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,

So Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place that was in Gibeon in front of the tent of meeting, and he reigned over Israel.

Solomon’s horses came from Egypt and Kue. The king’s traders would get them from Kue at the going price.

A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver and a horse for about four pounds. In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.

Also, send me cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut the trees of Lebanon. Note that my servants will be with your servants

He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your craftsmen and the craftsmen of my lord, your father David.

We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and bring them to you as rafts by sea to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.

Then he made the cast metal reservoir, 15 feet from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet high and 45 feet in circumference.

At that time Solomon assembled at Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads, the ancestral chiefs of the Israelites—in order to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the city of David, that is, Zion.

The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside; they are there to this very day.

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,

whatever prayer or petition
anyone from your people Israel might have—
each man knowing his own affliction and suffering,
and spreading out his hands toward this temple—

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 Solomon finished praying, fire descended from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

The priests and the Levites were standing at their stations. The Levites had the musical instruments of the Lord, which King David had made to praise the Lord—“for His faithful love endures forever”—when he offered praise with them. Across from the Levites, the priests were blowing trumpets, and all the people were standing.

So Solomon and all Israel with him—a very great assembly, from the entrance to Hamath to the Brook of Egypt—observed the festival at that time for seven days.

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

My eyes will now be open and My ears attentive to prayer from this place.

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.

As for all the peoples who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not from Israel—

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.”

They did not turn aside from the king’s command regarding the priests and the Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasuries.

All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple until it was finished. So the Lord’s temple was completed.

So Hiram sent ships to him by his servants along with crews of experienced seamen. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, took from there 17 tons of gold, and delivered it to King Solomon.

In addition, Hiram’s servants and Solomon’s servants who brought gold from Ophir also brought algum wood and precious stones.

He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.

They were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the countries.

The remaining events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Events of Nathan the Prophet, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Visions of Iddo the Seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.

When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard about it—for he was in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon’s presence—Jeroboam returned from 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.

‘This is what the Lord says: You are not to march up and fight against your brothers. Each of you must return home, for this incident has come from Me.’”

So they listened to what the Lord said and turned back from going against Jeroboam.

The priests and Levites from all their regions throughout Israel took their stand with Rehoboam,

Those from every tribe of Israel who had determined in their hearts to seek Yahweh their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 cavalrymen, and countless people who came with him from Egypt—Libyans, Sukkiim, and Cushites.

When Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger turned away from him, and He did not destroy him completely. Besides that, conditions were good in Judah.

King Rehoboam established his royal power in Jerusalem. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king and reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name. Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.

The events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Events of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer concerning genealogies. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their reigns.

and reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah.

There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

Now Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to advance from behind them. So they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.

Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some cities from him: Bethel and its villages, Jeshanah and its villages, and Ephron and its villages.

He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom experienced peace under him.

Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin bearing regular shields and drawing the bow. All these were brave warriors.

When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him.

At that time they sacrificed to the Lord 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep from all the plunder they had brought.

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.

The high places were not taken away from Israel; nevertheless, Asa was wholehearted his entire life.

So Asa brought out the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace and sent it to Aram’s King Ben-hadad, who lived in Damascus, saying,

“There’s a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Israel’s King Baasha so that he will withdraw from me.”

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.

For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.”

Note that the events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

His mind rejoiced in the Lord’s ways, and he again removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.

from Benjamin, Eliada, a brave warrior, and 200,000 with him armed with bow and shield;

When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him.

When the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

However, some good is found in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles from the land and have decided to seek God.”

Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and once again he went out among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

for every dispute that comes to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities—whether it regards differences of bloodguilt, law, commandment, statutes, or judgments—you are to warn them, so they will not incur guilt before the Lord and wrath will not come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not incur guilt.

People came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast number from beyond the Dead Sea and from Edom has come to fight against you; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).

who gathered to seek the Lord. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.

Now here are the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir. You did not let Israel invade them when Israel came out of the land of Egypt, but Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.

In the middle of the congregation, the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel (son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph’s descendants),

Then the Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel shouting with a loud voice.

He walked in the way of Asa his father; he did not turn away from it but did what was right in the Lord’s sight.

The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat’s reign from beginning to end are written in the Events of Jehu son of Hanani, which is recorded in the Book of Israel’s Kings.

Then a letter came to Jehoram from Elijah the prophet, saying:

This is what Yahweh, the God of your ancestor David says: “Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or in the ways of Asa king of Judah

This continued day after day until two full years passed. Then his intestines came out because of his disease, and he died from severe illnesses. But his people did not hold a fire in his honor like the fire in honor of his fathers.

so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they inflicted on him in Ramoth-gilead when he fought against Aram’s King Hazael. Then Judah’s King Ahaziah son of Jehoram went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab since Joram was ill.

Ahaziah’s downfall came from God when he went to Joram. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.

Jehoshabeath, the king’s daughter, rescued Joash son of Ahaziah from the king’s sons who were being killed and put him and the one who nursed him in a bedroom. Now Jehoshabeath was the daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of Jehoiada the priest. Since she was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid Joash from Athaliah so that she did not kill him.

They made a circuit throughout Judah. They gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

Then he stationed all the troops with their weapons in hand surrounding the king—from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple.

When Athaliah heard the noise from the troops, the guards, and those praising the king, she went to the troops in the Lord’s temple.

Then he took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land and brought the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the king’s palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the throne of the kingdom.

Joash was seven years old when he became king and reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba.

So he gathered the priests and Levites and said, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all Israel to repair the temple of your God as needed year by year, and do it quickly.”

However, the Levites did not hurry.

So the king called Jehoiada the high priest and said, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by the Lord’s servant Moses and the assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony?

Amaziah became king when he was 25 years old and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem.

Then for 7,500 pounds of silver he hired 100,000 brave warriors from Israel.

So Amaziah released the division that came to him from Ephraim to go home. But they got very angry with Judah and returned home in a fierce rage.

As for the men of the division that Amaziah sent back so they would not go with him into battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, struck down 3,000 of their people, and took a great deal of plunder.

After Amaziah came from the attack on the Edomites, he brought the gods of the Seirites and set them up as his gods. He worshiped before them and burned incense to them.

So the Lord’s anger was against Amaziah, and He sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why have you sought a people’s gods that could not deliver their own people from your hand?”

But Amaziah would not listen, for this turn of events was from God in order to hand them over to their enemies because they went after the gods of Edom.

King Jehoash of Israel captured Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh. Then Jehoash took him to Jerusalem and broke down 200 yards of Jerusalem’s wall from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate.

The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

From the time Amaziah turned from following the Lord, a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. However, men were sent after him to Lachish, and they put him to death there.

Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king and reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah from Jerusalem.

They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the Lord—only the consecrated priests, the descendants of Aaron, have the right to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully! You will not receive honor from the Lord God.”

So King Uzziah was diseased to the time of his death. He lived in quarantine with a serious skin disease and was excluded from access to the Lord’s temple, while his son Jotham was over the king’s household governing the people of the land.

Now the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz wrote about the rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end.

Then the Israelites took 200,000 captives from their brothers—women, sons, and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder from them and brought it to Samaria.

Listen to me and return the captives you took from your brothers, for the Lord’s burning anger is on you.”

So some men who were leaders of the Ephraimites—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—stood in opposition to those coming from the war.

They said to them, “You must not bring the captives here, for you plan to bring guilt on us from the Lord to add to our sins and our guilt. For we have much guilt, and burning anger is on Israel.”

Then the men who were designated by name took charge of the captives and provided clothes for their naked ones from the plunder. They clothed them, gave them sandals, food and drink, dressed their wounds, and provided donkeys for all the feeble. The Israelites brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, among their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.

As for the rest of his deeds and all his ways, from beginning to end, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

He said to them, “Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors. Remove everything impure from the holy place.

For our fathers were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned Him, turned their faces away from the Lord’s tabernacle, and turned their backs on Him.