And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to all the leaders for all Israel, the heads of the {families}.

So Solomon went from the high place which [was] at Gibeon [to] Jerusalem before the tent of assembly. And he reigned over Israel.

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.

Then Huram said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has made the heavens and the earth, who has given to King David a wise son knowing discretion and understanding, who will build for Yahweh a house and a royal palace for himself.

Then Solomon counted all the resident alien men who [were] in the land of Israel after the census that David his father had taken of them. And there were found one hundred and fifty-three thousand.

Then Solomon assembled all the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the {families} for the {Israelites}, to Jerusalem in order to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, which [is] Zion.

And all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast that [is in] the seventh month.

And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.

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.

Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel were standing.

And he said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth with David my father, and with his hands he has fulfilled [it], saying,

'From the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt I did not choose a city among all the tribes of Israel to build a house in order for my name [to be] there. Nor did I choose a man to be leader over my people Israel.

But I have chosen my name to be there in Jerusalem, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.'

Now, it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Now Yahweh has fulfilled his word that he spoke. I have risen in the place of David my father and am seated on the throne of Israel as Yahweh has spoken. I have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh before all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.

(For Solomon had made a platform of bronze five cubits long and five cubits wide and three cubits high, and placed it in the midst of the outer court.) And he stood upon it, then knelt down on his knees before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands to heaven.

And he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is none like you, a God in the heavens and on the earth, keeping the covenant and loyal love with your servants who walk before you with all their heart,

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.'

And now, O Yahweh, God of Israel, let your word that you have spoken to your servant David be confirmed.

And listen to the pleas of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place, that you yourself might hear from the place of your dwelling, from the heavens, that you might hear and forgive.

"And if your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against you and they repent and confess your name and pray and plead before you in this house,

then may you yourself hear from the heavens and forgive the sin of your people Israel and again bring them back to the land that you gave to them and to their ancestors.

then may you yourself hear from the heavens and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and give rain upon your land that you have given to your people as an inheritance.

[then] any prayer, any plea that is [made] by any person and by all your people Israel, each one who knows his own affliction and his own anguish and [who] spreads out his hands to this house,

"And also, with respect to the foreigner, he who [is] not of your people Israel, but comes from a distant land, for the sake of your great name and your powerful hand and outstretched arm, when he comes and prays to this house,

then may you yourself hear from the heavens, from your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner asks of you, so that all peoples of earth will know of your name and fear you, as [do] your people Israel, and that they may know that your name {possesses} this house that I have built.

And the priests stood at their posts with the Levites, with the instruments of the song of Yahweh that King David had made to give thanks to Yahweh--for his loyal love [is] everlasting--whenever David offered praise by their hand. Now the priests sounded trumpets [standing] opposite them, and all Israel stood.

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.

And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents rejoicing and festive of heart on account of the goodness that Yahweh had done for David, Solomon, and Israel his people.

then I will establish the throne of your kingdom as I promised to David your father, saying, 'A man shall not be cut off for you [from] ruling over Israel.'

All the people who remained from the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites who were not from Israel,

And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, "My wife shall not dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, for those [places] to which the ark of Yahweh has come [are] holy.

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 reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

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,

So all Israel [saw] that the king would not listen to them, and the people answered the king, saying, "What portion [is there] for us in David? [We have] no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each to your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, David!" And all Israel went to their own tents.

So Israel has rebelled against the house of David until this day.

When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand {chosen warriors}, to fight against Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

"Say to Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,

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

Then after them, from all the tribes of Israel, those who set their heart to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to offer to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

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

Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "Yahweh [is] righteous."

So King Rehoboam was strengthened in Jerusalem, and he reigned [there]. Now, Rehoboam [was] forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city where Yahweh had chosen to put his name out of all the tribes of Israel. And the name of his mother [was] Naamah the Ammonite.

Then Abijah stood up on top of Mount Zemaraim that [is] in the hill country of Ephraim and said, "Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel!

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 look, God [is] with us at the head, and his priests [have] the trumpets for sounding blasts against you, O sons of Israel. Do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed."

Then the men of Judah shouted, and it happened [that] when the men of Judah were shouting, then God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

And Abijah and his people struck a great blow against them, and the dead from Israel [that] fell [were] five hundred thousand chosen men.

Now Israel [has been] without the true God many days, and without a teaching priest, and without law,

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.

but all who will not seek Yahweh the God of Israel should be killed, from young to old, from men to women.

But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was fully devoted all his days.

In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha the king of Israel went up against Judah. And he built Ramah in order not to allow [anyone] to go out or come in to Asa, king of Judah.

"[There is] a covenant between me and you, [as there was] between my father and your father. Look, I am sending you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, that he might withdraw from me."

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.

Now behold, the words of Asa [from] the first to the last, behold, they are written in the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.

And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and he strengthened himself against Israel.

but he sought after the God of his ancestors and walked in his commandments and not according to the works of Israel.

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 to the king of Israel, "Seek {first of all} the word of Yahweh."

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men. And he said to them, "Shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall we cease?" And they said, "Go up, since God will give [it] into the hand of the king."

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 king of Israel called to a eunuch and said, "Quickly bring Micaiah the son of Imlah."

Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were each sitting on his throne, clothed in robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains like sheep that had no shepherd. And Yahweh said, 'These have no masters; let them return to his own house in peace.'"

Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not say to you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but only disaster?"

And Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel that he would go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?' And one said this, and another said that.

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,

Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you, wear your garments." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went to war.

Now the king of Aram had commanded the commanders of his chariots, saying, "Do not fight with the small [or] the great, but only with the king of Israel."

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.

Now a certain man drew the bow {at random} and struck the king of Israel between the soldering of [his] breastplate armor. Then he said to the chariot driver, "{Turn around}; get me away from the [war] camp, for I am wounded."

And the battle went on that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in the chariot facing Aram until the evening. And he died at the time of the going down of the sun.

Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites and the priests and heads of the {families} of Israel as judges and to decide legal disputes for Yahweh. And they sat [in] Jerusalem.

O, our God, did you yourself not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham your friend forever?

And now, look, the people of Moab and Ammon and Mount Seir whom you did not allow Israel to come against when they came from Egypt, from whom they turned aside and did not destroy,

Then the Levites, from the {Kohathites} and from the {Korahites} stood up to praise Yahweh the God of Israel with an exceedingly loud voice.

And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the earth when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel.

Now the rest of the words of Jehoshaphat, [from] the first to the last, behold, they [are] written in the chronicles of Jehu the son of Hanani, which [are] recorded in the scroll of the kings of Israel.

And afterward Jehoshaphat the king of Judah joined with Ahaziah the king of Israel, who acted wickedly.

Now he had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these [were] the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel.

When Jehoram ascended to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and murdered all his brothers with the sword, and even some of the princes of Israel.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did evil in the sight of Yahweh.

but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have enticed Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be unfaithful like the unfaithfulness of the house of Ahab, and have also murdered your brothers of the house of your father who [were] better than you,

He also walked in their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead. And the Arameans wounded Joram.

And they went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the {families} of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

So he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, "Go out to the cities of Judah and gather money from all Israel to strengthen the house of your God sufficiently year by year. Now you yourselves must hasten to the matter." But the Levites did not act with haste.

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 issued a proclamation} in Judah and in Jerusalem to bring to Yahweh the tax [that] Moses the servant of God [had levied] upon Israel in the wilderness.

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.

And he hired from Israel one hundred thousand strong, mighty warriors for one hundred talents.

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.

And Amaziah said to the man of God, "Now what [should I] do with the one hundred talents that I have given to the troops of Israel?" And the man of God said, "{Yahweh is able to give} to you more than this."

Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel, and he sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, {let us face one another}.