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;
9. But hast done evil above all that were before
thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other 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 him that
pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in
Israel, and will take away the remnant of 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 fowls
of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.
12. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own
house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall
die.
13. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury
him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because
in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel
in the house of Jeroboam.
14. Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king
over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day:
but what? even now.
15. For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed
is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this
good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them
beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking
the LORD to anger.
16. And he shall give Israel up because of the
sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
17. And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and
came to Tirzah: and 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 the LORD, which he spake by
the hand of 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 which Jeroboam reigned were two
and twenty years: and he slept with this fathers, and Nadab his
son reigned in his stead.
21. And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in
Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which
the LORD did choose 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 the LORD,
and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had
committed, above all that their fathers had done.
23. For they also built them high places, and
images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green
tree.
24. And there were also sodomites in the land:
and they did according to all the abominations of the nations
which the LORD cast out 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 the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took
away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon
had made.
27. And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen
shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the
guard, which kept the door of the king's house.
28. And it was so, when the king went into the
house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them
back into the guard chamber.
29. Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and
all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles
of the kings of Judah?
30. And there was war 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.
First Kings - Chapter 15
1. Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam
the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah.
2. Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his
mother's name was Maachah, the 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
the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.
4. Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD
his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after
him, and to establish Jerusalem:
5. Because David did that which was right in the
eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he
commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter
of Uriah the Hittite.
6. And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam
all the days of his life.
7. Now 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 reigned Asa over Judah.
10. And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem.
And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
11. And Asa did that which was right in the eyes
of the LORD, as did David his father.
12. And he took away the sodomites out of the
land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
13. And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed
from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and
Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
14. But the high places were not removed: nevertheless
Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.
15. And he brought in the things which his father
had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into
the house of the LORD, 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 went up against
Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out
or come in to Asa king of Judah.
18. Then Asa took all the silver and the gold
that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and
the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the
hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the
son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt
at Damascus, saying,
19. There is a league between me and thee, and
between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee
a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha
king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
20. So Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and
sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities
of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and
all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
21. And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof,
that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.
22. Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout
all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of
Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and
king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
23. The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his
might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Judah? Nevertheless 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 reigned
over Israel two years.
26. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD,
and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith
he made Israel to 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; for Nadab and all Israel laid
siege to Gibbethon.
28. Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah
did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead.
29. And it came to pass, when he reigned, that
he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any
that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the
saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:
30. Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned,
and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he
provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.
31. Now 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, twenty
and four years.
34. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD,
and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he
made Israel to sin.
First Kings - Chapter 16
1. Then the word of the LORD 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,
to provoke me to anger with their sins;
3. Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha,
and the posterity of 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 fields shall the
fowls of the air eat.
5. Now 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. So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried
in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead.
7. And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the
son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against
his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the
LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in
being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.
8. In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of
Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah,
two years.
9. And his servant Zimri, captain of half his
chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking
himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
10. And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed
him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and
reigned in his stead.
11. And it came to pass, when he began to reign,
as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of
Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither
of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends.
12. Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha,
according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha
by Jehu the prophet,
13. For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of
Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel
to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their
vanities.
14. Now 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 and seventh year of Asa king
of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people
were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.
16. And the people that were encamped heard say,
Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore
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 palace of the king's house,
and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died,
19. For his sins which he sinned in doing evil
in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and
in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.
20. Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his
treason that 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 prevailed
against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni
died, and Omri reigned.
23. In the thirty and first year of Asa king of
Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years
reigned he 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 which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of
the hill, Samaria.
25. But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD,
and did worse than all that were before him.
26. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin,
to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
27. Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he
did, and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
28. So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried
in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
29. And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king
of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and
Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and
two years.
30. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight
of the LORD above all that were before him.
31. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light
thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the
Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
32. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the
house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
33. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to
provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of
Israel that were before him.
34. In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho:
he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set
up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the
word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.
First Kings - Chapter 17
1. And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants
of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before
whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but
according to my word.
2. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
3. Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and
hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
4. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the
brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5. So he went and did according unto the word
of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that
is before 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 brook.
7. And it came to pass after a while, that the
brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
9. Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth
to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman
there to sustain thee.
10. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when
he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there
gathering of 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 as she was going to fetch it, he called
to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in
thine hand.
12. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth,
I have not a cake, but an 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 unto her, Fear not; go and
do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first,
and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The
barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil
fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
15. And she went and did according to the saying
of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither
did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD,
which he spake by 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 sore, that there was no breath left in him.
18. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do
with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my
sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
19. And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And
he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft,
where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.
20. And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD
my 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 unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray
thee, let this child's soul come into him again.
22. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and
the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
23. And Elijah took the child, and brought him
down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto
his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
24. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this
I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD
in thy mouth is truth.
First Kings - Chapter 18
1. And it came to pass after many days, that the
word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go,
shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
2. And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab.
And there was a sore famine in Samaria.
3. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor
of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly:
4. For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets
of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them
by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)
5. And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land,
unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure
we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we
lose not all the beasts.
6. So they divided the land between them to pass
throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went
another way by himself.
7. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah
met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art
thou that my lord Elijah?
8. And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord,
Behold, Elijah is here.
9. And he said, What have I sinned, that thou
wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?
10. As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation
or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when
they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and
nation, that they found thee not.
11. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold,
Elijah is here.
12. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am
gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither
I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find
thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my
youth.
13. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel
slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the
LORD's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and
water?
14. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold,
Elijah is here: and he shall slay me.
15. And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth,
before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.
16. So 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 unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
18. And he answered, I have not troubled Israel;
but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the
commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.
19. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel
unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty,
and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's
table.
20. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel,
and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
21. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said,
How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow
him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him
not a word.
22. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even
I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but 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 lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the
other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
24. And call ye on the name of your gods, and
I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth
by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said,
It is well spoken.
25. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal,
Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for
ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire
under.
26. And they took the bullock which was given
them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from
morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was
no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar
which was made.
27. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked
them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking,
or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth,
and must be awaked.
28. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after
their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out
upon them.
29. And it came to pass, when midday was past,
and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening
sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor
any that regarded.
30. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come
near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he
repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
31. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to
the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word
of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
32. And with the stones he built an altar in the
name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great
as would contain two measures of seed.
33. And he put the wood in order, and cut the
bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four
barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, 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
of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and
said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known
this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant,
and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people
may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned
their heart back again.
38. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed
the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust,
and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39. And when all the people saw it, they fell
on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD,
he is the God.
40. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets
of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and
Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
41. And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat
and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
42. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And
Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down
upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,
43. And 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 ariseth a little cloud out of the sea,
like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare
thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
45. And it came to pass in the mean while, that
the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great
rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
46. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and
he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of
Jezreel.
First Kings - Chapter 19
1. And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done,
and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah,
saying, So let the gods do 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 belongeth to Judah, and
left his servant there.
4. But he himself went a day's journey into the
wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he
requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough;
now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
5. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree,
behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and
eat.
6. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake
baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he
did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
7. And the angel of the LORD came again the second
time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey
is too great for thee.
8. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went
in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto
Horeb the mount of God.
9. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged
there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said
unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10. And he said, I have been very jealous for
the LORD 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, even I only, am left; and they seek my
life, to take it away.
11. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the
mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a
great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces
the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and
after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
12. And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD
was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that
he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in
the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice
unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
14. And he said, I have been very jealous for
the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken
thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets
with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my
life, to take it away.
15. And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on
thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint
Hazael to be king over Syria:
16. And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint
to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah
shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
17. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth
the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from
the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
18. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel,
all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth
which hath not kissed him.
19. So he departed thence, and found Elisha the
son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before
him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast
his mantle upon 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
then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again:
for what have I done to thee?
21. And he returned back from him, and took a
yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments
of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then
he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
First Kings - Chapter 20
1. And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all
his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him,
and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria,
and warred against it.
2. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel
into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad,
3. Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives
also and thy children, even 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
speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying,
Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives,
and thy children;
6. Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow
about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses
of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant
in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
7. Then the king of Israel called all the elders
of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man
seeketh mischief: for he sent unto 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
unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
9. Wherefore he said unto 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 may not do. And the
messengers departed, and brought him word again.
10. And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The
gods do so unto 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 his harness boast himself
as he that putteth it off.
12. And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard
this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions,
that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And
they set themselves in array against the city.
13. And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab
king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all
this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it in to thine hand
this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
14. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus
saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces.
Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.
15. Then he numbered the young men of the princes
of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and
after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of
Israel, being seven thousand.
16. And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad
was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings,
the thirty and two kings that helped him.
17. And the young men 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. So these young men of the princes of the provinces
came out of the city, and the army which 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 an 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 came to the king of Israel,
and said unto him, Go, strengthen thy self, and mark, and see
what thou doest: 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
unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were
stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain,
and surely we shall be stronger than they.
24. And do this thing, Take the kings away, every
man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:
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 in the plain, and surely we shall be
stronger than they. And he hearkened unto 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 were all present, and went against them: and the children
of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids;
but the Syrians filled the country.
28. And there came a man of God, and spake unto
the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the
Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not
God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude
into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
29. And they pitched one over against the other
seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle
was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an
hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city;
and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men
that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into
an inner chamber.
31. And his servants said unto 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: peradventure
he will save thy life.
32. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and
put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and
said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live.
And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
33. Now the men did diligently observe whether
any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they
said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him.
Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up
into the chariot.
34. And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which
my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt
make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.
Then said Ahab, I 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 unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray
thee. And the man refused to smite him.
36. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not
obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed
from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed
from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37. Then he found another man, and said, Smite
me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he
wounded him.
38. So the prophet departed, and waited for the
king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
39. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the
king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the
battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto
me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then
shall thy life be for his life, or else 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 unto him, So shall thy
judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
41. And he hasted, and took the ashes away from
his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of
the prophets.
42. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD,
Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed
to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life,
and thy people for his people.
43. And the king of Israel went to his house heavy
and displeased, and came to Samaria.
First Kings - Chapter 21
1. And it came to pass after these things, that
Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard
by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
2. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me
thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because
it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better
vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee
the worth of it in money.
3. And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it
me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
4. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased
because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to
him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of
my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away
his face, and would eat no bread.
5. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said
unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
6. And he said unto her, Because I spake unto
Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard
for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another
vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.
7. And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou
now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let
thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth
the Jezreelite.
8. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed
them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to
the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
9. And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim
a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
10. And set two men, sons of Belial, before him,
to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God
and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he
may die.
11. And the men of his city, even the elders and
the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel
had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which
she had sent unto them.
12. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on
high among the people.
13. And there came in two men, children of Belial,
and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him,
even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth
did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out
of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
14. Then 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 Jezreelite, 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 Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the
Tishbite, saying,
18. Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel,
which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth,
whither he is gone down to possess it.
19. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus
saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In
the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick
thy blood, even thine.
20. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me,
O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou
hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
21. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will
take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth
against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
22. And will make thine 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 spake the LORD, saying,
The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
24. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs
shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of
the air eat.
25. But there was none like unto Ahab, which did
sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom
Jezebel his wife stirred up.
26. And he did very abominably in following idols,
according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast
out before the children of Israel.
27. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those
words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh,
and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
28. And the word of the LORD 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: but in his son's days will I bring the evil
upon his house.
First Kings - Chapter 22
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 unto his servants,
Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take
it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?
4. And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go
with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the
king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my
horses as thy horses.
5. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel,
Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.
6. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets
together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I
go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they
said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the
king.
7. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet
of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?
8. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat,
There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may
enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy
good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the
king say so.
9. Then the king of Israel called an officer,
and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah.
10. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the
king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes,
in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all
the prophets prophesied before them.
11. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him
horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt
thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
12. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying,
Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver
it into the king's hand.
13. And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah
spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets
declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray
thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is
good.
14. And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what
the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.
15. So he came to the king. And the king said
unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle,
or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for
the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
16. And the king said unto him, How many times
shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is
true in the name of the LORD?
17. And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon
the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said,
These have no master: let them return every man to his house in
peace.
18. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat,
Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning
me, but evil?
19. And he said, Hear thou therefore the word
of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the
host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
20. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab,
that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on
this manner, and another said on that manner.
21. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before
the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
22. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And
he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the
mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him,
and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
23. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a
lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD
hath spoken evil concerning thee.
24. But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near,
and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit
of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?
25. And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in
that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
26. And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah,
and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to
Joash the king's son;
27. And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow
in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with
water of affliction, until I come in peace.
28. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in
peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken,
O people, every one of you.
29. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the
king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.
30. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat,
I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou
on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went
into the battle.
31. But the king of Syria commanded his thirty
and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight
neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.
32. And it came to pass, when the captains of
the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the
king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and
Jehoshaphat cried out.
33. And it came to pass, when the captains of
the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that
they turned back from pursuing him.
34. And a certain man drew a bow at a venture,
and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness:
wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand,
and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
35. And the battle increased that day: and the
king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died
at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of
the chariot.
36. And there went a proclamation throughout the
host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his
city, and every man to his own country.
37. So 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 up his blood; and they washed his
armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake.
39. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all
that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities
that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles
of the kings of Israel?
40. So Ahab slept with his fathers; and 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 and five years old
when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in
Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
43. And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father;
he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the
eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken
away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high
places.
44. And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of
Israel.
45. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and
his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written
in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
46. And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained
in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.
47. There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was
king.
48. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish 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 unto 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 reigned two years over Israel.
52. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD,
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. For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and
provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that
his father had done.