Then David inquired again of God. And God said to him, "You shall not go up after them. Go around from before them and come against them the opposite [way] of the balsam trees.

And David did as God commanded him, and they struck the camp of the Philistines from Gibeon to Gezer.

And the fame of David went out through all the lands. And Yahweh put the fear of him upon all the nations.

Then David ordered [that] none except the Levites should carry the ark of God, for Yahweh had chosen them to carry the ark of Yahweh and to serve him forever.

And when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the city of David, then Michal the daughter of Saul looked down from the window and saw the king, David, leaping and dancing. And she despised him in her heart.

Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of his wondrous works!

Splendor and majesty [are] before him; strength and joy [are] in his place.

Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of his name! Lift up an offering and come before him! Bow down to Yahweh in the splendor of holiness!

Tremble before him, all the earth; surely the world shall not be shaken.

I myself will be a father to him, and he himself will be a son to me. And I will not remove my steadfast love from him as I took it away from whoever was before you.

And I will establish him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever." '"

For you, my God, {have informed} your servant [that] you will build a house for him. Therefore, your servant has found [courage] to pray before you.

And David captured from him one thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left one hundred of them [to] remain [for] chariots.

he sent Hadoram his son to King David to ask him for peace and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Tou {had been at war} with Hadadezer. And [he brought with him] all the objects of gold, silver, and bronze.

And David said, "I will deal kindly with Hanun the son of Nahash because his father showed kindness to me." So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And the servants of David came to the land of the {Ammonites}, to Hanun, to comfort him.

When Joab saw that [there was] {a battle line} against him at the front and the back, he chose from among the chosen [men] in Israel and arranged [them] to meet Aram.

And Joab and the people who [were] with him drew near before Aram for battle, and they fled before him.

And when it was told to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. And he came to them and was arrayed against them. Then David was arrayed to meet Aram in battle, and they fought with him.

And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated before Israel, they made peace with David and became servants to him. So Aram was no longer willing to help the {Ammonites}.

And the people who [were] in it he brought out, and {he set them to work with saws and iron implements and axes}. Thus David did to all the cities of the {Ammonites}. Then David returned, and all the nation [went] with him.

And he taunted Israel, but Jehonathan son of Shimea, brother of David, struck him down.

So Gad came to David and said to him, "Thus says Yahweh: 'Choose for yourself:

Now Ornan was threshing wheat, and Ornan turned and saw the angel, and his four sons with him hid themselves.

Then David built an altar there to Yahweh, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and he called to Yahweh. And he answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering.

At that time, when David saw that Yahweh answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.

Then David said, "Solomon my son [is] a boy and inexperienced, and the house built for Yahweh [must be] exceedingly great in fame and splendor throughout every land. I will make preparations for him." So David provided abundant [materials] before he died.

Then he called to Solomon his son and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Behold, a son shall be born to you; he himself will be a man of rest, and I will give rest to him from all his enemies all around, for his name will be Solomon, and peace and quietness I will give to Israel in his days.

He himself will build a house for my name, and he himself will be to me a son, and I [will be] to him as a father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'

The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was set apart to consecrate the most holy things. He and his sons [were] to burn offerings forever before Yahweh to serve him and to bless in his name forever.

These [were] their appointments for their service to come into the house of Yahweh according to their custom by the hand of Aaron their father, as Yahweh the God of Israel had commanded him.

Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth; for God blessed him.

And Hosah, from the sons of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (though he was not firstborn, his father appointed him as chief),

The fourth, for the fourth month, [was] Asahel the brother of Joab and his son Zebadiah after him. And [he was] over his working group [of] twenty-four thousand.

And he said to me, 'Solomon your son, he himself shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him as a son to myself, and I myself will be as a father to him,

"And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for Yahweh searches all hearts and understands every plan and [all] thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.

And they ate and drank before Yahweh on that day with great joy. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed [him] commander for Yahweh, and Zadok the priest.

Then Solomon sat upon the throne of Yahweh as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

And Yahweh made Solomon exceedingly great in the sight of all Israel, and he bestowed upon him royal splendor that was not [bestowed] upon any king before him in Israel.

with all [the accounts of] his kingdom, his power, and the times that came upon him, and upon Israel, and upon all the kingdoms of the earth.

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.