The Book of 1st Kings
Chapter 1
1Now King Dauid was olde, and striken in yeeres, and they couered him with clothes, but hee gate no heate.
2Wherefore his seruants said vnto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a yong virgin, and let her stand before the King, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosome, that my lord the King may get heate.
3So they sought for a faire damosel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the King.
4And the damosell was very faire, and cherished the king, and ministred to him: but the king knew her not.
5¶ Then Adoniiah the sonne of Haggith exalted himselfe, saying, I wil be king: And he prepared him charets and horesemen, and fiftie men to runne before him.
6And his father had not displeased him at any time, in saying, Why hast thou done so? And hee also was a very goodly man, and his mother bare him after Absalom.
7And hee conferred with Ioab the sonne of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the Priest: and they following Adoniiah, helped him.
8But Zadok the Priest, and Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, and Nathan the Prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mightie men which belonged to Dauid, were not with Adoniiah.
9And Adoniiah slew sheepe, and oxen, and fat cattell, by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-Rogel, and called all his brethren the kings sonnes, and all the men of Iudah the kings seruants.
10But Nathan the Prophet, and Benaiah, and the mightie men, and Solomon his brother he called not.
11¶ Wherefore Nathan spake vnto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adoniiah the son of Haggith doth reigne, and Dauid our lord knoweth it not?
12Now therefore come, let mee, I pray thee, giue thee counsell, that thou mayest saue thine owne life, and the life of thy sonne Solomon.
13Goe, and get thee in vnto King Dauid, and say vnto him, Diddest not thou, my lord, O king, sweare vnto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy sonne shall reigne after mee, and he shall sit vpon my throne? why then doth Adoniiah reigne?
14Beholde, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirme thy words.
15¶ And Bath-sheba went in vnto the King into the chamber: and the king was very olde, and Abishag the Shunammite ministred vnto the king.
16And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeysance vnto the king: and the king said, What wouldest thou?
17And she said vnto him, My lord, thou swarest by the Lord thy God vnto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy sonne shall reigne after me, and he shall sit vpon my throne:
18And now behold, Adoniiah reigneth; and now my lord the king, thou knowest it not.
19And he hath slaine oxen, and fat cattell, and sheepe in abundance, and hath called all the sonnes of the king, and Abiathar the Priest, and Ioab the captaine of the hoste: but Solomon thy seruant hath he not called.
20And thou, my lord O king, the eyes of all Israel are vpon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21Otherwise it shall come to passe, when my lord the king shal sleepe with his fathers, that I and my sonne Solomon shall be counted offenders.
22¶ And loe, while shee yet talked with the king, Nathan the Prophet also came in.
23And they tolde the king, saying, Beholde Nathan the Prophet. And when hee was come in before the king, he bowed himselfe before the king with his face to the ground.
24And Nathan said, My lord O king, hast thou said, Adoniiah shall reigne after mee, and hee shall sit vpon my throne?
25For hee is gone downe this day, and hath slaine oxen, and fat cattel, and sheepe in abundance, and hath called all the kings sonnes, and the captaines of the host, and Abiathar the Priest: and behold, they eate and drinke before him, and say, God saue king Adoniiah.
26But me, euen me thy seruant, and Zadok the Priest, and Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, and thy seruant Solomon hath he not called.
27Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it vnto thy seruant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king, after him?
28¶ Then king Dauid answered, and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the kings presence, and stood before the king.
29And the king sware, and said, As the Lord liueth, that hath redeemed my soule out of all distresse,
30Euen as I sware vnto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy sonne shall reigne after me, and he shal sit vpon my throne in my stead; euen so wil I certainly doe this day.
31Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reuerence to the king, and said, Let my lord king Dauid liue for euer.
32¶ And king Dauid said, Call me Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet, and Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada. And they came before the king.
33The king also saide vnto them, Take with you the seruants of your lord, and cause Solomon my sonne to ride vpon mine owne mule, and bring him downe to Gihon.
34And let Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet, anoint him there King ouer Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God saue King Solomon.
35Then ye shall come vp after him, that hee may come and sit vpon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I haue appointed him to be ruler ouer Israel, and ouer Iudah.
36And Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada answered the King, and said, Amen: The Lord God of my lord the king say so too.
37As the Lord hath bene with my lord the King, euen so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater then the throne of my lord King Dauid.
38So Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet, and Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went downe, and caused Solomon to ride vpon King Dauids mule, and brought him to Gihon.
39And Zadok the Priest tooke an horne of oile out of the Tabernacle, and anointed Solomon: and they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, God saue King Solomon.
40And all the people came vp after him, and the people piped with pipes, and reioyced with great ioy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.
41¶ And Adoniiah and all the ghests that were with him, heard it as they had made an end of eating: and when Ioab heard the sound of the trumpet, hee said, Wherefore is this noise of the citie, being in an vproare?
42And while hee yet spake, behold, Ionathan the sonne of Abiathar the Priest came, and Adoniiah sayde vnto him, Come in, for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings.
43And Ionathan answered, and said to Adoniiah, Uerily our lorde king Dauid hath made Solomon king.
44And the king hath sent with him Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet, and Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they haue caused him to ride vpon the kings mule.
45And Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet haue anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come vp from thence reioycing, so that the citie rang againe: this is the noyse that yee haue heard.
46And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdome.
47And moreouer, the kings seruants came to blesse our lorde king Dauid, saying, God make the name of Solomon better then thy name, and make his throne greater then thy throne. And the king bowed himselfe vpon the bed.
48And also thus sayde the King, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which hath giuen one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes euen seeing it.
49And all the guests that were with Adoniiah, were afraid, and rose vp, and went euery man his way.
50¶ And Adoniiah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the hornes of the Altar.
51And it was tolde Solomon, saying, Behold, Adoniiah feareth King Solomon: for loe, he hath caught hold on the hornes of the Altar, saying, Let King Solomon sweare vnto mee to day, that hee will not slay his seruant with the sword.
52And Solomon sayd, If hee will shewe himselfe a worthy man, there shall not an haire of him fall to the earth: but if wickednesse shall be found in him, he shall die.
53So king Solomon sent, and they brought him downe from the Altar, and hee came and bowed himselfe to king Solomou: and Solomon sayde vnto him, Goe to thine house.
Chapter 2
1Now the dayes of Dauid drew nigh, that he should die, and he charged Solomon his sonne, saying;
2I goe the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thy selfe a man.
3And keepe the charge of the Lord thy God, to walke in his wayes, to keepe his Statutes, and his Commandements, & his Iudgements, and his Testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoeuer thou turnest thy selfe:
4That the Lord may continue his word which hee spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heede to their way, to walke before mee in trueth, with all their heart, and with all their soule, there shall not faile thee (sayd hee) a man on the throne of Israel.
5Moreouer thou knowest also what Ioab the sonne of Zeruiah did to mee, and what he did to the two captaines of the hostes of Israel, vnto Abner the sonne of Ner, and vnto Amasa the sonne of Iether, whom hee slewe, and shed the blood of warre in peace, and put the blood of warre vpon his girdle that was about his loynes, and in his shooes that were on his feet.
6Doe therefore according to thy wisedome, and let not his hoare head goe downe to the graue in peace.
7But shewe kindnesse vnto the sonnes of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eate at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.
8And behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the sonne of Gera, a Beniamite of Bahurim, which cursed mee with a grieuous curse, in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but hee came downe to meete me at Iordane, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
9Nowe therefore holde him not guiltlesse: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to doe vnto him, but his hoare head bring thou downe to the graue with blood.
10So Dauid slept with his fathers, and was buried in the citie of Dauid.
11And the dayes that Dauid raigned ouer Israel, were fourty yeeres: seuen yeeres raigned hee in Hebron, and thirty and three yeeres raigned hee in Ierusalem.
12¶ Then sate Solomon vpon the throne of Dauid his father, and his kingdome was established greatly.
13¶ And Adoniiah the sonne of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she said, Commest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.
14He said moreouer, I haue somewhat to say vnto thee. And she saide, Say on.
15And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdome was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should raigne: howbeit the kingdome is turned about, and is become my brothers: for it was his from the Lord.
16And now I aske one petition of thee, deny me not. And she saide vnto him, Say on.
17And hee saide, Speake, I pray thee, vnto Solomon the king (for hee will not say thee nay) that he giue me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.
18And Bathsheba said, Wel, I will speake for thee vnto the king.
19¶ Bathsheba therefore went vnto king Solomon, to speake vnto him for Adoniiah: and the king rose vp to meete her, and bowed himselfe vnto her, and sate downe on his throne, and caused a seate to bee set for the Kings mother, and she sate on his right hand.
20Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee, I pray thee say me not nay: and the King said vnto her, Aske on, my mother, for I will not say thee nay.
21And she saide, Let Abishag the Shunammite be giuen to Adoniiah thy brother to wife.
22And king Solomon answered, and said vnto his mother, And why doest thou aske Abishag the Shunammite for Adoniiah? Aske for him the kingdome also (for he is mine elder brother) euen for him, and for Abiathar the Priest, & for Ioab the sonne of Zeruiah.
23Then king Solomon sware by the Lord, saying, God doe so to me, and more also, if Adoniiah haue not spoken this word against his owne life.
24Now therefore as the Lord liueth, which hath established mee, and set mee on the throne of Dauid my father, and who hath made me an house as he promised, Adoniiah shall be put to death this day.
25And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, and he fell vpon him that he died.
26¶ And vnto Abiathar the Priest saide the King, Get thee to Anathoth, vnto thine own fields, for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the arke of the Lord God before Dauid my father, and because thou hast bene afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.
27So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from beeing Priest vnto the Lord: that hee might fulfill the word of the Lord, which hee spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28¶ Then tidings came to Ioab (for Ioab had turned after Adoniiah, though hee turned not after Absalom) and Ioab fled vnto the Tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold on the hornes of the Altar.
29And it was told king Solomon that Ioab was fled vnto the Tabernacle of the Lord, and behold, hee is by the Altar: Then Solomon sent Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, saying, Goe fall vpon him.
30And Benaiah came to the Tabernacle of the Lord, and said vnto him, Thus saith the king, Come foorth. And he said, Nay, but I will die heere. And Benaiah brought the king word againe, saying, Thus said Ioab, and thus he answered me.
31And the king saide vnto him, Doe as he hath said, and fall vpon him, and bury him, that thou mayest take away the innocent blood which Ioab shed, from mee, and from the house of my father.
32And the Lord shall returne his blood vpon his owne head, who fell vpon two men, more righteous and better then hee, and slew them with the sword, my father Dauid not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the sonne of Ner, captaine of the hoste of Israel, and Amasa the sonne of Iether, captaine of the hoste of Iudah.
33Their blood shall therefore returne vpon the head of Ioab, and vpon the head of his seed for euer: but vpon Dauid, and vpon his seede, and vpon his house, and vpon his throne, shall there bee peace for euer from the Lord.
34So Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada went vp, and fell vpon him, and slewe him, and hee was buried in his owne house in the wildernesse.
35¶ And the king put Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada in his roome ouer the hoste, and Zadok the Priest did the king put in the roume of Abiathar.
36¶ And the king sent, and called for Shimei, and said vnto him, Build thee an house in Ierusalem, and dwell there, and goe not forth thence any whither.
37For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, & passest ouer the brooke Kidron, thou shalt know for certaine, that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shal be vpon thine owne head.
38And Shimei said vnto the King, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy seruant doe. And Shimei dwelt in Ierusalem many dayes.
39And it came to passe at the end of three yeeres, that two of the seruants of Shimei ranne away vnto Achish sonne of Maachah king of Gath: and they told Shimei, saying, Beholde, thy seruants be in Gath.
40And Shimei arose, and sadled his asse, and went to Gath to Achish, to seeke his seruants: and Shimei went and brought his seruants from Gath.
41And it was told Solomon, that Shimei had gone from Ierusalem to Gath, and was come againe.
42And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said vnto him, Did I not make thee to sweare by the Lord, and protested vnto thee, saying, Know for a certaine, that on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? And thou saidest vnto me, The word that I haue heard, is good.
43Why then hast thou not kept the Oath of the Lord, and the commandement that I haue charged thee with?
44The king said moreuer to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickednesse which thine heart is priuie to, that thou diddest to Dauid my father: therefore the Lord shall returne thy wickednesse vpon thine owne head.
45And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of Dauid shall bee established before the Lord for euer.
46So the king commaunded Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, which went out, and fell vpon him, that he died, and the kingdome was established in the hand of Solomon.
Chapter 3
1And Solomon made affinitie with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and tooke Pharaohs daughter, and brought her into the citie of Dauid, vntill he had made an end of building his owne house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Ierusalem round about.
2Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built vnto the Name of the Lord vntill those dayes.
3And Solomon loued the Lord, walking in the statutes of Dauid his father: onely he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer vp on that Altar.
5¶ In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dreame by night: and God sayd, Aske what I shall giue thee.
6And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed vnto thy seruant Dauid my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in trueth, and in righteousnesse, and in vprightnesse of heart with thee, and thou hast kept for him this great kindnesse, that thou hast giuen him a sonne to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy seruant King in stead of Dauid my father: and I am but a litle childe: I know not how to goe out or come in.
8And thy seruant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbred, nor counted for multitude.
9Giue therefore thy seruant an understanding heart, to iudge thy people, that I may discerne betweene good and bad: for who is able to iudge this thy so great a people?
10And the speach pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11And God said vnto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thy selfe long life, neither hast asked riches for thy selfe, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thy selfe vnderstanding to discerne iudgement;
12Behold, I haue done according to thy word: loe, I haue giuen thee a wise and an vnderstanding heart, so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like vnto thee.
13And I haue also giuen thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the Kings like vnto thee, all thy dayes.
14And if thou wilt walke in my wayes, to keepe my Statutes and my Commandements, as thy father Dauid did walke, then I will lengthen thy dayes.
15And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dreame: and he came to Ierusalem, and stood before the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord, and offered vp burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his seruants.
16¶ Then came there two women that were harlots, vnto the king, and stood before him.
17And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house, and I was deliuered of a childe, with her in the house.
18And it came to passe the third day after that I was deliuered, that this woman was deliuered also: and wee were together; there was no stranger with vs in the house, saue we two in the house.
19And this womans childe died in the night: because she ouerlaid it.
20And shee arose at midnight, and tooke my sonne from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and layd it in her bosome, and layd her dead childe in my bosome.
21And when I rose in the morning to giue my childe sucke, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, beholde, it was not my sonne, which I did beare.
22And the other woman said, Nay, but the liuing is my sonne, and the dead is thy sonne: And this said, No, but the dead is thy sonne, and the liuing is my sonne. Thus they spake before the king.
23Then said the King, The one saith, This is my sonne, that liueth, and thy sonne is the dead: and the other saith Nay: but thy sonne is the dead, and my sonne is the liuing.
24And the King said, Bring mee a sword. And they brought a sword before the king:
25And the king said, Diuide the liuing childe in two, and giue halfe to the one, and halfe to the other.
26Then spake the woman whose the liuing childe was, vnto the king, (for her bowels yerned vpon her sonne) and she said, O my lord, giue her the liuing childe, and in no wise slay it: But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but diuide it.
27Then the King answered and said, Giue her the liuing child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
28And all Israel heard of the Iudgement which the king had iudged, and they feared the King: for they saw that the wisedome of God was in him, to doe Iudgement.
Chapter 4
1So King Solomon was king ouer all Israel.
2And these were the Princes which he had, Azariah the sonne of Zadok, the Priest,
3Elihoreph, and Ahiah the sonnes of Shisha, Scribes: Iehoshaphat the sonne of Ahilud the Recorder;
4And Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada was ouer the host: And Zadok and Abiathar were the Priests:
5And Azariah the sonne of Nathan was ouer the officers: and Zabud the sonne of Nathan was principall officer, and the kings friend.
6And Ahishar was ouer the houshold: and Adoniram the sonne of Abda was ouer the tribute.
7¶ And Solomon had twelue officers ouer all Israel, which prouided victuals for the king and his houshold: each man his moneth in a yeere made prouision.
8And these are their names: the sonne of Hur in mount Ephraim,
9The sonne of Dekar in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elon-Bethhanan.
10The sonne of Heseb in Aruboth, to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher;
11The sonne of Abinadab in all the region of Dor, which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
12Baana the sonne of Ahilud, to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Iezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-Meholah, euen vnto the place that is beyond Iokneam:
13The sonne of Geber in Ramoth Gilead, to him pertained the townes of Iair the sonne of Manasseh, which are in Gilead: to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities, with walles, and brasen barres.
14Ahinadab the sonne of Iddo had Mahanaim.
15Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also tooke Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife.
16Baanah the sonne of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:
17Iehoshaphat the sonne of Paruah in Issachar:
18Shimei the sonne of Elah in Beniamin:
19Geber the sonne of Uri was in the countrey of Gilead, in the countrey of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and hee was the onely officer which was in the land.
20¶ Iudah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merrie.
21And Solomon reigned ouer all kingdoms from the riuer vnto the land of the Philistines, and vnto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and serued Solomon all the dayes of his life.
22¶ And Solomons prouision for one day, was thirtie measures of fine floure, and threescore measures of meale,
23Ten fat oxen, and twentie oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheepe, beside Harts, and Roe-buckes, and fallow Deere, and fatted foule.
24For he had dominion ouer all the region on this side the Riuer, from Tiphsah euen to Azzah ouer all the kings on this side the Riuer: and he had peace on all sides round about him.
25And Iudah and Israel dwelt safely, euery man vnder his Uine, and vnder his Figtree, from Dan euen to Beer-sheba, all the dayes of Solomon.
26¶ And Solomon had fourtie thousand stalles of horses for his charets, and twelue thousand horsemen.
27And those officers prouided victuall for king Solomon, and for all that came vnto king Solomons table, euery man in his moneth: they lacked nothing.
28Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries, brought they vnto the place where the officers were, euery man according to his charge.
29¶ And God gaue Solomon wisdome, and vnderstanding, exceeding much, and largenesse of heart, euen as the sand that is on the sea shoare.
30And Solomons wisedome excelled the wisedome of all the children of the East countrey, and all the wisedome of Egypt.
31For hee was wiser then all men; then Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda the sonnes of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.
32And he spake three thousand prouerbes: and his songs were a thousand and fiue.
33And hee spake of trees, from the Cedar tree that is in Lebanon, euen vnto the Hyssope that springeth out of the wall: hee spake also of beasts, and of foule, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
34And there came of all people to heare the wisedome of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisedome.
Chapter 5
1And Hiram king of Tyre sent his seruants vnto Solomon: (for hee had heard that they had anointed him King in the roume of his father,) for Hiram was euer a louer of Dauid.
2And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
3Thou knowest how that Dauid my father could not build an house vnto the Name of the Lord his God, for the warres which were about him on euery side, vntill the Lord put them vnder the soles of his feet.
4But now the Lord my God hath giuen me rest on euery side, so that there is neither aduersary, nor euill occurrent.
5And behold, I purpose to build an house vnto the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake vnto Dauid my father, saying, Thy sonne, whom I will set vpon thy throne in thy roume, he shall build an house vnto my Name.
6Now therefore command thou, that they hew me Cedar trees out of Lebanon, and my seruants shall bee with thy seruants: and vnto thee will I giue hire for thy seruants, according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among vs, any that can skill to hew timber, like vnto the Sidonians.
7¶ And it came to passe when Hiram heard the wordes of Solomon, that hee reioyced greatly, and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath giuen vnto Dauid a wise sonne ouer this great people.
8And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I haue considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will doe all thy desire concerning timber of Cedar, and concerning timber of firre.
9My seruants shall bring them downe from Lebanon vnto the Sea: and I wil conuey them by sea in flotes, vnto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receiue them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giuing food for my houshold.
10So Hiram gaue Solomon Cedar trees, and Firre trees, according to all his desire.
11And Solomon gaue Hiram twentie thousand measures of wheate for food to his houshold, and twentie measures of pure oile: thus gaue Solomon to Hiram yeere by yeere.
12And the Lord gaue Solomon wisedome, as hee promised him: and there was peace betweene Hiram and Solomon, and they two made a league together.
13¶ And King Solomon raised a leuie out of all Israel, and the leuie was thirtie thousand men.
14And hee sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a moneth by courses: a moneth they were in Lebanon, and two moneths at home: and Adoniram was ouer the leuie.
15And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourescore thousand hewers in the mountaines:
16Besides the chiefe of Solomons officers which were ouer the worke, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled ouer the people that wrought in the worke.
17And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.
18And Solomons builders, and Hirams builders, did hewe them, and the stone-squarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
Chapter 6
1And it came to passe in the foure hundred and fourescore yeere after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth yere of Solomons reigne ouer Israel, in the moneth Zif, which is the second moneth, that he began to build the house of the Lord.
2And the house which king Solomon built for the Lord, the length thereof was threescore cubites, and the breadth thereof twentie cubits, and the height thereof thirtie cubites.
3And the porch before the Temple of the house: twentie cubites was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house, and tenne cubites was the breadth thereof before the house.
4And for the house he made windowes of narrow lights.
5¶ And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walles of the house round about, both of the Temple and of the Oracle: and hee made chambers round about.
6The nethermost chamber was fiue cubites broad, and the middle was sixe cubites broad, and the third was seuen cubites broad: for without in the wall of the house hee made narrowed rests round about, that the beames should not bee fastened in the walles of the house.
7And the house when it was in building, was built of stone, made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe, nor any toole of yron heard in the house, while it was in building.
8The doore for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went vp with winding staires into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.
9So he built the house and finished it: and couered the house with beams and boards of Cedar.
10And then hee built chambers against all the house, fiue cubites high: and they rested on the house with timber of Cedar.
11¶ And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying;
12Concerning this House which thou art in building, if thou wilt walke in my Statutes, and execute my Iudgments, and keepe all my Commandements to walke in them: then will I performe my word with thee, which I spake vnto Dauid thy father.
13And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.
14So Solomon built the house, and finished it.
15And hee built the walles of the house within with boards of Cedar, both the floore of the house, and the walles of the sieling: and hee couered them on the inside with wood, and couered the floore of the house with plankes of firre.
16And hee built twentie cubites on the sides of the house, both the floore, and the walles with boards of Cedar: he euen built them for it within, euen for the Oracle, euen for the most holy place.
17And the house, that is, the Temple before it, was fortie cubites long.
18And the Cedar of the house within was carued with knops, and open flowres: all was Cedar, there was no stone seene.
19And the Oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord.
20And the Oracle in the forepart, was twenty cubits in length and twentie cubites in breadth, and twentie cubites in the height thereof: and hee ouerlayd it with pure golde, and so couered the Altar which was of Cedar.
21So Solomon ouerlayd the house within with pure golde: and he made a partition, by the chaines of golde before the Oracle, and he ouerlaid it with gold.
22And the whole house he ouerlaid with golde vntill he had finished all the house: also the whole Altar that was by the Oracle he ouerlaide with golde.
23¶ And within the Oracle he made two Cherubims of Oliue tree, each ten cubites high.
24And fiue cubits was the one wing of the Cherub, and fiue cubits the other wing of the Cherub: from the vttermost part of the one wing, vnto the vttermost part of the other, were ten cubites.
25And the other Cherub was tenne cubites: both the Cherubims were of one measure, and one size.
26The height of the one Cherub was ten cubites, and so was it of the other Cherub.
27And he set the Cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched foorth the wings of the Cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other Cherub touched the other wall: & their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
28And he ouerlayd the Cherubims with golde.
29And he carued all the walles of the house round about with carued figures of Cherubims, and palme trees, and open flowers, within & without.
30And the floore of the house hee ouerlayed with gold, within and without.
31¶ And for the entring of the Oracle he made doores of Oliue tree: the lintell and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.
32The two doores also were of Oliue tree, and he carued vpon them caruings of Cherubims, and palme trees, and open flowers, and ouerlayd them with gold, and spread gold vpon the Cherubims, and vpon the palme trees.
33So also made hee for the doore of the Temple postes of Oliue tree a fourth part of the wall.
34And the two doores were of firre tree: the two leaues of the one doore were folding, and the two leaues of the other doore were folding.
35And he carued thereon Cherubims, and palme trees, and open flowers: and couered them with gold, fitted vpon the carued worke.
36¶ And hee built the inner Court with three rowes of hewed stone, and a row of Cedar beames.
37¶ In the fourth yeere was the foundation of the house of the Lord layd, in the moneth Zif.
38And in the eleuenth yeere in the moneth Bul (which is the eight moneth) was the house finished throughout all the parts therof, and according to all the fashion of it: So was he seuen yeeres in building it.
Chapter 7
1But Solomon was building his owne house thirteene yeres, and he finished all his house.
2¶ Hee built also the house of the forrest of Lebanon; the length thereof was a hundred cubites, and the breadth thereof fiftie cubites, and the height thereof thirtie cubites, vpon foure rowes of Cedar pillars, with Cedar beames vpon the pillars.
3And it was couered with Cedar aboue vpon the beames, that lay on fortie fiue pillars, fifteene in a row.
4And there were windowes in three rowes, and light was against light in three rankes.
5And all the doores and postes were square, with the windowes: and light was against light in three rankes.
6¶ And he made a porch of pillars, the length thereof was fiftie cubites, and the breadth thereof thirtie cubites: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars, and the thicke beame were before them.
7¶ Then hee made a porch for the throne where he might iudge, euen the porch of Iudgement: and it was couered with Cedar from one side of the floore to the other.
8¶ And his house where he dwelt, had another court within the porch, which was of the like worke: Solomon made also an house for Pharaohs daughter, ( whom he had taken to wife) like vnto this porch.
9All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with sawes, within and without, euen from the foundation vnto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.
10And the foundation was of costly stones, euen great stones; stones of ten cubites, and stones of eight cubites.
11And aboue were costly stones (after the measures of hewed stones) and Cedars.
12And the great court round about, was with three rowes of hewed stones, and a row of Cedar beames, both for the inner court of the house of the Lord, and for the porch of the house.
13¶ And king Solomon sent and fet Hiram out of Tyre.
14Hee was a widowes sonne of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brasse, and he was filled with wisedome, and vnderstanding, and cunning to worke all workes in brasse: and hee came to king Solomon, and wrought all his worke.
15For he cast two pillars of brasse of eighteene cubites high a piece: and a line of twelue cubites did compasse either of them about.
16And hee made two Chapiters of molten brasse, to set vpon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was fiue cubites, and the height of the other chapiter was fiue cubites:
17And nets of checker worke, and wreathes of chaine worke, for the chapiters which were vpon the top of the pillars: seuen for the one chapiter, and seuen for the other chapiter.
18And he made the pillars, and two rowes round about vpon the one networke, to couer the chapiters that were vpon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.
19And the chapiters that were vpon the top of the pillars, were of lillie worke in the porch, foure cubites.
20And the chapiters vpon the two pillars had pomegranates also, aboue, ouer against the belly which was by the networke: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rowes round about, vpon the other chapiter.
21And he set vp the pillars in the porch of the temple: and hee set vp the right pillar, and called the name therof Iachin: and he set vp the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.
22And vpon the top of the pillars was lillie worke: so was the worke of the pillars finished.
23¶ And he made a moulten Sea, ten cubites from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, & his height was fiue cubits: and a line of thirtie cubites did compasse it round about.
24And vnder the brimme of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubite, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rowes, when it was cast.
25It stood vpon twelue oxen, three looking toward the North, and three looking toward the West, and three looking toward the South, and three looking toward the East: and the Sea was set aboue vpon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.
26And it was an hand breadth thicke, and the brimme thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowres of lillies: it contained two thousand Baths.
27¶ And he made ten bases of brasse; foure cubites was the length of one base, and foure cubites the breadth thereof, and three cubites the height of it.
28And the worke of the bases was on this maner: they had borders, and the borders were betweene the ledges:
29And on the borders that were betweene the ledges were lyons, oxen, and Cherubims: and vpon the ledges there was a base aboue: and beneath the lyons and oxen were certaine additions made of thinne worke.
30And euery base had foure brasen wheeles, and plates of brasse: and the foure corners therof had vndersetters: vnder the lauer were vndersetters molten, at the side of euery addition.
31And the mouth of it within the chapiter, and aboue, was a cubite: but the mouth thereof was round after the worke of the base, a cubite and an halfe: and also vpon the mouth of it were grauings with their borders, foure square not round.
32And vnder the borders were foure wheeles: & the axletrees of the wheeles were ioyned to the base, and the height of a wheele was a cubite and halfe a cubite.
33And the worke of the wheeles was like the worke of a charet wheele: their axletrees and their naues, and their felloes, and their spokes were all molten.
34And there were foure vndersetters to the foure corners of one base: and the vndersetters were of the very base it selfe.
35And in the top of the base was there a round compasse of halfe a cubite high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof, and the borders thereof were of the same.
36For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graued Cherubims, lions, and palme trees, according to the proportion of euery one, and additions round about.
37After this maner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size.
38¶ Then made hee ten lauers of brasse: one lauer conteined fourtie baths: and euery lauer was foure cubites, and vpon euery one of the ten bases, one lauer.
39And he put fiue bases on the right side of the house, and fiue on the left side of the house: and he set the Sea on the right side of the house Eastward, ouer against the South.
40¶ And Hiram made the lauers, and the shouels, and the basons: So Hiram made an ende of doing all the worke that hee made King Solomon, for the house of the Lord.
41The two pillars, and the two bowles of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars: and the two networkes, to couer the two bowles of the chapiters which were vpon the top of the pillars:
42And foure hundred Pomegranates for the two networkes, euen two rowes of Pomegranates for one networke, to couer the two bowles of the chapiters that were vpon the pillars:
43And the ten bases, and ten lauers on the bases.
44And one Sea, and twelue oxen vnder the Sea.
45And the pots, and the shouels, and the basons: and all these vessels which Hiram made to King Solomon, for the house of the Lord, were of bright brasse.
46In the plaine of Iordane did the king cast them in the clay ground, betweene Succoth and Zarthan.
47And Solomon left all the vessels vnweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brasse found out.
48And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained vnto the house of the Lord: the Altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the Shewbread was:
49And the candlesticks of pure gold, fiue on the right side, and fiue on the left, before the Oracle, with the flowers, and the lampes, and the tongs of gold,
50And the boules, and the snuffers, and the basons, & the spoones, and the censers of pure gold: and the hindges of gold, both for the doores of the inner house the most Holy place, and for the doores of the house, to wit, of the temple.
51So was ended all the worke that king Solomon made for the house of the Lord: and Solomon brought in the things which Dauid his father had dedicated, euen the siluer, and the gold, & the vessels did he put among the treasures of the house of the Lord.
Chapter 8
1Then Solomon assembled the Elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chiefe of the fathers of the children of Israel, vnto king Solomon in Ierusalem, that they might bring vp the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord, out of the citie of Dauid, which is Zion.
2And all the men of Israel assembled themselues vnto king Solomon, at the feast, in the moneth Ethanim, which is the seuenth moneth.
3And all the Elders of Israel came, and the Priests tooke vp the Arke.
4And they brought vp the Arke of the Lord, and the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tabernacle, euen those did the Priests & the Leuites bring vp.
5And king Solomon, and all the Congregation of Israel, that were assembled vnto him, were with him before the Arke, sacrificing sheepe, and oxen, that could not bee told nor numbred for multitude.
6And the Priests brought in the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord vnto his place, into the Oracle of the house to the most holy place, euen vnder the wings of the Cherubims.
7For the Cherubims spread forth their two wings ouer the place of the Arke, and the Cherubims couered the Arke, and the staues thereof aboue.
8And they drew out the staues, that the ends of the staues were seene out in the Holy place before the Oracle, and they were not seene without: and there they are vnto this day.
9There was nothing in the Arke, saue the two Tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a Couenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
10And it came to passe when the Priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord;
11So that the Priests could not stand to minister, because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.
12¶ Then spake Solomon; The Lord said that hee would dwell in the thicke darkenesse.
13I haue surely built thee an house to dwel in, a setled place for thee to abide in for euer.
14And the King turned his face about, and blessed all the Congregation of Israel: (and all the Congregation of Israel stood.)
15And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth vnto Dauid my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying;
16Since the day that I brought foorth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no citie out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house that my Name might be therein; but I chose Dauid to be ouer my people Israel.
17And it was in the heart of Dauid my father, to builde an house for the Name of the Lord God of Israel.
18And the Lord sayd vnto Dauid my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house vnto my Name, thou diddest well that it was in thine heart.
19Neuerthelesse, thou shalt not build the house, but thy sonne that shall come foorth out of thy loynes, hee shall build the house vnto my Name.
20And the Lord hath perfourmed his word that he spake, and I am risen vp in the roume of Dauid my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and haue built an House for the Name of the Lord God of Israel.
21And I haue set there a place for the Arke, wherein is the Couenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
22¶ And Solomon stood before the Altar of the Lord, in the presence of all the Congregation of Israel, and spread foorth his handes toward heauen:
23And hee said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heauen aboue, or on earth beneath, who keepest couenant and mercy with thy seruants, that walke before thee with all their heart:
24Who hast kept with thy seruant Dauid my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
25Therefore now Lord God of Israel, keepe with thy seruant Dauid my father, that thou promisedst him, saying; There shall not faile thee a man in my sight to sit on the Throne of Israel; so that thy children take heede to their way, that they walke before me as thou hast walked before me:
26And now, O God of Israel, let thy worde (I pray thee) bee verified, which thou spakest vnto thy seruant Dauid my father.
27But will God indeede dwell on the earth? Behold, the heauen, and heauen of heauens cannot conteine thee: how much lesse this House that I haue builded?
28Yet haue thou respect vnto the prayer of thy seruant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken vnto the crie and to the prayer, which thy seruant prayeth before thee to day:
29That thine eyes may be open toward this house, night and day, euen toward the place of which thou hast said, My Name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken vnto the prayer which thy seruant shall make towards this place.
30And hearken thou to the supplication of thy seruant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place: and heare thou in heauen thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest, forgiue.
31¶ If any man trespasse against his neighbour, and an oath be laid vpon him to cause him to sweare, and the oath come before thine Altar in this house:
32Then heare thou in heauen, and doe, and iudge thy seruants, condemning the wicked to bring his way vpon his head, and iustifying the righteous, to giue him according to his righteousnesse.
33¶ When thy people Israel bee smitten downe before the enemie, because they haue sinned against thee, and shall turne againe to thee, and confesse thy Name, and pray, and make supplication vnto thee in this house:
34Then heare thou in heauen, and forgiue the sinne of thy people Israel, and bring them againe vnto the land, which thou gauest vnto their fathers.
35¶ When heauen is shut vp, and there is no raine, because they haue sinned against thee: if they pray towards this place, and confesse thy Name, and turne from their sinne, when thou afflictest them:
36Then heare thou in heauen, and forgiue the sinne of thy seruants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walke, and giue raine vpon thy land which thou hast giuen to thy people for an inheritance.
37¶ If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller: if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities, whatsoeuer plague, whatsoeuer sicknes there be;
38What prayer and supplication soeuer be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know euery man the plague of his owne heart, and spread forth his handes towards this house:
39Then heare thou in heauen thy dwelling place, and forgiue, and do, and giue to euery man according to his wayes, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, euen thou onely knowest the hearts of all the children of men,)
40That they may feare thee all the dayes that they liue, in the land which thou gauest vnto our fathers.
41Moreouer, concerning a stranger that is not of thy people Israel, but commeth out of a farre countrey, for thy Names sake;
42(For they shall heare of thy great Name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arme) when hee shall come and pray towards this house:
43Heare thou in heauen thy dwelling place, and doe according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy Name, to feare thee, as doe thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I haue builded, is called by thy Name.
44¶ If thy people goe out to battell against their enemie, whithersoeuer thou shalt send them, and shall pray vnto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I haue built for thy Name:
45Then heare thou in heauen their prayer & their supplication, and mainteine their cause.
46If they sinne against thee, ( for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliuer them to the enemy, so that they cary them away captiues, vnto the land of the enemy, farre or neere;
47Yet if they shall bethinke themselues, in the land whither they were caried captiues, and repent, and make supplication vnto thee in the land of them that caried them captiues, saying, Wee haue sinned, and haue done peruersly, we haue committed wickednes;
48And so returne vnto thee with all their heart, and with all their soule, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captiue, and pray vnto thee toward their land, which thou gauest vnto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I haue built for thy Name:
49Then heare thou their prayer and their supplication in heauen thy dwelling place, and mainteine their cause,
50And forgiue thy people that haue sinned against thee, and all their transgressions, wherein they haue transgressed against thee, and giue them compassion before them who caried them captiue, that they may haue compassion on them:
51For they bee thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest foorth out of Egypt, from the mids of the furnace of iron:
52That thine eyes may be open vnto the supplication of thy seruant, and vnto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken vnto them in all that they call for vnto thee.
53For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy seruant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
54And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication vnto the Lord, he arose from before the Altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees, with his handes spread vp to heauen.
55And he stood, and blessed all the Congregation of Israel, with a lowd voice, saying;
56Blessed be the Lord, that hath giuen rest vnto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his seruant.
57The Lord our God be with vs, as he was with our fathers: let him not leaue vs, nor forsake vs:
58That hee may encline our hearts vnto him, to walke in all his wayes, and to keepe his Commaundements, and his Statutes, and his Iudgements which hee commaunded our fathers.
59And let these my wordes wherewith I haue made supplication before the Lord, be nigh vnto the Lord our God, day and night, that hee maintaine the cause of his seruant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:
60That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God: and that there is none else.
61Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord your God, to walke in his Statutes, and to keepe his Commandements, as at this day.
62¶ And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.
63And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered vnto the Lord, two and twentie thousand oxen, and an hundred and twentie thousand sheepe: so the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.
64The same day did the king hallow the middle of the Court that was before the house of the Lord: for there hee offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen Altar that was before the Lord, was too little to receiue the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great Congregation, from the entring in of Hamath, vnto the riuer of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seuen dayes and seuen dayes, euen fourteene dayes.
66On the eight day he sent the people away: and they blessed the King, and went vnto their tents ioyfull, and glad of heart, for all the goodnesse that the Lord had done for Dauid his seruant, and for Israel his people.
Chapter 9
1And it came to passe, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the kings house, and all Solomons desire which hee was pleased to doe,
2That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as hee had appeared vnto him at Gibeon.
3And the Lord said vnto him, I haue heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before me: I haue hallowed this house which thou hast built, to put my Name there for euer, and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
4And if thou wilt walke before me, as Dauid thy father walked, in integritie of heart, and in vprightnesse, to doe according to all that I haue commanded thee, and wilt keepe my Statutes, and my Iudgements:
5Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdome vpon Israel for euer, as I promised to Dauid thy father, saying, There shall not faile thee a man vpon the throne of Israel.
6But if you shall at all turne from following me, you or your children, and will not keepe my Commandements, and my Statutes, which I haue set before you, but goe and serue other gods, and worship them:
7Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I haue giuen them; and this house which I haue hallowed for my Name, will I cast out of my sight, and Israel shall bee a prouerbe, and a by-word among all people:
8And at this house which is high, euery one that passeth by it, shalbe astonished, and shall hisse, and they shal say, Why hath the Lord done thus vnto this land, and to this house?
9And they shall answere, Because they forsooke the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and haue taken hold vpon other gods, and haue worshipped them, and serued them: therefore hath the Lord brought vpon them all this euill.
10¶ And it came to passe at the end of twentie yeeres, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the Kings house,
11(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with Cedar trees, and firre trees, and with golde according to al his desire) that then Solomon gaue Hiram twentie cities in the land of Galile.
12And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had giuen him, and they pleased him not.
13And he said, What cities are these which thou hast giuen me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul vnto this day.
14And Hiram sent to the king sixe score talents of gold.
15¶ And this is the reason of the leuie which king Solomon raised, for to build the house of the Lord, and his owne house, and Millo, and the wall of Ierusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
16For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone vp, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slaine the Canaanites that dwelt in the citie, and giuen it for a present vnto his daughter Solomons wife.
17And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether,
18And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wildernesse, in the land.
19And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his charets, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon disired to build in Ierusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittittes, Perizzites, Hiuites, and Iebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,
21Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able vtterly to destroy, vpon those did Solomon leuie a tribute of bond-seruice vnto this day.
22But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of warre, and his seruants, and his princes, and his captaines, and rulers of his charets, and his horsemen.
23These were the chiefe of the officers that were ouer Solomons worke, fiue hundred and fiftie, which bare rule ouer the people that wrought in the worke.
24¶ But Pharaohs daughter came vp out of the citie of Dauid, vnto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.
25¶ And three times in a yeere did Solomon offer burnt offerings, and peace offerings vpon the Altar which he built vnto the Lord, and he burnt incense vpon the altar that was before the Lord: so he finished the house.
26¶ And king Solomon made a nauie of ships in Ezion Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shoare of the red sea, in the land of Edom.
27And Hiram sent in the nauie his seruants, shipmen that had knowledge of the Sea, with the seruants of Solomon.
28And they came to Ophir, and fet from thence gold foure hundred and twentie talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
Chapter 10
1And when the Queene of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, concerning the Name of the Lord; shee came to prooue him with hard questions.
2And she came to Ierusalem with a very great traine, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when shee was come to Solomon, she communed with him, of all that was in her heart.
3And Solomon tolde her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which hee told her not.
4And when the Queene of Sheba had seene all Solomons wisedome, and the house that he had built,
5And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his seruants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparell, and his cup bearers, and his ascent by which hee went vp vnto the house of the Lord: there was no more spirit in her.
6And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine owne land, of thy actes and of thy wisedome.
7Howbeit, I beleeued not the words, vntill I came and mine eyes had seene it: and beholde, the halfe was not told me: thy wisedom and prosperitie exceedeth the fame which I heard.
8Happie are thy men, happy are these thy seruants, which stand continually before thee, and that heare thy wisedom.
9Blessed be the Lord thy God which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loued Israel for euer, therefore made he thee King, to doe iudgement and iustice.
10And she gaue the king an hundred and twentie talents of gold, and of spices very great store, & precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices, as these, which the Queene of Sheba gaue to king Solomon.
11And the nauie also of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir, great plentie of Almug trees, and precious stones.
12And the king made of the Almug trees, pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the Kings house, Harpes also and Psalteries for singers: there came no such Almug trees, nor were seene vnto this day.
13And king Solomon gaue vnto the Queene of Sheba, al her desire whatsoeuer she asked, besides that which Solomon gaue her of his royall bountie: so she turned and went to her owne countrey, she and her seruants.
14¶ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one yere, was sixe hundred, threescore & six talents of gold,
15Besides that he had of the merchant men, and of the traffique of the spicemerchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the gouernours of the countrey.
16¶ And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten golde: sixe hundred shekels of golde went to one target.
17And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold, three pound of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the house of the forrest of Lebanon.
18¶ Moreouer the king made a great throne of yuorie, and ouerlaide it with the best gold.
19The throne had sixe steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stayes on either side on the place of the seate, and two lyons stood beside the stayes.
20And twelue lions stood there on the one side and on the other vpon the sixe steps: there was not the like made in any kingdome.
21¶ And all king Solomons drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forrest of Lebanon were of pure gold, none were of siluer, it was nothing accounted of in the dayes of Solomon.
22For the king had at sea a nauie of Tharshish, with the nauie of Hiram: once in three yeeres came the nauie of Tharshish, bringing golde and siluer, yuorie, and apes, and peacocks.
23So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth, for riches and for wisedome.
24¶ And all the earth sought to Solomon, to heare his wisedom which God had put in his heart.
25And they brought euery man his present, vessels of siluer, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate yeere by yeere.
26¶ And Solomon gathered together charets and horsemen. And hee had a thousand and foure hundred charets, and twelue thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for charets, and with the king at Ierusalem.
27And the king made siluer to be in Ierusalem as stones, and Cedars made he to be as the Sycomore trees, that are in the vale for abundance.
28¶ And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarne: the kings merchants receiued the linen yarne at a price.
29And a charet came vp and went out of Egypt for sixe hundred shekels of siluer, and an horse for an hundred and fiftie: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their meanes.
Chapter 11
1But King Solomon loued many strange women, ( together with þe daughter of Pharaoh) women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians & Hittites:
2Of the nations concerning which the Lord said vnto the children of Israel, Yee shall not goe in to them, neither shall they come in vnto you, for surely they will turne away your heart after their gods: Solomon claue vnto these in loue.
3And he had seuen hundred wiues, Princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wiues turned away his heart.
4For it came to passe when Solomon was old, that his wiues turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of Dauid his father.
5For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddesse of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Amorites.
6And Solomon did euill in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did Dauid his father.
7Then did Solomon build an hie place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Ierusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.
8And likewise did hee for all his strange wiues, which burnt incense and sacrificed vnto their gods.
9¶ And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel which had appeared vnto him twise,
10And had commaunded him concerning this thing, that hee should not goe after other gods: but hee kept not that which the Lord commanded.
11Wherefore the Lord said vnto Solomon; Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my Couenant, and my Statutes which I haue commanded thee, I wil surely rend the kingdome from thee, and will giue it to thy seruant.
12Notwithstanding in thy dayes I wil not doe it, for Dauid thy fathers sake: but I wil rend it out of the hand of thy sonne.
13Howbeit, I wil not rend away all the kingdome: but wil giue one tribe to thy sonne, for Dauid my seruants sake, and for Ierusalems sake, which I haue chosen.
14¶ And the Lord stirred vp an aduersary vnto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: hee was of the kings seed in Edom.
15For it came to passe when Dauid was in Edom, and Ioab the captaine of the host was gone vp to bury the slaine, after he had smitten euery male in Edom:
16(For sixe moneths did Ioab remaine there with all Israel, vntil hee had cut off euery male in Edom.)
17That Hadad fled, he and certaine Edomites of his fathers seruants with him, to goe into Egypt: Hadad being yet a litle childe.
18And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran, and they tooke men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, vnto Pharaoh king of Egypt, which gaue him an house, and appointed him vitailes, and gaue him land.
19And Hadad found great fauour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gaue him to wife the sister of his owne wife, the sister of Tahpenes the Queene.
20And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his sonne, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaohs house: and Genubath was in Pharaohs houshold among the sonnes of Pharaoh.
21And when Hadad heard in Egypt that Dauid slept with his fathers, and that Ioab the captaine of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine owne countrey.
22Then Pharaoh said vnto him, But what hast thou lacked with mee, that, behold, thou seekest to goe to thine owne countrey? And hee answered, Nothing: Howbeit, let mee goe in any wise.
23¶ And God stirred him vp another aduersary: Rezon, the sonne of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:
24And he gathered men vnto him, and became captaine ouer a band, when Dauid slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus.
25And he was an aduersarie to Israel all the dayes of Solomon, beside the mischiefe that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned ouer Syria.
26¶ And Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomons seruant, (whose mothers name was Zeruah a widow woman) euen he lift vp his hand against the king.
27And this was the cause that hee lift vp his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the citie of Dauid his father.
28And the man Ieroboam was a mightie man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, hee made him ruler ouer all the charge of the house of Ioseph.
29And it came to passe at that time when Ieroboam went out of Ierusalem, that the Prophet Ahiiah the Shilonite found him in the way: and hee had clad himselfe with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field.
30And Ahiiah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelue pieces.
31And he said to Ieroboam, Take thee tenne pieces: for thus sayth the Lord the God of Israel, Behold, I will rent the kingdome out of the hand of Solomon, and will giue ten tribes to thee:
32(But hee shall haue one tribe, for my seruant Dauids sake, and for Ierusalems sake, the citie which I haue chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)
33Because that they haue forsaken mee, and haue worshipped Ashtaroth the goddesse of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Anunon, and haue not walked in my wayes, to doe that which is right in mine eyes, and to keepe my Statutes, and my Iudgements, as did Dauid his father.
34Howbeit, I will not take the whole kingdome out of his hand: but I will make him Prince all the dayes of his life, for Dauid my seruants sake, whom I chose, because hee kept my Commandements and my Statutes:
35But I will take the kingdome out of his sonnes hand, and will giue it vnto thee, euen ten tribes.
36And vnto his sonne will I giue one tribe, that Dauid my seruant may haue a light alway before me in Ierusalem, the citie which I haue chosen me to put my Name there.
37And I will take thee, and thou shalt reigne according to all that thy soule desireth, and shalt be King ouer Israel.
38And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken vnto all that I command thee, and wilt walke in my wayes, and doe that is right in my sight, to keepe my Statutes and my Commandements, as Dauid my seruant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for Dauid, and will giue Israel vnto thee.
39And I will for this afflict the seed of Dauid, but not for euer.
40Solomon sought therefore to kill Ieroboam, and Ieroboam arose, and fledde into Egypt, vnto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt vntill the death of Solomon.
41¶ And the rest of the actes of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisedome, are they not written in the booke of the actes of Solomon?
42And the time that Solomon reigned in Ierusalem, ouer all Israel, was fourtie yeeres.
43And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the citie of Dauid his father: and Rehoboam his sonne reigned in his stead.
Chapter 12
1And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
2And it came to passe when Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it (for hee was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Ieroboam dwelt in Egypt:)
3That they sent, and called him: and Ieroboam and all the Congregation of Israel came, and spake vnto Rehoboam, saying;
4Thy father made our yoke grieuous: now therefore, make thou the grieuous seruice of thy father, and his heauy yoke which he put vpon vs, lighter, and we will serue thee.
5And hee said vnto them, Depart yet for three daies, then come againe to me. And the people departed.
6¶ And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men that stood before Solomon his father, while he yet liued, and said, How doe you aduise, that I may answere this people?
7And they spake vnto him, saying, If thou wilt be a seruant vnto this people this day, and wilt serue them, and answere them, and speake good words to them, then they will be thy seruants for euer.
8But hee forsooke the counsell of the old men, which they had giuen him, and consulted with the yong men, that were growen vp with him, and which stood before him.
9And hee said vnto them, What counsell giue ye, that we may answere this people, who haue spoken to mee, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put vpon vs, lighter?
10And the young men that were growen vp with him, spake vnto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speake vnto this people that spake vnto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heauy, but make thou it lighter vnto vs; thus shalt thou say vnto them, My litle finger shall bee thicker then my fathers loynes.
11And now whereas my father did lade you with a heauy yoke, I wil adde to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whippes, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
12¶ So Ieroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me againe the third day.
13And the king answered the people roughly, and forsooke the old mens counsell that they gaue him:
14And spake to them after the counsell of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heauy, and I will adde to your yoke; my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
15Wherefore the king hearkened not vnto the people: for the cause was from the Lord, that hee might performe his saying, which the Lord spake by Ahiiah the Shilonite vnto Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat.
16¶ So when all Israel saw that the king hearkned not vnto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion haue we in Dauid? neither haue we inheritance in the sonne of Iesse: to your tents, O Israel: nowe see to thine owne house, Dauid. So Israel departed vnto their tents.
17But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Iudah, Rehoboam reigned ouer them.
18Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was ouer the tribute, and all Israel stoned him with stones that hee died: therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him vp to his charet, to flee to Ierusalem.
19So Israel rebelled against the house of Dauid vnto this day.
20And it came to passe when all Israel heard that Ieroboam was come againe, that they sent and called him vnto the Congregation, and made him king ouer all Israel: there was none that followed the house of Dauid, but the tribe of Iudah onely.
21¶ And when Rehoboam was come to Ierusalem, hee assembled all the house of Iudah, with the tribe of Beniamin, an hundred and fourescore thousand chosen men which were warriers, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdome againe to Rehoboam the sonne of Solomon.
22But the word of God came vnto Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,
23Speake vnto Rehoboam the sonne of Solomon king of Iudah, and vnto all the house of Iudah and Beniamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
24Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not goe vp, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: returne euery man to his house, for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord.
25¶ Then Ieroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein, and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
26And Ieroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdome returne to the house of Dauid:
27If this people goe vp, to doe sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Ierusalem, then shall the heart of this people turne againe vnto their lorde, euen vnto Rehoboam king of Iudah, and they shall kill mee, and goe againe to Rehoboam king of Iudah.
28Whereupon the king tooke counsell, and made two calues of gold, and said vnto them, It is too much for you to goe vp to Ierusalem: Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee vp out of the land of Egypt.
29And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
30And this thing became a sinne: for the people went to worship before the one, euen vnto Dan.
31And he made an house of hie places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sonnes of Leui.
32And Ieroboam ordeined a feast in the eight moneth, on the fifteenth day of the moneth, like vnto the feast that is in Iudah, and he offered vpon the altar (so did he in Bethel,) sacrificing vnto the calues that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
33So hee offered vpon the altar, which hee had made in Bethel, the fifteenth day of the eighth moneth, euen in the moneth which he had deuised of his owne heart: and ordeined a feast vnto the children of Israel, and he offered vpon the altar, and burnt incense.
Chapter 13
1And behold, there came a man of God out of Iudah by the word of the Lord vnto Bethel: and Ieroboam stood by the altar to burne incense.
2And hee cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, Behold, a child shalbe borne vnto the house of Dauid, Iosiah by name, and vpon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burne incense vpon thee, and mens bones shall bee burnt vpon thee.
3And he gaue a signe the same day, saying, This is the signe which the Lord hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are vpon it, shalbe powred out.
4And it came to passe when king Ieroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him: And his hand which hee put foorth against him, dried vp, so that hee could not pull it in againe to him.
5The altar also was rent, and the ashes powred out from the altar, according to the signe which the man of God had giuen by the word of the Lord.
6And the king answered, and said vnto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for mee, that my hand may be restored mee againe. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the kings hand was restored againe, and became as it was before.
7And the king said vnto the man of God, Come home with mee, and refresh thy selfe, and I wil giue thee a reward.
8And the man of God said vnto the king, If thou wilt giue mee halfe thine house, I will not goe in with thee, neither will I eat bread, nor drinke water in this place:
9For so was it charged mee by the word of the Lord, saying, Eate no bread, nor drinke water, nor turne again by the same way that thou camest.
10So he went another way, and returned not by the way that hee came to Bethel.
11¶ Now there dwelt an old Prophet in Bethel, and his sonne came and told him all the workes that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which hee had spoken vnto the king, them they tolde also to their father.
12And their father said vnto them, What way went he? for his sonnes had seene what way the man of God went, which came from Iudah.
13And hee saide vnto his sonnes, Saddle me the asse. So they sadled him the asse, and he rode thereon,
14And went after the man of God, and found him sitting vnder an oke; and he said vnto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Iudah? And he said, I am.
15Then hee said vnto him, Come home with me, and eate bread.
16And he said, I may not returne with thee, nor goe in with thee: neither will I eat bread, nor drinke water with thee in this place.
17For it was said to mee by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eate no bread, nor drinke water there, nor turne againe to go by the way that thou camest.
18He said vnto him, I am a prophet also as thou art, and an angel spake vnto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him backe with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread, and drinke water: But he lied vnto him.
19So he went backe with him, and did eate bread in his house, and dranke water.
20¶ And it came to passe as they sate at the table, that the word of the Lord came vnto the prophet that brought him backe:
21And he cried vnto the man of God that came from Iudah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeied the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandement which the Lord thy God commanded thee,
22But camest backe, and hast eaten bread, and drunke water, in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eate no bread, and drinke no water; thy carcaise shall not come vnto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
23¶ And it came to passe after he had eaten bread, and after hee had drunke, that he sadled for him the asse, to wit, for the Prophet, whome hee had brought backe.
24And when he was gone, a lyon met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcaise was cast in the way, and the asse stood by it, the lyon also stood by the carcaise.
25And beholde, men passed by, and saw the carcaise cast in the way, and the lyon standing by the carcaise: and they came and told it in the citie where the old prophet dwelt.
26And when the prophet that brought him back from the way, heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient vnto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath deliuered him vnto the lion, which hath torne him, and slaine him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake vnto him.
27And he spake to his sonnes, saying, Saddle me the asse: and they sadled him.
28And he went and found his carcaise cast in the way, and the asse and the lyon standing by the carcaise: the lyon had not eaten the carcaise, nor torne the asse.
29And the prophet tooke vp the carcaise of the man of God, and laid it vpon the asse, and brought it backe: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourne, and to burie him.
30And hee laid his carcaise in his owne graue, and they mourned ouer him, saying, Alas my brother.
31And it came to passe after hee had buried him, that he spake to his sonnes, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre, wherein the man of God is buried, lay my bones beside his bones.
32For the saying which hee cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to passe.
33¶ After this thing, Ieroboam returned not from his euill way, but made againe of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoeuer would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
34And this thing became sinne vnto the house of Ieroboam, euen to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
Chapter 14
1At that time Abiiah the sonne of Ieroboam fell sicke.
2And Ieroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thy selfe, that thou be not knowen to be the wife of Ieroboam: and get thee to Shiloh: Behold, there is Ahiiah the Prophet, which told mee that I should be king ouer this people.
3And take with thee ten loaues, and cracknels, and a cruse of honie, and goe to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the childe.
4And Ieroboams wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahiiah: but Ahiiah could not see, for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
5¶ And the Lord said vnto Ahiiah, Behold, the wife of Ieroboam commeth to aske a thing of thee for her sonne, for hee is sicke: thus and thus shalt thou say vnto her: for it shall be when shee commeth in, that shee shall faine her selfe to be another woman.
6And it was so, when Ahiiah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the doore, that hee said, Come in, thou wife of Ieroboam, why fainest thou thy selfe to be another? for I am sent to thee with heauie tidings.
7Goe, tell Ieroboam, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince ouer my people Israel,
8And rent the kingdome away from the house of Dauid, and gaue it thee: and yet thou hast not beene as my seruant Dauid, who kept my Commandements, and who followed mee with all his heart, to doe that onely which was right in mine eyes,
9But hast done euill aboue all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to prouoke me to anger, and hast cast me behinde thy backe:
10Therefore behold, I will bring euill vpon the house of Ieroboam, and will cut off from Ieroboam, him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut vp and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Ieroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
11Him that dieth of Ieroboam in the citie, shall the dogs eate: and him that dieth in the field, shall the foules of the aire eate: for the Lord hath spoken it.
12Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine owne house: and when thy feete enter into the citie, the child shall die.
13And all Israel shall mourne for him, and bury him: for he onely of Ieroboam shal come to the graue, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel, in the house of Ieroboam.
14Moreouer, the Lord shall raise him vp a king ouer Israel, who shal cut off the house of Ieroboam that day: but what? euen now.
15For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reede is shaken in the water, and hee shall root vp Israel out of this good land, which hee gaue to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the Riuer, because they haue made their groues, prouoking the Lord to anger.
16And hee shall giue Israel vp, because of the sinnes of Ieroboam, who did sinne, & who made Israel to sinne.
17¶ And Ieroboams wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when shee came to the threshold of the doore, the child died.
18And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which hee spake by the hand of his seruant Ahiiah the Prophet.
19And the rest of the actes of Ieroboam, how hee warred, and how hee reigned, behold, they are written in the booke of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
20And the dayes which Ieroboam reigned, were two and twentie yeeres: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his sonne reigned in his stead.
21¶ And Rehoboam the sonne of Solomon reigned in Iudah: Rehoboam was fourtie and one yeeres olde when he began to reigne, and hee reigned seuenteene yeeres in Ierusalem, the citie which the Lord did chuse out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his Name there: and his mothers name was Naamah an Ammonitesse.
22And Iudah did euill in the sight of the Lord, and they prouoked him to iealousie with their sinnes which they had committed, aboue all that their fathers had done.
23For they also built them high places, and images, and groues on euery high hill, and vnder euery greene tree.
24And there were also Sodomites in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
25¶ And it came to passe in the fift yeere of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came vp against Ierusalem:
26And he tooke away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the kings house, hee euen tooke away all: and he tooke away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
27And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them vnto the hands of the chiefe of the guard, which kept the doore of the kings house.
28And it was so, when the king went into the house of the Lord, that the guard bare them, and brought them backe into the guard-chamber.
29¶ Nowe the rest of the actes of Rehoboam, and all that hee did, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the kings of Iudah?
30And there was warre betweene Rehoboam and Ieroboam all their dayes.
31And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of Dauid: and his mothers name was Naamah an Ammonitesse. And Abijam his sonne reigned in his stead.
Chapter 15
1Nowe in the eighteenth yeere of king Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, reigned Abiiam ouer Iudah.
2Three yeeres reigned hee in Ierusalem: and his mothers name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
3And he walked in all the sinnes of his father, which hee had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of Dauid his father.
4Neuerthelesse, for Dauids sake did the Lord his God giue him a lampe in Ierusalem, to set vp his sonne after him, and to establish Ierusalem:
5Because Dauid did that which was right in the eies of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the daies of his life, saue onely in the matter of Uriiah the Hittite.
6And there was warre betweene Rehoboam and Ieroboam all the dayes of his life.
7Now the rest of the actes of Abiiam, and all that hee did, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Iudah? And there was warre betweene Abiiam and Ieroboam.
8And Abiiam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the citie of Dauid: and Asa his sonne reigned in his stead.
9¶ And in the twentieth yeere of Ieroboam king of Israel, reigned Asa ouer Iudah.
10And forty and one yeeres reigned hee in Ierusalem: and his mothers name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
11And Asa did that which was right in the eies of the Lord, as did Dauid his father.
12And hee tooke away the Sodomites out of the land, and remooued all the idoles that his fathers had made.
13And also Maachah his mother, euen her hee remoued from being Queene, because she had made an idole in a groue, and Asa destroyed her idole, and burnt it by the brooke Kidron.
14But the high places were not remooued: neuerthelesse, Asa his heart was perfect with the Lord all his dayes.
15And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himselfe had dedicated, into the house of the Lord, siluer, and gold, and vessels.
16¶ And there was war betweene Asa and Baasha King of Israel all their dayes.
17And Baasha king of Israel went vp against Iudah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to goe out or come in to Asa king of Iudah.
18Then Asa tooke all the siluer and the golde that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the kings house, and deliuered them into the hand of his seruants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad the sonne of Tabrimon, the sonne of Hezion king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
19There is a league betweene me and thee, and betweene my father and thy father: behold, I haue sent vnto thee a present of siluer and gold; come and breake the league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
20So Benhadad hearkened vnto king Asa, and sent the captaines of the hosts, which he had, against the cities of Israel, and smote Iion, and Dan, and Abel-Bethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
21And it came to passe when Baasha heard thereof, that hee left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.
22Then king Asa made a Proclamation throughout all Iudah, (none was exempted:) and they tooke away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof wherewith Baasha had builded, and king Asa built with them Geba of Beniamin, and Mizpah.
23The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which hee built, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Iudah? Neuerthelesse in the time of his old age, hee was diseased in his feete.
24And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers, in the citie of Dauid his father: and Iehoshaphat his sonne reigned in his stead.
25¶ And Nadab the sonne of Ieroboam began to reigne ouer Israel, in the second yeere of Asa king of Iudah, and reigned ouer Israel two yeeres.
26And he did euill in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sinne wherewith hee made Israel to sinne.
27¶ And Baasha the sonne of Ahiiah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him, and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belongeth to the Philistines, (for Nadab and all Israel layd siege to Gibbethon,)
28Euen in the third yeere of Asa king of Iudah, did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead.
29And it came to passe when hee raigned, that he smote all the house Ieroboam, hee left not to Ieroboam any that breathed, vntill hee had destroyed him, according vnto the saying of the Lord, which hee spake by his seruant Ahiiah the Shilonite:
30Because of the sinnes of Ieroboam which he sinned, and which hee made Israel sinne, by his prouocation wherewith he prouoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.
31¶ Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that hee did, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
32And there was warre betweene Asa and Baasha king of Israel al their dayes.
33In the third yeere of Asa King of Iudah, began Baasha the sonne of Ahiiah to reigne ouer all Israel in Tirzah, twentie and foure yeeres.
34And hee did euill in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Ieroboam, and in his sinne wherewith he made Israel to sinne.
Chapter 16
1Then the word of the Lord came to Iehu the sonne of Hanani, against Baasha, saying,
2Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee Prince ouer my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Ieroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sinne, to prouoke mee to anger with their sinnes:
3Behold, I will take away the posteritie of Baasha, and the posteritie of his house: and will make thy house like the house of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat.
4Him that dieth of Baasha in the citie, shall the dogs eate: and him that dieth of his in the fields, shall the foules of the aire eate.
5Now the rest of the actes of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
6So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah, and Elah his sonne reigned in his stead.
7And also by the hand of the prophet Iehu the sonne of Hanani, came the word of the Lord against Baasha, and against his house, euen for all the euill that hee did in the sight of the Lord, in prouoking him to anger with the worke of his hands, in being like the house of Ieroboam, and because he killed him.
8¶ In the twentieth and sixt yeere of Asa king of Iudah, began Elah the sonne of Baasha to reigne ouer Israel in Tirzah, two yeeres.
9And his seruant Zimri (captaine of halfe his charets) conspired against him as he was in Tirzah drinking himselfe drunke in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
10And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twentie and seuenth yeere of Asa king of Iudah, and reigned in his stead.
11¶ And it came to passe when hee began to reigne, assoone as hee sate on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: hee left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolkes, nor of his friends.
12Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake against Baasha by Iehu the prophet,
13For all the sinnes of Baasha and the sinnes of Elah his sonne, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sinne, in prouoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
14Now the rest of the actes of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
15¶ In the twentie and seuenth yeere of Asa king of Iudah, did Zimri reigne seuen dayes in Tirzah: and the people were encamped against Gibbethon which belonged to the Philistines.
16And the people that were encamped, heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slaine the king: Wherfore all Israel made Omri the captaine of the hoste, king ouer Israel that day, in the campe.
17And Omri went vp from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.
18And it came to passe when Zimri saw that the citie was taken, that hee went into the palace of the kings house, and burnt the kings house ouer him with fire, and died,
19For his sinnes which he sinned in doing euill in the sight of the Lord, in walking in the way of Ieroboam, and in his sinne which he did, to make Israel sinne.
20Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that hee wrought, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
21¶ Then were the people of Israel diuided into two parts: halfe of the people followed Tibni the sonne of Ginath, to make him king: and halfe followed Omri.
22But the people that followed Omri preuailed against the people that followed Tibni the sonne of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.
23¶ In the thirtie and one yeere of Asa king of Iudah, began Omri to reigne ouer Israel twelue yeeres: sixe yeeres reigned he in Tirzah.
24And hee bought the hill Samaria of Shemer, for two talents of siluer, and built on the hill, and called the name of the citie which hee built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.
25¶ But Omri wrought euil in the eyes of the Lord, and did worse then all that were before him.
26For he walked in all the way of Ieroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sinne wherewith hee made Israel to sinne, to prouoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
27Now the rest of the acts of Omri, which he did, and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
28So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his sonne reigned in his stead.
29¶ And in the thirtie and eight yeere of Asa king of Iudah, began Ahab the sonne of Omri to reigne ouer Israel, and Ahab the sonne of Omri reigned ouer Israel in Samaria, twentie and two yeeres.
30And Ahab the sonne of Omri did euill in the sight of the Lord, aboue all that were before him.
31And it came to passe, as if it had beene a light thing for him to walke in the sinnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat; that hee tooke to wife Iezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and serued Baal, and worshipped him.
32And hee reared vp an Altar for Baal, in the house of Baal, which hee had built in Samaria.
33And Ahab made a groue, and Ahab did more to prouoke the Lord God of Israel to anger, then all the kings of Israel that were before him.
34¶ In his dayes did Hiel the Bethelite build Iericho: he laid the foundation therof in Abiram his first borne, and set vp the gates thereof in his yongest sonne Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which hee spake by Ioshua the sonne of Nun.
Chapter 17
1And Eliiah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said vnto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liueth, before whome I stand, there shall not be deaw nor raine these yeres, but according to my word.
2And the worde of the Lord came vnto him, saying,
3Get thee hence, and turne thee Eastward, and hide thy selfe by the brooke Cherith, that is before Iordane.
4And it shall bee, that thou shalt drinke of the brooke, and I haue commanded the rauens to feed thee there.
5So hee went, and did according vnto the word of the Lord: for hee went and dwelt by the brooke Cherith, that is before Iordane.
6And the rauens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the euening: and hee dranke of the brooke.
7And it came to passe after a while, that the brooke dryed vp, because there had beene no raine in the land.
8¶ And the word of the Lord came vnto him, saying,
9Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I haue commaunded a widow woman there to sustaine thee.
10So he arose, and went to Zarephath: and when he came to the gate of the citie, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of stickes: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessell, that I may drinke.
11And as shee was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring mee, I pray thee, a morsell of bread in thine hand.
12And she said, As the Lord thy God liueth, I haue not a cake, but an handfull of meale in a barrell, and a little oyle in a cruse: and behold, I am gathering two stickes, that I may goe in, and dresse it for me and my sonne, that we may eate it, and die.
13And Eliiah said vnto her, Feare not, goe, and doe as thou hast said: but make mee thereof a little cake first, and bring it vnto mee, and after make for thee, and for thy sonne.
14For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrell of meale shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oile faile, vntill the day that the Lord sendeth raine vpon the earth.
15And shee went, and did according to the saying of Eliiah: and she, and he, and her house did eate many dayes.
16And the barrell of meale wasted not, neither did the cruse of oyle faile, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Eliiah.
17¶ And it came to passe after these things, that the sonne of the woman, the mistresse of the house, fell sicke, and his sickenesse was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.
18And shee sayd vnto Eliiah, What haue I to doe with thee? O thou man of God! Art thou come vnto me to call my sinne to remembrance, and to slay my sonne?
19And he said vnto her, Giue me thy sonne. And he tooke him out of her bosome, and caried him vp into a loft, where he abode, and laide him vpon his owne bed.
20And hee cried vnto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought euill vpon the widow, with whom I soiourne, by slaying her sonne?
21And he stretched himselfe vpon the child three times, and cried vnto the Lord, and said; O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this childes soule come into him againe.
22And the Lord heard the voice of Eliiah, and the soule of the child came into him againe, and he reuiued.
23And Eliiah tooke the childe, and brought him downe out of the chamber into the house, and deliuered him vnto his mother: and Eliiah said, See, thy sonne liueth.
24¶ And the woman said to Eliiah, Now by this I know, that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is trueth.
Chapter 18
1And it came to passe after many daies, that the word of the Lord came to Eliiah in the third yeere, saying, Goe shewe thy selfe vnto Ahab, and I will send raine vpon the earth.
2And Eliiah went to shew himselfe vnto Ahab, and there was a sore famine in Samaria.
3And Ahab called Obadiah which was the gouernour of his house: (now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:
4For it was so, when Iezebel cut off the Prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah tooke an hundred Prophets, and hid them by fiftie in a caue, and fed them with bread and water.)
5And Ahab said vnto Obadiah, Goe into the land, vnto all fountaines of water, and vnto all brookes: peraduenture we may finde grasse to saue the horses and mules aliue, that we leese not all the beasts.
6So they diuided the land betweene them to passe throughout it: Ahab went one way by himselfe, and Obadiah went another way by himselfe.
7¶ And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Eliiah met him: and hee knew him, and fell on his face, and said; Art thou that my lord Eliiah?
8And he answered him, I am: goe, tell thy lord, Behold, Eliiah is here.
9And he said, What haue I sinned, that thou wouldest deliuer thy seruant into the hand of Ahab, to slay mee?
10As the Lord thy God liueth, there is no nation or kingdome, whither my lord hath not sent to seeke thee: and when they said, He is not there, hee tooke an oath of the kingdome and nation, that they found thee not.
11And now thou sayest, Goe, tell thy lord, Behold, Eliiah is here.
12And it shall come to passe, as soone as I am gone from thee, that the spirit of the Lord shall cary thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot finde thee, he shall slay mee: but I thy seruant feare the Lord from my youth.
13Was it not told my lord, what I did when Iezebel slew the Prophets of the Lord ? How I hid an hundred men of the Lords Prophets, by fiftie in a caue, and fedde them with bread and water?
14And now thou sayest, Goe, tell thy lord, Behold, Eliiah is here: and hee shall slay me.
15And Eliiah said, As the Lord of hostes liueth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew my selfe vnto him to day.
16So Obadiah went to meete Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meete Eliiah.
17¶ And it came to passe when Ahab saw Eliiah, that Ahab saide vnto him, Art thou hee that troubleth Israel?
18And hee answered, I haue not troubled Israel, but thou and thy fathers house, in that yee haue forsaken the Commandements of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.
19Now therefore send, and gather to mee all Israel vnto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal foure hundred and fiftie, and the prophets of the groues foure hundred, which eate at Iezebels table.
20So Ahab sent vnto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together vnto mount Carmel.
21And Eliiah came vnto all the people, and said, how long halt yee betweene two opinions? If the Lord bee God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him: and the people answered him not a word.
22Then said Eliiah vnto the people, I, euen I onely remaine a Prophet of the Lord: but Baals prophets are foure hundred and fiftie men.
23Let them therefore giue vs two bullocks, and let them chuse one bullocke for themselues, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire vnder: and I will dresse the other bullocke, and lay it on wood, and put no fire vnder.
24And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the Name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered, and said, It is well spoken.
25And Eliiah said vnto the prophets of Baal, Chuse you one bullocke for your selues, and dresse it first, for yee are many: and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire vnder.
26And they took the bullocke which was giuen them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning, euen vntil noone, saying, O Baal, heare vs. But there was no voyce, nor any that answered: And they leapt vpon the altar which was made.
27And it came to passe at noone, that Eliiah mocked them, and saide, Crie aloud: for he is a god, either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or hee is in a iourney, or peraduenture he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28And they cried loud, and cut themselues after their maner, with kniues, and lancers, till the blood gushed out vpon them.
29And it came to passe when midday was past, and they prophesied vntil the time of the offering of the euening sacrifice; that there was neither voice, nor any to answere, nor any that regarded.
30And Eliiah said vnto all the people, Come neere vnto me. And all the people came neere vnto him. And he repaired the Altar of the Lord that was broken downe.
31And Eliiah tooke twelue stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sonnes of Iacob, vnto whome the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall bee thy name.
32And with the stones hee built an altar in the Name of the Lord, and hee made a trench about the altar, as great as would containe two measures of seed.
33And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullocke in pieces, and laide him on the wood, and said, Fill foure barrels with water, and powre it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34And hee said, Doe it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Doe it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35And the water ran round about the altar, and hee filled the trench also with water.
36And it came to passe at the time of the offering of the euening sacrifice, that Eliiah the prophet came neere and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, Let it bee knowen this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy seruant, and that I haue done all these things at thy word.
37Heare me, O Lord, heare me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart backe againe.
38Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked vp the water that was in the trench.
39And when all the people sawe it, they fell on their faces: and they saide, The Lord, he is the God, the Lord, he is the God.
40And Eliiah saide vnto them, Take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them escape: And they tooke them, and Eliiah brought them downe to the brooke Kishon, and slewe them there.
41¶ And Eliiah said vnto Ahab, Get thee vp, eate and drinke, for there is a sound of abundance of raine.
42So Ahab went vp to eate and to drinke, and Eliiah went vp to the top of Carmel, and he cast himselfe downe vpon the earth, and put his face betweene his knees,
43And said to his seruant, Goe vp now, looke toward the Sea. And hee went vp, and looked, and saide, There is nothing. And he said, Goe againe seuen times.
44And it came to passe at the seuenth time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the Sea, like a mans hand. And he said, Goe vp, say vnto Ahab, Prepare thy charet, and get thee downe, that the raine stop thee not.
45And it came to passe in the meane while, that the heauen was blacke with cloudes and winde, and there was a great raine: and Ahab rode and went to Iezreel.
46And the hand of the Lord was on Eliiah; and hee girded vp his loynes, and ranne before Ahab, to the entrance of Iezreel.
Chapter 19
1And Ahab told Iezebel all that Eliiah had done, and withall, how hee had slaine all the Prophets with the sword.
2Then Iezebel sent a messenger vnto Eliiah, saying; So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them, by to morrow about this time.
3And when he saw that, hee arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Iudah, and left his seruant there.
4¶ But he himselfe went a dayes iourney into the wildernesse, and came and sate downe vnder a Iuniper tree: and hee requested for himselfe that hee might die, and sayd, It is enough, now O Lord, take away my life: for I am not better then my fathers.
5And as hee lay and slept vnder a Iuniper tree, behold then, an Angel touched him, and sayd vnto him, Arise, and eate.
6And he looked, and behold, there was a cake baken on the coales, and a cruse of water at his head: and hee did eate and drinke, and laide him downe againe.
7And the Angel of the Lord came againe the second time, and touched him, and sayd, Arise, and eate, because the iourney is too great for thee.
8And hee arose, and did eate and drinke, and went in the strength of that meate fourtie dayes and fourtie nights, vnto Horeb the mount of God.
9¶ And he came thither vnto a caue, and lodged there, and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said vnto him, What doest thou here, Eliiah?
10And hee sayd, I haue beene very iealous for the Lord God of hostes: for the children of Israel haue forsaken thy Couenant, throwen downe thine Altars, and slaine thy Prophets with the sword: and I, euen I onely am left, and they seeke my life, to take it away.
11And he sayd, Goe forth, and stand vpon the mount before the Lord. And beholde, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong winde rent the mountaines, and brake in pieces the rockes, before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the winde: and after the winde an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
12And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire, a still small voice.
13And it was so, when Eliiah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entring in of the caue: and behold, there came a voice vnto him, and sayd, What doest thou here, Eliiah?
14And he sayd, I haue beene very iealous for the Lord God of hostes, because the children of Israel haue forsaken thy Couenant, throwen downe thine Altars, and slaine thy Prophets with the sword, and I, euen I onely am left, and they seeke my life, to take it away.
15And the Lord sayd vnto him, Goe, returne on thy way to the wildernesse of Damascus: and when thou commest, anoint Hazael to be King ouer Syria.
16And Iehu the sonne of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to bee king ouer Israel: and Elisha the sonne of Shaphat of Abel Meholah, shalt thou annoint to be Prophet in thy roume.
17And it shall come to passe, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael, shall Iehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Iehu, shall Elisha slay.
18Yet I haue left me seuen thousand in Israel, all the knees which haue not bowed vnto Baal, and euery mouth which hath not kissed him.
19¶ So hee departed thence and found Elisha the sonne of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelue yoke of oxen before him, and hee with the twelfth: and Eliiah passed by him, and cast his mantle vpon him.
20And he left the oxen, and ranne after Eliiah, and said, Let mee, I pray thee, kisse my father and my mother, and then I wil follow thee: and he said vnto him, Goe backe againe; for what haue I done to thee?
21And he returned backe from him, and tooke a yoke of oxen, & slew them, and boyled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gaue vnto the people, and they did eat: then he arose, and went after Eliiah, and ministred vnto him.
Chapter 20
1And Benhadad the King of Syria gathered all his hoste together, and there were thirtie and two kings with him, and horses, and charets: and hee went vp and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.
2And hee sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and saide vnto him, Thus saith Benhadad,
3Thy siluer and thy gold is mine, thy wiues also, and thy children, euen the goodliest, are mine.
4And the king of Israel answered, and said, My lord O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I haue.
5And the messengers came againe, and saide, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, Although I haue sent vnto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliuer me thy siluer, and thy gold, and thy wiues, and thy children:
6Yet I will send my seruants vnto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy seruants; and it shall be, that whatsoeuer is pleasant in thine eies, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
7Then the king of Israel called all the Elders of the land, and saide; Marke, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischiefe: for hee sent vnto me for my wiues, and for my children, and for my siluer, and for my gold, and I denied him not.
8And all the Elders, and all the people said vnto him; Hearken not vnto him, nor consent.
9Wherefore hee said vnto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou diddest send for to thy seruant at the first, I will doe: but this thing I may not doe. And the messengers departed, and brought him word againe.
10And Benhadad sent vnto him, and said, The gods doe so vnto me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
11And the king of Israel answered, and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harnesse, boast himselfe, as he that putteth it off.
12And it came to passe, when Benhadad heard this message (as hee was drinking, he and the kings in the pauilions) that hee said vnto his seruants, Set yourselues in aray. And they set themselues in aray against the citie.
13¶ And behold, there came a Prophet vnto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seene all this great multitude? behold, I will deliuer it into thine hand this day, and thou shalt knowe that I am the Lord.
14And Ahab saide, By whom? and he saide, Thus saith the Lord, Euen by the young men of the Princes of the prouinces: Then he said, Who shall order the battell? And hee answered, Thou.
15Then he numbred the young men of the Princes of the prouinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them hee numbred all the people, euen all the children of Israel, being seuen thousand.
16And they went out at noone: But Benhadad was drinking himselfe drunke in the pauilions, hee and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
17And the young men of the Princes of the Prouinces went out first, and Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.
18And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them aliue: or whether they be come out for warre, take them aliue.
19So these yong men of the princes of the prouinces, came out of the citie, and the armie which followed them:
20And they slew euery one his man: and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse, with the horsemen.
21And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and charets, and slewe the Syrians with a great slaughter.
22¶ And the Prophet came to the king of Israel, and said vnto him, Goe, strengthen thy selfe, and marke and see what thou doest: for at the returne of the yeere, the king of Syria will come vp against thee.
23And the seruants of the King of Syria said vnto him, Their gods are gods of the hilles, therefore they were stronger then wee: but let vs fight against them in the plaine, and surely we shall be stronger then they.
24And doe this thing, Take the kings away, euery man out of his place, and put captaines in their roumes.
25And number thee an armie, like the armie that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and charet for charet: and wee will fight against them in the plaine, and surely wee shall be stronger then they. And hee hearkened vnto their voice, and did so.
26And it came to passe at the returne of the yeere, that Benhadad numbred the Syrians, and went vp to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
27And the children of Israel were numbred, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them, like two little flockes of kids: but the Syrians filled the countrey.
28¶ And there came a man of God, and spake vnto the king of Israel, and sayd, Thus sayth the Lord, Because the Syrians haue sayde, The Lord is God of the hilles, but hee is not God of the valleys: therefore will I deliuer all this great multitude into thine hand, and yee shall know that I am the Lord.
29And they pitched one ouer against the other seuen daies, and so it was, that in the seuenth day the battell was ioyned: and the children of Israel slewe of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30But the rest fled to Aphek, into the citie, and there a wall fell vpon twentie and seuen thousand of the men that were left: and Benhadad fled, and came into the citie, into an inner chamber.
31¶ And his seruants said vnto him, Behold now, wee haue heard that the kings of the house of Israel are mercifull kings: let vs, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loines, and ropes vpon our heads, and goe out to the king of Israel; peraduenture he will saue thy life.
32So they girded sackcloth on their loynes, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy seruant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me liue. And he said, Is he yet aliue? he is my brother.
33Now the men did diligently obserue whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they saide, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Goe ye, bring him: then Benhadad came forth to him: and hee caused him to come vp into the charet.
34And Benhadad said vnto him, The cities which my father tooke from thy father, I will restore, and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then, said Ahab, I will send thee away with this couenant. So he made a couenant with him, and sent him away.
35¶ And a certaine man of the sonnes of the Prophets, saide vnto his neighbour in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.
36Then said he vnto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voyce of the Lord, beholde, assoone as thou art departed from me, a lyon shal slay thee. And assoone as hee was departed from him, a lyon found him, and slew him.
37Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting hee wounded him.
38So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himselfe with ashes vpon his face.
39And as the king passed by, he cried vnto the king: and he saide, Thy seruant went out into the mids of the battell, and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man vnto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any meanes he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of siluer.
40And as thy seruant was busie here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel saide vnto him, So shall thy iudgement bee, thy selfe hast discided it.
41And he hasted, and tooke the ashes away from his face, and the king of Israel discerned him that hee was of the Prophets.
42And hee said vnto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let goe out of thy hand, a man whom I appointed to vtter destruction, therfore thy life shall goe for his life, and thy people for his people.
43And the king of Israel went to his house, heauie, and displeased, and came to Samaria.
Chapter 21
1And it came to passe after these things, that Naboth the Iezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Iezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
2And Ahab spake vnto Naboth, saying, Giue me thy vineyard, that I may haue it for a garden of herbes, because it is neere vnto my house, and I will giue thee for it a better vineyard then it: or if it seeme good to thee, I will giue thee the worth of it in money.
3And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it mee, that I should giue the inheritance of my fathers vnto thee.
4And Ahab came into his house, heauie, and displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Iezreelite had spoken to him: for he had saide, I will not giue thee the inheritance of my fathers: and he laid him downe vpon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eate no bread.
5¶ But Iezebel his wife came to him, and said vnto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
6And he said vnto her, Because I spake vnto Naboth the Iezreelite, and said vnto him, Giue mee thy vineyard for money, or else if it please thee, I will giue thee another vineyard for it: And he answered, I wil not giue thee my vineyard.
7And Iezebel his wife saide vnto him, Doest thou now gouerne the kingdome of Israel? Arise, and eate bread, and let thine heart bee merrie: I will giue thee the vineyard of Naboth the Iezreelite.
8So shee wrote letters in Ahabs name, and sealed them with his seale, and sent the letters vnto the Elders, and to the Nobles that were in his citie dwelling with Naboth.
9And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaime a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
10And set two men, sonnes of Belial before him, to beare witnes against him, saying, Thou diddest blaspheme God and the king: and then carie him out, and stone him that he may die.
11And the men of his citie, euen the Elders and the Nobles who were the inhabitants in his citie, did as Iezebel had sent vnto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent vnto them.
12They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
13And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sate before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, euen against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they caried him foorth out of the citie, and stoned him with stones, that hee died.
14Then they sent to Iezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
15¶ And it came to passe when Iezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, that Iezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the Uineyard of Naboth the Iezreelite, which hee refused to giue thee for money: for Naboth is not aliue, but dead.
16And it came to passe when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose vp to goe downe to the Uineyard of Naboth the Iezreelite, to take possession of it.
17¶ And the word of the Lord came to Eliiah the Tishbite, saying,
18Arise, goe downe to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, hee is in the Uineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone downe to possesse it.
19And thou shalt speake vnto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speake vnto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord; In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogges licke thy blood, euen thine.
20And Ahab said to Eliiah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemie? And he answered, I haue found thee: because thou hast sold thy selfe to worke euill in the sight of the Lord.
21Behold, I will bring euill vpon thee, and will take away thy posteritie, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut vp, and left in Israel,
22And will make thine house like the house of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the sonne of Ahiiah, for the prouocation wherewith thou hast prouoked mee to anger, and made Israel to sinne.
23And of Iezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eate Iezebel by the wall of Iezreel.
24Him that dieth of Ahab in the citie, the dogs shall eate: and him that dieth in the field, shall the foules of the aire eat.
25¶ But there was none like vnto Ahab, which did sell himselfe to worke wickednesse in the sight of the Lord, whom Iezebel his wife stirred vp.
26And hee did very abominably in following Idoles, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
27And it came to passe when Ahab heard those wordes, that hee rent his clothes, and put sackecloth vpon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
28And the word of the Lord came to Eliiah the Tishbite, saying,
29Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himselfe before mee? because hee humbleth himselfe before mee, I will not bring the euill in his dayes: but in his sonnes dayes will I bring the euill vpon his house.
Chapter 22
1And they continued three yeeres without warre betweene Syria and Israel.
2And it came to passe on the third yere, that Iehoshaphat the King of Iudah came downe to the king of Israel.
3(And the king of Israel said vnto his seruants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and wee be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?)
4And hee said vnto Iehoshaphat, Wilt thou goe with me to battel to Ramoth Gilead? And Iehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.
5And Iehoshaphat said vnto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord to day.
6Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together about foure hundred men, and said vnto them, Shall I goe against Ramoth Gilead to battell, or shall I forbeare? And they said, Goe vp, for the Lord shall deliuer it into the hand of the king.
7And Iehoshaphat said, Is there not here a Prophet of the Lord besides, that we might enquire of him?
8And the king of Israel said vnto Iehoshaphat, There is yet one man, (Micaiah the sonne of Imlah) by whom we may enquire of the Lord; but I hate him, for he doth not prophesie good concerning me, but euill. And Iehoshaphat said, Let not the King say so.
9Then the king of Israel called an Officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the sonne of Imlah.
10And the King of Israel and Iehoshaphat the King of Iudah sate each on his throne, hauing put on their robes, in a voyd place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the Prophets prophecied before them.
11And Zedekiah the sonne of Chenaanah made him hornes of yron: and he sayd, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, vntill thou haue consumed them.
12And all the Prophets prophecied so, saying; Goe vp to Ramoth Gilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliuer it into the kings hand.
13And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah, spake vnto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good vnto the King with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, bee like the word of one of them, and speake that which is good.
14And Micaiah sayde, As the Lord liueth, what the Lord saith vnto me, that will I speake.
15¶ So he came to the king, and the king sayd vnto him, Micaiah, shall wee goe against Ramoth Gilead to battell, or shall we forbeare? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliuer it into the hand of the king.
16And the king said vnto him, How many times shall I adiure thee, that thou tell me nothing but that which is true, in the Name of the Lord ?
17And hee sayd, I saw all Israel scattered vpon the hilles, as sheepe that haue not a shepheard. And the Lord said, These haue no master, let them returne euery man to his house in peace.
18And the King of Israel said vnto Iehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee, that he would prophecie no good concerning me, but euill?
19And he said, Heare thou therefore the word of the Lord: I sawe the Lord sitting on his Throne, and all the hoste of heauen standing by him, on his right hand and on his left.
20And the Lord said, Who shall perswade Ahab, that hee may goe vp and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one sayd on this manner, and another said on that manner.
21And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will perswade him.
22And the Lord said vnto him, Wherewith? And hee sayd, I will goe foorth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt perswade him, and preuaile also: Goe forth, and doe so.
23Now therfore behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken euill concerning thee.
24But Zedekiah the sonne of Chenaanah went neere, and smote Micaiah on the cheeke, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me, to speake vnto thee?
25And Micaiah sayde, Beholde, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt goe into an inner chamber, to hide thy selfe.
26And the King of Israel sayde, Take Micaiah, and cary him backe vnto Amon the gouernour of the citie, and to Ioash the kings sonne:
27And say, Thus sayth the King, Put this fellow in the prison, and feede him with bread of affliction, and with water of afflictiō, vntil I come in peace.
28And Micaiah saide, If thou returne at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, euery one of you.
29So the King of Israel, and Iehoshaphat the king of Iudah, went vp to Ramoth Gilead.
30And the king of Israel said vnto Iehoshaphat, I wil disguise my selfe, & enter into the battell, but put thou on thy robes. And the King of Israel disguised himselfe, & went into the battell.
31But the King of Syria commanded his thirtie and two Captaines that had rule ouer his charets, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, saue only with the king of Israel.
32And it came to passe, when the captaines of the charets saw Iehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Iehoshaphat cryed out.
33And it came to passe, when the captaines of the charets perceiued that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned backe from pursuing him.
34And a certaine man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel betweene the ioynts of the harnesse: wherefore hee sayd vnto the driuer of his charet, Turne thine hand, and cary me out of the hoste, for I am wounded.
35And the battell increased that day: and the king was stayed vp in his charet against the Syrians, and died at euen: and the blood ranne out of the wound, into the mids of the charet.
36And there went a proclamation throughout the hoste, about the going downe of the Sunne, saying, Euery man to his citie, and euery man to his owne countrey.
37¶ So the King died, and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.
38And one washed the charet in the poole of Samaria, and the dogges licked vp his blood, and they washed his armour, according vnto the word of the Lord which he spake.
39Now the rest of the actes of Ahab, and all that he did, and the Iuory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
40So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his sonne reigned in his stead.
41¶ And Iehoshaphat the sonne of Asa began to reigne ouer Iudah in the fourth yeere of Ahab King of Israel.
42Iehoshaphat was thirtie and fiue yeeres olde when hee began to reigne, and he reigned twentie and fiue yeeres in Ierusalem: and his mothers name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
43And he walked in all the wayes of Asa his father, hee turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord: neuerthelesse, the high places were not taken away: for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.
44And Iehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
45Now the rest of the actes of Iehoshaphat, and his might that hee shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Iudah?
46And the remnant of the Sodomites which remained in the dayes of his father Asa, he tooke out of the land.
47There was then no king in Edom: a deputie was king.
48Iehoshaphat made shippes of Tharshish to goe to Ophir for golde: but they went not, for the shippes were broken at Ezion Geber.
49Then said Ahaziah the sonne of Ahab vnto Iehoshaphat, Let my seruants goe with thy seruants in the ships: But Iehoshaphat would not.
50¶ And Iehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the citie of Dauid his father: and Iehoram his sonne reigned in his stead.
51¶ Ahaziah the sonne of Ahab began to reigne ouer Israel in Samaria the seuenteenth yeere of Iehoshaphat king of Iudah, and reigned two yeres ouer Israel.
52And he did euill in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, who made Israel to sinne.
53For he serued Baal, and worshipped him, and prouoked to anger the Lord God of Israel, according vnto all that his father had done.