Adonijah Presumes to Be King
1Now King David was aold, 1advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm.
2Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her 2stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.”
3So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found bAbishag the cShunammite, and brought her to the king.
4The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her.
5Then dAdonijah the 3son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will 4be king”; and ehe prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
6(And his father had not 5rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. fHis mother had borne him after Absalom.)
7Then he conferred with gJoab the son of Zeruiah and with hAbiathar the priest, and ithey followed and helped Adonijah.
8But jZadok the priest, kBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, lNathan the prophet, mShimei, Rei, and nthe mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.
9And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of 6Zoheleth, which is by oEn Rogel;7 he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants.
10But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or pSolomon his brother.
11So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of qHaggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it?
12“Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
13“Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, r“Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’
14“Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”
15So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.)
16And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?”
17Then she said to him, “My lord, syou swore by the LORD your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’
18“So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it.
19t“He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited.
20“And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21“Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king urests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.”
22And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.
23So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.
24And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?
25v“For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, w‘Long8 live King Adonijah!’
26“But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon.
27“Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
David Proclaims Solomon King
28Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.
29And the king took an oath and said, x“As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress,
30y“just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.”
31Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, z“Let my lord King David live forever!”
32And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king.
33The king also said to them, a“Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own bmule, and take him down to cGihon.9
34“There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet danoint him king over Israel; and eblow the horn, and say, 10‘Long live King Solomon!’
35“Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”
36Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, f“Amen! May the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.
37g“As the LORD has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and hmake his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”
38So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, iBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, the jCherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon.
39Then Zadok the priest took a horn of koil from the tabernacle and lanointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, mand all the people said, 11“Long live King Solomon!”
40And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.
41Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?”
42While he was still speaking, there came nJonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for oyou are a prominent man, and bring good news.”
43Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king.
44“The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule.
45“So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard.
46“Also Solomon psits on the throne of the kingdom.
47“And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, q‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ rThen the king bowed himself on the bed.
48“Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has sgiven one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see tit!’ ”
49So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way.
50Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and utook hold of the horns of the altar.
51And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”
52Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, vnot one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.”
53So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
David’s Instructions to Solomon
1Now athe days of David drew near that he should die, and he 1charged Solomon his son, saying: Solomon’s Jerusalem
2b“I go the way of all the earth; cbe strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.
3“And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may dprosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;
4“that the LORD may efulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, f‘If your sons take heed to their way, to gwalk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, h‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
5“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah idid to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to jAbner the son of Ner and kAmasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet.
6“Therefore do laccording to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.
7“But show kindness to the sons of mBarzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who neat at your table, for so othey came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
8“And see, you have with you pShimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But qhe came down to meet me at the Jordan, and rI swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
9“Now therefore, sdo not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but tbring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”
Death of David
10So uDavid 2rested with his fathers, and was buried in vthe City of David.
11The period that David wreigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.
12xThen Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was yfirmly established.
Solomon Executes Adonijah
13Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, z“Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably.”
14Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Say it.”
15Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was amine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for bit was his from the LORD.
16“Now I ask one petition of you; do not 3deny me.” And she said to him, “Say it.”
17Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me cAbishag the Shunammite as wife.”
18So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.”
19Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and dbowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; eso she sat at his right hand.
20Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you; do not 4refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”
21So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”
22And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my folder brother—for him, and for gAbiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.”
23Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, h“May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life!
24“Now therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a 5house for me, as He ipromised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
25So King Solomon sent by the hand of jBenaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.
Abiathar Exiled, Joab Executed
26And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to kAnathoth, to your own fields, for 6you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, lbecause you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.”
27So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, that he might mfulfill the word of the LORD which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.
28Then news came to Joab, for Joab nhad defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the LORD, and otook hold of the horns of the altar.
29And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the LORD; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, pstrike him down.”
30So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said to him, “Thus says the king, q‘Come out!’ ” And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”
31Then the king said to him, r“Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, sthat you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed.
32“So the LORD twill return his 7blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous uand better than he, and killed them with the sword—vAbner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and wAmasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it.
33“Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and xupon the head of his descendants forever. yBut upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the LORD.”
34So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
35The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put zZadok the priest in the place of aAbiathar.
Shimei Executed
36Then the king sent and called for bShimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere.
37“For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross cthe Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; dyour 8blood shall be on your own head.”
38And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away to eAchish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!”
40So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath.
41And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back.
42Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’
43“Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD and the commandment that I gave you?”
44The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, fall the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the LORD will greturn your wickedness on your own head.
45“But King Solomon shall be blessed, and hthe throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever.”
46So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the ikingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
Solomon Requests Wisdom
1Now aSolomon made 1a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her bto the City of David until he had finished building his cown house, and dthe house of the LORD, and ethe wall all around Jerusalem.
2fMeanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days.
3And Solomon gloved the LORD, hwalking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.
4Now ithe king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, jfor that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
5kAt Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon lin a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
6mAnd Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he nwalked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You ohave given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7“Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a plittle child; I do not know how qto go out or come in.
8“And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You rhave chosen, a great people, stoo numerous to be numbered or counted.
9t“Therefore give to Your servant an 2understanding heart uto judge Your people, that I may vdiscern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
10The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have wnot asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice,
12x“behold, I have done according to your words; ysee, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.
13“And I have also zgiven you what you have not asked: both ariches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.
14“So bif you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, cas your father David walked, then I will dlengthen3 your days.”
15Then Solomon eawoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and fmade a feast for all his servants.
Solomon’s Wise Judgment
16Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and gstood before him.
17And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house.
18“Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; 4no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.
19“And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.
20“So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
21“And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”
22Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.
23And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ”
24Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.
25And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”
26Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for hshe yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”
27So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”
28And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the iwisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
Solomon’s Administration
1So King Solomon was king over all Israel.
2And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest;
3Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, 1scribes; aJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder;
4bBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and cAbiathar, the priests;
5Azariah the son of Nathan, over dthe officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, ea priest and fthe king’s friend;
6Ahishar, over the household; and gAdoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.
7And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year.
8These are their names: 2Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim;
93Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;
104Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher;
115Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife;
12Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam;
136Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged hthe towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged ithe region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars;
14Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15jAhimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife;
16Baanah the son of kHushai, in Asher and Aloth;
17Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18lShimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin;
19Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in mthe country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.
Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign
20Judah and Israel were as numerous nas the sand by the sea in multitude, oeating and drinking and rejoicing.
21So pSolomon reigned over all kingdoms from qthe7 River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. rThey brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22sNow Solomon’s 8provision for one day was thirty 9kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal,
23ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.
24For he had dominion over all the region on this side of 10the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over tall the kings on this side of the River; and uhe had peace on every side all around him.
25And Judah and Israel vdwelt11 safely, weach man under his vine and his fig tree, xfrom Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26ySolomon had 12forty thousand stalls of zhorses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27And athese governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply.
28They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.
29And bGod gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore.
30Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men cof the East and all dthe wisdom of Egypt.
31For he was ewiser than all men—fthan Ethan the Ezrahite, gand Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.
32hHe spoke three thousand proverbs, and his isongs were one thousand and five.
33Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish.
34And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, jcame to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple
1Now aHiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, bfor Hiram had always loved David. New Kings and Temples
2Then cSolomon sent to Hiram, saying:
3dYou know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the LORD his God ebecause of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the LORD put 1his foes under the soles of his feet.
4But now the LORD my God has given me frest2 on every side; there is neither adversary nor 3evil occurrence.
5gAnd behold, 4I propose to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, has the LORD spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”
6Now therefore, command that they cut down icedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.
7So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said,
Blessed be the LORD this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!
8Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:
I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.
9My servants shall bring them down jfrom Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire kby giving food for my household.
10Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire.
11lAnd Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand 5kors of wheat as food for his household, and 6twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.
12So the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, mas He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.
13Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men.
14And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; nAdoniram was in charge of the labor force.
15oSolomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains,
16besides three thousand 7three hundred from the pchiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work.
17And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and qhewn stones, to lay the foundation of the 8temple.
18So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the 9temple.
Solomon Builds the Temple
1And ait came to pass in the four hundred and 1eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of 2Ziv, which is the second month, bthat he began to build the house of the LORD.
2Now cthe house which King Solomon built for the LORD, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. Architecture of the Temple
3The vestibule in front of the 3sanctuary of the house was 4twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of 5the vestibule extended 6ten cubits from the front of the house.
4And he made for the house dwindows with beveled frames.
5Against the wall of the 7temple he built echambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary fand the 8inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it.
6The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the 9temple.
7And gthe temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
8The doorway for the 10middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.
9hSo he built the 11temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar.
10And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.
11Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying:
12“Concerning this 12temple which you are building, iif you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My 13word with you, jwhich I spoke to your father David.
13“And kI will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not lforsake My people Israel.”
14So Solomon built the temple and finished it.
15And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress.
16Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctuary, as the mMost Holy Place.
17And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long.
18The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.
19And he prepared the 14inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there.
20The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar.
21So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold.
22The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold nthe entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary.
23Inside the inner sanctuary ohe made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. Temple Furnishings
24One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.
25And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape.
26The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub.
27Then he set the cherubim inside the inner 15room; and pthey stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room.
28Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved qfigures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.
30And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries.
31For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were 16one-fifth of the wall.
32The two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
33So for the door of the 17sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, 18one-fourth of the wall.
34And the two doors were of cypress wood; rtwo panels comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door.
35Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work.
36And he built the sinner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.
37tIn the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of 19Ziv.
38And in the eleventh year, in the month of 20Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was useven years in building it.
Solomon’s Other Buildings
1But Solomon took athirteen years to build his own house; so he finished all his house.
2He also built the bHouse of the Forest of Lebanon; its length was 1one hundred cubits, its width 2fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, with four rows of cedar pillars, and cedar beams on the pillars.
3And it was paneled with cedar above the beams that were on forty-five pillars, fifteen to a row.
4There were windows with beveled frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three tiers.
5And all the doorways and doorposts had rectangular frames; and window was opposite window in three tiers.
6He also made the Hall of Pillars: its length was fifty cubits, and its width thirty cubits; and in front of them was a portico with pillars, and a canopy was in front of them.
7Then he made a hall for the throne, the Hall of Judgment, where he might judge; and it was paneled with cedar from floor to 3ceiling.
8And the house where he dwelt had another court inside the hall, of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, cwhom he had taken as wife.
9All these were of costly stones cut to size, trimmed with saws, inside and out, from the foundation to the eaves, and also on the outside to the great court.
10The foundation was of costly stones, large stones, some ten cubits and some eight cubits.
11And above were costly stones, hewn to size, and cedar wood.
12The great court was enclosed with three rows of hewn stones and a row of cedar beams. So were the dinner court of the house of the LORD eand the vestibule of the temple.
Hiram the Craftsman
13Now King Solomon sent and brought 4Huram from Tyre.
14fHe was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and ghis father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; hhe was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill in working with all kinds of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work.
The Bronze Pillars for the Temple
15And he 5cast itwo pillars of bronze, each one eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each.
16Then he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits.
17He made a lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for the capitals which were on top of the pillars: seven chains for one capital and seven for the other capital.
18So he made the pillars, and two rows of pomegranates above the network all around to cover the capitals that were on top; and thus he did for the other capital.
19The capitals which were on top of the pillars in the hall were in the shape of lilies, four cubits.
20The capitals on the two pillars also had pomegranates above, by the convex surface which was next to the network; and there were jtwo hundred such pomegranates in rows on each of the capitals all around.
21kThen he set up the pillars by the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the right and called its name 6Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and called its name 7Boaz.
22The tops of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. So the work of the pillars was finished.
The Sea and the Oxen
23And he made lthe Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.
24Below its brim were ornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, mall the way around the Sea. The ornamental buds were cast in two rows when it was cast.
25It stood on ntwelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward.
26It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained 8two thousand baths.
The Carts and the Lavers
27He also made ten 9carts of bronze; four cubits was the length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height. Image
28And this was the design of the carts: They had panels, and the panels were between frames;
29on the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames was a pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of plaited work.
30Every cart had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and its four feet had supports. Under the laver were supports of cast bronze beside each wreath.
31Its opening inside the crown at the top was one cubit in diameter; and the opening was round, shaped like a pedestal, one and a half cubits in outside diameter; and also on the opening were engravings, but the panels were square, not round.
32Under the panels were the four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the cart. The height of a wheel was one and a half cubits.
33The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axle pins, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast bronze.
34And there were four supports at the four corners of each cart; its supports were part of the cart itself.
35On the top of the cart, at the height of half a cubit, it was perfectly round. And on the top of the cart, its flanges and its panels were of the same casting.
36On the plates of its flanges and on its panels he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was a clear space on each, with wreaths all around.
37Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of 10the same mold, one measure, and one shape.
38Then ohe made ten lavers of bronze; each laver contained 11forty baths, and each laver was four cubits. On each of the ten carts was a laver.
39And he put five carts on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the Sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.
Furnishings of the Temple
40pHuram12 made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing all the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of the LORD:
41the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two qnetworks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals which were on top of the pillars;
42rfour hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the pillars);
43the ten carts, and ten lavers on the carts;
44one Sea, and twelve oxen under the Sea;
45sthe pots, the shovels, and the bowls. All these articles which 13Huram made for King Solomon for the house of the LORD were of burnished bronze.
46tIn the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between uSuccoth and vZaretan.
47And Solomon did not weigh all the articles, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not wdetermined.
48Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of the LORD: xthe altar of gold, and ythe table of gold on which was zthe showbread;
49the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left in front of the inner sanctuary, with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold;
50the basins, the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the 14censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner room (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
51So all the work that King Solomon had done for the house of the LORD was finished; and Solomon brought in the things awhich his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and the furnishings. He put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.
The Ark Brought into the Temple
1Now aSolomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, bthat they might bring cup the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the City of David, which is Zion.
2Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the dfeast in the month of 1Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
3So all the elders of Israel came, eand the priests took up the ark.
4Then they brought up the ark of the LORD, fthe 2tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up.
5Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, gsacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.
6Then the priests hbrought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to iits place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, junder the wings of the cherubim.
7For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.
8The poles kextended so that the 3ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.
9lNothing was in the ark mexcept the two tablets of stone which Moses nput there at Horeb, owhen the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
10And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud pfilled the house of the LORD,
11so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the qglory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
“The LORD said He would dwell sin the dark cloud.
13tI have surely built You an exalted house,
uAnd a place for You to dwell in forever.”
Solomon’s Speech at Completion of the Work
14Then the king turned around and vblessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.
15And he said: w“Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who xspoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying,
16‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that yMy name might be there; but I chose zDavid to be over My people Israel.’
17“Now ait was in the heart of my father David to build a 4temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
18b“But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.
19‘Nevertheless cyou shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’
20“So the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have 5filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, das the LORD promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
21“And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is ethe covenant of the LORD which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication
22Then Solomon stood before fthe altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and gspread out his hands toward heaven;
23and he said: “LORD God of Israel, hthere is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, iwho keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who jwalk before You with all their hearts.
24“You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day.
25“Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, k‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’
26l“And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.
27“But mwill God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the nheaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
28“Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:
29“that Your eyes may be open toward this 6temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, o‘My name shall be pthere,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes qtoward this place.
30r“And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
31“When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take san oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple,
32“then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, tcondemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.
33u“When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and vwhen they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple,
34“then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their wfathers.
35x“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them,
36“then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may yteach them zthe good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.
37a“When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their 7cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is;
38“whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple:
39“then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone bknow the hearts of all the sons of men),
40c“that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.
41“Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake
42“(for they will hear of Your great name and Your dstrong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple,
43“hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, ethat all peoples of the earth may know Your name and ffear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.
44“When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name,
45“then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their 8cause.
46“When they sin against You g(for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive hto the land of the enemy, far or near;
47i“yet when they 9come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, jsaying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’;
48“and when they kreturn to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and lpray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name:
49“then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their 10cause,
50“and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and mgrant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them
51“(for nthey are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, oout of the iron furnace),
52p“that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.
53“For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, qas You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.”
Solomon Blesses the Assembly
54rAnd so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, that he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
55Then he stood sand blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:
56“Blessed be the LORD, who has given trest11 to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. uThere has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.
57“May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. vMay He not leave us nor forsake us,
58“that He may wincline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.
59“And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near the LORD our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require,
60x“that all the peoples of the earth may know that ythe LORD is God; there is no other.
61“Let your zheart therefore be 12loyal to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”
Solomon Dedicates the Temple
62Then athe king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD.
63And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the LORD, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.
64On bthe same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the LORD; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the cbronze altar that was before the LORD was too small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65At that time Solomon held da feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from ethe entrance of Hamath to fthe Brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, gseven days and seven more days—fourteen days.
66hOn the eighth day he sent the people away; and they 13blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the LORD had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people.
God’s Second Appearance to Solomon
1And ait came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD band the king’s house, and call Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do,
2that the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, das He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
3And the LORD said to him: e“I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built fto put My name there forever, gand My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.
4“Now if you hwalk before Me ias your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you jkeep My statutes and My judgments,
5“then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, kas I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
6l“But if you or your sons at all 1turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,
7m“then I will 2cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated nfor My name I will cast out of My sight. oIsrael will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
8“And as for pthis house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, q‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’
9“Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the LORD has brought all this rcalamity on them.’ ”
Solomon and Hiram Exchange Gifts
10Now sit happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house
11t(Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him.
13So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” uAnd he called them the land of 3Cabul, as they are to this day.
14Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.
Solomon’s Additional Achievements
15And this is the reason for vthe labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the LORD, his own house, 4the wMillo, the wall of Jerusalem, xHazor, yMegiddo, and zGezer.
16(Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, ahad killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.)
17And Solomon built Gezer, Lower bBeth Horon,
18cBaalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,
19all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for dhis chariots and cities for his ecavalry, and whatever Solomon fdesired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20gAll the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel—
21that is, their descendants hwho were left in the land after them, iwhom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—jfrom these Solomon raised kforced labor, as it is to this day.
22But of the children of Israel Solomon lmade no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.
23Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: mfive hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work.
24But nPharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to oher house which 5Solomon had built for her. pThen he built the Millo.
25qNow three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the LORD, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the temple.
26rKing Solomon also built a fleet of ships at sEzion Geber, which is near 6Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
27tThen Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon.
28And they went to uOphir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.
The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon
1Now when the aqueen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came bto test him with hard questions.
2She came to Jerusalem with a very great 1retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.
3So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing 2so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her.
4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,
5the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, cand his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.
6Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.
7“However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard.
8d“Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!
9e“Blessed be the LORD your God, who fdelighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, gto do justice and righteousness.”
10Then she hgave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11iAlso, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of 3almug wood and precious stones from Ophir.
12jAnd the king made 4steps of the almug wood for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such kalmug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day.
13Now King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
Solomon’s Great Wealth
14The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,
15besides that from the ltraveling merchants, from the income of traders, mfrom all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country.
16And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.
17He also made nthree hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the oHouse of the Forest of Lebanon.
18pMoreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
19The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests.
20Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.
21qAll King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.
22For the king had rmerchant5 ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant sships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and 6monkeys.
23So tKing Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
24Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
25Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.
26uAnd Solomon vgathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he 7stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
27wThe king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.
28xAlso Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price.
29Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; yand 8thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
Solomon’s Heart Turns from the LORD
1But aKing Solomon loved bmany foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—
2from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, c“You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.
3And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.
4For it was so, when Solomon was old, dthat his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his eheart was not 1loyal to the LORD his God, fas was the heart of his father David.
5For Solomon went after gAshtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after hMilcom2 the abomination of the iAmmonites.
6Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David.
7jThen Solomon built a 3high place for kChemosh the abomination of Moab, on lthe hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.
8And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, mwho had appeared to him twice,
10and nhad commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded.
11Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, oI will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your pservant.
12“Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
13q“However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give rone tribe to your son sfor the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem twhich I have chosen.”
Adversaries of Solomon
14Now the LORD uraised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom.
15vFor it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, wafter he had killed every male in Edom
16(because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel, until he had cut down every male in Edom),
17that Hadad fled to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him. Hadad was still a little child.
18Then they arose from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, apportioned food for him, and gave him land.
19And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, that is, the sister of Queen Tahpenes.
20Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh.
21xSo when Hadad heard in Egypt that David 4rested with his fathers, and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, 5“Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.”
22Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that suddenly you seek to go to your own country?” So he answered, “Nothing, but do let me go anyway.”
23And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, yHadadezer king of Zobah.
24So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, zwhen David killed those of Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus.
25He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadad caused); and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.
Jeroboam’s Rebellion
26Then Solomon’s servant, aJeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, balso crebelled against the king.
27And this is what caused him to rebel against the king: dSolomon had built the Millo and 6repaired the damages to the City of David his father.
28The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was eindustrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.
29Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet fAhijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field.
30Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and gtore it into twelve pieces.
31And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for hthus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you
32‘(but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),
33i‘because 7they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David.
34‘However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes.
35‘But jI will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes.
36‘And to his son I will give one tribe, that kMy servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there.
37‘So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel.
38‘Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then lI will be with you and mbuild for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.
39‘And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.’ ”
40Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to nShishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
Death of Solomon
41Now othe rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?
42pAnd the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
43qThen Solomon 8rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his rplace.
The Revolt Against Rehoboam
1And aRehoboam went to bShechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. The Divided Kingdom
2So it happened, when cJeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in dEgypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt),
3that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4“Your father made our eyoke 1heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”
5So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed.
6Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”
7And they spoke to him, saying, f“If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” The Geographic Setting of Kings
8But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.
9And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”
10Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist!
11‘And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with 2scourges!’ ”
12So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.”
13Then the king answered the people 3roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him;
14and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with 4scourges!”
15So the king did not listen to the people; for gthe turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had hspoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:
i“What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel!
Now, see to your own house, O David!”
So Israel departed to their tents.
17But Rehoboam reigned over jthe children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.
18Then King Rehoboam ksent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem.
19So lIsrael has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all mIsrael. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah nonly.
21And when oRehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of pBenjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22But qthe word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
23“Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying,
24‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, rfor this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD.
Jeroboam’s Gold Calves
25Then Jeroboam sbuilt5 Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built tPenuel.
26And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David:
27“If these people ugo up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
28Therefore the king asked advice, vmade two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. wHere are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!”
29And he set up one in xBethel, and the other he put in yDan.
30Now this thing became za sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.
31He made 6shrines on the high places, aand made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi. Image
32Jeroboam 7ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like bthe feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. cAnd at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made.
33So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had ddevised in his own heart. And he 8ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and eburned incense.
The Message of the Man of God
1And behold, aa man of God went from Judah to Bethel 1by the word of the LORD, band Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2Then he cried out against the altar 2by the word of the LORD, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a child, cJosiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be dburned on you.’ ”
3And he gave ea sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.”
4So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself.
5The altar also was split apart, 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.
6Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Please fentreat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before.
7Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and gI will give you a reward.”
8But the man of God said to the king, h“If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place.
9“For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, i‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’ ”
10So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.
Death of the Man of God
11Now an jold prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his 3sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.
12And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons 4had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah.
13Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it,
14and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.”
15Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”
16And he said, k“I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place.
17“For 5I have been told lby the word of the LORD, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’ ”
18He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (He was lying to him.)
19So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.
20Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back;
21and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,
22‘but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the mplace of which the LORD said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ”
23So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back.
24When he was gone, na lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse.
25And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to him.”
27And he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it.
28Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey.
29And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him.
30Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, saying, o“Alas, my brother!”
31So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; play my bones beside his bones.
32q“For the 6saying which he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the 7shrines on the high places which are in the cities of rSamaria, will surely come to pass.”
33sAfter this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
34tAnd this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as uto exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth.
Judgment on the House of Jeroboam
1At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.
2And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that aI would be king over this people.
3b“Also take 1with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child.”
4And Jeroboam’s wife did so; she arose cand went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were 2glazed by reason of his age.
5Now the LORD had said to Ahijah, “Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.”
6And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news.
7“Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: d“Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel,
8“and etore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, fwho kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes;
9“but you have done more evil than all who were before you, gfor you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and hhave cast Me behind your back—
10“therefore behold! iI will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and jwill cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, kbond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone.
11“The dogs shall eat lwhoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the LORD has spoken!” ’
12“Arise therefore, go to your own house. mWhen your feet enter the city, the child shall die.
13“And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall 3come to the grave, because in him nthere is found something good toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
14o“Moreover the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam; 4this is the day. What? Even now!
15“For the LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will puproot Israel from this qgood land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them rbeyond 5the River, sbecause they have made their 6wooden images, provoking the LORD to anger.
16“And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, twho sinned and who made Israel sin.”
17Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to uTirzah. vWhen she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.
18And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, waccording to the word of the LORD which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.
Death of Jeroboam
19Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he xmade war and how he reigned, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
20The period that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. So he rested with his fathers. Then yNadab his son reigned in his place.
Rehoboam Reigns in Judah
21And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. zRehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city awhich the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. bHis mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.
22cNow Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they dprovoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.
23For they also built for themselves ehigh7 places, fsacred pillars, and gwooden images on every high hill and hunder every green tree.
24iAnd there were also 8perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the jabominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of kIsrael.
25lIt happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.
26mAnd he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields nwhich Solomon had made.
27Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and 9committed them to the hands of the captains of the 10guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house.
28And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom.
29oNow 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?
30And there was pwar between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
31qSo Rehoboam 11rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. rHis mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Then sAbijam12 his son reigned in his place.
Abijam Reigns in Judah
1aIn the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah.
2He reigned three years in Jerusalem. bHis mother’s name was cMaachah the granddaughter of dAbishalom.
3And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; ehis heart was not 1loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.
4Nevertheless ffor David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem;
5because David gdid what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, hexcept in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
6iAnd there was war between 2Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
7jNow 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.
8kSo Abijam 3rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place.
Asa Reigns in Judah
9In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah.
10And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom.
11lAsa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did his father David.
12mAnd he banished the 4perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
13Also he removed nMaachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of 5Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and oburned it by the Brook Kidron.
14pBut the 6high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa’s qheart was loyal to the LORD all his days.
15He also brought into the house of the LORD the things which his father rhad dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.
16Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
17And sBaasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built tRamah, uthat he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
18Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to vBen-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in wDamascus, saying,
19“Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”
20So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and xsent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked yIjon, zDan, aAbel Beth Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
21Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah, and remained in bTirzah.
22cThen King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted. And they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them King Asa built dGeba of Benjamin, and eMizpah. The Challenging Chronology of the Kings of Israel and Judah
23The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, 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? But fin the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.
24So Asa 7rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. gThen hJehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
Nadab Reigns in Israel
25Now iNadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.
26And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in jhis sin by which he had made Israel sin.
27kThen Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha killed him at lGibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.
28Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.
29And it was so, when he became king, that he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to mthe word of the LORD which He had spoken by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite,
30nbecause of the sins of Jeroboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.
31Now 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?
32oAnd there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
Baasha Reigns in Israel
33In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years.
34He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in pthe way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin.
1Then the word of the LORD came to aJehu the son of bHanani, against cBaasha, saying:
2d“Inasmuch as I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, and eyou have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made My people Israel sin, to provoke Me to anger with their sins,
3“surely I will ftake1 away the posterity of Baasha and the posterity of his house, and I will make your house like gthe house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
4“The dogs shall eat hwhoever belongs to Baasha and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the fields.”
5Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, what he did, and his might, iare they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
6So Baasha 2rested with his fathers and was buried in jTirzah. Then Elah his son reigned in his place.
7And also the word of the LORD came by the prophet kJehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of 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 lhe killed them.
Elah Reigns in Israel
8In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel, and reigned two years in Tirzah.
9mNow his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him as he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, nsteward3 of his house in Tirzah.
10And Zimri went in and struck him and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.
11Then it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he was seated on his throne, that he killed all the household of Baasha; he odid not leave him one male, neither of his relatives nor of his friends.
12Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, paccording to the word of the LORD, which He spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet,
13for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, by which they had sinned and by which they had made Israel sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger qwith their 4idols.
14Now 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?
Zimri Reigns in Israel
15In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri had reigned in Tirzah seven days. And the people were encamped ragainst Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.
16Now the people who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired and also has killed the king.” So all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. Image
17Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon, and they besieged Tirzah.
18And it happened, when Zimri saw that the city was 5taken, that he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house 6down upon himself with fire, and died,
19because of the sins which he had committed in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, sin walking in the tway of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he had committed to make Israel sin.
20Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the treason he committed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Omri Reigns in Israel
21Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri.
22But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri reigned.
23In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel, and reigned twelve years. Six years he reigned in uTirzah.
24And he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; then he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, vSamaria,7 after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill.
25wOmri did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all who were before him.
26For he xwalked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their yidols.8
27Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
28So Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. Then Ahab his son reigned in his place.
Ahab Reigns in Israel
29In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.
30Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.
31And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, zthat he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the aSidonians; band he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
32Then he set up an altar for Baal in cthe temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. Baal
33dAnd Ahab made a 9wooden image. Ahab edid more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
34In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation 10with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, faccording to the word of the LORD, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.
Elijah Proclaims a Drought
1And Elijah the Tishbite, of the ainhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, b“As the LORD God of Israel lives, cbefore whom I stand, dthere shall not be dew nor rain ethese years, except at my word.”
2Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
3“Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
4“And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the fravens to feed you there.”
5So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
7And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah and the Widow
8Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
9“Arise, go to gZarephath, which belongs to hSidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
10So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.”
11And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
12So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a 1jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and idie.”
13And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
14“For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ”
15So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.
16The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.
Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son
17Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so 2serious that 3there was no breath left in him.
18So she said to Elijah, j“What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
19And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
20Then he cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?”
21kAnd he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.”
22Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he lrevived.
23And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”
24Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this mI know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.”