I Kings 14-18

I Kings 14

¹At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam was sick.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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;

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:

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.

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.

¹²And thou, arise, go to thine own house; when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.

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.

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.

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.

¹⁶And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, wherewith he has sinned, and made Israel to sin.

¹⁷And Jeroboam's wife arose and departed, and came to Tirzah; when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died.

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.

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.

²⁰And the days that Jeroboam reigned were twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers. And Nadab his son reigned in his stead.

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.

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.

²³And they also built for themselves high places, and columns, and Asherahs on every high hill and under every green tree;

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.

²⁵And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.

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.

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.

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.

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?

³⁰And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.

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.

I Kings 15

¹And in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abijam to reign over Judah.

²He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Maachah, a daughter of Abishalom.

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.

⁴But for David's sake Jehovah his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem;

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.

⁶And there had been war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

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.

⁸And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his stead.

⁹And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah;

¹⁰and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Maachah, daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹And Asa did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, as David his father.

¹²And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his father had made.

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.

¹⁴But the high places were not removed; only, Asa's heart was perfect with Jehovah all his days.

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.

¹⁶And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

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.

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,

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.

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.

²¹And it came to pass when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

²⁸And Baasha slew him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.

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,

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.

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?

³²And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

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.

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.

I Kings 16

¹And the word of Jehovah came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,

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;

³behold, I will take away Baasha and his house, and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

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.

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?

⁶And Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his stead.

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.

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.

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;

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.

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.

¹²And Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spoke against Baasha through Jehu the prophet,

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.

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?

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.

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.

¹⁷And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.

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;

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.

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?

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.

²²But the people that followed Omri overcame the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath; and Tibni died, and Omri reigned.

²³In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, -- twelve years; he reigned six years in Tirzah.

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.

²⁵And Omri wrought evil in the sight of Jehovah, and did worse than all that were before him.

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.

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?

²⁸And Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.

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.

³⁰And Ahab the son of Omri wrought evil in the sight of Jehovah more than all that were before him.

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.

³²And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria.

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.

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.

I Kings 17

¹And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, As Jehovah the God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except by my word.

²And the word of Jehovah came to him saying,

³Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the torrent Cherith, which is before the Jordan.

⁴And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the torrent; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

⁵And he went and did according to the word of Jehovah; he went and abode by the torrent Cherith, which is before the Jordan.

⁶And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent.

⁷And it came to pass after a while that the torrent dried up, for there had been no rain in the land.

⁸And the word of Jehovah came to him saying,

⁹Arise, go to Zarephath, which is by Zidon, and abide there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to maintain thee.

¹⁰And he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow woman was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

¹¹And she went to fetch it, and he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.

¹²And she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

¹³And Elijah said to her, Fear not; go, do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first; and bring it to me; and afterwards make for thee and for thy son.

¹⁴For thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: The meal in the barrel shall not waste, neither shall the oil in the cruse fail, until the day that Jehovah sendeth rain upon the face of the earth!

¹⁵And she went and did according to the word of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate a whole year.

¹⁶The meal in the barrel did not waste, neither did the oil in the cruse fail, according to the word of Jehovah which he had spoken through Elijah.

¹⁷And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

¹⁸And she said to Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come to me to call mine iniquity to remembrance, and to slay my son?

¹⁹And he said to her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

²⁰And he cried to Jehovah and said, Jehovah, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?

²¹And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to Jehovah and said, Jehovah, my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again!

²²And Jehovah heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he lived.

²³And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, See, thy son lives.

²⁴And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth.

I Kings 18

¹And it came to pass after many days, that the word of Jehovah came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.

²And Elijah went to shew himself to Ahab. And the famine was severe in Samaria.

³And Ahab called Obadiah, who was the steward of his house (now Obadiah feared Jehovah greatly;

⁴and it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and maintained them with bread and water);

⁵and Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land, to all the fountains of water and to all the torrents, perhaps we may find grass to save the horses and the mules alive, so that we may not have to destroy some of our beasts.

⁶And they divided the land between them to pass through it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

⁷And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him; and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it indeed thou, my lord Elijah?

⁸And he said to him, I am he: go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah!

⁹And he said, What have I sinned, that thou givest thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to put me to death?

¹⁰As Jehovah thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord has not sent to seek thee; and when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom or nation that they found thee not.

¹¹And now thou sayest, Go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah!

¹²And it shall come to pass when I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah shall carry thee whither I know not; and when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will kill me; and I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth.

¹³Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of Jehovah, how I hid a hundred men of Jehovah's prophets by fifty in a cave, and maintained them with bread and water?

¹⁴And now thou sayest, Go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah! and he will kill me.

¹⁵And Elijah said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will certainly shew myself to him to-day.

¹⁶Then Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Is it thou, the troubler of Israel?

¹⁸And he said, I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of Jehovah, and thou hast followed the Baals.

¹⁹And now send, gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table.

²⁰So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.

²¹Then Elijah drew near to all the people, and said, How long do ye halt between two opinions? if Jehovah be God, follow him; and if Baal, follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

²²And Elijah said to the people, I, only I, remain a prophet of Jehovah; and Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

²³Let them therefore give us two bullocks: and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and put it on the wood, and put no fire; and I will sacrifice the other bullock, and put it on the wood, and put no fire.

²⁴And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of Jehovah; and the god that answers by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, The word is good.

²⁵And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose one bullock for yourselves, and sacrifice it first; for ye are the many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire.

²⁶And they took the bullock which had been given them, and sacrificed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us! But there was no voice, and none answered. And they leaped about the altar that had been made.

²⁷And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god; for he is meditating, or gone aside, or he is on a journey; perhaps he sleeps, and will awake.

²⁸And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with swords and spears, till the blood gushed out upon them.

²⁹And it came to pass when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering up of the oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any that answered, nor any attention.

³⁰Then Elijah said to all the people, Draw near to me. And all the people drew near to him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah which was broken down.

³¹And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Jehovah came saying, Israel shall be thy name;

³²and with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah, and made a trench round about the altar, of the capacity of two measures of seed;

³³and he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four pitchers with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood.

³⁴And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.

³⁵And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.

³⁶And it came to pass at the time of the offering up of the oblation, that Elijah the prophet drew near, and said, Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things by thy word.

³⁷Answer me, Jehovah, answer me, that this people may know that thou Jehovah art God, and that *thou* hast turned their heart back again.

³⁸And the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

³⁹And all the people saw it, and they fell on their faces and said, Jehovah, he is God! Jehovah, he is God!

⁴⁰And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape! And they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the torrent of Kishon, and slaughtered them there.

⁴¹And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

⁴²And Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.

⁴³And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

⁴⁴And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, Behold there is a cloud, small as a man's hand, arising out of the sea. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Harness and go down, that the pour of rain stop thee not.

⁴⁵And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heavens became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great pour of rain. And Ahab got on the chariot, and went to Jizreel.

⁴⁶And the hand of Jehovah was upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jizreel.