And Solomon the son of David strengthened himself concerning his kingdom, and Yahweh his God [was] with him and made him exceedingly great.

And Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that [was] at Gibeon, for the tent of assembly of God that Moses the servant of Yahweh had made in the desert was there.

On that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask what I shall give to you."

And Solomon sent [word] to Huram king of Tyre, saying, "As you have dealt with David my father and sent cedar to him to build for himself a house in which to live, [please deal with me].

Look, I am building a house for the name of Yahweh my God to dedicate to him, to offer sweet spices of incense before him, and [for] the regular rows [of bread], and burnt offerings for mornings, evenings, Sabbaths, and new moon festivals, and for appointed feasts of Yahweh our God which [are] everlasting for Israel.

Now who indeed has adequate strength to build a house for him? For the heavens and {the highest heavens} are not able to contain him. Now who [am] I that I would build a house for him, except to burn incense before him?

a son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father [was] a man of Tyre, knowledgeable for working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and with purple, blue, and crimson fabric, and with fine linen, for engraving any engraving and devising any plan that is given to him, with your skilled men and the skilled men of my lord David your father.

Now as for the wheat, barley, oil, and wine that my lord mentioned, let him send [that] to his servants.

And King Solomon and the whole community of Israel that was assembled before him [were] before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted nor numbered for abundance.

that you have kept for your servant David my father what you spoke to him. You spoke with your mouth, and by your hand you have fulfilled [it] on this day.

And now, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David, my father, what you have spoken to him, saying, '{You shall not lack} a man to sit on the throne of Israel before me, if only your sons keep their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.'

"If a man sins against his neighbor and {makes him swear an oath} and comes [with] an oath before your altar in this house,

then may you yourself hear from the heavens and act and judge your servants, to repay the guilty by bringing his way upon his head and to vindicate the righteous by giving to him according to his righteousness.

"If there is a famine in the land; if there is disease, blight, mildew, locust, and caterpillar; if it happens that his enemy lays siege to him in the land [and] his gates; any kind of plague, any kind of disease,

And Solomon held a feast at that time [of] seven days. And all Israel [was] with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-Hamath to the river of Egypt.

Then Yahweh appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.

Solomon also built the cities that Huram had given to him, and he settled the {Israelites} in them.

And Huram sent to him, by the hand of his servants, ships and servants knowledgeable of the sea. And they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and from there they collected four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.

Now the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, and she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, with much wealth and camels, bearing spices and much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and told him all that [was] {on her mind}.

Blessed be Yahweh your God who took delight in you, to put you on his throne as king for Yahweh your God! Because your God loved Israel, he established him forever and has put you over them as king to do justice and righteousness!"

And Solomon slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come [to] Shechem to make him king.

And they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and all Israel went, and they spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

And they said to him, "If you will be good to this people and please them, then speak good words to them. Then they will be your servants {forever}."

But he forsook the advice of the elders that advised him and took counsel of the young men who had grown up with him who were {serving} before him.

Then the young men who had grown up with him said to him, "Thus you should say to this people who have said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, so you yourself should lighten [it] for us.' Thus you should say to them, 'My little finger [is] thicker than the loins of my father.

Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was {in charge of} the forced labor, but the {Israelites} stoned him with stones, and he died. Then King Rehoboam hastily went up into the chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

Now the priests and the Levites who [were] throughout all Israel took their stand with him from all their territories.

And she bore to him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as chief and crown prince over his brothers, in order to make him king.

And when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and when he was strengthened, he forsook the law of Yahweh, and all Israel with him.

with one thousand two hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. And there was no number to the people who came up with him from Egypt--Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.

And when he humbled himself, the anger of Yahweh was turned away from him, so that he did not destroy [the city] completely. Moreover, matters were well in Judah.

And Abijah joined in the battle with an army of four hundred thousand {battle-hardened warriors}, chosen men, and Jeroboam put the battle in order against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, an army of mighty warriors.

Do you not all know that Yahweh the God of Israel gave the kingdom to David over Israel forever, to him and to his sons [by] a covenant of salt?

and worthless men, {sons of wickedness}, were gathered about him and became hostile against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was a boy and gentle of heart and was not strong enough [to stand] before them.

But as for us, Yahweh [is] our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests serving Yahweh [are] the sons of Aaron, the Levites, according to their service.

They offer burnt offerings to Yahweh {every morning} and {every evening}, sweet spices of incense, and the rows of bread upon the pure table. And the golden lampstand with its lamps [they] keep kindled {every evening}, for we are keeping the requirement of Yahweh our God, but you yourselves have forsaken him.

And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages.

And Jeroboam did not regain strength again in the days of Abijah. And Yahweh plagued him and he died.

And Abijah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son became king in his place. In his days the land was at rest ten years.

And he removed the high places and the incense stands from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom had rest under him.

And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land was at rest. Under him there was no war in those years, for Yahweh had given rest to him.

And Asa went out before him, and a battle was put in order in the valley of Zepah at Mareshah.

Then Asa and the army with him pursued them to Gerar. And [many] from the Cushites fell, for they had no deliverance, for they were shattered before Yahweh and before his army. And they carried away much war booty.

Now Azariah the son of Oded--the Spirit of God came upon him.

And he went out before Asa and said to him, "Hear me, O Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin! Yahweh [is] with you while you are with him. And if you will seek him he will be found by you. But if you forsake him he will forsake you.

but at its trouble he returned to Yahweh, the God of Israel. They sought him, and he was found by them.

And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those sojourning with them, from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for many had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that Yahweh his God [was] with him.

And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they swore with all their heart. And they sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and Yahweh gave rest to them all around.

And Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent commanders of his troops that [were] with him against the cities of Israel. And they struck Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "On account of your reliance upon the king of Aram, and [since] you did not rely on Yahweh your God, therefore the troops of the king of Aram escaped from your hand.

For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout all the earth to strengthen those whose heart is fully devoted to him. You have been foolish in this, for from now on you will have wars."

Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in {the prison}, for he was enraged with him concerning this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

And they buried him in his burial site, which had been cut out for him in the city of David. And they laid him on the bier which they had filled with all kinds of spices made [by] the perfumers as a fragment ointment. And they made a great fire in his honor.

And some of the Philistines brought a gift and silver to Jehoshaphat [as] tribute. The Arabians also brought him seven thousand seven hundred sheep and seven thousand seven hundred goats.

Now these [were] their enrollment by the house of their ancestors: of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah, the commander, and with him [were] three hundred thousand mighty armed warriors;

and at his side, Jehohanan the commander, and with him [were] two hundred and eighty thousand;

and at his side, Amasiah the son of Zicri, who had made a freewill offering to Yahweh, and with him [were] two hundred thousand mighty armed warriors.

And from Benjamin: Eliada, a powerful mighty warrior, and with him [were] two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;

and at his side, Jehozabad, and with him [were] one hundred and eighty thousand armed for war.

And {after some years} he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and for the people who [were] with him, and urged him to go up against Ramoth-Gilead.

And Ahab the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, "Will you go up with me to Ramoth-Gilead?" And he answered him, "I [am] as you [are], and my people [are] as your people with you in war."

Then Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here another prophet of Yahweh that we might inquire of him?"

Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "[There is] yet one man by whom to seek Yahweh, but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but {always} disaster. He [is] Micaiah the son of Imlah." Then Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say thus."

Then the messenger who went to call Micaiah said to him, "Behold, the words of the prophets [are] good with one voice to the king. Please let your word be as one with them and speak good."

And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to war or shall I cease?" And he said, "Go up and triumph! They shall be given into your hand."

But the king said to him, "How many times shall I make you swear that you speak nothing except the truth in the name of Yahweh?"

Then a spirit came forth and stood before Yahweh and said, 'I will entice him.' Then Yahweh said to him, 'By what means?'

Then he said, 'I will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You will entice him and will also succeed. Go out and do so.'

Then the king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the commander of the city and to Jehoash the son of the king,

and say, 'Thus says the king: "Put this one into the prison house, and let him eat {a meager ration of bread and water} until I return in peace." '"

And it happened [that] when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, then they said, "It [is] the king of Israel!" And they turned against him to fight. Then Jehoshaphat cried out and Yahweh helped him. God drove them away from him.

And it happened [that] when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from following him.

And Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him. And he said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you [be] a help to the wicked and love those who hate Yahweh? On account of this, wrath [has come] against you from Yahweh.

So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at rest, since his God gave rest to him all around.

He joined with him to build ships to go to Tarshish. And they built the ships in Ezion Geber.

But Yahweh was not willing to destroy the house of David on account of the covenant that he had {made} with David and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his descendants {forever}.

Then Jehoram passed over with his commanders and all the chariots with him, and when night came he struck Edom who [was] all around him and the commanders of his chariots.

And a letter from Elijah the prophet came to him, saying, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your father: 'Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father or in the ways of Asa, the king of Judah,

And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions found in the house of the king, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz his youngest son.

And after all this Yahweh afflicted him in his bowels with an illness for [which there was] no cure.

And it happened [that] {after many days, at the end of two years}, his bowels came out because of his illness, and he died in terrible agony. And his people did not make a fire for him like the fire for his ancestors.

He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no [one's] regret. And they buried him in the city of David, but not in the burial sites of the kings.

And he searched for Ahaziah and captured him. And he was hiding in Samaria. And they brought him to Jehu and put him to death. And they buried him, for they said, "He [is] the descendant of Jehoshaphat, who sought Yahweh with his whole heart." And the house of Ahab had no one to exercise power over 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.

And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and took with him into a covenant [relationship] the commanders of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zicri.

Then they brought out the son of the king and set upon him the crown and [gave him] the statute and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, "{Long live the king}!"

And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he fathered sons and daughters.

So the king called Jehoiada the chief, and he said to him, "Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax of Moses, the servant of Yahweh, and [of] the assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony?"

And they buried him in the city of David with the kings, for he did good in Israel and with respect to God and his house.

Then they conspired against him and stoned him [with] stones at the command of the king in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh.

So King Joash did not remember the loyal love that Jehoiada had shown to him, and he killed his son. And as he was dying he said, "May Yahweh see and avenge!"

And it happened at the turn of the year [that] the army of Aram went up against him, and they came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the commanders of the people from among the people, and all the war booty they sent to the king of Damascus.

And when they were going away from him (for they had left him with many wounds), his servants conspired against him on account of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest. So they killed him on his bed and he died. And they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him at the burial sites of the kings.

Now these [are] the ones who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath, the Ammonite, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith, the Moabite.

And [as for] his sons, the many oracles against him, and [his repair of] the foundation of the house of God, behold, they [are] written in the story of the scroll of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

But a man of God came to him, saying, "O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for Yahweh is not with Israel, all the Ephraimites.

Then Amaziah dismissed the troops that came to him from Ephraim to go to their home. And {they became very angry} with Judah, and they returned to their home {in great anger}.