What the Bible Says About the Meaning of Elah

Scripture

¹⁷ Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
² And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.
³ And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
⁴ And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
⁵ He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
⁶ And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
⁷ And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him.
⁸ He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
⁹ If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”
¹⁰ And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.”
¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
¹² Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul, the man was already old and advanced in years.
¹³ The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
¹⁴ David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul.
¹⁵ but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
¹⁶ For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
¹⁷ And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers.
¹⁸ Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.
¹⁹ Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
²⁰ And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.
²¹ And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.
²² And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers.
²³ As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
²⁴ All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.
²⁵ And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
²⁶ And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
²⁷ And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
²⁸ Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
²⁹ And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?”
³⁰ Then he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
³¹ When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him.
³² And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
³³ And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”
³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,
³⁵ I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.
³⁶ Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.
³⁷ And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
³⁸ Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail,
³⁹ Then David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.
⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
⁴¹ And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.
⁴² And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
⁴³ And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
⁴⁴ The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”
⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head.
⁴⁷ And that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.
⁴⁸ When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
⁴⁹ And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.
⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
⁵² And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.
⁵³ And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.
⁵⁴ Then David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
⁵⁵ As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”
⁵⁶ The king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.”
⁵⁷ And as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
⁵⁸ And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

1 Samuel 17:1-58

1 Samuel 21:9-10: ⁹ And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”
¹⁰ And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath.

1 Kings 4:7-19: ⁷ Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year.
⁸ These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
⁹ The son of Dekar, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan;
¹⁰ Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher);
¹¹ Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);
¹² Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam,
¹³ Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
¹⁴ Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
¹⁵ Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);
¹⁶ Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam,
¹⁷ and Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);
¹⁸ Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
¹⁹ Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land.

1 Kings 6:1-38: ¹ In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord.
² The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.
³ The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and its height was 120 cubits.
⁴ And for the house he made windows with recessed frames.
⁵ He also built a structure against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around.
⁶ The lowest storey was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.
⁷ When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.
⁸ The entrance for the lowest story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third.
⁹ So he built the House and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the House of beams and planks of cedar.
¹⁰ And he built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.
¹¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.
¹² “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.”
¹³ And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.
¹⁴ So Solomon built the house and finished it.
¹⁵ He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress.
¹⁶ He also built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place.
¹⁷ The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long.
¹⁸ The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen.
¹⁹ The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
²⁰ The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid an altar of cedar.
²¹ So Solomon overlaid the house on the inside with pure gold.
²² And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished. And the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.
²³ In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high.
²⁴ And five cubits was the length of the wings of the cherubim.
²⁵ The doors for the most holy place were made of olive wood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.
²⁶ The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub.
²⁷ He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house.
²⁸ And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
²⁹ Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms.
³⁰ He also overlaid the floor of the house with gold, in the inner and outer rooms.
³¹ For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.
³² So he built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.
³³ So also he made for the entrance to the nave four-sided doorposts of olive wood
³⁴ And the two doors were of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
³⁵ He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work.
³⁶ And he built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.
³⁷ In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv.
³⁸ In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.

1 Kings 7:1-51: ⁷ Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.
² He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars.
³ It was paneled with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row.
⁴ There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers.
⁵ All the doorways and windows had square frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers.
⁶ He made the Hall of Pillars fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, and a porch was in front of them, and a canopy in front of them.
⁷ And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. And it was finished with cedar from floor to rafters.
⁸ His house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter whom he had taken in marriage.
⁹ All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court.
¹⁰ The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits.
¹¹ Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord:
¹² The great court had three courses of cut stone all around, and a course of cedar beams; so had the inner court of the house of the Lord, and the vestibule of the house.
¹³ And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre.
¹⁴ He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.
¹⁵ He cast two pillars of bronze. Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same.
¹⁶ He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits.
¹⁷ There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital.
¹⁸ So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals that were on the top of the pomegranates. And so he did for the other capital.
¹⁹ So he set the pillars at the entrance of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north.
²⁰ There were capitals on the two pillars, above the rounded projection next to the latticework.
²¹ And he set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz.
²² And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished.
²³ Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.
²⁴ And under the brim of it round about there were knops, compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea all around. The knops were cast in two rows when it was cast.
²⁵ It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward.
²⁶ It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.
²⁷ He made ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
²⁸ And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the panels, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.
²⁹ And on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. Upon the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work.
³⁰ And each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each.
³¹ Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit from it. Its opening was round, as a pedestal is made, a cubit and a half deep. And also on its opening there were engravings, and their panels were square, not round.
³² And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the stands, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.
³³ The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast.
³⁴ And there were four supports at the four corners of each stand. The supports were of one piece with the stands.
³⁵ He set up the stands on the right side of the house, and when he had set up the sea on the right side of the house, the south side of the house was finished.
³⁶ For on the plates of its stays and on its panels, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around.
³⁷ He made the ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
³⁸ He made ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands.
³⁹ He set the basin between the sea and the landings; at the southeast corner.
⁴⁰ Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord:
⁴¹ The two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars;
⁴² the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars;
⁴³ And the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands;
⁴⁴ and the one sea, twelve oxen underneath it.
⁴⁵ and the pots, the shovels, and the basins. All these vessels that Hiram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of burnished bronze.
⁴⁶ In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.
⁴⁷ Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them; the weight of the bronze was not ascertained.
⁴⁸ Solomon also made all the vessels that were in the house of the Lord: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence,
⁴⁹ the lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to burn before the inner sanctuary according to the rule;
⁵⁰ the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple.
⁵¹ Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

1 Kings 8:1-66: ¹ Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.
² And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
³ And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
⁴ And they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up.
⁵ And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.
⁶ Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.
⁷ For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.
⁸ And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.
⁹ There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
¹⁰ And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord,
¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
¹² Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.
¹³ I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
¹⁴ Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood.
¹⁵ And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying,
¹⁶ Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there. But I chose David to be over my people Israel.
¹⁷ Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
¹⁸ “But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.’”
¹⁹ Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’
²⁰ Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
²¹ And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
²² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven,
²³ and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart,
²⁴ who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day.
²⁵ Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’
²⁶ Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.
²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!”
²⁸ Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day,
²⁹ that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place.
³⁰ And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
³¹ “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house,”
³² then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
³³ “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house,”
³⁴ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.
³⁵ “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them,”
³⁶ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.
³⁷ “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is,”
³⁸ whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house,
³⁹ then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind),
⁴⁰ that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.
⁴¹ “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake
⁴² (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house,
⁴³ “hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.”
⁴⁴ “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,”
⁴⁵ then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.
⁴⁶ “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near,”
⁴⁷ yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’
⁴⁸ if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name,
⁴⁹ then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause,
⁵⁰ and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them.
⁵¹ (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace).
⁵² Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you.
⁵³ for you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”
⁵⁴ Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven.
⁵⁵ And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:
⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant.”
⁵⁷ be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us,
⁵⁸ that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers.
⁵⁹ Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires,
⁶⁰ that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.
⁶¹ Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”
⁶² Then the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.
⁶³ Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.
⁶⁴ The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.
⁶⁵ So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days.
⁶⁶ On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.

1 Kings 9:1-28: ⁴ And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules,
² that the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.
³ And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.
⁴ And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules,
⁵ then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
⁶ But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,
⁷ then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
⁸ And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’
⁹ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’
¹⁰ At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house,
¹⁴ Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.
¹² But Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
¹³ And King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men.
¹⁴ And Hiram sent to the king 120 talents of gold.
¹⁵ And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer.
¹⁶ (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.)
¹⁷ And Solomon rebuilt Gezer and Lower Beth-horon,
¹⁸ as well as Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,
¹⁹ All the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots and cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
²⁰ All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel—
²¹ Their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction—these Solomon drafted to be slaves, and so they are to this day.
²² But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves. They were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen.
²³ These were the chief officers who were over Solomon’s work: 550 who had charge of the people who carried on the work.
²⁴ But Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David to her own house that Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.
²⁵ Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the Lord, making offerings with it before the Lord. So he finished the house.
²⁶ And King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
²⁷ And Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon.
²⁸ And they went to Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.

1 Kings 10:1-29: ²³ Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
² She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.
³ And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her.
⁴ And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,
⁵ the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.
⁶ She said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom,
⁷ So I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard.
⁸ Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!
⁹ Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
¹⁰ Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
¹¹ Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones.
¹² The king also made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.
¹³ King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked, besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.
¹⁴ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,
¹⁵ besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land.
¹⁶ King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield.
¹⁷ and he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
¹⁸ Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold.
¹⁹ The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests,
²⁰ Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. Nothing like it was made for any kingdom.
²¹ All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon.
²² The king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
²³ Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
²⁴ The whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind.
²⁵ And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and garments, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
²⁶ And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
²⁷ Now the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah.
²⁸ And Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders received them from Kue at a price.
²⁹ A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king’s traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

1 Kings 11:1-43: ³ He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
² from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.
³ He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
⁴ For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
⁵ For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
⁶ So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.
⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.
⁸ So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.
⁹ And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
¹⁰ and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded.
¹¹ Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.
¹² Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
¹³ However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.
¹⁴ And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom.
¹⁵ For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, that he struck down every male in Edom.
¹⁶ (For Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom.)
¹⁷ that Hadad fled to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was still a little child.
¹⁸ And they set out from Midian and came to Paran and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him an allowance of food and gave him land.
¹⁹ And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.
²⁰ And the sister of Tahath was his wife, and she bore him Genubath his son.
²¹ But Hadad fled to Egypt, together with certain Edomites of his father’s servants, Hadad still being a little child.
²² Then Pharaoh said to him, “What does he lack with me that you now seek to go to your own country?” And he said to him, “Nothing; but please let me go.”
²³ God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer king of Zobah.
²⁴ And he gathered men around him and became leader of a marauding band, after David had killed them of Zobah.
²⁵ And he was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. And he abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria.
²⁶ Then Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king.
²⁷ And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father.
²⁸ The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph.
²⁹ And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country.
³⁰ and Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces.
³¹ And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes.
³² (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),
³³ because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did.
³⁴ However, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes.
³⁵ but I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give it to you, ten tribes.
³⁶ Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.
³⁷ However, I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel.
³⁸ And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.
³⁹ And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.’”
⁴⁰ Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
⁴¹ Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?
⁴² And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
⁴³ And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

1 Kings 12:1-33: ¹² Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
² And when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt.
³ Then they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam,
⁴ “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.”
⁵ He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.
⁶ Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?”
⁷ And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.”
⁸ But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.
⁹ He said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?”
¹⁰ And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs.
¹¹ And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.
¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.”
¹³ And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him,
¹⁴ and he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”
¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
¹⁶ So when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents.
¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah.
¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. So King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.
¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
²⁰ When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.
²¹ When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
²² But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God:
²³ Speak good words to them and they will be your servants forever.
²⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.
²⁵ Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel.
²⁶ And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David.
²⁷ If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
²⁸ So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
²⁹ And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
³⁰ Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.
³¹ He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites.
³² And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.
³³ He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.

1 Kings 13:1-34: And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel.
And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’”
³ And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’”
⁴ And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.
⁵ And the altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
⁶ And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before.
⁷ And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
⁸ But the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place,
⁹ For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’
¹⁰ And he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.
¹¹ Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king.
¹² And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone.
¹³ And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it.
¹⁴ And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.”
¹⁵ Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”
¹⁶ And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place,
¹⁷ For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’
¹⁸ And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him.
¹⁹ So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.
²⁰ And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.
²¹ And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you,
²² But when he had gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body.
²³ And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back.
²⁴ And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body.
²⁵ And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
²⁶ And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.”
²⁷ And he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it.
²⁸ And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey.
²⁹ And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city to mourn and to bury him.
³⁰ And he laid his body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!”
³¹ And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
³² For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.”
³³ After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places.
³⁴ And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

1 Kings 14:1-31: ¹ At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
² And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people.
³ And take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”
⁴ And Jeroboam’s wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age.
⁵ Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.”
⁶ And when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you.
⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel,
⁸ and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes,
⁹ but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back,
¹⁰ therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone.
¹¹ Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.
¹² Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die.
¹³ And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.
¹⁴ Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today.
¹⁵ And the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger.
¹⁶ And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.
¹⁷ Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. When she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.
¹⁸ And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.
¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
²⁰ And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. And he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.
²¹ Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.
²² And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.
²³ For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree,
²⁴ And there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
²⁵ In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.
²⁶ 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 shields of gold that Solomon had made.
²⁷ And King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house.
²⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
²⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
³⁰ And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
³¹ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And Abijam his son reigned in his place.

1 Kings 15:1-34: ¹ Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah.
² He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
³ And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father.
¹⁵ Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem,
⁵ because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
⁶ Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
⁸ And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place.
⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah,
¹⁰ And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
¹¹ And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done.
¹² He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
¹³ He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.
¹⁴ But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days.
¹⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
¹⁶ And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
¹⁷ Now Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
¹⁸ Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house and gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,
¹⁹ “Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.”
²⁰ Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
²¹ When Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and he lived in Tirzah.
²² Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.
²³ Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased in his feet.
²⁴ And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
²⁵ Now Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.
²⁶ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.
²⁷ Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.
²⁸ Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place.
²⁹ And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.
³⁰ because of the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.
³¹ Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
³² And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty-four years.
³⁴ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.

1 Kings 16:1-34: ¹⁶ And the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying:
² “Since I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins,
³ Surely I will sweep away Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
⁴ Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the heavens shall eat.”
⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
⁶ And Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried at Tirzah, and Elah his son reigned in his place.
⁷ Moreover, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and also because he destroyed it.
⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned two years.
⁹ But his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah,
¹⁰ When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over him with fire and died,
¹¹ When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he struck down all the house of Baasha. He did not leave him a single male of his relatives or his friends.
¹² Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet,
¹³ for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols.
¹⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines,
¹⁶ And the people who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired, and he has killed the king.” Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp.
¹⁷ Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him.
¹⁸ When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over him with fire and died,
¹⁹ For his sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.
²⁰ Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the conspiracy that he made, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
²¹ Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri.
²² But the people who were living in the land of the sons of Ammon, the Ammonites, made him king in place of his father Hazael.
²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for twelve years. Six years he reigned in Tirzah.
²⁴ He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.
²⁵ Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him.
²⁶ For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.
²⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Omri that he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
²⁸ So Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigned in his place.
²⁹ In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.
³¹ And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
³¹ And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
³² And he erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria.
³³ And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
³⁴ In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

1 Kings 17:1-24: ¹ Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
² And the word of the Lord came to him:
³ “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.”
⁴ You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.
⁵ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan.
⁶ And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
⁷ And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him,
⁹ “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”
¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.”
¹¹ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
¹² And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now 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 die.”
¹³ And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.
¹⁴ For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’”
¹⁵ She went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.
¹⁶ The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
¹⁷ After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
¹⁸ And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”
¹⁹ And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.
²⁰ Then he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?”
²¹ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”
²² And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.
²³ And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.”
²⁴ And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

1 Kings 18:1-46: ¹ After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”
² So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
³ And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, )
⁴ And when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.
⁵ And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.”
⁶ So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.
⁷ And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
⁸ And he answered him, “I am the prophet of the Lord. But how have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?
⁹ And he said, “What have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?
¹⁰ As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you.
¹¹ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”‘
¹² And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. So, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.
¹³ Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water?
¹⁴ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”‘; and he will kill me.”
¹⁵ And Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”
¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”
¹⁸ And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.
¹⁹ Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
²⁰ So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel.
²¹ And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.
²³ Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it.
²⁴ And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.”
²⁵ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.”
²⁶ And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.
²⁷ And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
²⁸ And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.
²⁹ And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down.
³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,”
³² And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord.
³³ And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”
³⁴ And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”
³⁵ And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.
³⁶ And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
³⁷ Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”
³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
³⁹ And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
⁴⁰ And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.
⁴¹ And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.”
⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees.
⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times.
⁴⁴ And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’”
⁴⁵ And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.
⁴⁶ And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

1 Kings 19:1-21: ¹ Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.”
³ Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
⁵ Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep.
⁶ And he looked, and behold, there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.
⁷ And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”
⁸ And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
⁹ There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
¹⁰ He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
¹¹ And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
¹² And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
¹³ And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
¹⁴ He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
¹⁵ And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
¹⁶ And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
¹⁷ And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death.
¹⁸ Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
¹⁹ So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him.
²⁰ And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”
²¹ And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

1 Kings 20:1-43: ¹ Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and closed in on Samaria and fought against it.
² And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad:
³ Your silver and your gold are mine; your best wives and children also are mine.’”
⁴ And the king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.”
⁵ And the messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘I sent to you, saying, “Deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children.”
⁶ But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you and take it away.
⁷ Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Mark, now, and see how this man is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my wives and my children, and for my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him.”
⁸ And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.”
⁹ Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you first demanded of your servant I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” And the messengers departed and brought him word again.
¹⁰ Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
¹¹ And the king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.’”
¹² And when Ben-hadad heard this message as he was drinking with the kings in the booths, he said to his men, “Take your positions.” And they took their positions against the city.
¹³ And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
¹⁴ And Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘By the servants of the governors of the districts.’” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.”
¹⁵ Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.
¹⁶ And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him.
¹⁷ The young men of the leaders of the provinces went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, “Men are coming out from Samaria.”
¹⁸ And he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
¹⁹ And the servants of the governors of the districts went out first.
²⁰ They struck down every man in it, but each man fled to his own home.
²¹ And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.
²² And the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do, for in the spring the king of Syria will come up against you.”
²³ And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
²⁴ And do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in their places,
²⁵ and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.
²⁶ In the spring, Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
²⁷ The people of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went against them. The people of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country.
²⁸ And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’”
²⁹ And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day.
³⁰ But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men who were left.
³¹ And his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
³² So they tied on sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, and went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please, let me live.’” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
³³ Now the men took this as a good omen, and they quickly accepted his offer and said, “Your brother Ben-hadad lives.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” So Ben-hadad came out to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
³⁴ And Ben-hadad said to him, “The cities that my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” And Ahab said, “I will let you go on these terms.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
³⁵ And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow at the command of the Lord, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him.
³⁶ Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have gone from me, a lion shall strike you down.” And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion met him and struck him down.
³⁷ Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him—struck him and wounded him.
³⁸ So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
³⁹ And as the king passed, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’
⁴⁰ And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.”
⁴¹ And he hurried and took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.
⁴² And he said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.’”
⁴³ And the king of Israel went to his house vexed and sullen and came to Samaria.

1 Kings 21:1-29: ¹ Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
² And Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.”
³ But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
⁴ And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.
⁵ But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?”
⁶ And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
⁷ And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city.
⁹ And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people.
¹⁰ But set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
¹¹ And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them,
¹² They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.
¹³ And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him.
¹⁴ Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”
¹⁵ As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”
¹⁶ And when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
¹⁸ “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession.”
²¹ “Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel.”
²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord.
²¹ Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel.
²² I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin.
²³ And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’
²⁴ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.
²⁵ (There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited.)
²⁶ He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.
²⁷ And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly.
²⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
²⁹ “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

1 Kings 22:1-53: ²² For three years Syria and Israel continued without war.
² It came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
³ And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?”
⁴ And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
⁵ But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.”
⁶ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
⁷ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?”
⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
⁹ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.”
¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
¹¹ And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’”
¹² And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
¹³ And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”
¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak.”
¹⁵ And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
¹⁶ And the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
¹⁷ And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’”
¹⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
¹⁹ And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left.
²⁰ and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another.
²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’
²² And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’
²³ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”
²⁴ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?”
²⁵ And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.”
²⁶ And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son,
²⁷ and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water, until I come in peace.”
²⁸ And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”
²⁹ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.
³⁰ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
³¹ Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.”
³² And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is surely the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out.
³³ And a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
³⁴ But someone drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
³⁵ And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot.
³⁶ So there went a proclamation throughout the camp as the sun was going down, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country.”
³⁷ So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria.
³⁸ And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken.
³⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
⁴⁰ So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.
⁴¹ Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.
⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
⁴³ He walked in all the way of Asa his father. He did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. Yet the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.
⁴⁴ And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
⁴⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
⁴⁶ He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
⁴⁷ There was not a king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.
⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
⁴⁹ Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships,” but Jehoshaphat was not willing.
⁵⁰ Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.
⁵¹ Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel.
⁵² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
⁵³ For he served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger in every way that his father had done.