And he said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should drink this. [Is it not the same as] the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south], and conduct a census of the people, so that I may know the number of the people.”

Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So they went from the king’s presence to take a census of the people of Israel.

So the Lord sent a pestilence (plague) [lasting three days] upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.

Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, so that the plague may be held back from the people.”

Also, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from there celebrating, so the city is in an uproar. This is the noise which you have heard.

So King Solomon sent [soldiers], and they brought Adonijah down from the altar [that was in front of the tabernacle]. And he came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

So he said, “You know that the kingdom belonged to me [as the eldest living son] and all Israel looked to me and expected me to be king. However, the kingdom has passed [from me] and became my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord.

So Solomon dismissed Abiathar [a descendant of Eli] from being priest to the Lord, fulfilling the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house (descendants) of Eli in Shiloh.

The king said to him, “Do as he has said. Strike him down and bury him, so that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the innocent blood which Joab shed.

So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and the heads of his descendants forever. But for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.”

So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to [King] Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought them back from Gath.

Now Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.

So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from [his place] beside me while your maidservant was asleep, and laid him on her bosom, and laid her dead son on my bosom.

Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah as far as beyond Jokmeam;

Now Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the [Euphrates] River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute (money) and served Solomon all the days of his life.

For he was ruling over everything west of the [Euphrates] River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the [Euphrates] River; and he had peace on all sides around him.

Judah and Israel lived in security, every man under his vine and fig tree [in peace and prosperity], from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south], during all the days of Solomon.

He spoke of trees, from the cedar which is in Lebanon to the hyssop [vine] that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and fish.

People came from all the peoples (nations) to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the [Mediterranean] sea, and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea to the place (port) that you direct me; then I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then you shall return the favor by providing food for my household.”

The entrance to the lowest side chamber was on the right [or south] side of the house; and they would go up winding stairs to the middle [level], and from the middle to the third.

He built the walls of the interior of the house [that is, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies] with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the rafters of the ceiling. He overlaid the interior with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress.

He built twenty cubits on the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling; he built its interior as the [inner] sanctuary, the Holy of Holies.

One wing of the cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was also five cubits long; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.

He made the hall for the throne where he was to judge, the Hall of Judgment; it was paneled with cedar from [one] floor to [another] floor.

All these were of expensive stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great courtyard.

Now King Solomon sent word and brought Hiram [a skilled craftsman] from Tyre.

Now he made the Sea (basin) of cast metal, ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, five cubits high and thirty cubits in circumference.

The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were visible from the Holy Place that was in front of the Holy of Holies, but they were not visible from the outside; they are there to this day (the date of this writing).

“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and praise Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them,

“Moreover, concerning a foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, but comes from a far (distant) country for the sake of Your name [to plead with You]

(for they are Your people and Your heritage, whom You brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace [of slavery and oppression]),

For You singled them out from all the peoples of the earth as Your heritage, just as You declared through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

When Solomon finished offering this entire prayer and supplication to the Lord, he arose from before the Lord’s altar, where he had knelt down with his hands stretched toward heaven.

So at that time Solomon held the feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath [on the northern border of Israel] to the Brook of Egypt [at Israel’s southern border], before the Lord our God, for seven days and seven more days [beyond the prescribed period for the Feast of Booths], fourteen days in all.

“But if you or your sons turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,

then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and I will cast out of My sight the house which I have consecrated for My Name and Presence. Then Israel will become a proverb (a saying) and a byword (object of ridicule) among all the peoples.

So Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they did not please him.

Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he did not explain to her.

Also the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a great quantity of almug wood (sandalwood) and precious stones.

King Solomon [in turn] gave to the queen of Sheba everything that she wanted, whatever she asked, besides what he gave to her from his royal bounty. So she returned to her own country, she and her servants.

besides the taxes from the traders and from the wares of the merchants, and [the tribute money] from all the kings of the Arabs (Bedouins) and the governors of the country.

He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away [from God].

So the Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,

Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.

They set out from Midian [south of Edom] and came to Paran, and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave [young] Hadad a house and ordered food and provisions for him and gave him land.

God also stirred up another adversary for Solomon, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah.

He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes—

Now when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard about it, he was living in Egypt (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon).

So the king did not listen to the people; for the situation was from the Lord, so that He might fulfill His word which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not go up and fight against your brothers, the sons of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing has come about from Me.”’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and returned to go home, in accordance with the word of the Lord.

Then Jeroboam built Shechem [as his royal city] in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. He went out from there and rebuilt Penuel [as a stronghold].

The altar also was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar in accordance with the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons had seen which way the man of God who came from Judah had gone.

and he went after the man of God. And he found him sitting under an oak (terebinth) tree, and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.”

So the man of God went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.

And he cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you,

When the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.”

After this event, Jeroboam [still] did not turn from his evil way, but again made priests for the high places from among all the people. He ordained anyone who was willing, so that there would be priests for the high places.

And this thing (idol worship) became the sin of the house of Jeroboam to blot it out and eliminate it from the face of the earth.

Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel,

and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—but you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes,

therefore behold, I am bringing evil on the house (royal line) of Jeroboam, and I will cut off (destroy) from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free, in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.

Moreover, the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house (royal line) of Jeroboam this day and from now on.

because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of [the betrayal of] Uriah the Hittite.

He also deposed his [great-grand]mother Maacah from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid (obscene, vulgar) image for [the goddess] Asherah. Asa cut down her horrid image, and burned it by the Brook Kidron.

“Let there be a treaty between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

Then Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.

Omri bought the hill Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he built a city on the hill [and fortified it], and named the city which he built Samaria, after the owner of the hill, Shemer.

“Go from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan [River].

He said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her arms and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed.

As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent messengers to seek you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ Ahab made the kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.

And as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I come to tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. Yet your servant has [reverently] feared the Lord from my youth.

So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, hear and answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they had made.

It shall come about that Jehu shall put to death whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, and Elisha shall put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.

So Elisha left him and went back. Then he took a pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their meat with the implements of the oxen [as fuel], and gave the meat to the people, and they ate. Then he stood and followed Elijah, and served him.

Do this: remove the [thirty-two allied] kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place,

But the rest ran to the city of Aphek, and the [city] wall fell on 27,000 of the men who were left. Ben-hadad escaped and came into the city, going into an inner chamber [to hide].

Ben-hadad [tempting him] said to him, “I will restore the cities which my father took from your father; and you may set up bazaars (shops) of your own in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” Then, Ahab replied, “I will let you go with this covenant (treaty).” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he left him, a lion found him and killed him.

Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and [Ahab] the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

Behold [says the Lord], I am bringing evil (catastrophe) on you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel;

Now the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, yet we are still doing nothing to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?”

But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?”

When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

He walked in all the ways of Asa his father, without turning from them, doing right in the sight of the Lord. However, the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

And the remnant of the sodomites (male cult prostitutes) who remained in the days of his father Asa, Jehoshaphat expelled from the land.

Ahaziah [the king of Israel] fell through the lattice (grid) in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became sick [from the injury]. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this sickness.”

Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “So if I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty [fighting men].” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty [fighting men].” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.”

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.

Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” He said, “Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it].”

The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it].”

And when they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

He said, “You have asked for a difficult thing. However, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.”

He picked up the mantle of Elijah that fell off him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he too had struck the waters, they divided this way and that, and Elisha crossed over.

Then Elisha went up from Jericho to Bethel. On the way, young boys came out of the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”