King Rehoboam Acts Foolishly

12 ^(A)Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had come to ^(B)Shechem to make him king. ² Now ^(C)when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard about this, ^[a]he was living in Egypt (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon). ³ Then they sent word and summoned him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ⁴ “^(D)Your father made our yoke hard; but now, lighten the hard labor imposed by your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” ⁵ Then he said to them, “^(E)Depart ^[b]for three days, then return to me.” So the people departed.

⁶ And King Rehoboam ^(F)consulted with the elders who had ^[c]served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” ⁷ Then they spoke to him, saying, “^(G)If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and ^[d]grant them their request, and speak pleasant words to them, then they will be your servants always.” ⁸ But he ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him ^[e]and served him. ⁹ He said to them, “What advice do you give, so that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” ¹⁰ And the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “This is what you should say to this people who spoke to you, saying: ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!’ You should speak this way to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹ Now then, my father loaded you with a heavy yoke; yet I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with ^[f]scorpions!’”

¹² Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ^[g]directed, saying, “^(H)Return to me on the third day.” ¹³ And the king answered the people harshly, for he ignored the advice of the elders which they had ^[h]given him, ¹⁴ and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “^(I)My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with ^[i]scorpions!” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people; ^(J)because it was ^[j]a turn of events from the Lord, ^(K)in order to establish His word which the Lord spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

The Kingdom Divided; Jeroboam Rules Israel

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people replied to the king, saying,

So Israel went away to their tents. ¹⁷ But ^(M)as for the sons of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent ^(N)Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him ^[k]to death. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. ^19 (O)So Israel has broken with the house of David to this day.

²⁰ And it came about, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent word and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel. ^(P)None except the tribe of Judah alone followed the house of David.

^21 (Q)Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. ²² But the word of God came to ^(R)Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ²³ “Tell Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the ^(S)rest of the people, saying, ²⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: “You shall not go up nor fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return, every man to his house, ^(T)for this thing has come from Me.”’” So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned to go their way in accordance with the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam’s Idolatry

²⁵ Then ^(U)Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived ^[l]there. And he went out from there and built ^(V)Penuel. ²⁶ And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. ^27 (W)If this people go up to ^[m]offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” ²⁸ So the king ^[n]consulted, and he ^(X)made two golden ^(Y)calves; and he said to ^[o]the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; ^(Z)behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” ²⁹ And he set up ^(AA)one in ^(AB)Bethel, and the other he put in ^(AC)Dan. ³⁰ Now ^(AD)this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. ³¹ And ^(AE)he made houses on high places, and ^[p](AF)appointed priests from ^[q]all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. ³² Jeroboam also ^[r]instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, ^(AG)like the feast that is in Judah, and he ^[s]went up to the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel ^(AH)the priests of the high places which he had made. ³³ Then he ^[t]went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, the month that he had ^[u](AI)devised ^[v]in his own heart; and he ^[w]instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and ^[x]went up to the altar ^(AJ)to burn ^[y]incense.

Jeroboam Warned, Stricken

13 Now behold, ^(AK)a man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar ^(AL)to burn incense. ² And ^(AM)he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, ^(AN)Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.’” ³ Then he gave a ^[z]sign on the same day, saying, “^(AO)This is the ^[aa]sign which the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn to pieces and the ^[ab]ashes which are on it shall be poured out.’” ⁴ Now when the king heard the statement of the man of God which he cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But his hand which he had stretched out toward him dried up, and he could not draw it back to himself. ⁵ The altar also was torn to pieces and the ^[ac]ashes were poured out from the altar, in accordance with the ^[ad]sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. ⁶ And the king responded and said to the man of God, “Please ^[ae](AP)appease the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.” So ^(AQ)the man of God ^[af]appeased the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. ⁷ Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and ^(AR)I will give you a gift.” ⁸ But the man of God said to the king, “^(AS)If you were to give me half your house, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. ⁹ For so ^[ag]it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.’” ¹⁰ So he went another way and did not return by the way that he had come to Bethel.

The Disobedient Prophet

¹¹ Now ^(AT)an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his ^[ah]sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they reported to their father. ¹² And their father said to them, “^[ai]Which way did he go?” Now his sons ^[aj]had seen the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. ¹³ Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. ¹⁴ So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under ^[ak]an oak; and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” ¹⁵ Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” ¹⁶ But he said, “^(AU)I cannot return with you, nor come with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. ¹⁷ For a ^[al]command came to me ^(AV)by the word of the Lord: ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way that you came.’” ¹⁸ Then he said to him, “^(AW)I too am a prophet like you, and ^(AX)an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But ^(AY)he lied to him. ¹⁹ So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.

²⁰ Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; ²¹ and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you have ^[am]disobeyed the ^[an]command of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, ²² but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “You are not to eat bread nor drink water”; your dead body will not come to the grave of your fathers.’” ²³ It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back. ²⁴ Now when he had gone, ^(AZ)a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body. ²⁵ And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body; so they came and told about it in the city where ^(BA)the old prophet had lived.

²⁶ Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God, who ^[ao]disobeyed the ^[ap]command of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.” ²⁷ Then he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. ²⁸ Then he went and found his body thrown on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor ^[aq]harmed the donkey. ²⁹ So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him. ³⁰ He laid his body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “^(BB)Oh, my brother!” ³¹ And after he had buried him, he talked to his sons, saying, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; ^(BC)lay my bones beside his bones. ^32 (BD)For the thing will certainly come to pass which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar that is in Bethel, and ^(BE)against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of ^(BF)Samaria.”

³³ After this event, Jeroboam did not ^[ar]abandon his evil way, but he ^(BG)again ^[as]appointed priests of the high places from ^[at]all the people; ^(BH)anyone who wanted, he ordained, and he became ^[au]one of the priests of the high places. ^34 [av](BI)This event also became a sin of the house of Jeroboam, ^(BJ)even to wipe it out and eliminate it from the face of the earth.

Ahijah Prophesies against the King

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. ² And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Now arise and ^(BK)disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to ^(BL)Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who ^(BM)said regarding me that I would be king over this people. ^3 (BN)Take ten loaves with you, some pastries, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

⁴ And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and set out and went to ^(BO)Shiloh, and came to the house of ^(BP)Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see ^(BQ)because his eyes were ^[aw]glossy from his old age. ⁵ Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ^[ax]inquire of you about her son, because he is sick. You shall say such and such to her, for it will be when she arrives, that ^(BR)she is going to make herself unrecognizable.”

⁶ So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why do you make yourself unrecognizable? Nevertheless, I am sent to you with a harsh message. ⁷ Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “^(BS)Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel, ⁸ and ^(BT)tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—^(BU)yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, ^(BV)to do only that which was right in My sight; ⁹ you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and ^(BW)you have gone and made for yourself other gods and ^(BX)cast metal images to provoke Me to anger, and have ^(BY)thrown Me behind your back— ¹⁰ therefore behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and ^(BZ)I will eliminate from Jeroboam ^[ay]every male person, ^(CA)both ^[az]bond and free in Israel, and I ^(CB)will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone. ^11 (CC)Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dogs will eat. And anyone who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat; for the Lord has spoken it.”’ ¹² Now you, arise, go to your house. ^(CD)When your feet enter the city the child will die. ¹³ Then all Israel will mourn for him and bury him, for ^[ba]he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him ^(CE)something good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(CF)the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will eliminate the house of Jeroboam this day ^[bb]and from now on.

¹⁵ “For the Lord will strike Israel, just as a reed sways in the water; and ^(CG)He will uproot Israel from ^(CH)this good land which He gave to their fathers, and ^(CI)will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, ^(CJ)because they have made their ^[bc]Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. ¹⁶ He will give up Israel ^(CK)because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he ^[bd]committed and with which he misled Israel into sin.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to ^(CL)Tirzah. ^(CM)As she was entering the threshold of the house, the child died. ^18 (CN)Then all Israel buried him and mourned for him, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

¹⁹ Now as for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, ^(CO)how he made war and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ²⁰ And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he ^[be]lay down with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Misleads Judah

^21 (CP)Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, ^(CQ)the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. ²² And the people of ^(CR)Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they ^(CS)provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they ^[bf]committed, more than all that their fathers had done. ²³ For they, too, built for themselves ^(CT)high places, ^(CU)memorial stones, and ^[bg](CV)Asherim on every high hill and ^(CW)under every luxuriant tree. ²⁴ There were also ^(CX)male cult prostitutes in the land. They committed ^[bh]all the same abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

^25 (CY)Now it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt marched against Jerusalem. ²⁶ And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and ^(CZ)he took everything; ^(DA)he even took all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. ²⁷ So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and ^(DB)entrusted them to the ^[bi]care of the commanders of the ^[bj]guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. ²⁸ And it happened as often as the king entered the house of the Lord, that the ^[bk]guards would carry them and would bring them back into the ^[bl]guards’ room.

^29 (DC)Now as for the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^30 (DD)And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. ³¹ And Rehoboam ^[bm]lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and ^(DE)his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And his son Abijam became king in his place.

Abijam Reigns over Judah

15 ^(DF)Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^[bn](DG)Maacah the daughter of ^[bo](DH)Abishalom. ³ He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and ^(DI)his heart was not ^[bp]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David. ⁴ But for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a ^(DJ)lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem, ^5 (DK)because David did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and did not deviate from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, ^(DL)except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. ^6 (DM)And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

⁷ Now as for ^(DN)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? ^(DO)And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

Asa Succeeds Abijam

^8 (DP)And Abijam ^[bq]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and his son Asa became king in his place.

⁹ So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah. ¹⁰ He reigned for forty-one years in Jerusalem; and ^(DQ)his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ Now ^(DR)Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like his father David. ^12 (DS)He also removed the male cult prostitutes from the land and ^(DT)removed all the idols which his fathers had made. ¹³ And even his mother Maacah, ^(DU)he also removed her from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image ^[br]as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her abominable image and ^(DV)burned it at the brook Kidron. ^14 (DW)But the high places ^[bs]were not eliminated; nevertheless ^(DX)Asa’s heart was ^[bt]wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. ¹⁵ And ^(DY)he brought into the house of the Lord the ^[bu]holy gifts of his father and his own ^[bv]holy gifts: silver, gold, and valuable utensils.

^16 (DZ)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ^17 (EA)Baasha king of Israel marched against Judah and ^[bw](EB)fortified Ramah ^(EC)in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸ Then ^(ED)Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and handed it over to his servants. And ^(EE)King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in ^(EF)Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ “Let’s make a ^(EG)treaty between ^[bx]you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” ²⁰ So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and ^[by]conquered ^(EH)Ijon, ^(EI)Dan, ^(EJ)Abel-beth-maacah, and all ^(EK)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha heard about it, ^(EL)he stopped ^[bz]fortifying Ramah and remained in ^(EM)Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built fortifications. And King Asa built with them ^(EN)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa

^23 (EO)Now as for the rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might, and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴ And Asa ^[ca]lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David; and his son ^(EP)Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.

Nadab and Then Baasha Rule over Israel

²⁵ Now ^(EQ)Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years. ²⁶ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(ER)walked in the way of his father and ^(ES)in his sin into which he misled Israel. ²⁷ Then ^(ET)Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha struck and killed him at ^(EU)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

²⁸ So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. ²⁹ And as soon as he was king, he struck and killed all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave Jeroboam any ^[cb]persons alive, but kept killing until he had eliminated them, ^(EV)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ³⁰ and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he ^[cc]committed, and into ^(EW)which he misled Israel, because of his provocation with which he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

^31 (EX)Now as for 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?

War with Judah

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

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned for twenty-four years. ³⁴ And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(EZ)walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin into which he misled Israel.

Prophecy against Baasha

16 Now the word of the Lord came to ^(FA)Jehu the son of ^(FB)Hanani against Baasha, saying, ² “Since I ^(FC)exalted you from the dust and made you leader over My people Israel, and ^(FD)you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have misled My people Israel into sin, provoking Me to anger with their sins, ³ behold, ^(FE)I am going to ^[cd]burn ^(FF)Baasha and his house, and ^(FG)I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ^4 (FH)Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and anyone belonging to him who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”

^5 (FI)Now as for 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?

The Israelite Kings

⁶ And Baasha ^[ce]lay down with his fathers and was buried in ^(FJ)Tirzah, and his son Elah became king in his place. ⁷ Moreover, the word of the Lord through ^(FK)the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came against Baasha and his household, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger with ^(FL)the work of his hands, by being like the house of Jeroboam, and because ^(FM)he struck ^[cf]it.

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel at Tirzah, and reigned for two years. ⁹ And his servant ^(FN)Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now ^[cg]Elah was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, ^(FO)who was in charge of the household in Tirzah. ¹⁰ Then Zimri came in and struck him and put him to death in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and he became king in his place. ¹¹ And when he became king, as soon as he sat on his throne, ^(FP)he ^[ch]killed all the household of Baasha; he did not leave ^[ci]a single male alive, either of his ^[cj]relatives or of his friends.

¹² So Zimri eliminated all the household of Baasha, ^(FQ)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke against Baasha through ^(FR)Jehu the prophet, ¹³ for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of his son Elah, which they ^[ck]committed and into which they misled Israel, ^(FS)provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their ^[cl]idols. ^14 (FT)Now as for the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned for seven days in Tirzah. Now the people were camped against ^(FU)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. ¹⁶ And the people who were camped heard ^[cm]it being said, “Zimri has conspired and has also struck and killed the king!” Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. ¹⁷ Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸ When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over himself with fire, and ^(FV)died, ¹⁹ because of his sins which he ^[cn]committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(FW)walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he committed, misleading Israel into sin. ^20 (FX)Now as for the rest of the acts of Zimri and his conspiracy which he ^[co]carried out, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

²¹ Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; the other half followed Omri. ²² But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. And Tibni died and Omri became king. ²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel and reigned for twelve years; he reigned for six years at ^(FY)Tirzah. ²⁴ And he purchased the hill ^[cp]Samaria from Shemer for ^[cq]two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built ^[cr](FZ)Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

²⁵ Now ^(GA)Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(GB)acted more wickedly than all who were before him. ²⁶ For he ^(GC)walked ^[cs]entirely in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sins into which he misled Israel, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their ^[ct]idols. ²⁷ Now as for the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might which he ^[cu]displayed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁸ And Omri ^[cv]lay down with his fathers and was buried in Samaria; and his son Ahab became king in his place.

²⁹ Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord ^(GD)more than all who were before him.

³¹ And as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(GE)he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the ^(GF)Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. ³² So he erected an altar for Baal at ^(GG)the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab also made ^(GH)the ^[cw]Asherah. So ^(GI)Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. ^34 (GJ)In his days Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

Elijah Predicts Drought

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of ^[cx](GK)the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “^(GL)As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, ^(GM)there shall certainly be neither dew nor rain during these years, except by my word.” ² Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ³ “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is ^[cy]east of the Jordan. ⁴ And it shall be that you will drink from the brook, and ^(GN)I have commanded the ravens to provide food for you there.” ⁵ So he went and did everything according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is ^[cz]east of the Jordan. ⁶ And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. ⁷ But it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Arise, go to ^(GO)Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, ^(GP)I have commanded a widow there to provide food for you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and ^(GQ)he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a ^[da]cup, so that I may drink.” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” ¹² But she said, “^(GR)As the Lord your God lives, ^(GS)I have no food, only a handful of flour in the ^[db]bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering ^[dc]a few sticks so that I may go in and prepare it for me and my son, so that we may ^[dd]eat it and ^(GT)die.” ¹³ However, Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said. Just make me a little bread loaf from ^[de]it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘The ^[df]bowl of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil become empty, until the day that the Lord provides rain on the face of the earth.’” ¹⁵ So she went and did everything in accordance with the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The ^[dg]bowl of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

¹⁷ Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his ^[dh]condition became very grave, until at the end ^[di]he was no longer breathing. ¹⁸ So she said to Elijah, “^[dj](GU)Why is my business any of yours, you ^(GV)man of God? Yet you have come to me to bring my wrongdoing to remembrance, and to put my son to death!” ¹⁹ But he said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her ^[dk]arms and carried him up to the upstairs room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ And he called to the Lord and said, “Lord, my God, have You also brought catastrophe upon the widow with whom I am ^[dl]staying, by causing her son to die?” ^21 (GW)Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times, and called to the Lord and said, “Lord, my God, please, let this boy’s life return ^[dm]to him.” ²² And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah, ^(GX)and the life of the boy returned ^[dn]to him and he revived. ²³ Elijah then took the boy and brought him down from the upstairs room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” ²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “^(GY)Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Obadiah Meets Elijah

18 Now it happened ^(GZ)after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and ^(HA)I will provide rain on the face of the earth.” ² So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. ³ Ahab summoned Obadiah, ^(HB)who was in charge of the household. (Now Obadiah ^[do](HC)feared the Lord greatly; ⁴ for ^(HD)when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and ^(HE)provided them with bread and water.) ⁵ Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the river valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to kill some of the cattle.” ⁶ So they divided the land between them to ^[dp]survey it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

⁷ Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, ^(HF)and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, Elijah my master?” ⁸ And he said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” ⁹ But he said, “What ^[dq]sin have I committed, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab, to put me to death? ^10 (HG)As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my master has not sent word to search for you; and whenever they say, ‘He is not here,’ he makes the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. ¹¹ Yet now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here!”’ ¹² And it will come about when I leave you ^(HH)that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to where I do not know; so when I come and inform Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, though I, your servant, have ^[dr]feared the Lord from my youth. ^13 (HI)Has it not been reported to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred ^[ds]prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water? ¹⁴ Yet now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; he will then kill me!” ¹⁵ Then Elijah said, “^(HJ)As surely as the Lord of armies lives, before whom I stand, I will certainly present myself to him today.” ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and informed him; then Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, ^(HK)Ahab said to him, “Is this you, the cause of disaster to Israel?” ¹⁸ He said, “I have not brought disaster to Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because ^(HL)you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and ^(HM)you have followed the Baals. ¹⁹ Now then, send orders and gather to me all Israel at ^(HN)Mount Carmel, ^(HO)together with 450 prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of ^[dt](HP)the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

God or Baal on Mount Carmel

²⁰ So Ahab sent orders among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹ Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “^(HQ)How long are you going to ^[du]struggle with the two choices? ^(HR)If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him so much as a word. ²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I ^(HS)alone am left as a prophet of the Lord, while Baal’s prophets are ^(HT)450 men. ²³ Now have them give us two oxen; and have them choose the one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. ²⁴ Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and ^(HU)the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people replied, “^[dv]That is a good idea.”

²⁵ So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose the one ox for yourselves and prepare it first, since there are many of you, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under the ox.” ²⁶ Then they took the ox which ^[dw]was given them and they prepared it, and they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was ^(HV)no voice and no one answered. And they ^[dx]limped about the altar which ^[dy]they had made. ²⁷ And at noon Elijah ridiculed them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, since he is a god; undoubtedly he is attending to business, or is on the way, or is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep, and will awaken.” ²⁸ So they cried out with a loud voice, and ^(HW)cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until blood gushed out on them. ²⁹ When midday was past, they raved ^(HX)until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and ^[dz]no one paid attention.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come forward to me.” So all the people came forward to him. And ^(HY)he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. ³¹ Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “^(HZ)Israel shall be your name.” ³² And with the stones he built an altar in ^(IA)the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two ^[ea]measures of seed. ^33 (IB)Then he laid out the wood, and he cut the ox in pieces and placed it on the wood. ³⁴ And he said, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” so they did it a second time. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” so they did it a third time. ³⁵ The water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water.

Elijah’s Prayer

³⁶ Then ^(IC)at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “^(ID)Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that ^(IE)You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant, and that ^(IF)I have done all these things at Your word. ³⁷ Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.” ³⁸ Then the ^(IG)fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, and the stones and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench. ³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell on their faces; and they said, “^(IH)The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God!” ⁴⁰ Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to ^(II)the brook Kishon, ^(IJ)and slaughtered them there.

⁴¹ Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of ^(IK)Carmel; and he ^(IL)bent down to the earth and put his face between his knees. ⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, but he said, “There is nothing.” Yet Elijah said, “Go back” seven times. ⁴⁴ And when he returned the seventh time, he said, “Behold, ^(IM)a cloud as small as a person’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot horses and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’” ⁴⁵ Meanwhile the sky became dark with clouds and wind came up, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to ^(IN)Jezreel. ⁴⁶ Then ^(IO)the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and ^(IP)he ^[eb]belted his cloak around his waist and ^[ec]outran Ahab ^[ed]to Jezreel.

Elijah Flees from Jezebel

19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and ^[ee](IQ)how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “^(IR)So may the gods do to me and more so, if by about this time tomorrow I do not make your ^[ef]life like the ^[eg]life of one of them.” ³ And he ^[eh]was afraid, and got up and ran for his ^[ei]life and came to ^(IS)Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there. ⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and ^(IT)he asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my ^[ej]life, for I am no better than my fathers.” ⁵ Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was ^(IU)an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” ⁶ And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷ But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.” ⁸ So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for ^(IV)forty days and forty nights to ^(IW)Horeb, the mountain of God.

Elijah at Horeb

⁹ Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, ^(IX)the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ And he said, “^(IY)I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, ^(IZ)torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And ^(JA)I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.”

¹¹ So He said, “^(JB)Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And ^(JC)a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, ^(JD)a sound of a gentle blowing. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, ^(JE)he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^(JF)a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ Then he said, “^(JG)I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you have arrived, ^(JH)you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ You shall also anoint ^(JI)Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel; and you shall anoint ^(JJ)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. ¹⁷ And it shall come about that the ^(JK)one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu ^(JL)shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. ^18 (JM)Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not ^(JN)kissed him.”

¹⁹ So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat while he was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah came over to him and threw ^(JO)his cloak on him. ²⁰ Then he left the oxen behind and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please ^(JP)let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back, for ^[ek]what have I done to you?” ²¹ So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them, and ^(JQ)cooked their meat with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and served him.

War with Aram

20 Now ^(JR)Ben-hadad, king of Aram, gathered all his army, ^(JS)and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and ^(JT)besieged Samaria, and fought against it. ² Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab, king of Israel, and said to him, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ³ ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.’” ⁴ And the king of Israel replied, “As ^[el]you say, my lord, O king; I am yours, as well as all that I have.” ⁵ Then the messengers returned and said, “Ben-hadad says ^[em]this: ‘I did indeed send word to you, saying, “You shall give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children”; ⁶ but about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and they will take in their hands everything that is pleasing to your eyes, and take it all away.’”

⁷ Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please be aware and ^(JU)see that this man is looking for trouble; for he sent me his demand for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I did not refuse him.” ⁸ Then all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen nor consent.” ⁹ So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘Everything that you sent as a demand to your servant at the first, I will do; but this thing I cannot do.’” Then the messengers departed, and brought him word again. ¹⁰ Ben-hadad sent word to him and said, “May ^(JV)the gods do so to me and more so, ^[en]if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who ^[eo]follow me.” ¹¹ Then the king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘^(JW)He who straps on his weapons had better not boast like one who takes them off.’” ¹² And when Ben-hadad heard this message, while ^(JX)he was drinking ^[ep]with the kings in the ^[eq]temporary shelters, he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they took their positions against the city.

Ahab Victorious

¹³ Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, ^(JY)I am going to hand them over to you today, and ^(JZ)you shall know that I am the Lord.’” ¹⁴ But Ahab said, “By whom?” So he said, “The Lord says this: ‘By the young men of the leaders of the provinces.’” Then he said, “Who will begin the battle?” And he said, “You will.” ¹⁵ So he mustered the young men of the leaders of the provinces, and there were 232; and after them he mustered all the people, all the sons of Israel: seven thousand.

¹⁶ They went out at noon, while ^(KA)Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the ^[er]temporary shelters ^[es]with the thirty-two kings who were helping him. ¹⁷ The young men of the leaders of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, “Men have come out from Samaria.” ^18 (KB)Then he said, “If they have come out ^[et]for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive as well.”

¹⁹ So these men went out from the city, the young men of the leaders of the provinces, and the army which followed them. ²⁰ And they ^[eu]killed, each one, his man; and the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, and Ben-hadad the king of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen. ²¹ The king of Israel also went out and struck the horses and chariots, and ^[ev]killed the Arameans in a great slaughter.

²² Then ^(KC)the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, show yourself courageous and be aware and see what you have to do; for ^(KD)at ^[ew]the turn of the year the king of Aram will march against you.”

²³ Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “^(KE)Their gods are gods of the mountains; for that reason they were stronger than we. But let us fight them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they. ²⁴ Carry out this ^[ex]plan: remove the kings, each from his place, and put governors in their place, ²⁵ and ^[ey]muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.

Another Aramean War

²⁶ So ^(KF)at ^[ez]the turn of the year Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to ^(KG)Aphek to fight against Israel. ²⁷ And the sons of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and they went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped opposite them like two little flocks of goats, ^(KH)while the Arameans filled the country. ²⁸ Then ^(KI)a man of God approached and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Since the Arameans have said, “^(KJ)The Lord is a god of mountains, but He is not a god of valleys,” therefore ^(KK)I will hand over to you all this great multitude, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’” ²⁹ So they camped, one opposite the other, for seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel ^[fa]killed of the Arameans a hundred thousand foot soldiers in a single day. ³⁰ But the rest fled to ^(KL)Aphek into the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled and came into the city, going from one ^(KM)inner room to another.

³¹ But ^(KN)his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let’s ^(KO)put sackcloth ^[fb]around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will let ^[fc]you live.” ³² So ^(KP)they put sackcloth ^[fd]around their waists and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “^(KQ)Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let ^[fe]me live.’” And Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” ³³ Now the men took this as a good omen, and quickly ^[ff]accepting it from him, they said, “Your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he had him mount the chariot. ³⁴ And Ben-hadad said to him, “^(KR)The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you can make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” Ahab said, “And I will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

³⁵ Now a man from ^(KS)the sons of the prophets said to ^[fg]another ^(KT)by the word of the Lord, “Please strike me.” But the man refused to strike him. ³⁶ Then he said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you leave me, ^(KU)a lion will ^[fh]kill you.” And as soon as he left him a lion found him and ^[fi]killed him. ³⁷ Then he found another man and said, “Please strike me.” And the man struck him, ^[fj]injuring him. ³⁸ So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and ^(KV)disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. ³⁹ And as the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he goes missing, ^(KW)then your life shall be forfeited in place of his life, or else you shall pay a ^[fk]talent of silver.’ ⁴⁰ Now while your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself determined it.” ⁴¹ Then he quickly took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the prophets. ⁴² And the prophet said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Since you have let go from your hand the man I had designated for destruction, ^(KX)your ^[fl]life shall be forfeited in place of his ^[fm]life, and your people in place of his people.’” ⁴³ So ^(KY)the king of Israel went to his house sullen and furious, and came to Samaria.

Ahab Covets Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in ^(KZ)Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria. ² And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “^(LA)Give me your vineyard so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard in place of it; if ^[fn]you prefer, I will give you what ^[fo]it is worth in money.” ³ But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid me ^(LB)that I would give you the inheritance of my fathers!” ^4 (LC)So Ahab entered his house sullen and furious because of the ^[fp]answer that Naboth the Jezreelite had given to him, since he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned his face away, and ate no ^[fq]food.

⁵ But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating ^[fr]food?” ⁶ So he said to her, “It is because I was speaking to Naboth the Jezreelite and saying to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in place of it.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” ⁷ Jezebel his wife said to him, “^(LD)Do you now ^[fs]reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

^8 (LE)So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to ^(LF)the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. ⁹ Now she had written in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; ¹⁰ and seat two ^(LG)worthless men opposite him, and have them testify against him, saying, ‘^(LH)You ^[ft]cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and ^(LI)stone him ^[fu]to death.”

Jezebel’s Plot

¹¹ So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did just as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them. ¹² They ^(LJ)proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Then the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him; and the worthless men testified against him, against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth ^[fv]cursed God and the king.” ^(LK)So they took him outside the city and stoned him ^[fw]to death with stones. ¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

¹⁵ And when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸ “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, ^(LL)who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. ¹⁹ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(LM)Have you murdered and also taken possession?”’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘The Lord says this: “^(LN)In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick up your blood, yours as well.”’”

²⁰ Then Ahab said to Elijah, “^(LO)Have you found me, enemy of mine?” And he ^[fx]answered, “I have found you, ^(LP)because you have given yourself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord. ²¹ Behold, I am bringing disaster upon you, and I ^(LQ)will utterly sweep you away, and will eliminate from Ahab every male, both ^[fy]bond and free in Israel; ²² and ^(LR)I will make your house ^(LS)like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you ^(LT)have misled Israel into sin. ²³ The Lord has also spoken of Jezebel, saying, ‘^(LU)The dogs will eat Jezebel in the ^[fz]territory of Jezreel.’ ^24 (LV)The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and the one who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”

^25 (LW)There certainly was no one like Ahab who gave himself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, ^[ga]because Jezebel his wife incited him. ^26 (LX)He also acted very despicably in following idols, ^(LY)conforming to everything that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out from the sons of Israel.

²⁷ Yet it came about, when Ahab heard these words, that ^(LZ)he tore his clothes and put ^[gb]on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. ²⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; I will bring the disaster upon his house ^(MA)in his son’s days.”

Ahab’s Third Campaign against Aram

22 Now ^[gc]three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. ^2 (MB)In the third year, ^(MC)Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³ Now the king of Israel said to his servants, “Are you aware that ^(MD)Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are hesitant to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?” ⁴ So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go to battle with me at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “^[gd](ME)Consider me yours, my people yours, and my horses yours!”

⁵ However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please request the word of the Lord ^[ge]first.” ⁶ So ^(MF)the king of Israel assembled the ^[gf]prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Should I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead or should I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.” ⁷ But ^(MG)Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of him?” ⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “May the king not say so.” ⁹ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly.” ¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and ^(MH)all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹¹ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made ^(MI)horns of iron for himself and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(MJ)With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed!’” ¹² All the prophets were prophesying this as well, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”

Micaiah Predicts Defeat

¹³ Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are ^[gg]unanimously favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” ¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “^(MK)As the Lord lives, whatever ^(ML)the Lord says to me, I shall speak it.”

¹⁵ When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?” And he said, “^(MM)Go up and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king!” ¹⁶ Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁷ So he said,

¹⁸ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “^(MO)Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad?”

¹⁹ And Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. ^(MP)I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and ^(MQ)all the ^[gh]angels of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. ²⁰ And the Lord said, ‘Who will ^[gi]entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one spirit said this, while another said that. ²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will ^[gj]entice him.’ ²² And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and ^(MR)be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall ^[gk]entice him, and you will also prevail. Go and do so.’ ²³ Now then, behold, ^(MS)the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

²⁴ Then ^(MT)Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek; and he said, “^(MU)How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” ²⁵ And Micaiah said, “Behold, you are going to see how on that day when you ^(MV)go from one inner room to ^[gl]another trying to hide yourself.” ²⁶ Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; ²⁷ and say, ‘This is what the king says: “^(MW)Put this man in prison, and feed him enough bread and water to survive until I ^[gm]return safely.”’” ²⁸ But Micaiah said, “^(MX)If you actually return ^[gn]safely, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “^(MY)Listen, all you people!”

Defeat and Death of Ahab

²⁹ So ^(MZ)the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. ³⁰ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “^(NA)I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. ³¹ Now ^(NB)the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two commanders of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with the small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” ³² So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely he is the king of Israel!” And they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. ³³ Then, when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³⁴ Now one man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel ^[go]in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn ^[gp]around and take me out of the battle, ^(NC)for I am severely wounded.” ³⁵ The battle ^[gq]raged on that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans, and he died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot. ^36 (ND)Then the word passed throughout the army close to sunset, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his ^[gr]country!”

³⁷ So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸ They washed out the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (it was there that the prostitutes bathed themselves) ^(NE)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken. ³⁹ Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahab and everything that he did, and ^(NF)the ivory house which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ⁴⁰ So Ahab ^[gs]lay down with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.

The New Rulers

^41 (NG)Now Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ^43 (NH)He walked ^[gt]entirely in the way of his father Asa; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. ^(NI)However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ^44 (NJ)Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.

⁴⁵ Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might which he showed and how he made war, are they not written ^(NK)in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ⁴⁶ And the remnant of ^(NL)the cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa, he eliminated from the land.

⁴⁷ Now ^(NM)there was no king in Edom; a governor served as king. ⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat built ^(NN)ships of Tarshish to go to ^(NO)Ophir for gold, but ^(NP)they did not go, because the ships were destroyed at ^(NQ)Ezion-geber. ⁴⁹ Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat was not willing. ^50 (NR)And Jehoshaphat ^[gu]lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoram became king in his place.

⁵¹ Ahaziah the son of Ahab ^(NS)became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years. ⁵² He did evil in the sight of the Lord and ^(NT)walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who misled Israel into sin. ^53 (NU)So he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.