Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that was in Gibeon because God’s tent of meeting, which the Lord’s servant Moses had made in the wilderness, was there.

Now David had brought the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had set up for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem,

Now, LORD God, your promise to my father David is fulfilled, because you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

Give me wisdom now, so I may go in and out among this people, because who can rule this great people that belongs to you?

God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king,

"The Temple that I'm building will be great, because the greatness of our God surpasses that of all gods.

to prepare logs for me in abundance because the temple I am building will be great and wonderful.

Then King Hiram of Tyre wrote a letter and sent it to Solomon:

Because the Lord loves His people, He set you over them as king.

King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel who had gathered around him were in front of the ark sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered because there were so many.

And it was the primary [duty] of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard [with] one voice, to praise and give thanks to Yahweh. And when a sound from the trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments of song was raised to Yahweh--for he [is] good, because his loyal love [is] everlasting--then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud.

And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the Lord filled God’s temple.

He said, "The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled what he promised my father David.

But Yahweh said to David my father, 'Because it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart,

"Therefore, since you determined to build a temple for my name, you acted well, because it was your choice to do so. Nevertheless, you are not to build the Temple, but your son who will be born to you is to build a temple for my name.'

If Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against You,
and they return to You and praise Your name,
and they pray and plead for mercy
before You in this temple,

When the skies are shut and there is no rain
because they have sinned against You,
and they pray toward this place
and praise Your name,
and they turn from their sins
because You are afflicting them,

then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy servants, and of Thy people Israel, because Thou directest them unto the good way in which they walk, and hast given rain on Thy land that Thou hast given to Thy people for an inheritance.

then Thou dost hear from the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast given to each according to all his ways (because Thou knowest his heart, for Thou -- Thou only -- hast known the heart of the sons of men),

Even for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel
but has come from a distant land
because of Your great name
and Your mighty hand and outstretched arm:
when he comes and prays toward this temple,

"When they sin against you because there isn't a single human being who doesn't sin and you become angry with them and deliver them over to their enemy, who takes them away captive to a land that's near or far away,

The priests were not able to enter the Lord’s temple because the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord.

When all of the Israelis saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD resting on the Temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement, worshipped, and gave thanks to the LORD, "Because he is good; because his gracious love is eternal."

And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of music of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.

Since the bronze altar that Solomon had made could not accommodate the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings, Solomon first consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the Lord’s temple and then offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings there.

And they make on the eighth day a restraint, because the dedication of the altar they have made seven days, and the feast seven days.

On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people home. They left happy and contented because of the good the Lord had done for David, Solomon, and his people Israel.

Then they will say: Because they abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They clung to other gods and worshiped and served them. Because of this, He brought all this ruin on them.

Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the house of David king of Israel because the places the ark of the Lord has come into are holy.”

Following proscriptions laid down by his father David, Solomon appointed divisions of priests for their service as well as descendants of Levi for duties of praise and ministry before the priests consistent with the daily rules. Furthermore, because David, the man of God, had commanded it, Solomon also appointed gatekeepers to serve by divisions at every gate of the Temple.

Solomon answered all of her questions. Because nothing was hidden from Solomon, he hid nothing from her.

May the Lord your God be praised! He delighted in you and put you on His throne as king for the Lord your God. Because Your God loved Israel enough to establish them forever, He has set you over them as king to carry out justice and righteousness.”

because the king had ships that sailed to Tarshish accompanied by Hiram's servants. Once every three years ships from Tarshish returned, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, because all of Israel went there to install him as king.

And it cometh to pass, at Jeroboam son of Nebat's -- who is in Egypt because he hath fled from the face of Solomon the king -- hearing, that Jeroboam turneth back out of Egypt;

The king did not listen to the people because the turn of events came from God, in order that the Lord might carry out His word that He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

for the Levites left their pasturelands and their possessions and went to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons refused to let them serve as priests of Yahweh.

So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt went to war against Jerusalem

Then Shemaiah the prophet went to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them: “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have abandoned Me; therefore, I have abandoned you into the hand of Shishak.’”

And so because he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, and destroyed not all together. And thereto there were many good things yet in Judah.

So King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned, - because, forty-one years old, was Rehoboam when he began to reign, and, seventeen years, reigned he in Jerusalem, the city which Yahweh had chosen, to set his Name there - from among all the tribes of Israel, and, the name of his mother, was Naamah, the Ammonitess.

Rehoboam did what was evil, because he did not determine in his heart to seek the Lord.

Useless troublemakers soon gathered around him, who turned out to be too strong for Rehoboam, because he was young, timid, and unable to withstand them.

"So now you think you'll be able to withstand the LORD's kingdom as controlled by David's descendants, just because you have a large crown and have brought with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

Now listen! God is with us to lead us, and his priests are about to sound their battle trumpets against you. Descendants of Israel, don't fight against the LORD God of your ancestors, because you won't succeed!"

The Israelites were subdued at that time. The Judahites succeeded because they depended on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

Because the land experienced peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. No one made war with him in those days because the Lord gave him rest.

So he said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God. We sought Him and He gave us rest on every side.” So they built and succeeded.

Asa cried out to the LORD his God, telling him, "LORD, there is no one except for you to help between the powerful and the weak. So help us, LORD God, because we're depending on you and have come against this vast group in your name. LORD, you are our God. Let no mere mortal man defeat you!"

Asa and his army pursued the Ethiopians as far as Gerar. So many Ethiopians died that their army could not recover, because it had been shattered in the LORD's presence and in the presence of his army. The Israelis carried off a lot of plunder, too.

Then they attacked all the cities around Gerar because the terror of the Lord was on them. They also plundered all the cities, since there was a great deal of plunder in them.

Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them.

In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.

Nation battled nation, and city fought city, because God was afflicting them all with every kind of distress.

Now as for you, be strong and never be discouraged, because there will be reward for your work."

And he gathered together all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them, out of Ephraim and out of Manasseh, and out of Simeon, - for they fell unto him out of Israel, in great numbers, because they saw that, Yahweh his God, was with him.

All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. He made them secure on every side.

King Asa also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image, then crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

At that time, Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with very abundant chariots and horsemen? And because of your reliance on Yahweh he gave them into your hand.

The LORD's eyes keep on roaming throughout the earth, looking for those whose hearts completely belong to him, so that he may strongly support them. But because you have acted foolishly in this, from now on you will have wars."

Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison because of his anger over this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at that time.

Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the former ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals

Because they were afraid of the LORD, none of the kingdoms of the lands that surrounded Judah dared go to war against Jehoshaphat.

So the king of Israel gathered together 400 prophets and asked them, "Should we go attack Ramoth-gilead, or should I call off the attack?" "Go attack them," they all said, "because God will drop them right in the king's hand."

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man who can ask Yahweh, but I hate him because he never prophesies good about me, but only disaster. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

“The king shouldn’t say that,” Jehoshaphat replied.

All the other prophets were saying similar things, like "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and you will be successful, because the LORD will hand it over to the king!"

When Micaiah approached the king, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I not?" "Go to war," Micaiah replied, "and you will be successful, because the LORD will hand it over to the king!"

Now therefore, listen! The LORD has placed a lying spirit in the mouth of all of these prophets of yours, because the LORD has determined to bring disaster upon you."

Meanwhile, somebody drew his bow and struck the king of Israel at a weak spot where his armor plates joined, so he instructed his chariot driver, "Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I've been severely wounded."

Then Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Do you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the Lord’s wrath is on you.

"Pay careful attention to your duties, because you are judging not only for the sake of human beings but also for the LORD and he is present with you as you make your rulings.

So let the fear of the LORD rest upon you, be on your guard, and act carefully, because with the LORD our God there is neither injustice, nor partiality, nor bribery."

“If disaster comes on us—sword or judgment, pestilence or famine—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your name is in this temple. We will cry out to You because of our distress, and You will hear and deliver.”

and he said, “Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

After he had consulted with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed some choir members to sing to the LORD and to praise him in sacred splendor as they marched out in front of the armed forces. They kept saying "Give thanks to the LORD, because his gracious love is eternal!"

Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to gather the plunder. They found among them an abundance of goods on the bodies and valuable items. So they stripped them until nobody could carry any more. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much.

Then they all returned with joy to Jerusalem, every soldier from Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at the head of the procession, because the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.

As a result, Jehoshaphat's kingdom enjoyed peace, because his God had provided rest for him all around.

Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has broken your works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fortified cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn.

Yet the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons forever.

So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.

And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says the LORD God of David your father, Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,

But have gone in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the people of Jerusalem go after false gods, as the family of Ahab did: and because you have put to death your father's sons, your brothers, who were better than yourself:

And you shall have great sickness by disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out because of the sickness day by day.

And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his intestines fell out because of his sickness: so he died in great pain. And his people made no fire in his honor, like the fires made for his fathers.

Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, because the troops that had come with the Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah.

He followed the example of Ahab's dynasty because his mother gave him evil counsel.

He did evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab's dynasty because, after his father's death, they gave him advice that led to his destruction.

And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick.

But, from God, came the downfall of Azariah, through his coming to Joram, - and because, through his coming, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu son of Nimshi, whom Yahweh had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he had hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him: Because, they said, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.

But Jehosheba the daughter of the king took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and kidnapped him away from the sons of the king who were to be put to death. And she put him and his nurse in a private bedroom. So Jehosheba the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him from before Athaliah so that she did not put him to death.

No one is to enter the Lord’s temple but the priests and those Levites who serve; they may enter because they are holy, but all the people are to obey the requirement of the Lord.

Jehoiada the priest sent out the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, and ordered them, "Bring her outside the temple to the guards. Put the sword to anyone who follows her." The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord's temple.

There all of the people of the land rejoiced and the city stayed quiet, because they had executed Athaliah with a sword.

Because that wicked woman Athaliah's family members had broken into the Temple of God and used the consecrated implements of the LORD's Temple for service to the Baals,

And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house.

They abandoned the temple of the Lord God of their ancestors, and worshiped the Asherah poles and idols. Because of this sinful activity, God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem.