Now, therefore, come; let me give thee counsel, I pray thee, - so shalt thou rescue thine own life, and the life of thy son, Solomon.

Go, and get thee in unto King David, and thou shalt say unto him - Didst not, thou thyself, my lord O king, swear unto thy handmaid, saying - Solomon thy son, shall become king after me, yea, he, shall sit upon my throne? Why, then, hath, Adonijah, become king?

Lo! while thou art yet speaking there with the king, I also, will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.

And Bath-sheba bowed, and did homage unto the king, - and the king said - What aileth thee?

Thou, therefore, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel, are upon thee, - to tell them, who shall sit upon the throne of my lord the king, after him.

even as I sware unto thee by Yahweh, God of Israel, saying, Assuredly, Solomon thy son, shall become king after me, yea, he, shall sit upon my throne, in my stead, even so, will I do this day.

to the end that Yahweh may establish his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy sons will take heed to their way, by walking before me, in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul, (then, said he) there shall not be cut off to thee a man, from off the throne of Israel.

Lo! also, there is with thee - Shimei son of Gera a Benjamite, of Behurim, well, he, it was who cursed me with a grievous curse; on the day I journeyed to Mahanaim, - but he, came down to meet me, at the Jordan, and so I sware to him by Yahweh, saying - I will not put thee to death, with the sword.

Then said he - I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said - Say on.

Now, therefore, one request, have I to ask of thee, do not turn away my face.

And she said unto him - Say on. And he said - Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, for he will not turn away thy face, - that he give me Abishag the Shunammite, to wife.

And Bath-sheba said: Good! I myself, will speak for thee, unto the king.

Then said she - One small request, am I asking of thee, do not turn away my face. And the king said to her - Ask on, my mother, for I will not turn away thy face.

Also, unto Abiathar the priest, said the king - To Anathoth, get thee unto thine own fields, for, death-doomed, thou art, - but, this day, will I not put thee to death, because thou didst bear the ark of My Lord, Yahweh, before David my father, and because thou wast afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.

And the king sent, and called for Shimei, and said to him - Build thee a house, in Jerusalem, so shalt thou dwell there, - and shalt not go forth from thence, hither or thither;

Then sent the king and called for Shimei, and said unto him - Did I not put thee on oath by Yahweh, and adjure thee, saying - On the day thou goest forth and takest thy journey hither or thither, know, that thou shalt, die. Then saidst thou unto me - Good, is the word I have heard.

Why then, hast thou not kept the oath of Yahweh, - and the charge which I laid upon thee?

In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared unto Solomon, in a dream by night, - and God said, Ask, what I shall give thee.

Then said Solomon - Thou, didst deal, with thy servant David my father, in great lovingkindness, according as he walked before thee, in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart, with thee, - and thou hast kept, for him, this great lovingkindness, that thou hast given unto him a son, to sit upon his throne, as it is this day.

lo! I have done according to thy word, - lo! I have given unto thee a wise and discerning heart, so that, like thee, hath been none, before thee, and, after thee, shall rise up none, like thee.

Moreover also, what thou hast not asked, have I given unto thee, both riches and honour, - so that there hath been none, like thee, among the kings, all thy days.

Now, therefore, command thou that they fell me cedars, out of Lebanon, and, my servants, shall be, with thy servants, and, the hire of thy servants, will I give thee, according to all that thou shalt say, - for, thou, knowest, that, none amongst us, hath skill to fell timber, like the Zidonians.

Concerning this house, which thou art building, If thou wilt walk in my statutes, and, my regulations, wilt practise, and so observe all my commandments, by walking in them, Then will I establish my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father;

I have, built, a house as a high abode for thee, - A settled place for thee to abide in, for ages.

and said - O Yahweh, God of Israel! Not like thee, is there a God, in the heavens above, or upon the earth beneath, - keeping Covenant and Lovingkindness for thy servants who are walking before thee, with all their heart;

Now, therefore, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep thou for thy servant David my father, that which thou didst promise him, saying, There shall not be cut off to thee a man from before me, to sit upon the throne of Israel, - if only, thy sons take heed to their way, by walking before me, as thou hast walked before me.

Now, therefore, O God of Israel, - verified be thy word, I pray thee, which thou didst speak to thy servant, David my father.

But, in very deed, will God dwell, upon the earth? Lo! the heaven, yea the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?

Yet wilt thou turn unto the prayer of thy servant, and unto his supplication, O Yahweh my God, - to hearken unto the cry, and unto the prayer, wherewith thy servant doth pray before thee to-day;

When thy people Israel are smitten before an enemy, because they have been sinning against thee, - and they turn again unto thee, and confess thy Name, and pray and make supplication unto thee, in this house,

When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain, because they have been sinning against thee, - and they shall pray toward this place, and confess thy Name, and, from their sin, shall return, because thou hast been afflicting them,

to the end they may revere thee, all the days which they do live, upon the face of the soil, - which thou gavest unto our fathers?

wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, the settled place of thine abode, and act, according to all for which, the stranger, shall cry unto thee, - to the end that all the peoples of the earth may truly know thy Name, so as to revere thee, like thy people Israel, and to know that, thine own Name, hath been given unto this house, which I have built?

When they sin against thee - for there is, no son of earth, that sinneth not, and thou shalt be angry with them, and deliver them up before an enemy, - who shall carry them away as their captives, into the land of the enemy, far or near;

and they come back to their right mind, in the land whither they have been taken captive, - and so turn and make supplication unto thee, in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and done perversely, we have been lawless;

and so they turn unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who have carried them away captive, - and pray unto thee in the direction of their own land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy Name,

and grant forgiveness to thy people, who have sinned against thee, even as to all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, - and grant them compassion before their captors, so that they may have compassion upon them;

that thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, - to hearken unto them, in all their crying unto thee;

because, thou thyself, didst separate them unto thee, for an inheritance, out of all the peoples of the earth, - as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest forth our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Yahweh.

As for thee, therefore, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, with a whole heart and with uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, - and, my statutes and my regulations, wilt keep,

then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel, unto times age-abiding, - as I promised unto David thy father, saying, There shall not be cut off to thee a man, from off the throne of Israel.

How happy, are thy wives, how happy, are these thy servants, - who do stand before thee continually, who hear thy wisdom!

Yahweh thy God be blessed, who delighted in thee, to set thee upon the throne of Israel, - because Yahweh loveth Israel unto times age-abiding, therefore hath he appointed thee to be king, to execute justice and righteousness.

Wherefore Yahweh said unto Solomon - Forasmuch as this hath come to pass with thee, and thou hast not heeded my covenant and my statutes, which I charged upon thee, I will, rend, the kingdom away from thee, and will give it unto a servant of thine.

and said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten places, - for Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel - Behold me! about to rend the kingdom, out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give unto thee ten tribes:

But I will take the kingdom out of the hand of his son, and will give it to thee, even the ten tribes.

But, thee, will I take, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul could desire, - and thou shalt be king over Israel.

So shall it be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I shall command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that which is right in mine eyes, by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as did David my servant, then will I be with thee, and will build thee an assured house, as I have built for David, and will give unto thee, Israel.

Thy father, made our yoke, grievous, - now, therefore do, thou, lighten the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, that we may serve thee.

Then spake unto him the young men who had grown up with him, saying, Thus, shalt thou say to this people that have spoken unto thee, saying - Thy father, made our yoke heavy, thou, therefore lighten it upon us, Thus, shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger, is thicker than my father's loins;

Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, - and said unto them - It is, too much for you, to go up to Jerusalem, Lo! thy gods, O Israel, that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt;

And he made proclamation against the altar, by the word of Yahweh, and said, O altar! altar! Thus, saith Yahweh, - Lo! a son to be born unto the house of David, Josiah his name, who shall sacrifice upon thee the priests of the high-places, who are making a perfume upon thee, and, human bones, shall be burned upon thee;

and he shall give, on that day, a sign, saying, This, is the sign of which Yahweh hath spoken, - Lo! the altar, is to be rent, and the ashes that are upon thee shall be, poured out!

Then responded the king and said unto the man of God - Appease, I pray thee, the face of Yahweh thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored unto me. So the man of God appeased the face of Yahweh, and the hand of the king was restored unto him, and became as aforetime.

Then spake the king unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, - and let me give thee a present.

But the man of God said unto the king - If thou wouldst give me the half of thy house, I would not go in with thee, - neither would I eat bread or drink water, in this place;

And he said - I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee, - neither will I eat bread or drink water with thee, in this place;

And he said to him-I also, am a prophet, like unto thee, and, a messenger, hath spoken unto me, by the word of Yahweh, saying - Bring him back with thee, into thy house, that he may eat bread, and drink water. He deceived him.

and he cried out unto the man of God who had come in out of Judah, saying, Thus, saith Yahweh, - Forasmuch as thou hast rebelled against the bidding of Yahweh, and hast not kept the commandment which Yahweh thy God commanded thee;

but hast returned, and eaten bread and drunk water, in the place of which he said unto thee, Thou mayest neither eat bread nor drink water: thy dead body shall not enter the burying-place of thy fathers.

Then said Jeroboam to his wife - Arise, I pray thee, and feign thyself another, that it be not known, that, thou, art the wife of Jeroboam, - and thou shalt go thy way to Shiloh, lo! there, is Ahijah the prophet, who promised I should be king over this people;

and thou shall take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a bottle of honey, and shalt go unto him, - he, will tell thee what shall befall the young man.

But, Yahweh, had said unto Ahijah - Lo! the wife of Jeroboam, coming to enquire something of thee, concerning her son, for he is sick, thus and so, shalt thou speak unto her, - though, when she cometh in, she feign to be a stranger-woman.

So it came to pass, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she entered the doorway, that he said - Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam, - wherefore, is it that thou art feigning to be a stranger-woman, seeing that, I, am sent unto thee, with something hard to bear?

Go, say to Jeroboam - Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the midst of the people, - and gave thee to be leader over my people Israel;

and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to thee, - and yet thou hast not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me, with all his heart, to do only that which was right in mine eyes;

but hast made wicked thy doings beyond any who were before thee, - and hast gone and made thee ether gods, even molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast, me, behind thy back,

Let there be a covenant between me and thee, as between my father and thy father: Lo! I have sent thee a gift, silver and gold, Come break thy covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may go up from against me.

son of Hanani, against Baasha, saying: Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and gave thee to be leader over my people Israel, - and yet thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and caused, my people Israel, to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins,

Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, - and hide thyself in the ravine of Cherith, which faceth the Jordan;

and it shall be that, of the torrent, shalt thou drink, - and, the ravens, have I commanded to sustain thee, there.

Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there, - Lo! I have commanded, there, a widow woman, to sustain thee.

So he arose and went to Zarephath, and, when he came to the entrance of the city, lo! there, a widow woman gathering sticks, - and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

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

Then said she unto Elijah, What have I in common with thee, O man of God? Hast thou come unto me, to call to remembrance mine iniquity, and to cause the death of my son?

And he stretched himself out upon the boy, three times, and cried unto Yahweh, and said, - O Yahweh, my God! Let the life of this boy, I pray thee, come again within him.

By the life of Yahweh thy God, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee, and, when they have said - Nay! he hath taken an oath of the kingdom or the nation, that no one could find thee;

so shall it come to pass, as soon as, I, go from thee, that, the spirit of Yahweh, shall carry thee away - whither I know not, and so, when I go in to tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, then will he slay me, - and yet, thy servant, hath revered Yahweh, from my youth.

Then said he unto his young man - Go up, I pray thee, and look about in the direction of the sea. So he went up, and looked about, and said - There is, nothing whatever. Then said he - Go again, seven times.

And it came to pass, at the seventh time, that he said, Lo! a little cloud, like a man's hand coming up from the sea. Then he said - Go up, say unto Ahab - Harness, and get thee down, lest the rain shut thee in.

And the messenger of Yahweh came again a second time, and touched him, and said - Rise, eat, - because, too much for thee, is the journey.

and he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said - Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, that I may follow thee. And he said unto him, - Go, turn back, for what have I done to thee?

And the messengers came back again, and said, Thus, speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, - Because I sent unto thee, saying, Thy silver and thy gold and thy wives and thy sons, to me, shalt thou give,

Therefore, about this time to-morrow, will I send my servants unto thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants, - and it shall be, that, all the delight of thine eyes, shall they put in their hand, and take away.

Then drew near the prophet, unto the king of Israel, and said unto him - Go strengthen thyself, and mark and see, what thou wilt do, - for, at the return of the year, is, the king of Syria, coming up against thee.

and, thou, must number thee a force, like the force which thou hast lost, both horse for horse and chariot for chariot, and, if we fight with them in the plain, verily we shall prevail against them. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.

And his servants said unto him, Lo! we pray thee, we have heard, of the kings of the house of Israel, that, kings known for lovingkindness, they are. Let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes about our head, and let us go forth unto the king of Israel, peradventure he will save alive thy soul.

So they girded sackcloth upon their loins, and put ropes about their heads, and came in unto the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant, Ben-hadad, saith, - Let my soul live, I pray thee. And he said, - Is he yet alive? My brother, he is.

And he said unto him - The cities which my father took from thy father, will I restore, and, bazaars, shalt thou make thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. So then, I, with this covenant, will let thee go. So he solemnised with him a covenant, and let him go.

And, a certain man of the sons of the prophets, said unto his neighbour, by the word of Yahweh - Smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him.

So he said to him - Because thou hast not hearkened unto the voice of Yahweh, lo! when thou art departing from me, there shall smite thee a lion. And when he departed from beside him, a lion found him, and smote him.

Then found he another man, and said, - Smite me, I pray thee. So the man smote him - kept on smiting and wounding.

Ahab, therefore, spake unto Naboth, saying - Come! give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, for, the same, is near by my house, and let me give thee, instead thereof, a vineyard better than it, - if it be good in thine eyes, I will give thee silver to the value of this.

And Naboth said unto Ahab, - Far be it from me, of Yahweh! that I should give up the inheritance of my fathers, unto thee!

So Ahab came into his house, sullen and disturbed, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken unto him, that he should have said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. So he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and did eat no food.

And he said unto her - Because I spake unto Naboth, the Jezreelite, and said unto him - Come! give me thy vineyard for silver, or, if thou wouldst prefer, I will give thee a vineyard, in its stead; and he said - I will not give thee my vineyard.

Then Jezebel his wife said unto him: Art, thou, still, going to carry on the kingdom over Israel? Rise! eat food, and let thy heart be merry, I, will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite!

And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said unto Ahab - Rise! take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for silver, for Naboth is not alive, but dead!

Then said Ahab unto Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he said: I have found thee ! Because thou hast sold thyself to do the thing that is wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,

Behold me! saith he bringing in upon thee, calamity, and I will consume after thee, - and cut off of Ahab, even the meanest, whether shut up or left at large in Israel;