GetPassageurn:cts:pbc:bible.parallel.eng.darby:11urn:cts:pbc:bible.parallel.eng.darby:11And king David was old [ and ] advanced in age ; and they covered him with clothes , but he obtained no warmth . And his servants said to him , Let there be found for my lord the king a young virgin ; and let her stand before the king , and let her cherish him , and let her lie in thy bosom , that my lord the king may get warm . And they sought for a fair damsel throughout the territory of Israel , and found Abishag a Shunammite , and brought her to the king . And the damsel was very fair ; and cherished the king , and ministered to him ; but the king knew her not . And Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself , saying , I will be king ; and he provided himself chariots and horsemen , and fifty men to run before him . And his father had not grieved him at any time in saying , Why doest thou so ? and he was also a very comely man ; and [ his mother ] bore him after Absalom . And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah , and with Abiathar the priest ; and they helped Adonijah and followed [ him ] . But Zadok the priest , and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada , and Nathan the prophet , and Shimei , and Rei , and the mighty men whom David had , were not with Adonijah . And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatted cattle by the stone of Zoheleth , which is by En-rogel , and invited all his brethren , the king's sons , and all the men of Judah , the king's servants ; but Nathan the prophet , and Benaiah , and the mighty men , and Solomon his brother , he did not invite . And Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon , saying , Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith is king , and David our lord does not know [ it ] ? And now , come , let me , I pray thee , give thee counsel , that thou mayest save thine own life , and the life of thy son Solomon . Go and get thee in to king David , and say to him , Didst not thou , my lord , O king , swear to thy handmaid saying , Solomon thy son shall reign after me , and he shall sit on my throne ? why then does Adonijah reign ? Behold , while thou yet talkest there with the king , I also will come in after thee and confirm thy words . And Bathsheba went in to the king into the chamber ; and the king was very old ; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered to the king . And Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king . And the king said , What wouldest thou ? And she said to him , My lord , thou hast sworn by Jehovah thy God to thy handmaid , [ saying , ] Solomon thy son shall reign after me , and he shall sit on my throne . And now behold , Adonijah is king ; and now , my lord the king , thou knowest it not . And he has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance , and has invited all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the captain of the host ; but Solomon thy servant has he not invited . And thou , my lord the king , the eyes of all Israel are upon thee , that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him . Otherwise it shall come to pass when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers , that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders . And behold , while she yet talked with the king , Nathan the prophet also came in . And they told the king saying , Behold , Nathan the prophet . And when he was come in before the king , he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground . And Nathan said , My lord , O king , hast thou said , Adonijah shall reign after me , and he shall sit on my throne ? For he is gone down this day , and has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance , and has invited all the king's sons , and the captains of the host , and Abiathar the priest ; and behold , they eat and drink before him , and say , God save king Adonijah ! But me , [ even ] me thy servant , and Zadok the priest , and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada , and thy servant Solomon , he has not invited . Is this thing done by my lord the king , and thou hast not shewn to thy servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him ? Then king David answered and said , Call me Bathsheba . And she came into the king's presence , and stood before the king . And the king swore , and said , [ As ] Jehovah liveth , who has redeemed my soul out of all distress , even as I swore to thee by Jehovah the God of Israel , saying , Solomon thy son shall reign after me , and he shall sit on my throne in my stead ; even so will I certainly do this day . And Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth , and did reverence to the king , and said , Let my lord king David live for ever . And king David said , Call me Zadok the priest , and Nathan the prophet , and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada . And they came before the king . And the king said to them , Take with you the servants of your lord , and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule , and bring him down to Gihon ; and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel ; and blow ye with the trumpet , and say , Long live king Solomon ! And ye shall come up after him , that he may come and sit on my throne ; for he shall reign in my stead , and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah . And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said , Amen : Jehovah , the God of my lord the king , say so too . As Jehovah has been with my lord the king , even so be he with Solomon , and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David . And Zadok the priest , and Nathan the prophet , and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada , and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down , and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule , and brought him to Gihon . And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the tabernacle , and anointed Solomon . And they blew the trumpet ; and all the people said , Long live king Solomon ! And all the people came up after him , and the people piped with pipes , and rejoiced with great joy , so that the earth rent with the sound of them . And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard [ it ] as they were finishing their repast ; and Joab heard the sound of the trumpet , and he said , Wherefore this noise of the city in an uproar ? While he yet spoke , behold , Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came ; and Adonijah said [ to him ] , Come in ; for thou art a valiant man , and bringest good news . And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah , Indeed , our lord king David has made Solomon king . And the king has sent with him Zadok the priest , and Nathan the prophet , and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada , and the Cherethites and the Pelethites , and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule ; and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon ; and they are come up from thence rejoicing , so that the city is in an uproar . This is the noise which ye have heard . And also Solomon is sitting on the throne of the kingdom . And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David , saying , Thy God make the name of Solomon more excellent than thy name , and make his throne greater than thy throne ! And the king bowed himself on the bed . And also thus said the king : Blessed be Jehovah , the God of Israel , who has given one to sit on my throne this day , mine eyes even seeing it . And all Adonijah's guests were afraid , and rose up and went every man his way . And Adonijah feared because of Solomon , and arose and went and caught hold of the horns of the altar . And it was told Solomon saying , Behold , Adonijah fears king Solomon ; for behold , he has caught hold of the horns of the altar , saying , Let king Solomon swear to me this day that he will not put his servant to death with the sword . And Solomon said , If he be a worthy man , there shall not one of his hairs fall to the earth ; but if wickedness be found in him , he shall die . And king Solomon sent , and they brought him down from the altar . And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon ; and Solomon said to him , Go to thy house . And the days of David were at hand that he should die ; and he enjoined Solomon his son saying , I go the way of all the earth : be of good courage therefore , and be a man ; and keep the charge of Jehovah thy God , to walk in his ways , to keep his statutes , and his commandments , and his ordinances , and his testimonies , as it is written in the law of Moses , that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest and whithersoever thou turnest thyself ; that Jehovah may confirm his word which he spoke concerning me , saying , If thy sons take heed to their way , to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul , there shall not fail thee , said he , a man upon the throne of Israel . And thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me , what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel , to Abner the son of Ner , and to Amasa the son of Jether , whom he slew , and shed the blood of war in peace , and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins , and upon his sandals that were on his feet . And thou shalt do according to thy wisdom , and not let his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace . But shew kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite , and let them be of those that eat at thy table ; for so they came up to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother . And behold , there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera , the Benjaminite of Bahurim , who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day that I went to Mahanaim ; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan , and I swore to him by Jehovah saying , I will not put thee to death with the sword . And now hold him not guiltless ; for thou art a wise man , and thou shalt know what thou oughtest to do to him ; but bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood . And David slept with his fathers , and was buried in the city of David . And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years : he reigned seven years in Hebron , and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem . And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father ; and his kingdom was established greatly . And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon . And she said , Comest thou peaceably ? And he said , Peaceably . And he said , I have something to say to thee . And she said , Speak . And he said , Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine , and all Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign ; but the kingdom is turned about and is become my brother's , for it was his from Jehovah . And now I ask one petition of thee ; refuse me not . And she said to him , Speak . And he said , Speak , I pray thee , to Solomon the king -- for he will not refuse thee -- that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife . And Bathsheba said , Well , I will speak for thee to the king . And Bathsheba went to king Solomon , to speak to him for Adonijah . And the king rose up to meet her , and bowed himself to her , and sat down on his throne ; and he caused a throne to be set for the king's mother , and she sat on his right hand . Then she said , I desire one small petition of thee ; refuse me not . And the king said to her , Ask , my mother , for I will not refuse thee . And she said , Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother as wife . And king Solomon answered and said to his mother , And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah ? ask for him the kingdom also ; for he is mine elder brother ; even for him , and for Abiathar the priest , and for Joab the son of Zeruiah . And king Solomon swore by Jehovah saying , God do so to me , and more also , -- Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life ! And now [ as ] Jehovah liveth , who has established me , and set me on the throne of David my father , and who has made me a house , as he promised , Adonijah shall be put to death this day . And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada ; who fell on him , that he died . And the king said to Abiathar the priest , Go to Anathoth , to thine own fields ; for thou art worthy of death ; but I will not at this time put thee to death , because thou didst bear the ark of Adonai Jehovah before David my father , and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted . And Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest to Jehovah , to fulfil the word of Jehovah , which he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh . And the report came to Joab ( for Joab had turned after Adonijah , though he had not turned after Absalom ) ; and Joab fled to the tent of Jehovah , and caught hold of the horns of the altar . And it was told king Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of Jehovah ; and behold , he is by the altar . And Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada , saying , Go , fall on him . And Benaiah came to the tent of Jehovah and said to him , Thus saith the king : Come forth . And he said , No ; for I will die here . And Benaiah brought the king word again , saying , Thus said Joab , and thus he answered me . And the king said to him , Do as he has said , and fall upon him , and bury him ; and take away the innocent blood , which Joab shed , from me and from the house of my father . And Jehovah shall requite the blood which he shed upon his own head , because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he , and slew them with the sword , without my father David's knowledge : Abner the son of Ner , captain of the host of Israel , and Amasa the son of Jether , captain of the host of Judah . And their blood shall be requited upon the head of Joab , and upon the head of his seed for ever ; but upon David , and upon his seed , and upon his house , and upon his throne , shall there be peace for ever from Jehovah . And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him , and put him to death ; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness . And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his stead over the host ; and Zadok the priest the king put in the stead of Abiathar . And the king sent and called for Shimei , and said to him , Build thee a house in Jerusalem , and abide there , and go not forth thence anywhere . And it shall be that on the day thou goest forth , and passest over the torrent of Kidron , . . . know for certain that thou shalt surely die : thy blood shall be upon thine own head . And Shimei said to the king , The saying is good : as my lord the king has said , so will thy servant do . And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days . And it came to pass at the end of three years , that two servants of Shimei's ran away to Achish son of Maachah , king of Gath . And they told Shimei saying , Behold , thy servants are in Gath . Then Shimei arose , and saddled his ass , and went to Gath , to Achish , to seek his servants ; and Shimei went , and brought his servants from Gath . And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath , and had come again . And the king sent and called for Shimei , and said to him , Did I not make thee swear by Jehovah , and protest to thee , saying , Know for certain , that on the day thou goest forth , and walkest abroad anywhere , thou shalt surely die ? and thou saidst to me , The word that I have heard is good . Why then hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah , and the commandment that I charged thee with ? And the king said to Shimei , Thou knowest all the wickedness of which thy heart is conscious , which thou didst to David my father ; and Jehovah returns thy wickedness upon thine own head ; and king Solomon shall be blessed , and the throne of David shall be established before Jehovah for ever . And the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada ; who went out and fell upon him , and he died . And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon . And Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt , and took Pharaoh's daughter , and brought her into the city of David , until he had ended building his own house , and the house of Jehovah , and the wall of Jerusalem round about . Only , the people sacrificed on the high places ; for there was no house built to the name of Jehovah , until those days . And Solomon loved Jehovah , walking in the statutes of David his father ; only , he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places . And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there ; for that was the great high place : a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer up upon that altar . In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night ; and God said , Ask what I shall give thee . And Solomon said , Thou hast shewn unto thy servant David my father great loving-kindness , according as he walked before thee in truth , and in righteousness , and in uprightness of heart with thee ; and thou hast kept for him this great loving-kindness , that thou hast given him a son who sits upon his throne , as it is this day . And now , Jehovah my God , thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father ; and I am but a little child : I know not to go out and to come in . And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen , a great people , that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude . Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart , to judge thy people , to discern between good and bad ; for who is able to judge this thy numerous people ? And the word pleased the Lord , that Solomon had asked this thing . And God said to him , Because thou hast asked this thing , and hast not asked for thyself long life , neither hast asked riches for thyself , nor hast asked the life of thine enemies , but hast asked for thyself discernment to understand judgment ; behold , I have done according to thy word : behold , I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart , so that there hath been none like unto thee before thee , neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee . And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked , both riches and glory ; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days . And if thou wilt walk in my ways , to keep my statutes and my commandments , as thy father David did walk , then I will prolong thy days . And Solomon awoke , and behold , it was a dream . And he came to Jerusalem , and stood before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah , and offered up burnt-offerings , and offered peace-offerings , and made a feast to all his servants . Then came two women , harlots , to the king , and stood before him . And the first woman said , Ah , my lord ! I and this woman abode in one house ; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house . And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered , that this woman was delivered also ; and we were together ; no stranger was with us in the house , only we two were in the house . And this woman's child died in the night ; because she had lain upon it . And she arose at midnight , and took my son from beside me , while thy handmaid slept , and laid it in her bosom , and laid her dead son in my bosom . And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck , behold , it was dead ; and I considered it in the morning , and behold , it was not my son , whom I bore . And the other woman said , No , for the living is my son , and the dead is thy son . And this one said , No , but the dead is thy son , and the living is my son . Thus they spoke before the king . Then said the king , The one says , This that is living is my son , and thy son is the dead ; and the other says , No , for thy son is the dead , and my son is the living . And the king said , Bring me a sword . And they brought a sword before the king . And the king said , Divide the living child in two , and give half to the one , and half to the other . Then spoke the woman whose was the living child to the king , for her bowels yearned over her son , and she said , Ah , my lord ! give her the living child , and in no wise put it to death . But the other said , Let it be neither mine nor thine ; divide it . And the king answered and said , Give this one the living child , and in no wise put it to death : she is its mother . And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged ; and they feared the king , for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him , to do justice . And king Solomon was king over all Israel . And these are the princes whom he had : Azariah the son of Zadok was priest ; Elihoreph and Ahiah , the sons of Shisha , scribes ; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud , chronicler ; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host ; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests ; and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the superintendents ; and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer , the king's friend ; and Ahishar was over the household ; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the levy-service . And Solomon had twelve superintendents over all Israel ; and they provided food for the king and his household : each man his month in the year had to make provision . And these are their names : Ben-Hur , in mount Ephraim . Ben-Deker in Makaz , and in Shaalbim , and Beth-shemesh , and Elon-Beth-hanan . Ben-Hesed , in Arubboth ; he had Sochoh , and all the land of Hepher . Ben-Abinadab had all the upland of Dor ; Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife . Baana the son of Ahilud had Taanach and Megiddo , and all Beth-shean , which is by Zaretan beneath Jizreel , from Beth-shean to Abel-Meholah , as far as beyond Jokneam . Ben-Geber , in Ramoth-Gilead ; he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh , which are in Gilead ; he had the region of Argob , which is in Bashan , sixty great cities with walls and bars of bronze . Ahinadab the son of Iddo , at Mahanaim . Ahimaaz , in Nephtali ; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon as wife . Baanah the son of Hushai , in Asher and in Aloth . Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah , in Issachar . Shimei the son of Ela , in Benjamin . Geber the son of Uri , in the land of Gilead , the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites , and of Og the king of Bashan ; and [ he was ] the only superintendent that was in the land . Judah and Israel were many , as the sand which is by the sea in multitude , eating and drinking and making merry . And Solomon ruled over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines , and as far as the border of Egypt : they brought presents , and served Solomon all the days of his life . And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour , and sixty measures of meal , ten fatted oxen , and twenty oxen out of the pastures , and a hundred sheep , besides harts , and gazelles , and fallow-deer , and fatted fowl . For he had dominion over all on this side the river , from Tiphsah as far as Gazah , over all the kings on this side the river ; and he had peace on all sides round about . And Judah and Israel dwelt safely , every man under his vine and under his fig-tree , from Dan even to Beer-sheba , all the days of Solomon . And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots , and twelve thousand horsemen . And those officers provided food for king Solomon , and for all who came to king Solomon's table , every man in his month : they let nothing be wanting . And the barley , and the straw for the horses and coursers , they brought to the place where [ the superintendents ] were , every man according to his charge . And God gave Solomon wisdom and very great understanding and largeness of heart , even as the sand that is on the sea-shore . And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the sons of the east , and all the wisdom of Egypt . For he was wiser than all men ; than Ethan the Ezrahite , and Heman , and Calcol , and Darda , the sons of Mahol ; and his fame was in all the nations round about . And he spoke three thousand proverbs ; and his songs were a thousand and five . And he spoke of the trees , from the cedar-tree that is on Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall ; he spoke also of cattle , and of fowls , and of creeping things , and of fishes . And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon , from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom . And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon ; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father ; for Hiram always loved David . And Solomon sent to Hiram , saying , Thou knowest that David my father could not build a house unto the name of Jehovah his God , because of the wars which were about him on every side , until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet . But now Jehovah my God has given me rest on every side : there is neither adversary nor evil event . And behold , I purpose to build a house unto the name of Jehovah my God , as Jehovah spoke to David my father saying , Thy son , whom I will set upon thy throne in thy stead , he shall build a house unto my name . And now command that they hew me cedar-trees out of Lebanon ; and my servants shall be with thy servants ; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say ; for thou knowest that there is not among us any that are experienced in cutting timber like to the Zidonians . And it came to pass when Hiram heard the words of Solomon , that he rejoiced greatly , and said , Blessed be Jehovah this day , who has given to David a wise son over this great people . And Hiram sent to Solomon , saying , I have heard the things which thou sentest to me for : I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar , and concerning timber of cypress . My servants shall bring [ them ] down from Lebanon to the sea ; and I will convey them by sea [ in ] rafts to the place that thou shalt appoint me , and will cause them to be broken up there , and thou shalt receive them . And thou shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my household . So Hiram gave Solomon cedar-trees and cypress-trees [ according to ] all his desire . And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat as food for his household , and twenty measures of beaten oil : thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year . And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him . And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon ; and they two made a league . And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel ; and the levy was thirty thousand men . And he sent them to Lebanon , ten thousand a month by courses ; a month they were in Lebanon , two months at home ; and Adoniram was over the levy . And Solomon had seventy thousand that bore burdens , and eighty thousand stone-masons in the mountains ; besides the overseers whom Solomon had set over the work , three thousand three hundred , who ruled over the people that wrought in the work . And the king commanded , and they brought great stones , costly stones , hewn stones , to lay the foundation of the house . And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Giblites hewed them , and prepared timber and stones to build the house . And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt , in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel , in the month Zif , which is the second month , that he began to build the house of Jehovah . And the house that king Solomon built for Jehovah was sixty cubits in length , and twenty in breadth , and thirty cubits in height . And the porch , in front of the temple of the house , was twenty cubits in length , in front of the house broadways , [ and ] ten cubits was its breadth , in front of the house . And for the house he made closed windows with fixed lattices . And against the wall of the house he built floors round about , [ against ] the walls of the house , round about the temple and the oracle ; and he made side-chambers round about . The lowest floor was five cubits broad , and the middle one was six cubits broad , and the third was seven cubits broad ; for in the [ thickness of the wall of ] the house he made resets round about outside , that nothing should be fastened in the walls of the house . And the house , when it was being built , was built of stone entirely made ready before it was brought thither ; so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was being built . The entrance to the side-chambers of the middle [ floor ] was in the right side of the house ; and they went up by winding stairs into the middle [ floor ] , and out of the middle into the third . And he built the house , and finished it ; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar . And he built the floors against all the house , five cubits high ; and they held to the house by the timbers of cedar . And the word of Jehovah came to Solomon saying , As to this house which thou art building , if thou wilt walk in my statutes , and practise mine ordinances , and keep all my commandments to walk in them , then will I perform my word as to thee which I spoke unto David thy father ; and I will dwell among the children of Israel , and will not forsake my people Israel . And Solomon built the house and finished it . And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar , from the floor of the house to the walls of the roof ; he overlaid [ them ] on the inside with wood , and overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress . And he built twenty cubits of the innermost part of the house , both floor and walls , with boards of cedar ; and he built [ them ] for it within , to [ be ] the oracle , the most holy place . And the house , that is , the temple before it , was forty cubits [ long ] . And the cedar of the house within was carved with colocynths and half-open flowers : all was cedar ; there was no stone seen . And he prepared the oracle in the midst of the house within , to set there the ark of the covenant of Jehovah . And the oracle within was twenty cubits in length , and twenty cubits in breadth , and twenty cubits in the height thereof ; and he overlaid it with pure gold ; and he overlaid the cedar-wood altar -- and Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold , and shut off the oracle in front with chains of gold , and overlaid it with gold . And the whole house he overlaid with gold , the whole house entirely ; also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold . And he made in the oracle two cherubim of olive-wood , ten cubits high ; and one wing of the cherub was five cubits , and five cubits the other wing of the cherub , ten cubits from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing ; and the other cherub was ten cubits : both the cherubim were of one measure and one form . The height of the one cherub was ten cubits , and so of the other cherub . And he set the cherubim in the midst of the inner house ; and the wings of the cherubim were stretched forth , so that the wing of the one touched the wall , and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall ; and their wings touched , wing to wing , in the midst of the house . And he overlaid the cherubim with gold . And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved sculptures of cherubim , and palm-trees , and half-open flowers , within and without . And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold , within and without . And for the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive-wood : the lintel [ and ] side posts were the fifth part [ of the breadth of the house ] . The two doors were of olive-wood ; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim , and palm-trees and half-open flowers , and overlaid them with gold , and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm-trees . And he also made for the doorway of the temple posts of olive-wood , of the fourth part [ of the breadth of the house ] . And the two folding-doors were of cypress-wood : the two leaves of the one door were folding , and the two leaves of the other door were folding . And he carved on them cherubim , and palm-trees , and half-open flowers ; and overlaid them with gold fitted on the carved work . And he built the inner court of three rows of hewn stone , and a row of cedar-beams . In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of Jehovah laid , in the month Zif ; and in the eleventh year , in the month Bul , which is the eighth month , was the house finished in all its parts , and according to all the fashion of it . So he was seven years in building it . And Solomon was thirteen years building his own house ; and he finished all his house . And he built the house of the forest of Lebanon ; its length was a hundred cubits , and its breadth fifty cubits , and its height thirty cubits , upon four rows of cedar-pillars , with cedar-beams upon the pillars ; and it was covered with cedar above upon the side-chambers , which were on forty-five pillars , fifteen in a row . And there were cross-beams in three rows , and window was against window in three ranks . And all the doors and posts were square , with an architrave ; and window was against window in three ranks . And he made the porch of pillars ; its length was fifty cubits , and its breadth thirty cubits ; and there was a porch in front of them ; and there were pillars , and steps in front of them . And he made the porch for the throne where he judged , the porch of judgment ; and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor . And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch , which was of the like work . And he made , like to this porch , a house for Pharaoh's daughter , whom Solomon had taken . All these [ buildings ] were of costly stones , hewn stones , according to the measures , sawed with saws , within and without , even from the foundation to the coping , and on the outside as far as the great court . And the foundations were of costly stones , great stones , stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits . And above were costly stones , hewn stones , according to the measures , and cedar . And the great court round about had three rows of hewn stones , and a row of cedar-beams ; and so it was for the inner court of the house of Jehovah , and the porch of the house . And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre . He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali , and his father was a man of Tyre , a worker in brass ; and he was full of wisdom and understanding and knowledge , to do all kinds of works in brass . And he came to king Solomon , and made all his work . And he formed the two pillars of brass ; the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits , and a line of twelve cubits encompassed the second pillar . And he made two capitals of molten brass , to set upon the tops of the pillars ; the height of the one capital was five cubits , and the height of the other capital was five cubits ; [ and ] nets of checker-work , wreaths of chain-work , for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars ; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital . And he made pomegranates , namely two rows round about upon the one network , to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars ; and so he did for the other capital . And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily-work [ as ] in the porch , four cubits . And the capitals upon the two pillars , above also , close to the enlargement which was behind the network , had two hundred pomegranates in rows round about , [ also ] on the other capital . And he set up the pillars for the porch of the temple ; and he set up the right pillar , and called its name Jachin ; and he set up the left pillar , and called its name Boaz . And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work ; and the work of the pillars was finished . And he made the sea , molten , ten cubits from brim to brim , round all about ; and its height was five cubits ; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about . And under the brim of it round about there were colocynths , encompassing it , ten in a cubit enclosing the sea round about ; two rows of colocynths , cast when it was cast . It stood upon twelve oxen , three looking toward the north , and three looking toward the west , and three looking toward the south , and three looking toward the east ; and the sea was above upon them , and all their hinder parts were inward . And its thickness was a hand-breadth , and its brim was like the work of the brim of a cup , with lily-blossoms ; it held two thousand baths . And he made ten bases of brass : four cubits was the length of one base , and the breadth four cubits , and the height three cubits . And the work of the bases was this : they had panels , and the panels were between the fillets . And on the panels that were between the fillets were lions , oxen and cherubim ; and over the fillets there was a base above ; and beneath the lions and oxen were garlands of festoon-work . And every base had four wheels of brass , and axles of brass ; and on its four corners were shoulder-pieces : under the laver were shoulder-pieces molten , behind every garland . And the mouth of it within the crown and above was a cubit ; and its mouth was rounded , [ as ] the work of the base , a cubit and a half ; and also upon its mouth was sculpture ; but their panels were square , not round . And the four wheels were under the panels ; and the supports of the wheels were in the base ; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit . And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel : their supports , and their rims , and their spokes and their naves were all molten . And there were four shoulder-pieces to the four corners of one base ; of the base itself were its shoulder-pieces . And in the top of the base there was a circular elevation of half a cubit round about ; and on the top of the base its stays and its panels were of the same . And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its panels cherubim , lions and palm-trees , according to the space upon each ; and garlands were round about . After this [ manner ] he made the ten bases : all of them had one casting , one measure , one form . And he made ten lavers of brass : one laver contained forty baths ; every laver was four cubits ; upon every one of the ten bases one laver . And he put the bases , five on the right side of the house , and five on the left side of the house ; and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward , over against the south . And Hiram made the lavers , and the shovels , and the bowls . So Hiram ended doing all the work that he made for king Solomon [ for ] the house of Jehovah : two pillars , and the globes of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars , two ; and the two networks , to cover the two globes of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars ; and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks , two rows of pomegranates for one network , to cover the two globes of the capitals which were upon the pillars ; and the ten bases , and the ten lavers on the bases ; and one sea , and the twelve oxen under the sea ; and the pots , and the shovels , and the bowls . And all these things , which Hiram made king Solomon for the house of Jehovah , were of bright brass . In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them , in the clay-ground between Succoth and Zaretan . And Solomon left all the vessels [ unweighed ] from their exceeding number ; the weight of the brass was not ascertained . And Solomon made all the vessels that were [ in ] the house of Jehovah : the golden altar ; and the table of gold , whereon was the shewbread ; and the candlesticks of pure gold , five on the right , and five on the left , before the oracle ; and the flowers , and the lamps , and the tongs of gold , and the basons , and the knives , and the bowls , and the cups , and the censers of pure gold ; and the hinges of gold , for the folding-doors of the inner house , the most holy place , [ and ] for the doors of the house , of the temple . And all the work was finished that king Solomon made for the house of Jehovah . And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated ; the silver and the gold and the vessels he put among the treasures of the house of Jehovah . Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel , and all the heads of the tribes , the princes of the fathers of the children of Israel , unto king Solomon in Jerusalem , to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David , which is Zion . And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim , that is , the seventh month . And all the elders of Israel came ; and the priests took up the ark . And they brought up the ark of Jehovah , and the tent of meeting , and all the holy vessels that were in the tent : the priests and the Levites brought them up . And king Solomon , and all the assembly of Israel that were assembled to him , [ who were ] with him before the ark , sacrificed sheep and oxen , which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude . And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah to its place , into the oracle of the house , into the most holy place , under the wings of the cherubim ; for the cherubim stretched forth [ their ] wings over the place of the ark , and the cherubim covered the ark and its staves above . And the staves were long , so that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle , but they were not seen without . And there they are to this day . There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb , when Jehovah made [ a covenant ] with the children of Israel , when they came out of the land of Egypt . And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place , that the cloud filled the house of Jehovah , and the priests could not stand to do their service because of the cloud ; for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah . Then said Solomon : Jehovah said that he would dwell in the thick darkness . I have indeed built a house of habitation for thee , a settled place for thee to abide in for ever . And the king turned his face , and blessed the whole congregation of Israel ; and the whole congregation of Israel stood . And he said : Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel , who spoke with his mouth unto David my father , and hath with his hand fulfilled it , saying , Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt , I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in , that my name might be there ; but I have chosen David to be over my people Israel . And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel . But Jehovah said to David my father , Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name , thou didst well that it was in thy heart ; nevertheless thou shalt not build the house ; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins , he shall build the house unto my name . And Jehovah has performed his word which he spoke ; and I am risen up in the room of David my father , and sit on the throne of Israel , as Jehovah promised , and I have built the house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel . And I have set there a place for the ark , wherein is the covenant of Jehovah , which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt . And Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of the whole congregation of Israel , and spread forth his hands toward the heavens . And he said , Jehovah , God of Israel ! there is no God like thee , in the heavens above , or on the earth beneath , who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart ; who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him ; thou spokest with thy mouth , and hast fulfilled [ it ] with thy hand , as at this day . And now , Jehovah , God of Israel , keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him , saying , There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel , if only thy sons take heed to their way , to walk before me as thou hast walked before me . And now , O God of Israel , let thy words , I pray thee , be verified , which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David my father . But will God indeed dwell on the earth ? Behold , the heavens , and the heaven of heavens , cannot contain thee ; how much less this house which I have built ! Yet have respect unto the prayer of thy servant , and to his supplication , Jehovah , my God , to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day ; that thine eyes may be open upon this house night and day , upon the place of which thou hast said , My name shall be there : to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place . And hearken unto the supplication of thy servant , and of thy people Israel , when they shall pray toward this place , and hear thou in thy dwelling-place , in the heavens , and when thou hearest , forgive . If a man have sinned against his neighbour , and an oath be laid upon him to adjure him , and the oath come before thine altar in this house ; then hear thou in the heavens , and do , and judge thy servants , condemning the wicked , to bring his way upon his own head ; and justifying the righteous , giving him according to his righteousness . When thy people Israel are put to the worse before the enemy , because they have sinned against thee , and shall turn again to thee , and confess thy name , and pray , and make supplication unto thee in this house ; then hear thou in the heavens , and forgive the sin of thy people Israel , and bring them again unto the land that thou gavest unto their fathers . When the heavens are shut up , and there is no rain , because they have sinned against thee ; if they pray toward this place , and confess thy name , and turn from their sin , because thou hast afflicted them ; then hear thou in the heavens , and forgive the sin of thy servants , and of thy people Israel , when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk ; and give rain upon thy land , which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance . If there be famine in the land , if there be pestilence , if there be blight , mildew , locust , caterpillar ; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their gates ; whatever plague , whatever sickness there be : what prayer , what supplication soever be made by any man , of all thy people Israel , when they shall know every man the plague of his own heart , and shall spread forth his hands toward this house ; then hear thou in the heavens , the settled place of thy dwelling , and forgive , and do , and render unto every man according to all his ways , whose heart thou knowest ( for thou , thou only , knowest the hearts of all the children of men ) , that they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the land which thou gavest unto our fathers . And as to the stranger also , who is not of thy people Israel , but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake ( for they shall hear of thy great name , and of thy mighty hand , and of thy stretched-out arm ) ; when he shall come and pray toward this house , hear thou in the heavens thy dwelling-place , and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for ; in order that all peoples of the earth may know thy name , [ and ] that they may fear thee as do thy people Israel ; and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name . If thy people go out to battle against their enemy , by the way that thou shalt send them , and they pray to Jehovah toward the city that thou hast chosen , and the house that I have built unto thy name ; then hear thou in the heavens their prayer and their supplication , and maintain their right . If they have sinned against thee , ( for there is no man that sinneth not , ) and thou be angry with them , and give them up to the enemy , and they have carried them away captives unto the enemy's land , far or near ; and if they shall take it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive , and repent , and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive , saying , We have sinned , and have done iniquity , we have dealt perversely ; and if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul , in the land of their enemies who led them away captive , and pray unto thee toward their land which thou gavest unto their fathers , the city that thou hast chosen , and the house that I have built unto thy name ; then hear thou in the heavens , the settled place of thy dwelling , their prayer and their supplication , and maintain their right ; and forgive thy people their sin against thee , and all their transgressions whereby they have transgressed against thee , and give them to find compassion with those who carried them captive , that they may have compassion on them ( for they are thy people , and thine inheritance , which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt , from the midst of the furnace of iron ) -- thine eyes being open unto the supplication of thy servant , and unto the supplication of thy people Israel , to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee . For thou hast separated them from among all peoples of the earth , to be thine inheritance , as thou spokest through Moses thy servant , when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt , O Lord Jehovah . And it was so , that when Solomon had ended praying all this prayer and supplication to Jehovah , he arose from before the altar of Jehovah , from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth to the heavens , and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel with a loud voice , saying , Blessed be Jehovah , who has given rest to his people Israel , according to all that he promised : there has not failed one word of all his good promises which he spoke through Moses his servant ! Jehovah our God be with us , as he was with our fathers ; let him not forsake us nor cast us off : that he may incline our hearts to him , to walk in all his ways , and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances , which he commanded our fathers . And let these my words , with which I have made supplication before Jehovah , be nigh to Jehovah our God day and night , that he maintain the right of his servant , and the right of his people Israel , as the matter of each day shall require ; that all peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah is God , that there is none else ; and that your heart may be perfect with Jehovah our God , to walk in his statutes and to keep his commandments , as at this day . And the king , and all Israel with him , offered sacrifices before Jehovah . And Solomon sacrificed a sacrifice of peace-offerings , which he sacrificed to Jehovah , twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep . So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Jehovah . The same day the king hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah ; for there he offered the burnt-offerings , and the oblations , and the fat of the peace-offerings , because the brazen altar that was before Jehovah was too small to receive the burnt-offerings , and the oblations , and the fat of the peace-offerings . And at that time Solomon held the feast , and all Israel with him , a great congregation , from the entrance of Hamath unto the torrent of Egypt , before Jehovah our God , seven days and seven days , fourteen days . On the eighth day he sent the people away ; and they blessed the king , and went to their tents , joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that Jehovah had done to David his servant , and to Israel his people . And it came to pass when Solomon had completed the building of the house of Jehovah , and the king's house , and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do , that Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time , as he had appeared to him at Gibeon . And Jehovah said to him , I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication which thou hast made before me : I have hallowed this house , which thou hast built , to put my name there for ever ; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually . And [ as for ] thee , if thou wilt walk before me , as David thy father walked , in integrity of heart , and in uprightness , to do according to all that I have commanded thee , [ and ] wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances ; then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever , as I promised to David thy father , saying , There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel . [ But ] if ye shall at all turn from following me , ye or your children , and will not keep my commandments , my statutes which I have set before you , but go and serve other gods , and worship them ; then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them ; and the house , which I have hallowed to my name , will I cast out of my sight ; and Israel shall be a proverb and a by word among all peoples ; and this house , [ which ] is high , every one that passes by it shall be astonished at , and shall hiss , and they shall say , Why has Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house ? And they shall say , Because they forsook Jehovah their God , who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt , and have attached themselves to other gods , and have worshipped them and served them ; therefore has Jehovah brought upon them all this evil . And it came to pass at the end of twenty years , when Solomon had built the two houses , the house of Jehovah and the king's house , Hiram the king of Tyre having furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and cypress-trees , and with gold , according to all his desire , -- that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee . And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him ; and they did not please him . And he said , What cities are these which thou hast given me , my brother ? And he called them the land of Cabul to this day . And Hiram had sent to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold . And this is the account of the levy which king Solomon raised , to build the house of Jehovah , and his own house , and Millo , and the wall of Jerusalem , and Hazor , and Megiddo , and Gezer . -- Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer , and burned it with fire , and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city , and given it as a dowry to his daughter , Solomon's wife . -- And Solomon built Gezer , and lower Beth-horon , and Baalath , and Tadmor in the wilderness , in the land , and all the store-cities that Solomon had , and cities for chariots , and cities for the horsemen , and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem , and on Lebanon , and in all the land of his dominion . All the people that were left of the Amorites , the Hittites , the Perizzites , the Hivites , and the Jebusites , who were not of the children of Israel , their children that were left after them in the land , whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy , upon them did Solomon impose a tribute of bondservice until this day . But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen ; but they were men of war , and his servants , and his chiefs , and his captains , and captains of his chariots , and his horsemen . These were the chief superintendents that were over Solomon's work , five hundred and fifty , that ruled over the people that wrought in the work . But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David to her house which he had built for her : then he built Millo . And three times in the year did Solomon offer up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar that he had built to Jehovah , and he burned incense upon that which was before Jehovah . So he finished the house . And king Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion-Geber , which is beside Eloth , on the shore of the Red Sea , in the land of Edom . And Hiram sent in the fleet his servants , shipmen that had knowledge of the sea , with the servants of Solomon ; and they went to Ophir , and fetched thence gold , four hundred and twenty talents , and brought it to king Solomon . And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon in connection with the name of Jehovah , and came to prove him with enigmas . And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train , with camels that bore spices and gold in very great abundance , and precious stones ; and she came to Solomon , and spoke to him of all that was in her heart . And Solomon explained to her all she spoke of : there was not a thing hidden from the king that he did not explain to her . And when the queen of Sheba saw all Solomon's wisdom , and the house that he had built , and the food of his table , and the deportment of his servants , and the order of service of his attendants , and their apparel , and his cupbearers , and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Jehovah , there was no more spirit in her . And she said to the king , It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine affairs , and of thy wisdom ; but I gave no credit to the words , until I came and mine eyes had seen ; and behold , the half was not told me : in wisdom and prosperity thou exceedest the report that I heard . Happy are thy men ! happy are these thy servants , who stand continually before thee , who hear thy wisdom ! Blessed be Jehovah thy God , who delighted in thee , to set thee on the throne of Israel ! Because Jehovah loves Israel for ever , therefore did he make thee king , to do judgment and justice . And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold , and spices in very great abundance , and precious stones : there came no more such abundance of spices as those which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon . ( And the fleet also of Hiram , which carried gold from Ophir , brought from Ophir sandal-wood in very great abundance , and precious stones . And the king made of the sandal-wood a balustrade for the house of Jehovah , and for the king's house , and harps and lutes for the singers . There came no such sandal-wood , nor was there seen to this day . ) And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire , whatever she asked , besides what he gave her of the bounty of king Solomon . And she turned and went to her own land , she and her servants . And the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold , besides what [ came ] by the dealers , and by the traffic of the merchants , and by all the kings of Arabia , and by the governors of the country . And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold , -- he applied six hundred [ shekels ] of gold to one target ; and three hundred shields of beaten gold , -- he applied three minas of gold to one shield ; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon . And the king made a great throne of ivory , and overlaid it with refined gold : the throne had six steps , and the top of the throne was rounded behind ; and there were arms on each side at the place of the seat , and two lions stood beside the arms ; and twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps : there was not the like made in any kingdom . And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold , and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of precious gold : none were of silver , [ which ] was not of the least account in the days of Solomon . For the king had on the sea a Tarshish-fleet , with the fleet of Hiram : once in three years came the Tarshish-fleet , bringing gold and silver , ivory , and apes , and peacocks . And king Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom . And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon , to hear his wisdom , which God had put in his heart . And they brought every man his present , vessels of silver , and vessels of gold , and clothing , and armour , and spices , horses and mules , a rate year by year . And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen ; and he had a thousand four hundred chariots , and twelve thousand horsemen ; and he placed them in the chariot-cities , and with the king at Jerusalem . And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones , and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance . And the exportation of horses that Solomon had was from Egypt : a caravan of the king's merchants fetched a drove [ of horses ] , at a price . And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred [ shekels ] of silver , and a horse for a hundred and fifty ; and so they brought [ them ] by their means , for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Syria . But king Solomon loved many foreign women , besides the daughter of Pharaoh : women of the Moabites , Ammonites , Edomites , Zidonians , Hittites ; of the nations of which Jehovah had said to the children of Israel , Ye shall not go in to them , neither shall they come in to you ; they would certainly turn away your heart after their gods : to these Solomon was attached in love . And he had seven hundred wives , princesses , and three hundred concubines ; and his wives turned away his heart . And it came to pass when Solomon was old , [ that ] his wives turned away his heart after other gods ; and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God , as the heart of David his father . And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians , and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites . And Solomon did evil in the sight of Jehovah , and followed not fully Jehovah , as David his father . Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites , on the hill that is before Jerusalem , and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon . And so he did for all his foreign wives , who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods . And Jehovah was angry with Solomon , because his heart was turned away from Jehovah the God of Israel , who had appeared to him twice , and had commanded him concerning this thing , not to go after other gods ; but he kept not what Jehovah had commanded . And Jehovah said to Solomon , Forasmuch as this is done by thee , and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes which I commanded thee , I will certainly rend the kingdom from thee , and will give it to thy servant : notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it , for David thy father's sake ; I will rend it out of the hand of thy son ; only , I will not rend away all the kingdom : I will give one tribe to thy son , for David my servant's sake , and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen . And Jehovah stirred up an adversary to Solomon , Hadad the Edomite ; he was of the king's seed in Edom . Now it came to pass when David was in Edom , when Joab the captain of the host had gone up to bury the slain , after he had smitten every male in Edom ( for Joab abode there six months with all Israel , until he had cut off every male in Edom ) , that Hadad fled , he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him , to go into Egypt , Hadad being yet a little child . And they arose out of Midian , and came to Paran , and took men with them out of Paran , and they came to Egypt , to Pharaoh king of Egypt ; who gave him a house , and appointed him victuals , and gave him land . And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh , and he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife , the sister of Tahpenes the queen . And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son ; and Tahpenes brought him up in Pharaoh's house ; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household , among the sons of Pharaoh . And Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers , and that Joab the captain of the host was dead ; and Hadad said to Pharaoh , Let me depart , that I may go to mine own country . And Pharaoh said to him , What then dost thou lack with me , that behold , thou desirest to go to thine own country ? And he said , Nothing ; but in any case let me depart . God stirred him up yet an adversary , Rezon the son of Eliada , who had fled from Hadadezer king of Zobah , his lord . And he collected men to him , and became captain of a band , when David slew them [ of Zobah ] ; and they went to Damascus , and dwelt there , and reigned in Damascus . And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon , besides the mischief that Hadad [ did ] ; and he abhorred Israel , and reigned over Syria . And Jeroboam the son of Nebat , an Ephrathite of Zeredah , Solomon's servant ( whose mother's name was Zeruah , a widow woman ) , even he lifted up his hand against the king . And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king : Solomon was building Millo , and closing the breach of the city of David his father ; and the man Jeroboam was strong and valiant ; and Solomon saw the young man that he was industrious , and he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph . And it came to pass at that time that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem , and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way ; and he had clad himself with a new garment ; and they two were alone in the field . Then Ahijah seized the new garment that was on him , and rent it in twelve pieces ; and said to Jeroboam , Take thee ten pieces ; for thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel : Behold , I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon , and will give ten tribes to thee ; but one tribe shall he have for my servant David's sake , and for Jerusalem's sake , the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel : because they have forsaken me , and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians , Chemosh the god of the Moabites , and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon , and have not walked in my ways , to do that which is right in my sight , and my statutes and mine ordinances , as David his father . But I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand ; for I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake , whom I chose , who kept my commandments and my statutes ; but I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand , and will give it unto thee , -- the ten tribes . And unto his son will I give one tribe , that David my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem , the city that I have chosen for myself to put my name there . And I will take thee , that thou mayest reign over all that thy soul desireth , and thou shalt be king over Israel . And it shall be , if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee , and wilt walk in my ways , and do that which is right in my sight , in keeping my statutes and my commandments , as David my servant did , that I will be with thee , and build thee a lasting house , as I built for David , and will give Israel unto thee . And I will for this afflict the seed of David , but not for ever . And Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam ; and Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt , to Shishak king of Egypt ; and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon . And the rest of the acts of Solomon , and all that he did , and his wisdom , are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon ? And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years . And Solomon slept with his fathers , and was buried in the city of David his father ; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead . And Rehoboam went to Shechem ; for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king . And it came to pass when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it ( now he was yet in Egypt , whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon , and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt ; and they sent and called him ) , that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam , saying , Thy father made our yoke grievous ; and now lighten thou the grievous servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us , and we will serve thee . And he said to them , Depart yet for three days , then come again to me . And the people departed . And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men , who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived , saying , How do ye advise to return answer to this people ? And they spoke to him saying , If this day thou wilt be a servant to this people , and wilt serve them and answer them and speak good words to them , they will be thy servants for ever . But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him , and consulted with the young men , who had grown up with him , that stood before him . And he said to them , What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people who have spoken to me saying , Lighten the yoke which thy father put upon us ? And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying , Thus shalt thou say to this people that have spoken to thee saying , Thy father made our yoke heavy , and lighten thou it for us , -- thus shalt thou say to them : My little [ finger ] is thicker than my father's loins ; and whereas my father laid a heavy yoke upon you , * I * will add to your yoke : my father chastised you with whips , but * I * will chastise you with scorpions . And Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day , as the king had appointed saying , Come again to me on the third day . And the king answered the people roughly , and forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him ; and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men , saying , My father made your yoke heavy , but * I * will add to your yoke : my father chastised you with whips , but * I * will chastise you with scorpions . So the king hearkened not to the people ; for it was brought about by Jehovah , that he might give effect to his word , which Jehovah spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat . And all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them ; and the people answered the king saying , What portion have we in David ? And [ we have ] no inheritance in the son of Jesse : To your tents , O Israel ! Now see to thine own house , David ! And Israel went to their tents . But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah , Rehoboam reigned over them . And king Rehoboam sent Adoram , who was over the levy ; but all Israel stoned him with stones , that he died . And king Rehoboam hastened to mount his chariot , to flee to Jerusalem . And Israel rebelled against the house of David , unto this day . And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back , that they sent and called him to the assembly , and made him king over all Israel : none followed the house of David , but the tribe of Judah only . And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem ; and he assembled all the house of Judah , with the tribe of Benjamin , a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war , to fight against the house of Israel , that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon . But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God , saying , Speak unto Rehoboam , the son of Solomon , king of Judah , and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin , and to the remainder of the people , saying , Thus saith Jehovah : Go not up , nor fight with your brethren , the children of Israel ; return every man to his house , for this thing is from me . And they hearkened to the word of Jehovah , and returned to depart , according to the word of Jehovah . And Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim , and dwelt therein ; and went out from thence , and built Penuel . And Jeroboam said in his heart , Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David . If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem , the heart of this people will turn again to their lord , to Rehoboam king of Judah , and they will kill me , and return to Rehoboam king of Judah . And the king took counsel , and made two calves of gold . And he said to them , It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem : behold thy gods , Israel , which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt ! And he set the one in Bethel , and the other he put in Dan . And this thing became a sin ; and the people went [ to worship ] before the one , as far as Dan . And he made a house of high places , and made priests from all classes of the people , who were not of the sons of Levi . And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month , on the fifteenth day of the month , like the feast that was in Judah , and he offered upon the altar . So did he in Bethel , sacrificing to the calves that he had made ; and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made . And he offered upon the altar that he had made in Bethel , on the fifteenth day of the eighth month , in the month which he had devised of his own heart ; and he made a feast for the children of Israel , and he offered upon the altar , burning incense . And behold , there came a man of God from Judah , by the word of Jehovah , to Bethel ; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense . And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah , and said , O altar , altar ! thus saith Jehovah : Behold , a child shall be born unto the house of David , Josiah by name ; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee , and men's bones shall be burned upon thee . And he gave a sign the same day , saying , This is the sign that Jehovah hath spoken : Behold , the altar shall be rent , and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out . And it came to pass when the king heard the word of the man of God , which he cried against the altar in Bethel , that Jeroboam stretched forth his hand from the altar , saying , Lay hold on him . And his hand which he stretched out against him dried up , so that he could not bring it back again to him . And the altar was rent , and the ashes poured out from the altar , according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah . And the king answered and said to the man of God , Intreat now Jehovah thy God , and pray for me , that my hand may be restored to me again . And the man of God intreated Jehovah , and the king's hand was restored to him again , and became as before . And the king said to the man of God , Come home with me , and refresh thyself , and I will give thee a present . And the man of God said to the king , If thou wilt give me half thy house , I will not go in with thee , neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place ; for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah , saying , Thou shalt eat no bread , nor drink water , nor return by the way that thou shalt go . So he went another way , and returned not by the way that he had come to Bethel . Now there dwelt a certain old prophet in Bethel ; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel ; the words that he had spoken to the king , them they told also to their father . And their father said to them , Which way went he ? for his sons had seen which way the man of God went , who came from Judah . And he said to his sons , Saddle me the ass . So they saddled him the ass ; and he rode thereon , and went after the man of God , and found him sitting under a terebinth ; and he said to him , Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah ? And he said , I am . And he said to him , Come home with me , and eat bread . And he said , I cannot return with thee , nor go in with thee ; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place . For it was said to me by the word of Jehovah , Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there , nor turn again to go by the way that thou wentest . And he said to him , I am a prophet also as thou art ; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Jehovah saying , Bring him back with thee into thy house , that he may eat bread and drink water . He lied unto him . Then he went back with him , and ate bread in his house , and drank water . And it came to pass as they sat at the table , that the word of Jehovah came to the prophet that brought him back ; and he cried to the man of God that came from Judah , saying , Thus saith Jehovah : Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the word of Jehovah , and hast not kept the commandment that Jehovah thy God commanded thee , but camest back , and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to thee , Eat no bread and drink no water ; thy carcase shall not come to the sepulchre of thy fathers . And it came to pass , after he had eaten bread , and after he had drunk , that he saddled the ass for him , for the prophet that he had brought back ; and he departed . And a lion met him by the way and slew him ; and his corpse was cast in the way , and the ass stood by it ; the lion also stood by the corpse . And behold , men passed by , and saw the corpse cast in the way and the lion standing by the corpse ; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt . And the prophet that brought him back from the way heard [ of it ] and said , It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of Jehovah ; therefore Jehovah has delivered him to the lion , which has torn him and slain him , according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke to him . And he spoke to his sons saying , Saddle me the ass ; and they saddled it . And he went and found his corpse cast in the way , and the ass and the lion standing by the corpse : the lion had not eaten the corpse , nor torn the ass . And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God , and laid it upon the ass , and brought it back ; and the old prophet came into the city , to mourn and to bury him . And he laid his corpse in his own sepulchre ; and they mourned over him [ saying ] , Alas , my brother ! And it came to pass after he had buried him , that he spoke to his sons saying , When I am dead , bury me in the sepulchre in which the man of God is buried ; lay my bones beside his bones . For the word that he cried by the word of Jehovah against the altar in Bethel , and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria , shall certainly come to pass . After this thing Jeroboam turned not from his evil way , but made again from all classes of the people priests of the high places : whosoever would , he consecrated him , and he became [ one ] of the priests of the high places . And by this thing there was sin on the house of Jeroboam , even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the face of the earth . At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam was sick . And Jeroboam said to his wife , Arise , I pray thee , and disguise thyself , that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam ; and go to Shiloh : behold , there is Ahijah the prophet , who told me that [ I should be ] king over this people . And take with thee ten loaves , and cakes , and a cruse of honey , and go to him : he will tell thee what shall become of the lad . And Jeroboam's wife did so , and arose and went to Shiloh , and came to the house of Ahijah . And Ahijah could not see ; for his eyes were set by reason of his age . And Jehovah said to Ahijah , Behold , the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee about her son ; for he is sick : thus and thus shalt thou say unto her ; for it shall be , when she cometh in , that she shall feign to be another . And it was so , when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet , as she came in at the door , that he said , Come in , thou wife of Jeroboam ; why feignest thou to be another ? But I am sent to thee with a hard [ message ] . Go , tell Jeroboam , Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel : Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people , and made thee prince over my people Israel , and rent the kingdom away from the house of David , and gave it thee ; and thou hast not been as my servant David , who kept my commandments , and who followed me with all his heart , to do only that which is right in my sight ; but thou hast done evil above all that were before thee , and hast gone and made thee other gods , and molten images , to provoke me to anger , and hast cast me behind thy back : therefore behold , I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam , and will cut off from Jeroboam every male , him that is shut up and left in Israel , and will take away the house of Jeroboam , as a man taketh away dung , till it be all gone . Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat , and him that dieth in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat ; for Jehovah hath spoken . And thou , arise , go to thine own house ; when thy feet enter into the city , the child shall die . And all Israel shall mourn for him , and they shall bury him ; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave , because in him there is found something good toward Jehovah the God of Israel , in the house of Jeroboam . And Jehovah shall raise up for himself a king over Israel , who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day ; and what ? . . . even now . And Jehovah will smite Israel , as a reed is shaken in the water , and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers , and will scatter them beyond the river , because they have made their Asherahs , provoking Jehovah to anger . And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam , wherewith he has sinned , and made Israel to sin . And Jeroboam's wife arose and departed , and came to Tirzah ; when she came to the threshold of the door , the child died . And they buried him ; and all Israel mourned for him , according to the word of Jehovah , which he spoke through his servant Ahijah the prophet . And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam , how he warred , and how he reigned , behold , they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel . And the days that Jeroboam reigned were twenty-two years ; and he slept with his fathers . And Nadab his son reigned in his stead . And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah . Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign , and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem , the city that Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there ; and his mother's name was Naamah , an Ammonitess . And Judah did evil in the sight of Jehovah , and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed more than all that their fathers had done . And they also built for themselves high places , and columns , and Asherahs on every high hill and under every green tree ; and there were also sodomites in the land . They did according to all the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel . And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam , [ that ] Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem . And he took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah , and the treasures of the king's house ; he even took away all ; and he took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made . And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields , and committed them to the hands of the chief of the couriers who kept the entrance of the king's house . And it was so , that as often as the king entered into the house of Jehovah , the couriers bore them , and brought them again into the chamber of the couriers . And the rest of the acts of Rehoboam , and all that he did , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ? And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all [ their ] days . And Rehoboam slept with his fathers , and was buried with his fathers in the city of David . And his mother's name was Naamah , an Ammonitess . And Abijam his son reigned in his stead . And in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abijam to reign over Judah . He reigned three years in Jerusalem ; and his mother's name was Maachah , a daughter of Abishalom . And he walked in all the sins of his father , which he had done before him ; and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God , as the heart of David his father . But for David's sake Jehovah his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem , setting up his son after him , and establishing Jerusalem ; because David did that which was right in the sight of Jehovah , and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life , except in the matter of Urijah the Hittite . And there had been war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life . And the rest of the acts of Abijam , and all that he did , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam . And Abijam slept with his fathers ; and they buried him in the city of David . And Asa his son reigned in his stead . And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel , Asa began to reign over Judah ; and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem ; and his mother's name was Maachah , daughter of Abishalom . And Asa did what was right in the sight of Jehovah , as David his father . And he put away the sodomites out of the land , and removed all the idols that his father had made . And also Maachah his mother he removed from being queen , because she had made an idol for the Asherah ; and Asa cut down her idol , and burned it in the valley of Kidron . But the high places were not removed ; only , Asa's heart was perfect with Jehovah all his days . And he brought into the house of Jehovah the things which his father had dedicated , and the things which he himself had dedicated , silver and gold and vessels . And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days . And Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah , and built Ramah , in order to let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah . And Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Jehovah , and in the treasures of the king's house , and gave them into the hand of his servants ; and king Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad , the son of Tabrimmon , the son of Hezion , king of Syria , who dwelt at Damascus , saying , There is a league between me and thee , [ as ] between my father and thy father ; behold , I send thee a present of silver and gold : go , break thy league with Baasha king of Israel , that he may depart from me . And Ben-Hadad hearkened to king Asa , and sent the captains of his forces against the cities of Israel , and smote Ijon , and Dan , and Abel-Beth-Maachah , and all Kinneroth , with all the land of Naphtali . And it came to pass when Baasha heard of it , that he left off building Ramah , and dwelt in Tirzah . And king Asa called together all Judah : none was exempted ; and they carried away the stones and the timber from Ramah , with which Baasha had been building ; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin , and Mizpah . And the rest of all the acts of Asa , and all his might , and all that he did , and the cities that he built , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ? Only , in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet . And Asa slept with his fathers , and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father . And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead . And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah ; and he reigned over Israel two years . And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah , and walked in the way of his father , and in his sin with which he made Israel sin . And Baasha the son of Ahijah , of the house of Issachar , conspired against him ; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon , which [ belonged ] to the Philistines , when Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon . And Baasha slew him in the third year of Asa king of Judah , and reigned in his stead . And it came to pass when he was king , he smote all the house of Jeroboam ; he left to Jeroboam none that breathed ; until he had destroyed him , according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite , because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned , and wherewith he made Israel to sin ; by his provocation with which he provoked Jehovah the God of Israel to anger . And the rest of the acts of Nadab , and all that he did , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel ? And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days . In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah , for twenty-four years . And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah , and walked in the way of Jeroboam , and in his sin where with he made Israel to sin . And the word of Jehovah came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha , saying , Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust , and made thee prince over my people Israel , and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam , and hast made my people Israel to sin , provoking me to anger with their sins ; behold , I will take away Baasha and his house , and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat . Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat , and him that dieth of his in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat . And the rest of the acts of Baasha , and what he did , and his might , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel ? And Baasha slept with his fathers , and was buried in Tirzah ; and Elah his son reigned in his stead . And also through the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani the word of Jehovah came against Baasha , and against his house , even for all the evil that he did in the sight of Jehovah , provoking him to anger with the work of his hands , in being like the house of Jeroboam ; and because he had smitten him . In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah , Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah for two years . And his servant Zimri , captain of half [ his ] chariots , conspired against him ; and he was in Tirzah , drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza , who was the steward of his house in Tirzah ; and Zimri went in and smote him , and killed him , in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah , and he reigned in his stead . And it came to pass when he began to reign , as soon as he sat on his throne , he slew all the house of Baasha : he left him not a male , neither of his kinsmen nor of his friends . And Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha , according to the word of Jehovah , which he spoke against Baasha through Jehu the prophet , for all the sins of Baasha , and the sins of Elah his son , which they sinned and wherewith they made Israel to sin , provoking Jehovah the God of Israel to anger with their vanities . And the rest of the acts of Elah , and all that he did , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel ? In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah , Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah . Now the people were encamped against Gibbethon , which [ belonged ] to the Philistines . And the people that were encamped heard say , Zimri has conspired , and has also smitten the king ; and all Israel made Omri , the captain of the host , king over Israel that day in the camp . And Omri went up from Gibbethon , and all Israel with him , and they besieged Tirzah . And it came to pass when Zimri saw that the city was taken , that he went into the citadel of the king's house , and burned the king's house over him with fire ; and he died for his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of Jehovah , in walking in the way of Jeroboam , and in his sin which he did , making Israel to sin . And the rest of the acts of Zimri , and his conspiracy which he wrought , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel ? Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts : half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath , to make him king ; and half followed Omri . But the people that followed Omri overcame the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath ; and Tibni died , and Omri reigned . In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah , Omri began to reign over Israel , -- twelve years ; he reigned six years in Tirzah . And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver ; and built on the hill , and called the name of the city that he built , after the name of Shemer , owner of the hill , Samaria . And Omri wrought evil in the sight of Jehovah , and did worse than all that were before him . And he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat , and in his sins wherewith he made Israel to sin , provoking Jehovah the God of Israel to anger with their vanities . And the rest of the acts of Omri , what he did , and his might which he shewed , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel ? And Omri slept with his fathers , and was buried in Samaria ; and Ahab his son reigned in his stead . And Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah ; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years . And Ahab the son of Omri wrought evil in the sight of Jehovah more than all that were before him . And it came to pass , as if it was a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat , that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians ; and he went and served Baal and worshipped him . And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal , which he built in Samaria . And Ahab made the Asherah ; and Ahab did more to provoke Jehovah the God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him . In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho ; he laid its foundation in Abiram his firstborn , and set up its gates in Segub his youngest , according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke through Joshua the son of Nun . And Elijah the Tishbite , of the inhabitants of Gilead , said to Ahab , As Jehovah the God of Israel liveth , before whom I stand , there shall not be dew nor rain these years , except by my word . And the word of Jehovah came to him saying , Get thee hence , and turn thee eastward , and hide thyself by the torrent Cherith , which is before the Jordan . And it shall be , that thou shalt drink of the torrent ; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there . And he went and did according to the word of Jehovah ; he went and abode by the torrent Cherith , which is before the Jordan . And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning , and bread and flesh in the evening ; and he drank of the torrent . And it came to pass after a while that the torrent dried up , for there had been no rain in the land . And the word of Jehovah came to him saying , Arise , go to Zarephath , which is by Zidon , and abide there : behold , I have commanded a widow woman there to maintain thee . And he arose and went to Zarephath ; and when he came to the entrance of the city , behold , a widow woman was there gathering sticks . And he called to her and said , Fetch me , I pray thee , a little water in a vessel , that I may drink . And she went to fetch [ it ] , and he called to her and said , Bring me , I pray thee , a morsel of bread in thy hand . And she said , As Jehovah thy God liveth , I have not a cake , but a handful of meal in a barrel , and a little oil in a cruse ; and behold , I am gathering two sticks , that I may go in and dress it for me and my son , that we may eat it , and die . And Elijah said to her , Fear not ; go , do as thou hast said ; but make me thereof a little cake first ; and bring it to me ; and afterwards make for thee and for thy son . For thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel : The meal in the barrel shall not waste , neither shall the oil in the cruse fail , until the day that Jehovah sendeth rain upon the face of the earth ! And she went and did according to the word of Elijah ; and she , and he , and her house , ate a whole year . The meal in the barrel did not waste , neither did the oil in the cruse fail , according to the word of Jehovah which he had spoken through Elijah . And it came to pass after these things , that the son of the woman , the mistress of the house , fell sick ; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him . And she said to Elijah , What have I to do with thee , O thou man of God ? art thou come to me to call mine iniquity to remembrance , and to slay my son ? And he said to her , Give me thy son . And he took him out of her bosom , and carried him up into the upper chamber where he abode , and laid him upon his own bed . And he cried to Jehovah and said , Jehovah , my God , hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn , by slaying her son ? And he stretched himself upon the child three times , and cried to Jehovah and said , Jehovah , my God , I pray thee , let this child's soul come into him again ! And Jehovah heard the voice of Elijah , and the soul of the child came into him again , and he lived . And Elijah took the child , and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house , and delivered him to his mother ; and Elijah said , See , thy son lives . And the woman said to Elijah , Now by this I know that thou art a man of God , and that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth . And it came to pass after many days , that the word of Jehovah came to Elijah in the third year , saying , Go , shew thyself to Ahab ; and I will send rain upon the face of the earth . And Elijah went to shew himself to Ahab . And the famine was severe in Samaria . And Ahab called Obadiah , who was the steward of his house ( now Obadiah feared Jehovah greatly ; and it was so , when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Jehovah , that Obadiah took a hundred prophets , and hid them by fifty in a cave , and maintained them with bread and water ) ; and Ahab said to Obadiah , Go through the land , to all the fountains of water and to all the torrents , perhaps we may find grass to save the horses and the mules alive , so that we may not have to destroy some of [ our ] beasts . And they divided the land between them to pass through it : Ahab went one way by himself , and Obadiah went another way by himself . And as Obadiah was on the way , behold , Elijah met him ; and he knew him , and fell on his face , and said , Is it indeed thou , my lord Elijah ? And he said to him , I [ am he ] : go , say to thy lord , Behold Elijah ! And he said , What have I sinned , that thou givest thy servant into the hand of Ahab , to put me to death ? As Jehovah thy God liveth , there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord has not sent to seek thee ; and when they said , He is not [ here ] , he took an oath of the kingdom or nation that they found thee not . And now thou sayest , Go , say to thy lord , Behold Elijah ! And it shall come to pass when I am gone from thee , that the Spirit of Jehovah shall carry thee whither I know not ; and when I come and tell Ahab , and he cannot find thee , he will kill me ; and I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth . Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of Jehovah , how I hid a hundred men of Jehovah's prophets by fifty in a cave , and maintained them with bread and water ? And now thou sayest , Go , say to thy lord , Behold Elijah ! and he will kill me . And Elijah said , As Jehovah of hosts liveth , before whom I stand , I will certainly shew myself to him to-day . Then Obadiah went to meet Ahab , and told him . And Ahab went to meet Elijah . And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah , that Ahab said to him , Is it thou , the troubler of Israel ? And he said , I have not troubled Israel , but thou and thy father's house , in that ye have forsaken the commandments of Jehovah , and thou hast followed the Baals . And now send , gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel , and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty , and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred , who eat at Jezebel's table . So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel , and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel . Then Elijah drew near to all the people , and said , How long do ye halt between two opinions ? if Jehovah be God , follow him ; and if Baal , follow him . And the people answered him not a word . And Elijah said to the people , I , only I , remain a prophet of Jehovah ; and Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men . Let them therefore give us two bullocks : and let them choose one bullock for themselves , and cut it in pieces , and put it on the wood , and put no fire ; and I will sacrifice the other bullock , and put it on the wood , and put no fire . And call ye on the name of your gods , and I will call on the name of Jehovah ; and the god that answers by fire , let him be God . And all the people answered and said , The word is good . And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal , Choose one bullock for yourselves , and sacrifice it first ; for ye are the many ; and call on the name of your god , but put no fire . And they took the bullock which had been given them , and sacrificed it , and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon , saying , O Baal , answer us ! But there was no voice , and none answered . And they leaped about the altar that had been made . And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said , Cry aloud ; for he is a god ; for he is meditating , or gone aside , or he is on a journey ; perhaps he sleeps , and will awake . And they cried aloud , and cut themselves after their manner with swords and spears , till the blood gushed out upon them . And it came to pass when midday was past , that they prophesied until the [ time ] of the offering up of the oblation ; but there was neither voice , nor any that answered , nor any attention . Then Elijah said to all the people , Draw near to me . And all the people drew near to him . And he repaired the altar of Jehovah which was broken down . And Elijah took twelve stones , according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob , to whom the word of Jehovah came saying , Israel shall be thy name ; and with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah , and made a trench round about the altar , of the capacity of two measures of seed ; and he put the wood in order , and cut the bullock in pieces , and laid it on the wood . And he said , Fill four pitchers with water , and pour it on the burnt-offering , and on the wood . And he said , Do it the second time . And they did it the second time . And he said , Do it the third time . And they did it the third time . And the water ran round about the altar ; and he filled the trench also with water . And it came to pass at [ the time of ] the offering up of the oblation , that Elijah the prophet drew near , and said , Jehovah , God of Abraham , Isaac and Israel , let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel , and that I am thy servant , and that I have done all these things by thy word . Answer me , Jehovah , answer me , that this people may know that thou Jehovah art God , and [ that ] * thou * hast turned their heart back again . And the fire of Jehovah fell , and consumed the burnt-offering , and the wood , and the stones , and the dust , and licked up the water that was in the trench . And all the people saw [ it ] , and they fell on their faces and said , Jehovah , he is God ! Jehovah , he is God ! And Elijah said to them , Seize the prophets of Baal ; let not one of them escape ! And they seized them ; and Elijah brought them down to the torrent of Kishon , and slaughtered them there . And Elijah said to Ahab , Go up , eat and drink ; for there is a sound of abundance of rain . And Ahab went up to eat and to drink . And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel ; and he bowed down on the earth , and put his face between his knees . 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 . And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said , Behold there is a cloud , small as a man's hand , arising out of the sea . And he said , Go up , say to Ahab , Harness and go down , that the pour of rain stop thee not . And it came to pass in the mean while , that the heavens became black [ with ] clouds and wind , and there was a great pour of rain . And Ahab got on the chariot , and went to Jizreel . And the hand of Jehovah was upon Elijah ; and he girded up his loins , and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jizreel . And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done , and in detail how he had slain all the prophets with the sword . And Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying , So do the gods [ to me ] , and more also , if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time ! And when he saw [ that ] , he arose , and went for his life , and came to Beer-sheba , which belongs to Judah , and left his servant there . And he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness , and came and sat down under a certain broom-bush , and requested for himself that he might die ; and said , It is enough : now , Jehovah , take my life ; for I am not better than my fathers . And he lay down and slept under the broom-bush . And behold , an angel touched him , and said to him , Arise , eat ! And he looked , and behold , at his head was a cake , baked on hot stones , and a cruse of water . And he ate and drank , and lay down again . And the angel of Jehovah came again the second time , and touched him , and said , Arise , eat ; for the journey is too great for thee . 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 . And there he went into a cave , and lodged there . And behold , the word of Jehovah [ came ] to him , and he said to him , What doest thou here , Elijah ? And he said , I have been very jealous for Jehovah the God of hosts ; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant , thrown down thine altars , and slain thy prophets with the sword ; and I am left , I alone , and they seek my life , to take it away . And he said , Go forth , and stand upon the mount before Jehovah . And behold , Jehovah passed by , and a great and strong wind rent the mountains , and broke in pieces the rocks before Jehovah : Jehovah was not in the wind . And after the wind , an earthquake : Jehovah was not in the earthquake . And after the earthquake , a fire : Jehovah was not in the fire . And after the fire , a soft gentle voice . And it came to pass , when Elijah heard it , that he wrapped his face in his mantle , and went out , and stood in the entrance of the cave . And behold , a voice [ came ] to him and said , What doest thou here , Elijah ? And he said , I have been very jealous for Jehovah the God of hosts ; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant , thrown down thine altars , and slain thy prophets with the sword ; and I am left , I alone , and they seek my life , to take it away . And Jehovah said to him , Go , return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus ; and when thou comest , anoint Hazael king over Syria ; and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint king over Israel ; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint prophet in thy stead . And it shall come to pass , [ that ] him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay ; and him that escapeth the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay . Yet I have left [ myself ] seven thousand in Israel , all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal , and every mouth that hath not kissed him . And he departed thence , and found Elisha the son of Shaphat , who was ploughing [ with ] twelve yokes before him , and he with the twelfth ; and Elijah went over to him , and cast his mantle on him . And he left the oxen , and ran after Elijah , and said , Let me , I pray thee , kiss my father and my mother , and I will follow thee . And he said to him , Go back again ; for what have I done to thee ? And he returned back from him , and took the yoke of oxen , and killed them , and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen , and gave to the people , and they ate . And he arose and went after Elijah , and ministered to him . And Ben-Hadad king of Syria assembled all his host ; and there were thirty-two kings with him , and horses and chariots ; and he went up and besieged Samaria , and fought against it . And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city , and said to him , Thus says Ben-Hadad : Thy silver and thy gold is mine ; thy wives also and thy children , the goodliest , are mine . And the king of Israel answered and said , My lord , O king , according to thy saying , I am thine , and all that I have . And the messengers came again , and said , Thus speaks Ben-Hadad saying : I sent to thee indeed , saying , Thou shalt deliver me thy silver , and thy gold , and thy wives , and thy children ; but to-morrow about this time I will send my servants to thee , and they shall search thy house , and the houses of thy servants ; and it shall be , that whatsoever is pleasant in thy sight , they shall put in their hand and take away . And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said , Mark , I pray you , and see how this [ man ] seeks mischief ; for he sent to me for my wives , and for my children , and for my silver , and for my gold ; and I denied him not . And all the elders and all the people said to him , Hearken not , nor consent . And he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad , Tell my lord the king , All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do ; but this thing I cannot do . And the messengers departed , and brought him word again . And 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 that follow me ! And the king of Israel answered and said , Tell [ him ] , Let not him that girdeth on boast himself as he that putteth off ! And it came to pass when he heard this word , as he was drinking , he and the kings in the tents , that he said to his servants , Set yourselves . And they set themselves against the city . And behold , a prophet drew near to Ahab king of Israel , and said , Thus saith Jehovah : Hast thou seen all this great multitude ? behold , I will deliver it into thy hand this day ; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah . And Ahab said , By whom ? And he said , Thus saith Jehovah : By the servants of the princes of the provinces . Then he said , Who shall begin the battle ? And he said , Thou . And he numbered the servants of the princes of the provinces , and they were two hundred and thirty-two ; and after them he numbered all the people , all the children of Israel , seven thousand . And they went out at noon ; and Ben-Hadad drank himself drunk in the tents , he and the kings , the thirty-two kings that helped him . And the servants of the princes of the provinces went out first ; and Ben-Hadad sent out , and they told him saying , There are men come out of Samaria . And he said , Whether they be come out for peace , take them alive ; or whether they be come out for war , take them alive . And these servants of the princes of the provinces came out of the city , and the army that followed them . And they slew every one his man ; and the Syrians fled , and Israel pursued them ; and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen . And the king of Israel went out , and smote the horses and chariots , and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter . And the prophet drew near to the king of Israel , and said to him , Go , strengthen thyself , and understand , and see what thou shalt do ; for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee . And the servants of the king of Syria said to him , Their gods are gods of the mountains ; therefore they were stronger than we ; but if we fight against them on the plateau , shall we not be stronger than they ? And do this : take the kings away , every man out of his place , and put governors in their stead ; and number thee an army , like the army that thou hast lost , horse for horse , and chariot for chariot ; and we will fight against them on the plateau : shall we not be stronger than they ? And he hearkened to their voice , and did so . And it came to pass , at the return of the year , that Ben-Hadad numbered the Syrians , and went up to Aphek , to fight against Israel . And the children of Israel were numbered and victualled , and they went against them ; and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats ; but the Syrians filled the land . And the man of God drew near , and spoke to the king of Israel and said , Thus saith Jehovah : Because the Syrians have said , Jehovah is a god of the mountains , but he is not a god of the valleys , I will give all this great multitude into thy hand , and ye shall know that I am Jehovah . And they encamped one over against the other seven days ; and it came to pass that on the seventh day the battle was joined ; and the children of Israel smote of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day . And the rest fled to Aphek , into the city ; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men of them that were left . And Ben-Hadad fled , and came into the city , [ from ] chamber to chamber . And his servants said to him , Behold now , we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings : let us , I pray thee , put sackcloth on our loins , and ropes upon our heads , and go out to the king of Israel ; perhaps he will save thy life . And they girded sackcloth on their loins , and ropes on their heads , and came to the king of Israel , and said , Thy servant Ben-Hadad says , I pray thee , let me live . And he said , Is he yet alive ? he is my brother . And the men took it as a good omen , and hastened to catch what came from him , and they said , Thy brother Ben-Hadad . . . . And he said , Go , bring him . And Ben-Hadad came forth to him ; and he caused him to come up into the chariot . And [ Ben-Hadad ] said to him , The cities that my father took from thy father I will restore ; and thou shalt make streets for thyself in Damascus , as my father made in Samaria . And I [ said Ahab ] will send thee away with this covenant . So he made a covenant with him , and sent him away . And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of Jehovah , Smite me , I pray thee . But the man refused to smite him . Then said he to him , Because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah , behold , when thou departest from me , the lion will slay thee . And when he had departed from him , the lion found him and slew him . Then he found another man , and said , Smite me , I pray thee . And the man smote him violently , and wounded [ him ] . And the prophet departed , and waited for the king by the way , and disguised himself with a sash over his eyes . And as the king passed by , he cried to the king and said , Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle ; and behold , a man turned aside , and brought a man to me and said , Keep this man ; if by any means he be missing , then shall thy life be for his life , or thou shalt pay a talent of silver . And as thy servant was busy here and there , he was gone . And the king of Israel said to him , So [ is ] thy judgment : thyself hast decided [ it ] . Then he hastily took the sash away from his face ; and the king of Israel discerned him , that he was of the prophets . And he said to him , Thus saith Jehovah : Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man that I had devoted to destruction , thy life shall be for his life , and thy people for his people . And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed , and came to Samaria . And it came to pass after these things , [ that ] Naboth the Jizreelite had a vineyard , which was in Jizreel , by the side of the palace of Ahab king of Samaria . And Ahab spoke to Naboth saying , Give me thy vineyard , that I may have it for a garden of herbs , for it is near , by the side of my house ; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it ; if it seem good to thee , I will give thee its value in money . And Naboth said to Ahab , Jehovah forbid it me , that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee ! And Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word that Naboth the Jizreelite had spoken to him ; for he had said , I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers . And he lay down on his bed , and turned away his face , and ate no bread . And Jezebel his wife came to him , and said to him , Why is thy spirit sullen , and thou eatest no bread ? And he said to her , Because I spoke to Naboth the Jizreelite and said to him , Give me thy vineyard for money ; or else , if it please thee , I will give thee a vineyard for it ; and he said , I will not give thee my vineyard . And Jezebel his wife said to him , Dost thou now exercise sovereignty over Israel ? arise , eat bread , and let thy heart be glad : I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite . And she wrote a letter in Ahab's name , and sealed it with his seal , and sent the letter to the elders and to the nobles that were in his city , dwelling with Naboth . And she wrote in the letter saying , Proclaim a fast , and set Naboth at the head of the people ; and set two men , sons of Belial , before him , and they shall bear witness against him saying , Thou didst curse God and the king ; and carry him out , and stone him , that he may die . And the men of his city , the elders and the nobles that dwelt in his city , did as Jezebel had sent to them , as it was written in the letter that she had sent to them : they proclaimed a fast , and set Naboth at the head of the people . And there came the two men , sons of Belial , and sat before him ; and the men of Belial witnessed against him , against Naboth , in the presence of the people , saying , Naboth blasphemed God and the king . And they carried him forth out of the city , and stoned him with stones , that he died . And they sent to Jezebel saying , Naboth is stoned , and is dead . And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead , that Jezebel said to Ahab , Arise , take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite , which he refused to give thee for money ; for Naboth is not alive , but dead . And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead , that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite , to take possession of it . And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite , saying , Arise , go down to meet Ahab king of Israel , who is in Samaria : behold , he is in the vineyard of Naboth , whither he is gone down to take possession of it . And thou shalt speak unto him saying , Thus saith Jehovah : Hast thou killed , and also taken possession ? And thou shalt speak unto him saying , Thus saith Jehovah : In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs lick thy blood , even thine . And Ahab said to Elijah , Hast thou found me , mine enemy ? And he said , I have found [ thee ] ; because thou hast sold thyself to do evil in the sight of Jehovah . Behold , I will bring evil upon thee , and will take away thy posterity , and will cut off from Ahab every male , and him that is shut up and left in Israel ; and I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat , and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah , for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger , and made Israel to sin . And of Jezebel also spoke Jehovah saying , The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the moat of Jizreel . Him that dieth of Ahab in the city shall the dogs eat , and him that dieth in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat . ( Surely there was none like to Ahab , who did sell himself to do evil in the sight of Jehovah , Jezebel his wife urging him on . And he did very abominably in following idols , according to all that the Amorites did , whom Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel . ) And it came to pass when Ahab heard these words , that he rent his garments , and put sackcloth upon his flesh , and fasted , and lay in sackcloth , and went softly . And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite , saying , Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me ? because he humbleth himself before me , I will not bring the evil in his days : in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house . And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel . And it came to pass in the third year , that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel . And the king of Israel said to his servants , Do ye know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours , and we keep quiet without taking it out of the hand of the king of Syria ? And he said to Jehoshaphat , Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-Gilead ? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel , I am as thou , my people as thy people , my horses as thy horses . And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel , Inquire , I pray thee , this day of the word of Jehovah . And the king of Israel assembled the prophets , about four hundred men , and said to them , Shall I go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle , or shall I forbear ? And they said , Go up , and the Lord will give it into the king's hand . But Jehoshaphat said , Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah besides , that we might inquire of him ? And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat , There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah ; but I hate him , for he prophesies no good concerning me , but evil : [ it is ] Micah the son of Imlah . And Jehoshaphat said , Let not the king say so . Then the king of Israel called a chamberlain , and said , Fetch quickly Micah the son of Imlah . And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah , having put on their robes , sat each on his throne , in the open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria ; and all the prophets prophesied before them . And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron , and he said , Thus saith Jehovah : With these shalt thou push the Syrians , until thou have exterminated them . And all the prophets prophesied so , saying , Go up to Ramoth-Gilead , and prosper ; for Jehovah will give it into the king's hand . And the messenger that went to call Micah spoke to him saying , Behold now , the words of the prophets [ declare ] good to the king with one assent : let thy word , I pray thee , be like the word of one of them , and speak good . And Micah said , As Jehovah liveth , even what Jehovah shall say to me , that will I speak . And he came to the king . And the king said to him , Micah , shall we go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle , or shall we forbear ? And he said to him , Go up , and prosper ; for Jehovah will give it into the hand of the king . And the king said to him , How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but truth in the name of Jehovah ? And he said , I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains , as sheep that have no shepherd . And Jehovah said , These have no master : let them return every man to his house in peace . And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat , Did I not tell thee that he prophesies no good concerning me , but evil ? And he said , Hear therefore the word of Jehovah : I saw Jehovah sitting upon his throne , and all the host of heaven standing by him , on his right hand and on his left ; and Jehovah said , Who shall entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead ? And one said after this manner , and another said after that manner . And there came forth a spirit , and stood before Jehovah , and said , I will entice him . And Jehovah said unto him , Wherewith ? And he said , I will go forth , and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets . And he said , Thou shalt entice [ him ] , and also succeed : go forth , and do so . And now , behold , Jehovah has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets , and Jehovah has spoken evil concerning thee . Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near , and smote Micah upon the cheek , and said , Where now went the Spirit of Jehovah from me to speak to thee ? And Micah said , Behold , thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go from chamber to chamber to hide thyself . And the king of Israel said , Take Micah and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city , and to Joash the king's son ; and thou shalt say , Thus says the king : Put this [ man ] in the prison , and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction , until I come in peace . And Micah said , If thou return at all in peace , Jehovah has not spoken by me . And he said , Hearken , O peoples , all of you ! And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead . And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat , I will disguise myself , and will enter into the battle ; but put thou on thy robes . And the king of Israel disguised himself , and went into the battle . And the king of Syria commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots saying , Fight neither with small nor great , but with the king of Israel only . And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat , that they said , Surely that is the king of Israel ; and they turned against him to fight ; and Jehoshaphat cried out . And it came to pass that when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel , they turned back from pursuing him . And a man drew a bow at a venture , and smote the king of Israel between the fastenings and the corslet . And he said to his charioteer , Turn thy hand , and drive me out of the camp ; for I am wounded . And the battle increased that day ; and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians , and he died at even ; and the blood of the wound ran out into the hollow of the chariot . And there went the cry throughout the host at the going down of the sun , saying , Every man to his city , and every man to his own country ! And the king died , and was brought to Samaria ; and they buried the king in Samaria . And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria ; and the dogs licked his blood , where the harlots bathed : according to the word of Jehovah , which he had spoken . And the rest of the acts of Ahab , and all that he did , and the ivory house that he built , and all the cities that he built , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel ? And Ahab slept with his fathers ; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead . And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel . Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign ; and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem ; and his mother's name was Azubah , the daughter of Shilhi . And he walked in all the way of Asa his father ; he turned not aside from it , doing what was right in the sight of Jehovah . Only , the high places were not removed : the people offered and burned incense still on the high places . And Jehoshaphat was at peace with the king of Israel . And the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat , and his might which he shewed , and how he warred , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ? And the remainder of the sodomites , which were left in the days of his father Asa , he put away from out of the land . And there was no king in Edom : a deputy reigned . Jehoshaphat made Tarshish-ships to go to Ophir for gold ; but they went not , for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber . Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab to Jehoshaphat , Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships . But Jehoshaphat would not . And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers , and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father ; and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead . Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah ; and he reigned two years over Israel . And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah , and walked in the way of his father , and in the way of his mother , and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat , who made Israel to sin . And he served Baal , and worshipped him , and provoked Jehovah the God of Israel to anger , according to all that his father had done .Public Domain