^22:1And David spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul. ^22:2And he said, Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; ^22:3God is my rock, in him will I trust My shield, and the horn of my salvation, My high tower, and my refuge, My saviour: thou wilt save me from violence. ^22:4I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised; So shall I be saved from mine enemies. ^22:5For the waves of death encompassed me, Torrents of Belial made me afraid. ^22:6The bands of Sheol surrounded me; The cords of death encountered me; ^22:7In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And I cried to my God; And he heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry [came] into his ears. ^22:8Then the earth shook, and quaked; The foundations of the heavens trembled And shook because he was wroth. ^22:9There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals burned forth from it. ^22:10And he bowed the heavens, and came down; And darkness was under his feet. ^22:11And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; And he was seen upon the wings of the wind. ^22:12And he made darkness round about him a tent, Gatherings of waters, thick clouds of the skies. ^22:13From the brightness before him Burned forth coals of fire. ^22:14Jehovah thundered from the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice. ^22:15And he sent arrows, and scattered [mine enemies]; Lightning, and discomfited them. ^22:16And the beds of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At the rebuke of Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils. ^22:17He reached forth from above, he took me, He drew me out of great waters; ^22:18He delivered me from my strong enemy, From them that hated me; For they were mightier than I. ^22:19They encountered me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay. ^22:20And he brought me forth into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me. ^22:21Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. ^22:22For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God. ^22:23For all his ordinances were before me, And his statutes, I did not depart from them, ^22:24And I was upright before him, And kept myself from mine iniquity. ^22:25And Jehovah hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his sight. ^22:26With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; With the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright; ^22:27With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; And with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary. ^22:28And the afflicted people thou dost save; And thine eyes are upon the haughty, [whom] thou bringest down. ^22:29For thou art my lamp, Jehovah; And Jehovah enlighteneth my darkness. ^22:30For by thee I have run through a troop; By my God have I leaped over a wall. ^22:31As for God, his way is perfect; The word of Jehovah is tried: He is a shield to all that trust in him. ^22:32For who is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our God? ^22:33God is my strong fortress, And he maketh my way perfectly smooth. ^22:34He maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], And setteth me upon my high places. ^22:35He teacheth my hands to war, And mine arms bend a bow of brass. ^22:36And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, And thy condescending gentleness hath made me great. ^22:37Thou enlargedst my steps under me; And mine ankles did not slip. ^22:38I pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them, And I turned not again till they were consumed. ^22:39And I have consumed them and have crushed them, and they rose not again; Yea, they fell under my feet. ^22:40And thou girdedst me with strength to battle: Thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me. ^22:41And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, And those that hated me I destroyed. ^22:42They looked, and there was none to save Unto Jehovah, and he answered them not. ^22:43And I did beat them small as the dust of the earth, I trod them as the mire of the streets; I stamped upon them. ^22:44And thou hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, Thou hast kept me to be head of the nations: A people I knew not doth serve me: ^22:45Strangers come cringing unto me: At the hearing of the ear, they obey me. ^22:46Strangers have faded away, And they come trembling forth from their close places. ^22:47Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God, the rock of my salvation, ^22:48The God who hath avenged me, And hath brought the peoples under me. ^22:49He brought me forth from mine enemies: Yea, thou hast lifted me up above them that rose up against me; From the man of violence hast thou delivered me. ^22:50Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, And will sing psalms to thy name. ^22:51[It is he] who giveth great deliverances to his king, And sheweth loving-kindness to his anointed, To David, and to his seed for evermore.

^23:1Now these are the last words of David: David the son of Jesse saith, And the man who was raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel saith, ^23:2The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me, And his word was on my tongue. ^23:3The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me, The ruler among men shall be just, Ruling in the fear of God; ^23:4And [he shall be] as the light or the morning, [like] the rising of the sun, A morning without clouds; [When] from the sunshine, after rain, The green grass springeth from the earth. ^23:5Although my house be not so before God, Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in every way and sure; For [this is] all my salvation, and every desire, Although he make [it] not to grow. ^23:6But [the sons] of Belial [are] all of them as thorns thrust away, Because they cannot be taken with hands; ^23:7And the man that will touch them provideth himself with iron and the staff of a spear; And they shall be utterly burned with fire in [their] place. ^23:8These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Joseb-Bassebeth, Tachkemonite the chief of the captains: he was Adino the Eznite; he [fought] against eight hundred, slain [by him] at one time. ^23:9And after him, Eleazar the son of Dodo the son of an Ahohite: he was one of the three mighty men with David, when they had defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone up. ^23:10He arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave to the sword; and Jehovah wrought a great deliverance that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil. ^23:11And after him, Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite: the Philistines were gathered into a troop, and there was there a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people had fled before the Philistines; ^23:12and he stood in the midst of the plot and delivered it, and smote the Philistines, and Jehovah wrought a great deliverance. ^23:13And three of the thirty chiefs went down, and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam, when the troop of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim. ^23:14And David was then in the stronghold; and the Philistines' garrison was then at Bethlehem. ^23:15And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate! ^23:16And the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate, and took it, and brought it to David; however he would not drink of it, but poured it out to Jehovah. ^23:17And he said, Be it far from me, Jehovah, that I should do this thing! is it not the blood of the men that went at the risk of their lives? Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men. ^23:18And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was the chief of three; and he brandished his spear against three hundred and slew them; and he had a name among the three. ^23:19Was he not most honourable of three? and he was their captain; but he did not attain to the [first] three. ^23:20And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, son of a valiant man, great in exploits, of Kabzeel: he it was that smote two lions of Moab; and he went down and smote a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. ^23:21He also smote the Egyptian, an imposing man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; and 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. ^23:22These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he had a name among the three mighty men. ^23:23He was honoured above the thirty, but he did not attain to the [first] three. And David set him in his council. ^23:24Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^23:25Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, ^23:26Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, ^23:27Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, ^23:28Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, ^23:29Heleb the son of Baanah, the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, ^23:30Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, ^23:31Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, ^23:32Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ^23:33Shammah the Ararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite, ^23:34Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, ^23:35Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, ^23:36Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ^23:37Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, the armour-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ^23:38Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ^23:39Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

^24:1And again the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them saying, Go, number Israel and Judah. ^24:2And the king said to Joab the captain of the host, who was with him, Go, I pray thee, through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people. ^24:3And Joab said to the king, May Jehovah thy God even add to the people, how many soever they be, a hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see [it]; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing? ^24:4But the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the army. And Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel. ^24:5And they passed over the Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jaazer. ^24:6And they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi; and came to Dan-jaan, and to the environs of Sidon; ^24:7and they came to the fortified city of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites; and went out to the south of Judah, to Beer-sheba. ^24:8And they went through all the land, and came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ^24:9And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king; and there were of Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. ^24:10And David's heart smote him after he had numbered the people. And David said to Jehovah, I have sinned greatly in what I have done; and now, I beseech thee, Jehovah, put away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. ^24:11And when David arose in the morning, the word of Jehovah came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, ^24:12Go and say to David, Thus saith Jehovah: I impose on thee three [things]; choose one of them that I may do it unto thee. ^24:13And Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, Shall seven years of famine come to thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine adversaries while they pursue thee? or shall there be three days' pestilence in thy land? Now be aware and consider what word I shall bring again to him that sent me. ^24:14And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah; for his mercies are great; but let me not fall into the hand of man. ^24:15And Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the set time; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men. ^24:16And the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it; but Jehovah repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed among the people, It is enough: withdraw now thine hand. And the angel of Jehovah was by the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ^24:17And David spoke to Jehovah when he saw the angel that smote among the people, and said, Behold, it is I that have sinned, and it is I that have committed iniquity; but these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, be on me, and on my father's house! ^24:18And Gad came that day to David, and said to him, Go up, rear an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ^24:19And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as Jehovah had commanded. ^24:20And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on towards him; and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. ^24:21And Araunah said, Why is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing-floor of thee, to build an altar to Jehovah, that the plague may be stayed from the people. ^24:22And Araunah said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer up that which is good in his sight: see, [here are] oxen for the burnt-offering, and the threshing-sledges and implements of the oxen for wood. ^24:23All these things, O king, doth Araunah give to the king. And Araunah said to the king, Jehovah thy God accept thee. ^24:24And the king said to Araunah, No; but I will in any case buy [them] of thee at a price: neither will I offer up to Jehovah my God burnt-offerings without cost. And David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ^24:25And David built there an altar to Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. And Jehovah was propitious to the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

1 Kings

^1:1And king David was old [and] advanced in age; and they covered him with clothes, but he obtained no warmth. ^1:2And his servants said to him, Let there be found for my lord the king a young virgin; and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get warm. ^1:3And they sought for a fair damsel throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. ^1:4And the damsel was very fair; and cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king knew her not. ^1:5And Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king; and he provided himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. ^1:6And his father had not grieved him at any time in saying, Why doest thou so? and he was also a very comely man; and [his mother] bore him after Absalom. ^1:7And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest; and they helped Adonijah and followed [him]. ^1:8But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men whom David had, were not with Adonijah. ^1:9And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatted cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and invited all his brethren, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants; ^1:10but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he did not invite. ^1:11And Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith is king, and David our lord does not know [it]? ^1:12And now, come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. ^1:13Go and get thee in to king David, and say to him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear to thy handmaid saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then does Adonijah reign? ^1:14Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee and confirm thy words. ^1:15And Bathsheba went in to the king into the chamber; and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered to the king. ^1:16And Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou? ^1:17And she said to him, My lord, thou hast sworn by Jehovah thy God to thy handmaid, [saying,] Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne. ^1:18And now behold, Adonijah is king; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not. ^1:19And he has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the captain of the host; but Solomon thy servant has he not invited. ^1:20And thou, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ^1:21Otherwise it shall come to pass when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders. ^1:22And behold, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. ^1:23And 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. ^1:24And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? ^1:25For he is gone down this day, and has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah! ^1:26But me, [even] me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, he has not invited. ^1:27Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewn to thy servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? ^1:28Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king. ^1:29And the king swore, and said, [As] Jehovah liveth, who has redeemed my soul out of all distress, ^1:30even as I swore to thee by Jehovah the God of Israel, saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. ^1:31And Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever. ^1:32And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. ^1:33And the king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon; ^1:34and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel; and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, Long live king Solomon! ^1:35And ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit on my throne; for he shall reign in my stead, and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. ^1:36And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, Amen: Jehovah, the God of my lord the king, say so too. ^1:37As Jehovah has been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David. ^1:38And 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. ^1:39And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, Long live king Solomon! ^1:40And 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. ^1:41And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard [it] as they were finishing their repast; and Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, and he said, Wherefore this noise of the city in an uproar? ^1:42While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came; and Adonijah said [to him], Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good news. ^1:43And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Indeed, our lord king David has made Solomon king. ^1:44And the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule; ^1:45and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise which ye have heard. ^1:46And also Solomon is sitting on the throne of the kingdom. ^1:47And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Thy God make the name of Solomon more excellent than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne! And the king bowed himself on the bed. ^1:48And also thus said the king: Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it. ^1:49And all Adonijah's guests were afraid, and rose up and went every man his way. ^1:50And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose and went and caught hold of the horns of the altar. ^1:51And it was told Solomon saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon; for behold, he has caught hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me this day that he will not put his servant to death with the sword. ^1:52And Solomon said, If he be a worthy man, there shall not one of his hairs fall to the earth; but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die. ^1:53And king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon; and Solomon said to him, Go to thy house.

^2:1And the days of David were at hand that he should die; and he enjoined Solomon his son saying, ^2:2I go the way of all the earth: be of good courage therefore, and be a man; ^2:3and keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest and whithersoever thou turnest thyself; ^2:4that Jehovah may confirm his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If thy sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, said he, a man upon the throne of Israel. ^2:5And thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and upon his sandals that were on his feet. ^2:6And thou shalt do according to thy wisdom, and not let his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace. ^2:7But shew kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table; for so they came up to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. ^2:8And behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day that I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Jehovah saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. ^2:9And now hold him not guiltless; for thou art a wise man, and thou shalt know what thou oughtest to do to him; but bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood. ^2:10And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. ^2:11And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ^2:12And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly. ^2:13And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. ^2:14And he said, I have something to say to thee. And she said, Speak. ^2:15And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign; but the kingdom is turned about and is become my brother's, for it was his from Jehovah. ^2:16And now I ask one petition of thee; refuse me not. And she said to him, Speak. ^2:17And he said, Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king for he will not refuse thee that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife. ^2:18And Bathsheba said, Well, I will speak for thee to the king. ^2:19And Bathsheba went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne; and he caused a throne to be set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand. ^2:20Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; refuse me not. And the king said to her, Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse thee. ^2:21And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother as wife. ^2:22And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. ^2:23And king Solomon swore by Jehovah saying, God do so to me, and more also, Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life! ^2:24And now [as] Jehovah liveth, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. ^2:25And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; who fell on him, that he died. ^2:26And the king said to Abiathar the priest, Go to Anathoth, to thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death; but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou didst bear the ark of Adonai Jehovah before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. ^2:27And Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest to Jehovah, to fulfil the word of Jehovah, which he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. ^2:28And the report came to Joab (for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom); and Joab fled to the tent of Jehovah, and caught hold of the horns of the altar. ^2:29And it was told king Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of Jehovah; and behold, he is by the altar. And Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall on him. ^2:30And Benaiah came to the tent of Jehovah and said to him, Thus saith the king: Come forth. And he said, No; for I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. ^2:31And the king said to him, Do as he has said, and fall upon him, and bury him; and take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me and from the house of my father. ^2:32And Jehovah shall requite the blood which he shed upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, without my father David's knowledge: Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. ^2:33And their blood shall be requited upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever; but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from Jehovah. ^2:34And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him, and put him to death; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. ^2:35And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his stead over the host; and Zadok the priest the king put in the stead of Abiathar. ^2:36And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and abide there, and go not forth thence anywhere. ^2:37And it shall be that on the day thou goest forth, and passest over the torrent of Kidron, know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head. ^2:38And Shimei said to the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king has said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. ^2:39And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two servants of Shimei's ran away to Achish son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei saying, Behold, thy servants are in Gath. ^2:40Then 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. ^2:41And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had come again. ^2:42And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not make thee swear by Jehovah, and protest to thee, saying, Know for certain, that on the day thou goest forth, and walkest abroad anywhere, thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst to me, The word that I have heard is good. ^2:43Why then hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah, and the commandment that I charged thee with? ^2:44And the king said to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness of which thy heart is conscious, which thou didst to David my father; and Jehovah returns thy wickedness upon thine own head; ^2:45and king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Jehovah for ever. ^2:46And the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; who went out and fell upon him, and he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

^3:1And Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had ended building his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. ^3:2Only, the people sacrificed on the high places; for there was no house built to the name of Jehovah, until those days. ^3:3And Solomon loved Jehovah, walking in the statutes of David his father; only, he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ^3:4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer up upon that altar. ^3:5In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. ^3:6And Solomon said, Thou hast shewn unto thy servant David my father great loving-kindness, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great loving-kindness, that thou hast given him a son who sits upon his throne, as it is this day. ^3:7And now, Jehovah my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father; and I am but a little child: I know not to go out and to come in. ^3:8And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. ^3:9Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people, to discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy numerous people? ^3:10And the word pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. ^3:11And God said to him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself discernment to understand judgment; ^3:12behold, I have done according to thy word: behold, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there hath been none like unto thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. ^3:13And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and glory; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. ^3:14And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will prolong thy days. ^3:15And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. ^3:16Then came two women, harlots, to the king, and stood before him. ^3:17And the first woman said, Ah, my lord! I and this woman abode in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. ^3:18And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; no stranger was with us in the house, only we two were in the house. ^3:19And this woman's child died in the night; because she had lain upon it. ^3:20And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom. ^3:21And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; and I considered it in the morning, and behold, it was not my son, whom I bore. ^3:22And the other woman said, No, for the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this one said, No, but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king. ^3:23Then said the king, The one says, This that is living is my son, and thy son is the dead; and the other says, No, for thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. ^3:24And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. ^3:25And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. ^3:26Then spoke the woman whose was the living child to the king, for her bowels yearned over her son, and she said, Ah, my lord! give her the living child, and in no wise put it to death. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine; divide it. ^3:27And the king answered and said, Give this one the living child, and in no wise put it to death: she is its mother. ^3:28And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.

^4:1And king Solomon was king over all Israel. ^4:2And these are the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok was priest; ^4:3Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, chronicler; ^4:4and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; ^4:5and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the superintendents; and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, the king's friend; ^4:6and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the levy-service. ^4:7And Solomon had twelve superintendents over all Israel; and they provided food for the king and his household: each man his month in the year had to make provision. ^4:8And these are their names: Ben-Hur, in mount Ephraim. ^4:9Ben-Deker in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-Beth-hanan. ^4:10Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; he had Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher. ^4:11Ben-Abinadab had all the upland of Dor; Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife. ^4:12Baana the son of Ahilud had Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zaretan beneath Jizreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-Meholah, as far as beyond Jokneam. ^4:13Ben-Geber, in Ramoth-Gilead; he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bars of bronze. ^4:14Ahinadab the son of Iddo, at Mahanaim. ^4:15Ahimaaz, in Nephtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon as wife. ^4:16Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth. ^4:17Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar. ^4:18Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin. ^4:19Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, and of Og the king of Bashan; and [he was] the only superintendent that was in the land. ^4:20Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. ^4:21And Solomon ruled over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. ^4:22And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal, ^4:23ten fatted oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, and gazelles, and fallow-deer, and fatted fowl. ^4:24For he had dominion over all on this side the river, from Tiphsah as far as Gazah, over all the kings on this side the river; and he had peace on all sides round about. ^4:25And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. ^4:26And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ^4:27And those officers provided food for king Solomon, and for all who came to king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they let nothing be wanting. ^4:28And the barley, and the straw for the horses and coursers, they brought to the place where [the superintendents] were, every man according to his charge. ^4:29And God gave Solomon wisdom and very great understanding and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore. ^4:30And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the sons of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. ^4:31For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations round about. ^4:32And he spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. ^4:33And he spoke of the trees, from the cedar-tree that is on Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of cattle, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes. ^4:34And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

^5:1And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father; for Hiram always loved David. ^5:2And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, ^5:3Thou knowest that David my father could not build a house unto the name of Jehovah his God, because of the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet. ^5:4But now Jehovah my God has given me rest on every side: there is neither adversary nor evil event. ^5:5And behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spoke to David my father saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy stead, he shall build a house unto my name. ^5:6And now command that they hew me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say; for thou knowest that there is not among us any that are experienced in cutting timber like to the Zidonians. ^5:7And it came to pass when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be Jehovah this day, who has given to David a wise son over this great people. ^5:8And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard the things which thou sentest to me for: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of cypress. ^5:9My servants shall bring [them] down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will convey them by sea [in] rafts to the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt receive them. And thou shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my household. ^5:10So Hiram gave Solomon cedar-trees and cypress-trees [according to] all his desire. ^5:11And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat as food for his household, and twenty measures of beaten oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. ^5:12And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league. ^5:13And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. ^5:14And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, two months at home; and Adoniram was over the levy. ^5:15And Solomon had seventy thousand that bore burdens, and eighty thousand stone-masons in the mountains; ^5:16besides the overseers whom Solomon had set over the work, three thousand three hundred, who ruled over the people that wrought in the work. ^5:17And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the house. ^5:18And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Giblites hewed them, and prepared timber and stones to build the house.

^6:1And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Jehovah. ^6:2And the house that king Solomon built for Jehovah was sixty cubits in length, and twenty in breadth, and thirty cubits in height. ^6:3And the porch, in front of the temple of the house, was twenty cubits in length, in front of the house broadways, [and] ten cubits was its breadth, in front of the house. ^6:4And for the house he made closed windows with fixed lattices. ^6:5And against the wall of the house he built floors round about, [against] the walls of the house, round about the temple and the oracle; and he made side-chambers round about. ^6:6The lowest floor was five cubits broad, and the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for in the [thickness of the wall of] the house he made resets round about outside, that nothing should be fastened in the walls of the house. ^6:7And the house, when it was being built, was built of stone entirely made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was being built. ^6:8The entrance to the side-chambers of the middle [floor] was in the right side of the house; and they went up by winding stairs into the middle [floor], and out of the middle into the third. ^6:9And he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. ^6:10And he built the floors against all the house, five cubits high; and they held to the house by the timbers of cedar. ^6:11And the word of Jehovah came to Solomon saying, ^6:12As to this house which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and practise mine ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then will I perform my word as to thee which I spoke unto David thy father; ^6:13and I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. ^6:14And Solomon built the house and finished it. ^6:15And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the walls of the roof; he overlaid [them] on the inside with wood, and overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress. ^6:16And he built twenty cubits of the innermost part of the house, both floor and walls, with boards of cedar; and he built [them] for it within, to [be] the oracle, the most holy place. ^6:17And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits [long]. ^6:18And the cedar of the house within was carved with colocynths and half-open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. ^6:19And he prepared the oracle in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of Jehovah. ^6:20And the oracle within was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof; and he overlaid it with pure gold; and he overlaid the cedar-wood altar ^6:21and Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold, and shut off the oracle in front with chains of gold, and overlaid it with gold. ^6:22And the whole house he overlaid with gold, the whole house entirely; also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. ^6:23And he made in the oracle two cherubim of olive-wood, ten cubits high; ^6:24and one wing of the cherub was five cubits, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub, ten cubits from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing; ^6:25and the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one form. ^6:26The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so of the other cherub. ^6:27And he set the cherubim in the midst of the inner house; and the wings of the cherubim were stretched forth, so that the wing of the one touched the wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched, wing to wing, in the midst of the house. ^6:28And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. ^6:29And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved sculptures of cherubim, and palm-trees, and half-open flowers, within and without. ^6:30And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. ^6:31And for the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive-wood: the lintel [and] side posts were the fifth part [of the breadth of the house]. ^6:32The two doors were of olive-wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, and palm-trees and half-open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm-trees. ^6:33And he also made for the doorway of the temple posts of olive-wood, of the fourth part [of the breadth of the house]. ^6:34And the two folding-doors were of cypress-wood: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. ^6:35And he carved on them cherubim, and palm-trees, and half-open flowers; and overlaid them with gold fitted on the carved work. ^6:36And he built the inner court of three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar-beams. ^6:37In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of Jehovah laid, in the month Zif; ^6:38and in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished in all its parts, and according to all the fashion of it. So he was seven years in building it.

^7:1And Solomon was thirteen years building his own house; and he finished all his house. ^7:2And he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was a hundred cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar-pillars, with cedar-beams upon the pillars; ^7:3and it was covered with cedar above upon the side-chambers, which were on forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row. ^7:4And there were cross-beams in three rows, and window was against window in three ranks. ^7:5And all the doors and posts were square, with an architrave; and window was against window in three ranks. ^7:6And he made the porch of pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits; and there was a porch in front of them; and there were pillars, and steps in front of them. ^7:7And he made the porch for the throne where he judged, the porch of judgment; and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor. ^7:8And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. And he made, like to this porch, a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom Solomon had taken. ^7:9All these [buildings] were of costly stones, hewn stones, according to the measures, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation to the coping, and on the outside as far as the great court. ^7:10And the foundations were of costly stones, great stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. ^7:11And above were costly stones, hewn stones, according to the measures, and cedar. ^7:12And the great court round about had three rows of hewn stones, and a row of cedar-beams; and so it was for the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and the porch of the house. ^7:13And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. ^7:14He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was full of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, to do all kinds of works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and made all his work. ^7:15And he formed the two pillars of brass; the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed the second pillar. ^7:16And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits; ^7:17[and] nets of checker-work, wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. ^7:18And he made pomegranates, namely two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars; and so he did for the other capital. ^7:19And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily-work [as] in the porch, four cubits. ^7:20And the capitals upon the two pillars, above also, close to the enlargement which was behind the network, had two hundred pomegranates in rows round about, [also] on the other capital. ^7:21And he set up the pillars for the porch of the temple; and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz. ^7:22And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work; and the work of the pillars was finished. ^7:23And he made the sea, molten, ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about. ^7:24And under the brim of it round about there were colocynths, encompassing it, ten in a cubit enclosing the sea round about; two rows of colocynths, cast when it was cast. ^7:25It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. ^7:26And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim was like the work of the brim of a cup, with lily-blossoms; it held two thousand baths. ^7:27And he made ten bases of brass: four cubits was the length of one base, and the breadth four cubits, and the height three cubits. ^7:28And the work of the bases was this: they had panels, and the panels were between the fillets. ^7:29And on the panels that were between the fillets were lions, oxen and cherubim; and over the fillets there was a base above; and beneath the lions and oxen were garlands of festoon-work. ^7:30And every base had four wheels of brass, and axles of brass; and on its four corners were shoulder-pieces: under the laver were shoulder-pieces molten, behind every garland. ^7:31And the mouth of it within the crown and above was a cubit; and its mouth was rounded, [as] the work of the base, a cubit and a half; and also upon its mouth was sculpture; but their panels were square, not round. ^7:32And the four wheels were under the panels; and the supports of the wheels were in the base; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. ^7:33And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their supports, and their rims, and their spokes and their naves were all molten. ^7:34And there were four shoulder-pieces to the four corners of one base; of the base itself were its shoulder-pieces. ^7:35And in the top of the base there was a circular elevation of half a cubit round about; and on the top of the base its stays and its panels were of the same. ^7:36And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its panels cherubim, lions and palm-trees, according to the space upon each; and garlands were round about. ^7:37After this [manner] he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, one form. ^7:38And he made ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths; every laver was four cubits; upon every one of the ten bases one laver. ^7:39And he put the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, over against the south. ^7:40And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the bowls. So Hiram ended doing all the work that he made for king Solomon [for] the house of Jehovah: ^7:41two pillars, and the globes of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, two; and the two networks, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; ^7:42and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were upon the pillars; ^7:43and the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases; ^7:44and one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea; ^7:45and the pots, and the shovels, and the bowls. And all these things, which Hiram made king Solomon for the house of Jehovah, were of bright brass. ^7:46In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay-ground between Succoth and Zaretan. ^7:47And Solomon left all the vessels [unweighed] from their exceeding number; the weight of the brass was not ascertained. ^7:48And Solomon made all the vessels that were [in] the house of Jehovah: the golden altar; and the table of gold, whereon was the shewbread; ^7:49and the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right, and five on the left, before the oracle; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, ^7:50and the basons, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, for the folding-doors of the inner house, the most holy place, [and] for the doors of the house, of the temple. ^7:51And all the work was finished that king Solomon made for the house of Jehovah. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated; the silver and the gold and the vessels he put among the treasures of the house of Jehovah.

^8:1Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion. ^8:2And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, that is, the seventh month. ^8:3And all the elders of Israel came; and the priests took up the ark. ^8:4And they brought up the ark of Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent: the priests and the Levites brought them up. ^8:5And king Solomon, and all the assembly of Israel that were assembled to him, [who were] with him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude. ^8:6And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah to its place, into the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim; ^8:7for the cherubim stretched forth [their] wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its staves above. ^8:8And the staves were long, so that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle, but they were not seen without. And there they are to this day. ^8:9There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, when Jehovah made [a covenant] with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. ^8:10And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Jehovah, ^8:11and the priests could not stand to do their service because of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah. ^8:12Then said Solomon: Jehovah said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. ^8:13I have indeed built a house of habitation for thee, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. ^8:14And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel; and the whole congregation of Israel stood. ^8:15And he said: Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, ^8:16Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; but I have chosen David to be over my people Israel. ^8:17And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel. ^8:18But Jehovah said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart; ^8:19nevertheless 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. ^8:20And Jehovah has performed his word which he spoke; and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and I have built the house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel. ^8:21And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. ^8:22And Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of the whole congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward the heavens. ^8:23And he said, Jehovah, God of Israel! there is no God like thee, in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart; ^8:24who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him; thou spokest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled [it] with thy hand, as at this day. ^8:25And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy sons take heed to their way, to walk before me as thou hast walked before me. ^8:26And now, O God of Israel, let thy words, I pray thee, be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David my father. ^8:27But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens, and the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! ^8:28Yet have respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, Jehovah, my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day; ^8:29that thine eyes may be open upon this house night and day, upon the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. ^8:30And hearken unto the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place, and hear thou in thy dwelling-place, in the heavens, and when thou hearest, forgive. ^8:31If a man have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to adjure him, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; ^8:32then hear thou in the heavens, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, giving him according to his righteousness. ^8:33When thy people Israel are put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house; ^8:34then hear thou in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land that thou gavest unto their fathers. ^8:35When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, because thou hast afflicted them; ^8:36then hear thou in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. ^8:37If there be famine in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blight, mildew, locust, caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their gates; whatever plague, whatever sickness there be: ^8:38what prayer, what supplication soever be made by any man, of all thy people Israel, when they shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house; ^8:39then hear thou in the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou, thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men), ^8:40that they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. ^8:41And as to the stranger also, who 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 mighty hand, and of thy stretched-out arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house, ^8:43hear thou in the heavens thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; in order that all peoples of the earth may know thy name, [and] that they may fear thee as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. ^8:44If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to Jehovah toward the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name; ^8:45then hear thou in the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their right. ^8:46If they have sinned against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and give them up to the enemy, and they have carried them away captives unto the enemy's land, far or near; ^8:47and if they shall take it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done iniquity, we have dealt perversely; ^8:48and if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name; ^8:49then hear thou in the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their right; ^8:50and forgive thy people their sin against thee, and all their transgressions whereby they have transgressed against thee, and give them to find compassion with those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them ^8:51(for they are thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron) ^8:52thine eyes being open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. ^8:53For thou hast separated them from among all peoples of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spokest through Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Jehovah. ^8:54And it was so, that when Solomon had ended praying all this prayer and supplication to Jehovah, he arose from before the altar of Jehovah, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth to the heavens, ^8:55and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, ^8:56Blessed be Jehovah, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there has not failed one word of all his good promises which he spoke through Moses his servant! ^8:57Jehovah our God be with us, as he was with our fathers; let him not forsake us nor cast us off: ^8:58that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers. ^8:59And let these my words, with which I have made supplication before Jehovah, be nigh to Jehovah our God day and night, that he maintain the right of his servant, and the right of his people Israel, as the matter of each day shall require; ^8:60that all peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah is God, that there is none else; ^8:61and that your heart may be perfect with Jehovah our God, to walk in his statutes and to keep his commandments, as at this day. ^8:62And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifices before Jehovah. ^8:63And Solomon sacrificed a sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he sacrificed to Jehovah, twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Jehovah. ^8:64The same day the king hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offerings, and the oblations, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar that was before Jehovah was too small to receive the burnt-offerings, and the oblations, and the fat of the peace-offerings. ^8:65And at that time Solomon held the feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath unto the torrent of Egypt, before Jehovah our God, seven days and seven days, fourteen days. ^8:66On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that Jehovah had done to David his servant, and to Israel his people.

^9:1And it came to pass when Solomon had completed the building of the house of Jehovah, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do, ^9:2that Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. ^9:3And Jehovah said to him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication which thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. ^9:4And [as for] thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, [and] wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances; ^9:5then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. ^9:6[But] if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments, my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them; ^9:7then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and the house, which I have hallowed to my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a by word among all peoples; ^9:8and this house, [which] is high, every one that passes by it shall be astonished at, and shall hiss, and they shall say, Why has Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house? ^9:9And they shall say, Because they forsook Jehovah their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have attached themselves to other gods, and have worshipped them and served them; therefore has Jehovah brought upon them all this evil. ^9:10And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah and the king's house, ^9:11Hiram the king of Tyre having furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and cypress-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire, that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. ^9:12And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him; and they did not please him. ^9:13And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul to this day. ^9:14And Hiram had sent to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold. ^9:15And this is the account of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build the house of Jehovah, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. ^9:16Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, and burned it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife. ^9:17And Solomon built Gezer, and lower Beth-horon, ^9:18and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, ^9:19and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and cities for chariots, and cities for the horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and on Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. ^9:20All the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel, ^9:21their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, upon them did Solomon impose a tribute of bondservice until this day. ^9:22But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen; but they were men of war, and his servants, and his chiefs, and his captains, and captains of his chariots, and his horsemen. ^9:23These were the chief superintendents that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, that ruled over the people that wrought in the work. ^9:24But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David to her house which he had built for her: then he built Millo. ^9:25And three times in the year did Solomon offer up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar that he had built to Jehovah, and he burned incense upon that which was before Jehovah. So he finished the house. ^9:26And king Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion-Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ^9:27And Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon; ^9:28and they went to Ophir, and fetched thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

^10:1And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon in connection with the name of Jehovah, and came to prove him with enigmas. ^10:2And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices and gold in very great abundance, and precious stones; and she came to Solomon, and spoke to him of all that was in her heart. ^10:3And Solomon explained to her all she spoke of: there was not a thing hidden from the king that he did not explain to her. ^10:4And when the queen of Sheba saw all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, ^10:5and the food of his table, and the deportment of his servants, and the order of service of his attendants, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Jehovah, there was no more spirit in her. ^10:6And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine affairs, and of thy wisdom; ^10:7but I gave no credit to the words, until I came and mine eyes had seen; and behold, the half was not told me: in wisdom and prosperity thou exceedest the report that I heard. ^10:8Happy are thy men! happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee, who hear thy wisdom! ^10:9Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel! Because Jehovah loves Israel for ever, therefore did he make thee king, to do judgment and justice. ^10:10And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in very great abundance, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as those which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. ^10:11(And the fleet also of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir sandal-wood in very great abundance, and precious stones. ^10:12And the king made of the sandal-wood a balustrade for the house of Jehovah, and for the king's house, and harps and lutes for the singers. There came no such sandal-wood, nor was there seen to this day.) ^10:13And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides what he gave her of the bounty of king Solomon. And she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants. ^10:14And the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, ^10:15besides what [came] by the dealers, and by the traffic of the merchants, and by all the kings of Arabia, and by the governors of the country. ^10:16And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold, he applied six hundred [shekels] of gold to one target; ^10:17and three hundred shields of beaten gold, he applied three minas of gold to one shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. ^10:18And the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with refined gold: ^10:19the throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was rounded behind; and there were arms on each side at the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the arms; ^10:20and 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. ^10:21And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of precious gold: none were of silver, [which] was not of the least account in the days of Solomon. ^10:22For the king had on the sea a Tarshish-fleet, with the fleet of Hiram: once in three years came the Tarshish-fleet, bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. ^10:23And king Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ^10:24And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. ^10:25And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and clothing, and armour, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year. ^10:26And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he placed them in the chariot-cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. ^10:27And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance. ^10:28And the exportation of horses that Solomon had was from Egypt: a caravan of the king's merchants fetched a drove [of horses], at a price. ^10:29And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred [shekels] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so they brought [them] by their means, for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Syria.

^11:1But king Solomon loved many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, Hittites; ^11:2of the nations of which Jehovah had said to the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in to you; they would certainly turn away your heart after their gods: to these Solomon was attached in love. ^11:3And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. ^11:4And it came to pass when Solomon was old, [that] his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God, as the heart of David his father. ^11:5And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. ^11:6And Solomon did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and followed not fully Jehovah, as David his father. ^11:7Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, on the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon. ^11:8And so he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. ^11:9And Jehovah was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from Jehovah the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, ^11:10and had commanded him concerning this thing, not to go after other gods; but he kept not what Jehovah had commanded. ^11:11And Jehovah said to Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done by thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes which I commanded thee, I will certainly rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant: ^11:12notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake; I will rend it out of the hand of thy son; ^11:13only, I will not rend away all the kingdom: I will give one tribe to thy son, for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen. ^11:14And Jehovah stirred up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the king's seed in Edom. ^11:15Now it came to pass when David was in Edom, when Joab the captain of the host had gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom ^11:16(for Joab abode there six months with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom), ^11:17that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad being yet a little child. ^11:18And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran, and took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt; who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. ^11:19And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, and he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. ^11:20And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son; and Tahpenes brought him up in Pharaoh's house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household, among the sons of Pharaoh. ^11:21And Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead; and Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country. ^11:22And Pharaoh said to him, What then dost thou lack with me, that behold, thou desirest to go to thine own country? And he said, Nothing; but in any case let me depart. ^11:23God stirred him up yet an adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from Hadadezer king of Zobah, his lord. ^11:24And he collected men to him, and became captain of a band, when David slew them [of Zobah]; and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus. ^11:25And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad [did]; and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. ^11:26And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zeredah, Solomon's servant (whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman), even he lifted up his hand against the king. ^11:27And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon was building Millo, and closing the breach of the city of David his father; ^11:28and the man Jeroboam was strong and valiant; and Solomon saw the young man that he was industrious, and he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. ^11:29And it came to pass at that time that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field. ^11:30Then Ahijah seized the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces; ^11:31and said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces; for thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee; ^11:32but one tribe shall he have for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel: ^11:33because they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my sight, and my statutes and mine ordinances, as David his father. ^11:34But I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand; for I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes; ^11:35but I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, the ten tribes. ^11:36And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen for myself to put my name there. ^11:37And I will take thee, that thou mayest reign over all that thy soul desireth, and thou shalt be king over Israel. ^11:38And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that which is right in my sight, in keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, that I will be with thee, and build thee a lasting house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. ^11:39And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. ^11:40And Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam; and Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt; and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. ^11:41And 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? ^11:42And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. ^11:43And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

^12:1And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ^12:2And it came to pass when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (now he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt; ^12:3and they sent and called him), that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ^12:4Thy father made our yoke grievous; and now lighten thou the grievous servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee. ^12:5And he said to them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. ^12:6And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, How do ye advise to return answer to this people? ^12:7And they spoke to him saying, If this day thou wilt be a servant to this people, and wilt serve them and answer them and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever. ^12:8But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, who had grown up with him, that stood before him. ^12:9And he said to them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people who have spoken to me saying, Lighten the yoke which thy father put upon us? ^12:10And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying, Thus shalt thou say to this people that have spoken to thee saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and lighten thou it for us, thus shalt thou say to them: My little [finger] is thicker than my father's loins; ^12:11and whereas my father laid a heavy yoke upon you, *I* will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but *I* will chastise you with scorpions. ^12:12And Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed saying, Come again to me on the third day. ^12:13And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him; ^12:14and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but *I* will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but *I* will chastise you with scorpions. ^12:15So the king hearkened not to the people; for it was brought about by Jehovah, that he might give effect to his word, which Jehovah spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ^12:16And all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them; and the people answered the king saying, What portion have we in David? And [we have] no inheritance in the son of Jesse: To your tents, O Israel! Now see to thine own house, David! And Israel went to their tents. ^12:17But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. ^12:18And king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the levy; but all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam hastened to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. ^12:19And Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day. ^12:20And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, that they sent and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel: none followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. ^12:21And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. ^12:22But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ^12:23Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remainder of the people, saying, ^12:24Thus saith Jehovah: Go not up, nor fight with your brethren, the children of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing is from me. And they hearkened to the word of Jehovah, and returned to depart, according to the word of Jehovah. ^12:25And Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. ^12:26And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. ^12:27If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. ^12:28And the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. And he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt! ^12:29And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. ^12:30And this thing became a sin; and the people went [to worship] before the one, as far as Dan. ^12:31And he made a house of high places, and made priests from all classes of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. ^12:32And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made; and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. ^12:33And he offered upon the altar that he had made in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he made a feast for the children of Israel, and he offered upon the altar, burning incense.

^13:1And behold, there came a man of God from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, to Bethel; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. ^13:2And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar! thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon thee. ^13:3And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign that Jehovah hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. ^13:4And it came to pass when the king heard the word of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not bring it back again to him. ^13:5And the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah. ^13:6And the king answered and said to the man of God, Intreat now Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me again. And the man of God intreated Jehovah, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and became as before. ^13:7And the king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a present. ^13:8And the man of God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place; ^13:9for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou shalt go. ^13:10So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he had come to Bethel. ^13:11Now there dwelt a certain old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words that he had spoken to the king, them they told also to their father. ^13:12And their father said to them, Which way went he? for his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah. ^13:13And he said to his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon, ^13:14and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a terebinth; and he said to him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. ^13:15And he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread. ^13:16And he said, I cannot return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place. ^13:17For it was said to me by the word of Jehovah, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou wentest. ^13:18And he said to him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Jehovah saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. He lied unto him. ^13:19Then he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. ^13:20And it came to pass as they sat at the table, that the word of Jehovah came to the prophet that brought him back; ^13:21and he cried to the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the word of Jehovah, and hast not kept the commandment that Jehovah thy God commanded thee, ^13:22but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to thee, Eat no bread and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come to the sepulchre of thy fathers. ^13:23And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled the ass for him, for the prophet that he had brought back; ^13:24and he departed. And a lion met him by the way and slew him; and his corpse was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the corpse. ^13:25And behold, men passed by, and saw the corpse cast in the way and the lion standing by the corpse; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. ^13:26And the prophet that brought him back from the way heard [of it] and said, It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of Jehovah; therefore Jehovah has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and slain him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke to him. ^13:27And he spoke to his sons saying, Saddle me the ass; and they saddled it. ^13:28And he went and found his corpse cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the corpse: the lion had not eaten the corpse, nor torn the ass. ^13:29And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back; and the old prophet came into the city, to mourn and to bury him. ^13:30And he laid his corpse in his own sepulchre; and they mourned over him [saying], Alas, my brother! ^13:31And it came to pass after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons saying, When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. ^13:32For the word that he cried by the word of Jehovah against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria, shall certainly come to pass. ^13:33After this thing Jeroboam turned not from his evil way, but made again from all classes of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became [one] of the priests of the high places. ^13:34And by this thing there was sin on the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

^14:1At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam was sick. ^14:2And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and go to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who told me that [I should be] king over this people. ^14:3And take with thee ten loaves, and cakes, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he will tell thee what shall become of the lad. ^14:4And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. And Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age. ^14:5And Jehovah said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee about her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her; for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign to be another. ^14:6And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou to be another? But I am sent to thee with a hard [message]. ^14:7Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, ^14:8and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee; and thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do only that which is right in my sight; ^14:9but thou hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: ^14:10therefore behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. ^14:11Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat; for Jehovah hath spoken. ^14:12And thou, arise, go to thine own house; when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. ^14:13And all Israel shall mourn for him, and they shall bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward Jehovah the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. ^14:14And Jehovah shall raise up for himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day; and what? even now. ^14:15And Jehovah will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their Asherahs, provoking Jehovah to anger. ^14:16And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, wherewith he has sinned, and made Israel to sin. ^14:17And Jeroboam's wife arose and departed, and came to Tirzah; when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died. ^14:18And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spoke through his servant Ahijah the prophet. ^14:19And 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. ^14:20And the days that Jeroboam reigned were twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers. And Nadab his son reigned in his stead. ^14:21And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there; and his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. ^14:22And Judah did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed more than all that their fathers had done. ^14:23And they also built for themselves high places, and columns, and Asherahs on every high hill and under every green tree; ^14:24and there were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel. ^14:25And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, [that] Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. ^14:26And he took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all; and he took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made. ^14:27And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the couriers who kept the entrance of the king's house. ^14:28And it was so, that as often as the king entered into the house of Jehovah, the couriers bore them, and brought them again into the chamber of the couriers. ^14:29And 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? ^14:30And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all [their] days. ^14:31And 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.

^15:1And in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abijam to reign over Judah. ^15:2He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Maachah, a daughter of Abishalom. ^15:3And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God, as the heart of David his father. ^15:4But for David's sake Jehovah his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem; ^15:5because David did that which was right in the sight of Jehovah, and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Urijah the Hittite. ^15:6And there had been war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. ^15:7And 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. ^15:8And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his stead. ^15:9And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah; ^15:10and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Maachah, daughter of Abishalom. ^15:11And Asa did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, as David his father. ^15:12And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his father had made. ^15:13And also Maachah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol for the Asherah; and Asa cut down her idol, and burned it in the valley of Kidron. ^15:14But the high places were not removed; only, Asa's heart was perfect with Jehovah all his days. ^15:15And he brought into the house of Jehovah the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated, silver and gold and vessels. ^15:16And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ^15:17And Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, in order to let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ^15:18And Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king's house, and gave them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt at Damascus, saying, ^15:19There is a league between me and thee, [as] between my father and thy father; behold, I send thee a present of silver and gold: go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. ^15:20And Ben-Hadad hearkened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his forces against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-Beth-Maachah, and all Kinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. ^15:21And it came to pass when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. ^15:22And king Asa called together all Judah: none was exempted; and they carried away the stones and the timber from Ramah, with which Baasha had been building; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. ^15:23And the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Only, in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ^15:24And 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. ^15:25And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah; and he reigned over Israel two years. ^15:26And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel sin. ^15:27And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which [belonged] to the Philistines, when Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon. ^15:28And Baasha slew him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. ^15:29And it came to pass when he was king, he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left to Jeroboam none that breathed; until he had destroyed him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ^15:30because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and wherewith he made Israel to sin; by his provocation with which he provoked Jehovah the God of Israel to anger. ^15:31And 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? ^15:32And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ^15:33In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, for twenty-four years. ^15:34And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin where with he made Israel to sin.

^16:1And the word of Jehovah came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, ^16:2Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins; ^16:3behold, I will take away Baasha and his house, and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ^16:4Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth of his in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat. ^16:5And 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? ^16:6And Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his stead. ^16:7And also through the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani the word of Jehovah came against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of Jehovah, provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he had smitten him. ^16:8In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah for two years. ^16:9And his servant Zimri, captain of half [his] chariots, conspired against him; and he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was the steward of his house in Tirzah; ^16:10and Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned in his stead. ^16:11And it came to pass when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not a male, neither of his kinsmen nor of his friends. ^16:12And Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spoke against Baasha through Jehu the prophet, ^16:13for all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and wherewith they made Israel to sin, provoking Jehovah the God of Israel to anger with their vanities. ^16:14And 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? ^16:15In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which [belonged] to the Philistines. ^16:16And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri has conspired, and has also smitten the king; and all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. ^16:17And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. ^16:18And it came to pass when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the citadel of the king's house, and burned the king's house over him with fire; ^16:19and he died for his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of Jehovah, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, making Israel to sin. ^16:20And the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his conspiracy which he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ^16:21Then 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. ^16:22But the people that followed Omri overcame the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath; and Tibni died, and Omri reigned. ^16:23In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, twelve years; he reigned six years in Tirzah. ^16:24And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver; and built on the hill, and called the name of the city that he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. ^16:25And Omri wrought evil in the sight of Jehovah, and did worse than all that were before him. ^16:26And he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins wherewith he made Israel to sin, provoking Jehovah the God of Israel to anger with their vanities. ^16:27And the rest of the acts of Omri, what he did, and his might which he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ^16:28And Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. ^16:29And Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. ^16:30And Ahab the son of Omri wrought evil in the sight of Jehovah more than all that were before him. ^16:31And it came to pass, as if it was a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshipped him. ^16:32And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. ^16:33And Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did more to provoke Jehovah the God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. ^16:34In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundation in Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates in Segub his youngest, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke through Joshua the son of Nun.