And Solomon completed the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of Jehovah, and in his own house, he did prosperously.

If I shut up the heavens that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

Yet if my people that are named after my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my presence, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and be merciful to their sins, and will heal their land.

Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

for I have now chosen and hallowed this house, that my name may be there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances;

then I will establish the seat of thy kingdom, according to the covenant I made with David thy father, saying: thou shalt have ever one or other that shall rule in Israel.

However, if you turn away and abandon My statutes and My commands that I have set before you and if you go and serve other gods and worship them,

then I will uproot Israel from the soil that I gave them, and this temple that I have sanctified for My name I will banish from My presence; I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.

And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passes by it; so that he shall say, Why has Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house?

Others will then answer, 'Because they abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors, who led them out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. That is why he brought all this disaster down on them.'"

And it cometh to pass, at the end of twenty years, that Solomon hath built the house of Jehovah, and his own house.

that the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.

He built Tadmor in the wilderness along with all the storage cities that he built in Hamath.

and Baalath, and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for chariots, and the cities for the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and on Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

All the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel,

their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel had not destroyed, upon them did Solomon impose tribute-service until this day.

And these were the chief of king Solomon's superintendents, two hundred and fifty, that ruled over the people.

And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come.

At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar he had made in front of the portico.

He observed the daily requirements for sacrifices that Moses had specified for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and the three annual celebrations -- the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Temporary Shelters.

And so Solomon completed all of the work, from the day that the foundation stone of the LORD's Temple was laid until the LORD's Temple was completely finished.

At that time Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the seashore in the land of Edom.

And Huram sent him by his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and fetched thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, and came to Jerusalem to prove Solomon with enigmas; with a very great train, and camels that bore spices and gold in great abundance, and precious stones; and she came to Solomon, and spoke with him of all that was in her heart.

And Solomon explained to her all she spoke of, and there was not a thing hidden from Solomon that he did not explain to her.

And when the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

And the food of his table, and the seat of his servants, and the standing of those waiting upon him, and their clothing, and his cup-bearers and their clothing, and his ascent that he went up to the house of Jehovah; and no more spirit was in her.

And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine affairs and of thy wisdom;

but I gave no credit to their words, until I came and mine eyes had seen; and behold, the half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: thou exceedest the report that I heard.

Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, that stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.

And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in very great abundance, and precious stones; neither was there any such spice as that which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, that brought gold from Ophir, brought algum-trees and precious stones.

With the timber the king made steps for the Lord's temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that.)

And, King Solomon, gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides a return for that which she had brought unto the king, - so she turned, and went away to her own land, she, and her servants.

And the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

and there were six steps to the throne, and a footstool in gold, unto the throne, made fast, and supports, on this side and on that, unto the seat, - and, two lions, standing by the supports;

and, twelve lions, standing there upon the six steps, on this side and on that, - there was never made the like, for any kingdom.

The king had a fleet of large merchant ships manned by Huram's men that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart.

Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he stationed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance.

And it came to pass when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (now he was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon) that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.

Thy father made our yoke grievous; and now lighten the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?

But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, who had grown up with him, that stood before him.

And he said to them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me saying, Lighten the yoke which thy father put upon us?

And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying, Thus shalt thou say to the people who have spoken to thee saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and lighten thou it for us, thus shalt thou say to them: My little finger is thicker than my father's loins;

My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.'"

and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, "My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh."

So the king hearkened not to the people; for it was brought about by God, that Jehovah might give effect to his word, which he spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

And all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them; and the people answered the king saying, What portion have we in David? and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel. Now see to thine own house, David! And all Israel went to their tents.

But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

And king Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the levy; but the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam hastened to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

That's how Israel came to be in rebellion against David's dynasty to this day.

And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

"Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon king of Judah and to all Israel that are in Judah, and to Benjamin, and say,

and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, that are in Judah and in Benjamin, cities of bulwarks.

And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their districts;

For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest's office to Yahweh;

and he ordained for himself priests for the high places, and for the he-goats and for the calves that he had made.

And after them, those out of all the tribes of Israel that set their heart to seek Jehovah the God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to Jehovah the God of their fathers.

So then Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as head, to be chief ruler among his brethren, - yea that he might make him king.

And it came to pass when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and when he had become strong, that he forsook the law of Jehovah, and all Israel with him.

And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, because they had transgressed against Jehovah, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem,

with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen; and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt: Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians.

And he took the fortified cities that belonged to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.

And Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah that had gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus saith Jehovah: Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.

And when Jehovah saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves: I will not destroy them, but I will grant them a little deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.

And Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king's house; he took away all; and he took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made.

Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house.

And it was so, that as often as the king entered into the house of Jehovah, the couriers came and fetched them, and brought them again into the chamber of the couriers.

And when he humbled himself, the anger of Jehovah turned away from him, that he would not destroy him altogether; and also in Judah there were good things.

And king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned; for Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

But he did evil, - in that he did not fix his heart to seek Yahweh.

The events of Rehoboam's reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Annals of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer that include genealogical records.

And Abijah riseth up on the hill of Zemaraim that is in the hill-country of Ephraim, and saith, 'Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel!

Is it not yours to know, that, Yahweh God of Israel gave the kingdom to David, over Israel, unto times age-abiding, - to him and to his sons, by a covenant of salt?

And there were gathered unto him worthless men, base fellows, that strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them.

And now ye think to shew yourselves strong against the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and ye have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods.

Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.

But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests that serve Jehovah are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites are at their work:

Every morning and every evening they offer the burnt offerings and the fragrant incense to the Lord; and the showbread is set on the clean table [of pure gold], and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the charge of the Lord our God [that is, the obligation we have to Him], but you have abandoned (turned away from) Him.

But Jeroboam had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them.

And Judah, turning their faces, saw that they were being attacked in front and at the back; and they gave a cry for help to the Lord, while the priests were sounding their horns.

And the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain.

Thus were the sons of Israel subdued at that time, - and the sons of Judah prevailed, because they leaned upon Yahweh the God of their fathers.

And Abijah followed after Jeroboam and won certain cities from him: Bethel with the towns belonging thereto, and Jeshanah with the towns that belonged thereto, and Ephron with her towns.

neither was Jeroboam strong any more, in the days of Abijah, - and Yahweh smote him that he died.

And Asa did that which was good and that which was right, in the eyes of Yahweh his God;

Asa built fortified cities throughout Judah while the land lay undisturbed, because the LORD had given him peace so that no one went to war against him during those years.

And it came to pass that, Asa, had a force bearing shield and spear, out of Judah, three hundred thousand, and, out of Benjamin, such as bare a buckler and trode a bow, two hundred and eighty thousand, - all these, were heroes of valour.

Now Zerah the Ethiopian (Cushite) came out against Judah with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came as far as Mareshah.

And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

And the LORD smote the black Moors before Asa and Judah, that they fled.

And Asa and the people that were with him pursued as far as to Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell, so that there was no way for them to recover, for they were routed before Yahweh, and before him host, - and they carried away exceeding much spoil.

They attacked all the cities that surrounded Gerar, because fear of the LORD had overwhelmed them. The Israelis spoiled all the cities, because there was a lot to plunder in them.