19:37 Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in

mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother.

But behold thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king;

and do to him what shall seem good unto thee.

19:38 And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will

do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou

shalt require of me, that will I do for thee.

19:39 And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king was come

over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto

his own place.

19:40 Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him: and

all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of

Israel.

19:41 And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto

the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and

have brought the king, and his household, and all David's men with him,

over Jordan?

19:42 And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the

king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter?

have we eaten at all of the king's cost? or hath he given us any gift?

19:43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have

ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why

then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in

bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer

than the words of the men of Israel.

20:1 And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was

Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said,

We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of

Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.

20:2 So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba

the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from

Jordan even to Jerusalem.

20:3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten

women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them

in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up

unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.

20:4 Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within

three days, and be thou here present.

20:5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer

than the set time which he had appointed him.

20:6 And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us

more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue

after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.

20:7 And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and

the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem,

to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

20:8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went

before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him,

and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath

thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.

20:9 And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab

took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.

20:10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he

smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the

ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his

brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

20:11 And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth

Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab.

20:12 And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when

the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the

highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that

every one that came by him stood still.

20:13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on

after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

20:14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to

Bethmaachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and

went also after him.

20:15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they

cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the

people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

20:16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray

you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.

20:17 And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab?

And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of

thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.

20:18 Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time,

saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the

matter.

20:19 I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou

seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow

up the inheritance of the LORD?

20:20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I

should swallow up or destroy.

20:21 The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of

Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against

David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman

said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.

20:22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they

cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab.

And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his

tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.

20:23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of

Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:

20:24 And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud

was recorder:

20:25 And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:

20:26 And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.

21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year

after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is

for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

21:2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the

Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the

Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul

sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)

21:3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you?

and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the

inheritance of the LORD?

21:4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold

of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in

Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

21:5 And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that

devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of

the coasts of Israel,

21:6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang

them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And

the king said, I will give them.

21:7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of

Saul, because of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David

and Jonathan the son of Saul.

21:8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom

she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal

the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of

Barzillai the Meholathite:

21:9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they

hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven

together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first

days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

21:10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for

her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped

upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to

rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

21:11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the

concubine of Saul, had done.

21:12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of

Jonathan his son from the men of Jabeshgilead, which had stolen them

from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when

the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:

21:13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of

Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.

21:14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the

country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and

they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was

intreated for the land.

21:15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David

went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the

Philistines: and David waxed faint.

21:16 And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of

whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being

girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.

21:17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the

Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him,

saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench

not the light of Israel.

21:18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with

the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which

was of the sons of the giant.

21:19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where

Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of

Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

21:20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great

stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes,

four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.

21:21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah the brother

of David slew him.

21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of

David, and by the hand of his servants.

22:1 And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day

that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and

out of the hand of Saul:

22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my

deliverer;

22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the

horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou

savest me from violence.

22:4 I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be

saved from mine enemies.

22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men

made me afraid;

22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death

prevented me;

22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he

did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved

and shook, because he was wroth.

22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his

mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under

his feet.

22:11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the

wings of the wind.

22:12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and

thick clouds of the skies.

22:13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.

22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his

voice.

22:15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and

discomfited them.

22:16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world

were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath

of his nostrils.

22:17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;

22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me:

for they were too strong for me.

22:19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my

stay.

22:20 He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me,

because he delighted in me.

22:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to

the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly

departed from my God.

22:23 For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I

did not depart from them.

22:24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine

iniquity.

22:25 Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my

righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.

22:26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the

upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.

22:27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward

thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.

22:28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon

the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

22:29 For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my

darkness.

22:30 For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped

over a wall.

22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he

is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

22:32 For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?

22:33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

22:34 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high

places.

22:35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by

mine arms.

22:36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy

gentleness hath made me great.

22:37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not

slip.

22:38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not

again until I had consumed them.

22:39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not

arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.

22:40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up

against me hast thou subdued under me.

22:41 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might

destroy them that hate me.

22:42 They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the LORD, but

he answered them not.

22:43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did

stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.

22:44 Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou

hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall

serve me.

22:45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear,

they shall be obedient unto me.

22:46 Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their

close places.

22:47 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of

the rock of my salvation.

22:48 It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people

under me.

22:49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast

lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast

delivered me from the violent man.

22:50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen,

and I will sing praises unto thy name.

22:51 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to

his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.

23:1 Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said,

and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob,

and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,

23:2 The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

23:3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that

ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

23:4 And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth,

even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the

earth by clear shining after rain.

23:5 Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an

everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all

my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.

23:6 But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away,

because they cannot be taken with hands:

23:7 But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the

staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same

place.

23:8 These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite

that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the

Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one

time.

23:9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the

three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were

there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:

23:10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and

his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that

day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.

23:11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the

Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of

ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.

23:12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew

the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.

23:13 And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the

harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines

pitched in the valley of Rephaim.

23:14 And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines

was then in Bethlehem.

23:15 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the

water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!

23:16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the

Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by

the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would

not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.

23:17 And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is

not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives?

therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty

men.

23:18 And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief

among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew

them, and had the name among three.

23:19 Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their

captain: howbeit he attained not unto the first three.

23:20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of

Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he

went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:

23:21 And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a

spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the

spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.

23:22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name

among three mighty men.

23:23 He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the

first three. And David set him over his guard.

23:24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son

of Dodo of Bethlehem,

23:25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,

23:26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

23:27 Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,

23:28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,

23:29 Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai

out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,

23:30 Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,

23:31 Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,

23:32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,

23:33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,

23:34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam

the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

23:35 Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,

23:36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

23:37 Zelek the Ammonite, Nahari the Beerothite, armourbearer to Joab

the son of Zeruiah,

23:38 Ira an Ithrite, Gareb an Ithrite,

23:39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.

24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he

moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.

24:2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with

him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to

Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the

people.

24:3 And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the

people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my

lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this

thing?

24:4 Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against

the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out

from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.

24:5 And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right

side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward

Jazer:

24:6 Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtimhodshi; and they

came to Danjaan, and about to Zidon,

24:7 And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the

Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah,

even to Beersheba.

24:8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem

at the end of nine months and twenty days.

24:9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king:

and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew

the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

24:10 And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people.

And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done:

and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant;

for I have done very foolishly.

24:11 For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came

unto the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,

24:12 Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three

things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.

24:13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven

years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three

months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be

three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I

shall return to him that sent me.

24:14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now

into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not

fall into the hand of man.

24:15 So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to

the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to

Beersheba seventy thousand men.

24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to

destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel

that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the

angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.

24:17 And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the

people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these

sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me,

and against my father's house.

24:18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an

altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.

24:19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD

commanded.

24:20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on

toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on

his face upon the ground.

24:21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his

servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an

altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.

24:22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer

up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice,

and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.

24:23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And

Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.

24:24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of

thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my

God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the

threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

24:25 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt

offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land,

and the plague was stayed from Israel.

1 Kings

Chapter

2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17

18   19   20   21   22

1:1 Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him

with clothes, but he gat no heat.

1:2 Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my

lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let

her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may

get heat.

1:3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of

Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

1:4 And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered

to him: but the king knew her not.

1:5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be

king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run

before him.

1:6 And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why

hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother

bare him after Absalom.

1:7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the

priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.

1:8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan

the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to

David, were not with Adonijah.

1:9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of

Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king's

sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:

1:10 But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and

Solomon his brother, he called not.

1:11 Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon,

saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign,

and David our lord knoweth it not?

1:12 Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that

thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.

1:13 Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not

thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly

Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?

why then doth Adonijah reign?

1:14 Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will

come in after thee, and confirm thy words.

1:15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king

was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.

1:16 And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king

said, What wouldest thou?

1:17 And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God

unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after

me, and he shall sit upon my throne.

1:18 And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou

knowest it not:

1:19 And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and

hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab

the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called.

1:20 And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee,

that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the

king after him.

1:21 Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep

with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

1:22 And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet

also came in.

1:23 And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when

he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with

his face to the ground.

1:24 And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall

reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?

1:25 For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle

and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the

captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and

drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah.

1:26 But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the

son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.

1:27 Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it

unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after

him?

1:28 Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came

into the king's presence, and stood before the king.

1:29 And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath

redeemed my soul out of all distress,

1:30 Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying,

Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my

throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.

1:31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence

to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.

1:32 And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the

prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.

1:33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your

lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him

down to Gihon:

1:34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there

king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king

Solomon.

1:35 Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my

throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be

ruler over Israel and over Judah.

1:36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen:

the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.

1:37 As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with

Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king

David.

1:38 So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of

Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused

Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon.

1:39 And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and

anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said,

God save king Solomon.

1:40 And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with

pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the

sound of them.

1:41 And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they

had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet,

he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar?

1:42 And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the

priest came; and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou art a valiant

man, and bringest good tidings.

1:43 And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king

David hath made Solomon king.

1:44 And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the

prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the

Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule:

1:45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king

in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city

rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.

1:46 And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.

1:47 And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David,

saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his

throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed.

1:48 And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel,

which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing

it.

1:49 And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose

up, and went every man his way.

1:50 And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and

caught hold on the horns of the altar.

1:51 And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king

Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying,

Let king Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his servant

with the sword.

1:52 And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall

not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found

in him, he shall die.

1:53 So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And

he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go

to thine house.

2:1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged

Solomon his son, saying,

2:2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew

thyself a man;

2:3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to

keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his

testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest

prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:

2:4 That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me,

saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in

truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail

thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

2:5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me,

and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner

the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed

the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that

was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

2:6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go

down to the grave in peace.

2:7 But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let

them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I

fled because of Absalom thy brother.

2:8 And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite

of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went

to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him

by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

2:9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and

knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou

down to the grave with blood.

2:10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of

David.

2:11 And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven

years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in

Jerusalem.

2:12 Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his

kingdom was established greatly.

2:13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of

Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

2:14 He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said,

Say on.

2:15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all

Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom

is turned about, and is become my brother's: for it was his from the

LORD.

2:16 And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto

him, Say on.

2:17 And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he

will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

2:18 And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.

2:19 Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for

Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her,

and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's

mother; and she sat on his right hand.

2:20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee,

say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I

will not say thee nay.

2:21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy

brother to wife.

2:22 And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost

thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom

also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the

priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.

2:23 Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and

more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.

2:24 Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, which hath established me, and

set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house,

as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

2:25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada;

and he fell upon him that he died.

2:26 And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth,

unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at

this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the LORD God

before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all

wherein my father was afflicted.

2:27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD;

that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the

house of Eli in Shiloh.

2:28 Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah,

though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of

the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

2:29 And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle

of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah

the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.

2:30 And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him,

Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here.

And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and

thus he answered me.

2:31 And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him,

and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab

shed, from me, and from the house of my father.

2:32 And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell

upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the

sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of

Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain

of the host of Judah.

2:33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon

the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and

upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from

the LORD.

2:34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew

him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

2:35 And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the

host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.

2:36 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build

thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any

whither.

2:37 For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over

the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely

die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.

2:38 And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the

king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem

many days.

2:39 And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the

servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And

they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.

2:40 And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish

to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from

Gath.

2:41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to

Gath, and was come again.

2:42 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I

not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying,

Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any

whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word

that I have heard is good.

2:43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the

commandment that I have charged thee with?

2:44 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness

which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father:

therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;

2:45 And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be

established before the LORD for ever.

2:46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out,

and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the

hand of Solomon.

3:1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took

Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had

made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and

the wall of Jerusalem round about.

3:2 Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no

house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days.

3:3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his

father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

3:4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the

great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that

altar.

3:5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God

said, Ask what I shall give thee.

3:6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father

great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in

righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept

for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on

his throne, as it is this day.

3:7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of

David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out

or come in.

3:8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast

chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for

multitude.

3:9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy

people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to

judge this thy so great a people?

3:10 And the speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing.

3:11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast

not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself,

nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself

understanding to discern judgment;

3:12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a

wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before

thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

3:13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both

riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like

unto thee all thy days.

3:14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my

commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy

days.

3:15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to

Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and

offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a

feast to all his servants.

3:16 Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and

stood before him.

3:17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one

house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.

3:18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that

this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no

stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.

3:19 And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

3:20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while

thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child

in my bosom.

3:21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it

was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was

not my son, which I did bear.

3:22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the

dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the

living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

3:23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and

thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead,

and my son is the living.

3:24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword

before the king.

3:25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to

the one, and half to the other.

3:26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for

her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the

living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be

neither mine nor thine, but divide it.

3:27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in

no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.

3:28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and

they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to

do judgment.

4:1 So king Solomon was king over all Israel.

4:2 And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok

the priest,

4:3 Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the

son of Ahilud, the recorder.

4:4 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and

Abiathar were the priests:

4:5 And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the

son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend:

4:6 And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was

over the tribute.

4:7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided

victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year

made provision.

4:8 And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:

4:9 The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and

Elonbethhanan:

4:10 The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the

land of Hepher:

4:11 The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath

the daughter of Solomon to wife:

4:12 Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and

all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to

Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam:

4:13 The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of

Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the

region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls

and brasen bars:

4:14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:

4:15 Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of

Solomon to wife:

4:16 Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:

4:17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:

4:18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:

4:19 Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country

of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the

only officer which was in the land.

4:20 Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in

multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.

4:21 And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land

of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents,

and served Solomon all the days of his life.

4:22 And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine

flour, and threescore measures of meal,

4:23 Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred

sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.

4:24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river,

from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river:

and he had peace on all sides round about him.

4:25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and

under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

4:26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots,

and twelve thousand horsemen.

4:27 And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all

that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked

nothing.

4:28 Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they

unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his

charge.

4:29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and

largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

4:30 And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the

east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

4:31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman,

and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all

nations round about.

4:32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand

and five.

4:33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even

unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts,

and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.

4:34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from

all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

5:1 And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had

heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for

Hiram was ever a lover of David.

5:2 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

5:3 Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto

the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every

side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.

5:4 But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that

there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

5:5 And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD

my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I

will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my

name.

5:6 Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of

Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will

I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint:

for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew

timber like unto the Sidonians.

5:7 And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he

rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath

given unto David a wise son over this great people.

5:8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things

which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning

timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.

5:9 My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I

will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint

me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive

them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my

household.

5:10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all

his desire.

5:11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food

to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to

Hiram year by year.

5:12 And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was

peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.

5:13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was

thirty thousand men.

5:14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a

month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was

over the levy.

5:15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and

fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;

5:16 Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work,

three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that

wrought in the work.

5:17 And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly

stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.

5:18 And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the

stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

6:1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the

children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth

year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the

second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

6:2 And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length

thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits,

and the height thereof thirty cubits.

6:3 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the

length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits

was the breadth thereof before the house.

6:4 And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.

6:5 And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about,

against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of

the oracle: and he made chambers round about:

6:6 The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six

cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the

wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams

should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

6:7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made

ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer

nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in

building.

6:8 The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house:

and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of

the middle into the third.

6:9 So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with

beams and boards of cedar.

6:10 And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high:

and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

6:11 And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,

6:12 Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk

in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments

to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake

unto David thy father:

6:13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake

my people Israel.

6:14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

6:15 And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar,

both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling: and he

covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house

with planks of fir.

6:16 And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the

floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it

within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.

6:17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits

long.

6:18 And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open

flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

6:19 And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the

ark of the covenant of the LORD.

6:20 And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and

twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and

he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of

cedar.

6:21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a

partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it

with gold.

6:22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished

all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid

with gold.

6:23 And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten

cubits high.

6:24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the

other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto

the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.

6:25 And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one

measure and one size.

6:26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the

other cherub.

6:27 And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched

forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched

the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall;

and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.

6:28 And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.

6:29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved

figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and

without.

6:30 And the floors of the house he overlaid with gold, within and

without.

6:31 And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the

lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.

6:32 The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them

carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them

with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.

6:33 So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a

fourth part of the wall.

6:34 And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door

were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

6:35 And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers:

and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.

6:36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a

row of cedar beams.

6:37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD

laid, in the month Zif:

6:38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth

month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and

according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building

it.

7:1 But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he

finished all his house.

7:2 He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof

was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the

height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with

cedar beams upon the pillars.

7:3 And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on

forty five pillars, fifteen in a row.

7:4 And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in

three ranks.

7:5 And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light

was against light in three ranks.

7:6 And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits,

and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them:

and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.

7:7 Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the

porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the

floor to the other.

7:8 And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch,

which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's

daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch.

7:9 All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed

stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation

unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.

7:10 And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones

of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.

7:11 And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones,

and cedars.

7:12 And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed

stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house

of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.

7:13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.

7:14 He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a

man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and

understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to

king Solomon, and wrought all his work.

7:15 For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece:

and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.

7:16 And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of

the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the

height of the other chapiter was five cubits:

7:17 And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the

chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one

chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.

7:18 And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one

network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with

pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.

7:19 And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of

lily work in the porch, four cubits.

7:20 And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above,

over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates

were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter.

7:21 And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up

the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the

left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.

7:22 And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of

the pillars finished.

7:23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the

other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a

line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

7:24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing

it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast

in two rows, when it was cast.

7:25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and

three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and

three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and

all their hinder parts were inward.

7:26 And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought

like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two

thousand baths.

7:27 And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one

base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height

of it.

7:28 And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and

the borders were between the ledges:

7:29 And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen,

and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath

the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.

7:30 And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the

four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters

molten, at the side of every addition.

7:31 And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but

the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an

half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders,

foursquare, not round.

7:32 And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the

wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit

and half a cubit.

7:33 And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel:

their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes,

were all molten.

7:34 And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base:

and the undersetters were of the very base itself.

7:35 And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a

cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the

borders thereof were of the same.

7:36 For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders

thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the

proportion of every one, and additions round about.

7:37 After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one

casting, one measure, and one size.

7:38 Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths:

and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one

laver.

7:39 And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on

the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the

house eastward over against the south.

7:40 And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So

Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for

the house of the LORD:

7:41 The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on

the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls

of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars;

7:42 And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows

of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters

that were upon the pillars;

7:43 And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases;

7:44 And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;

7:45 And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these

vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD,

were of bright brass.

7:46 In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground

between Succoth and Zarthan.

7:47 And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were

exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.

7:48 And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of

the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the

shewbread was,

7:49 And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five

on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the

tongs of gold,

7:50 And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons,

and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors

of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house,

to wit, of the temple.

7:51 So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of

the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had

dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put

among the treasures of the house of the LORD.

8:1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of

the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto

king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the

covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

8:2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at

the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

8:3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

8:4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the

congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even

those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

8:5 And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were

assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and

oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

8:6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto

his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even

under the wings of the cherubims.

8:7 For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the

ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

8:8 And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen

out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without:

and there they are unto this day.

8:9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which

Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the

children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

8:10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy

place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

8:11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the

cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

8:12 Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick

darkness.

8:13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for

thee to abide in for ever.

8:14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the

congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)

8:15 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with

his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it,

saying,

8:16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I

chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my

name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

8:17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for

the name of the LORD God of Israel.

8:18 And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine

heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in

thine heart.

8:19 Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall

come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

8:20 And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen

up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as

the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God

of Israel.

8:21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant

of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of

the land of Egypt.

8:22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of

all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward

heaven:

8:23 And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in

heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with

thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

8:24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst

him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine

hand, as it is this day.

8:25 Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my

father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man

in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take

heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before

me.

8:26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified,

which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and

heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I

have builded?

8:28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his

supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer,

which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:

8:29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even

toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that

thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward

this place.

8:30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy

people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in

heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

8:31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon

him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this

house:

8:32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants,

condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying

the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

8:33 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because

they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess

thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:

8:34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel,

and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

8:35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have

sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy

name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:

8:36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and

of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they

should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy

people for an inheritance.

8:37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting,

mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them

in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness

there be;

8:38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all

thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own

heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

8:39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do,

and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest;

(for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of

men;)

8:40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land

which thou gavest unto our fathers.

8:41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel,

but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;

8:42 (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and

of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this

house;

8:43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all

that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may

know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may

know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.

8:44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever

thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which

thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:

8:45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and

maintain their cause.

8:46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,)

and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they

carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

8:47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were

carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the

land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and

have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

8:48 And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their

soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and

pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers,

the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for

thy name:

8:49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy

dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

8:50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their

transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give

them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have

compassion on them:

8:51 For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou

broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:

8:52 That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant,

and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in

all that they call for unto thee.

8:53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the

earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy

servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O LORD God.

8:54 And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all

this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the

altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up

to heaven.

8:55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a

loud voice, saying,

8:56 Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel,

according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all

his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

8:57 The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him

not leave us, nor forsake us:

8:58 That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways,

and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which

he commanded our fathers.

8:59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before

the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain

the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all

times, as the matter shall require:

8:60 That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and

that there is none else.

8:61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk

in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

8:62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the

LORD.

8:63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he

offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and

twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel

dedicated the house of the LORD.

8:64 The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was

before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and

meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen

altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt

offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

8:65 And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a

great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of

Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen

days.

8:66 On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the

king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the

goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel

his people.

9:1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the

house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which

he was pleased to do,

9:2 That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had

appeared unto him at Gibeon.

9:3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy

supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house,

which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and

mine heart shall be there perpetually.

9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in

integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I

have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:

9:5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for

ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail

thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

9:6 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children,

and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set

before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:

9:7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them;

and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my

sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

9:8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall

be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD

done thus unto this land, and to this house?

9:9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who

brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken

hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them:

therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.

9:10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had

built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house,

9:11 (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees

and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then

king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

9:12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had

given him; and they pleased him not.

9:13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my

brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.

9:14 And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.

9:15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for

to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the

wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

9:16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt

it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given

it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.

9:17 And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether,

9:18 And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,

9:19 And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his

chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to

build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

9:20 And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites,

Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of

Israel,

9:21 Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the

children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did

Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.

9:22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they

were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains,

and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.

9:23 These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work,

five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in

the work.

9:24 But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her

house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.

9:25 And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and

peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he

burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished

the house.

9:26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is

beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.

9:27 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge

of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

9:28 And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred

and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

10:1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning

the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

10:2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that

bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was

come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

10:3 And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid

from the king, which he told her not.

10:4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the

house that he had built,

10:5 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the

attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and

his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no

more spirit in her.

10:6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine

own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.

10:7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had

seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and

prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.

10:8 Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand

continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

10:9 Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee

on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever,

therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.

10:10 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and

of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such

abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king

Solomon.

10:11 And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought

in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.

10:12 And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the

LORD, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers:

there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.

10:13 And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire,

whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal

bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

10:14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six

hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

10:15 Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the

spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of

the country.

10:16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six

hundred shekels of gold went to one target.

10:17 And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of

gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the

forest of Lebanon.

10:18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it

with the best gold.

10:19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round

behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat,

and two lions stood beside the stays.

10:20 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon

the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

10:21 And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the

vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none

were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.

10:22 For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of

Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold,

and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

10:23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and

for wisdom.

10:24 And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God

had put in his heart.

10:25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and

vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and

mules, a rate year by year.

10:26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a

thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom

he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.

10:27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars

made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.

10:28 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the

king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.

10:29 And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred

shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all

the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring

them out by their means.

11:1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the

daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites,

Zidonians, and Hittites:

11:2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of

Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you:

for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon

clave unto these in love.

11:3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred

concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned

away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the

LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and

after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

11:6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully

after the LORD, as did David his father.

11:7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination

of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the

abomination of the children of Ammon.

11:8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense

and sacrificed unto their gods.

11:9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned

from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,

11:10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go

after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.

11:11 Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of

thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have

commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give

it to thy servant.

11:12 Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy

father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.

11:13 Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one

tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake

which I have chosen.

11:14 And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the

Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom.

11:15 For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain

of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every

male in Edom;

11:16 (For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he

had cut off every male in Edom:)

11:17 That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants

with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child.

11:18 And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men

with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of

Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him

land.

11:19 And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he

gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the

queen.

11:20 And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom

Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's

household among the sons of Pharaoh.

11:21 And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers,

and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh,

Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country.

11:22 Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me,

that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country? And he answered,

Nothing: howbeit let me go in any wise.

11:23 And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of

Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:

11:24 And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band, when

David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein,

and reigned in Damascus.

11:25 And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside

the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over

Syria.

11:26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's

servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted

up his hand against the king.

11:27 And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the

king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of

David his father.

11:28 And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon

seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all

the charge of the house of Joseph.

11:29 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of

Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way;

and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in

the field:

11:30 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in

twelve pieces:

11:31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the

LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand

of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:

11:32 (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for

Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of

Israel:)

11:33 Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth

the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and

Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways,

to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my

judgments, as did David his father.

11:34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I

will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's

sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:

11:35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give

it unto thee, even ten tribes.

11:36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may

have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen

me to put my name there.

11:37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that

thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.

11:38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command

thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to

keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I

will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David,

and will give Israel unto thee.

11:39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.

11:40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and

fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the

death of Solomon.

11:41 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his

wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

11:42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was

forty years.

11:43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of

David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

12:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem

to make him king.

12:2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in

Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon,

and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)

12:3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the

congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,

12:4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the

grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us,

lighter, and we will serve thee.

12:5 And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again

to me. And the people departed.

12:6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before

Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I

may answer this people?

12:7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto

this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak

good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.

12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given

him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and

which stood before him:

12:9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this

people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father

did put upon us lighter?

12:10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him,

saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee,

saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto

us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker

than my father's loins.

12:11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will

add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will

chastise you with scorpions.

12:12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as

the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.

12:13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old

men's counsel that they gave him;

12:14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My

father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also

chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

12:15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause

was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD

spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

12:16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the

people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither

have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now

see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.

12:17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of

Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

12:18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all

Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam

made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

12:19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.

12:20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come

again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him

king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David,

but the tribe of Judah only.

12:21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the

house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore

thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of

Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

12:22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

12:23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto

all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people,

saying,

12:24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your

brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this

thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and

returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.

12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein;

and went out from thence, and built Penuel.

12:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to

the house of David:

12:27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at

Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their

lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go

again to Rehoboam king of Judah.

12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and

said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy

gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

12:29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.

12:30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before

the one, even unto Dan.

12:31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the

lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the

fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he

offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves

that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places

which he had made.

12:33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the

fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had

devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of

Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of

the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

13:2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O

altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto

the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the

priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones

shall be burnt upon thee.

13:3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the

LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that

are upon it shall be poured out.

13:4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man

of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth

his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he

put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again

to him.

13:5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar,

according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the

LORD.

13:6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the

face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored

me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was

restored him again, and became as it was before.

13:7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and

refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.

13:8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half

thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor

drink water in this place:

13:9 For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no

bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

13:10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came

to Bethel.

13:11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and

told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel:

the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to

their father.

13:12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons

had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.

13:13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him

the ass: and he rode thereon,

13:14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak:

and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah?

And he said, I am.

13:15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

13:16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee:

neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:

13:17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no

bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou

camest.

13:18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel

spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee

into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied

unto him.

13:19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and

drank water.

13:20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of

the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:

13:21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying,

Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the

LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded

thee,

13:22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the

place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no

water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

13:23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had

drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he

had brought back.

13:24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and

his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also

stood by the carcase.

13:25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way,

and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the

city where the old prophet dwelt.

13:26 And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard

thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the

word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion,

which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD,

which he spake unto him.

13:27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they

saddled him.

13:28 And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and

the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase,

nor torn the ass.

13:29 And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it

upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city,

to mourn and to bury him.

13:30 And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over

him, saying, Alas, my brother!

13:31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his

sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the

man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:

13:32 For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the

altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are

in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.

13:33 After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made

again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever

would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high

places.

13:34 And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut

it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

14:1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.

14:2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise

thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee

to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I

should be king over this people.

14:3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey,

and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.

14:4 And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came

to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set

by reason of his age.

14:5 And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh

to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt

thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall

feign herself to be another woman.

14:6 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came

in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why

feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy

tidings.

14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as

I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my

people Israel,

14:8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it

thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my

commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only

which was right in mine eyes;

14:9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast

gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to

anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:

14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam,

and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and

him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant

of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all

gone.

14:11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him

that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD

hath spoken it.

14:12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy

feet enter into the city, the child shall die.

14:13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of

Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some

good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

14:14 Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall

cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.

14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water,

and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to

their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they

have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.

14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who

did sin, and who made Israel to sin.

14:17 And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and

when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;

14:18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to

the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah

the prophet.

14:19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he

reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the

kings of Israel.

14:20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and

he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.

14:21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was

forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen

years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the

tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was

Naamah an Ammonitess.

14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him

to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that

their fathers had done.

14:23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on

every high hill, and under every green tree.

14:24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according

to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before

the children of Israel.

14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that

Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:

14:26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the

treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away

all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

14:27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and

committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the

door of the king's house.

14:28 And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that

the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.

14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are

they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

14:30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.

14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his

fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an

Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

15:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat

reigned Abijam over Judah.

15:2 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. and his mother's name was

Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.

15:3 And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done

before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the

heart of David his father.

15:4 Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp

in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem:

15:5 Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and

turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of

his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

15:6 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his

life.

15:7 Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they

not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And

there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

15:8 And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city

of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead.

15:9 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa

over Judah.

15:10 And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's

name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.

15:11 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did

David his father.

15:12 And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all

the idols that his fathers had made.

15:13 And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen,

because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and

burnt it by the brook Kidron.

15:14 But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was

perfect with the LORD all his days.

15:15 And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and

the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD,

silver, and gold, and vessels.

15:16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their

days.

15:17 And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah,

that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

15:18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the

treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's

house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa

sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of

Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,

15:19 There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and

thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold;

come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart

from me.

15:20 So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the

hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and

Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of

Naphtali.

15:21 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off

building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.

15:22 Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was

exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber

thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba

of Benjamin, and Mizpah.

15:23 The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that

he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book

of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his

old age he was diseased in his feet.

15:24 And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in

the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his

stead.

15:25 And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the

second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.

15:26 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of

his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

15:27 And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired

against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the

Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.

15:28 Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him,

and reigned in his stead.

15:29 And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house

of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had

destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by

his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:

15:30 Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made

Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of

Israel to anger.

15:31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they

not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

15:32 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their

days.

15:33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of

Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years.

15:34 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of

Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

16:1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against

Baasha, saying,

16:2 Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince

over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and

hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their

sins;

16:3 Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity

of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son

of Nebat.

16:4 Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him

that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat.

16:5 Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might,

are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of

Israel?

16:6 So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and

Elah his son reigned in his stead.

16:7 And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the

word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the

evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger

with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and

because he killed him.

16:8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the

son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.

16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired

against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of

Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.

16:10 And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and

seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.

16:11 And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on

his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one

that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his

friends.

16:12 Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the

word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet.

16:13 For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which

they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD

God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

16:14 Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they

not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

16:15 In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri

reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against

Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.

16:16 And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired,

and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the

captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.

16:17 And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they

besieged Tirzah.

16:18 And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that

he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house

over him with fire, and died.

16:19 For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the

LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to

make Israel to sin.

16:20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he

wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings

of Israel?

16:21 Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the

people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half

followed Omri.

16:22 But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people

that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.

16:23 In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to

reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.

16:24 And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of

silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he

built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.

16:25 But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than

all that were before him.

16:26 For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in

his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of

Israel to anger with their vanities.

16:27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that

he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the

kings of Israel?

16:28 So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and

Ahab his son reigned in his stead.

16:29 And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab

the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned

over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.

16:30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above

all that were before him.

16:31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to

walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife

Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and

served Baal, and worshipped him.

16:32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he

had built in Samaria.

16:33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God

of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

16:34 In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the

foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof

in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he

spake by Joshua the son of Nun.

17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said

unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there

shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

17:2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

17:3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the

brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

17:4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have

commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

17:5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went

and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

17:6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and

bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

17:7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because

there had been no rain in the land.

17:8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

17:9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell

there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of

the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he

called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a

vessel, that I may drink.

17:11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said,

Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

17:12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but

an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and,

behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me

and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

17:13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said:

but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after

make for thee and for thy son.

17:14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall

not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the

LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she,

and he, and her house, did eat many days.

17:16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil

fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

17:17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman,

the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that

there was no breath left in him.

17:18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man

of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay

my son?

17:19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her

bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon

his own bed.

17:20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou

also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her

son?

17:21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried

unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's

soul come into him again.

17:22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child

came into him again, and he revived.

17:23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber

into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See,

thy son liveth.

17:24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a

man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

18:1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came

to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I

will send rain upon the earth.

18:2 And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore

famine in Samaria.

18:3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now

Obadiah feared the LORD greatly:

18:4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that

Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and

fed them with bread and water.)

18:5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of

water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the

horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.

18:6 So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab

went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

18:7 And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew

him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah?

18:8 And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is

here.

18:9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy

servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?

18:10 As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither

my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there;

he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.

18:11 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.

18:12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that

the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when

I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I

thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.

18:13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets

of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD's prophets by fifty in

a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

18:14 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here:

and he shall slay me.

18:15 And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand,

I will surely shew myself unto him to day.

18:16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet

Elijah.

18:17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto

him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?

18:18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy

father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD,

and thou hast followed Baalim.

18:19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel,

and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the

groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.

18:20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the

prophets together unto mount Carmel.

18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye

between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then

follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

18:22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet

of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

18:23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one

bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and

put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on

wood, and put no fire under:

18:24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name

of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all

the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

18:25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock

for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the

name of your gods, but put no fire under.

18:26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed

it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying,

O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they

leaped upon the altar which was made.

18:27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said,

Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or

he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.

18:28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with

knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.

18:29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied

until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was

neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.

18:30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all

the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD

that was broken down.

18:31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the

tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came,

saying, Israel shall be thy name:

18:32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and

he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures

of seed.

18:33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and

laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour

it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.

18:34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second

time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.

18:35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench

also with water.

18:36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening

sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of

Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art

God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these

things at thy word.

18:37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art

the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

18:38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice,

and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that

was in the trench.

18:39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they

said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

18:40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one

of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the

brook Kishon, and slew them there.

18:41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there

is a sound of abundance of rain.

18:42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top

of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face

between his knees,

18:43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he

went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again

seven times.

18:44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold,

there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he

said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that

the rain stop thee not.

18:45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black

with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and

went to Jezreel.

The King James Bible · 第 76 / 100 章