The Philistines assembled their army for battle. They were assembled at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.

David was the son of that Ephrathite man named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons; at the time when Saul was king he was old, having lived to an advanced age.

The men of Israel and Judah got up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance to the valley and to the gates of Ekron. Wounded Philistines fell along the way to Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.

But all Israel and Judah loved David because he led them in battle.

The prophet Gad told David, "Don't remain in the stronghold. Go and enter the territory of Judah." So David left and went into the forest of Hereth.

David's men told him, "Look, we're afraid here in Judah. How much then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine army?"

Investigate and find out all the hiding places there where he hides, and return to me with reliable information. Then I'll go down with you, and if he's in the land, I'll search him out among all the thousands of Judah."

David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En-gedi.

When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, "Look, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi."

David got up and went down to the Wilderness of Paran. Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel of Judah, and the man was very rich. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

So that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until the present time.

David answered, "Against the Negev of Judah, against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negev of the Kenites." David did not leave a man or woman alive to bring to Gath. He told himself, "Otherwise, they'll say, "This is what David is doing, and this has been his practice all the time he has lived in Philistine territory.'"

The Egyptian replied, "I'm a young Egyptian man, the slave of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me, because I got sick three days ago. We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory that belongs to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we set Ziklag on fire."

The Egyptian led him to the camp, and there the Amalekites were spread out over the whole area, eating, drinking, and celebrating with the great amount of spoil they had taken from the territory belonging to the Philistines and to Judah.

David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, and to his friends, telling them, "Look, this is a gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD

and he gave orders to teach the descendants of Judah the art of warfare, as is recorded in the Book of Jashar:

Some time later, David inquired of the LORD to ask, "Am I to move to any one of the cities of Judah?" The LORD told him, "Go." So David asked, "To which one?" He replied, "To Hebron."

After this, the army of Judah arrived, and they anointed David king over the house of Judah. There they informed David, "The men of Jabesh-gilead buried Saul."

So strengthen yourselves, and be valiant in heart, because your lord Saul has died, and the household of Judah has anointed me to be king over them."

Ish-bosheth began to reign over Israel at the age of 40 years, and he reigned for two years, even though Judah's lineage followed David.

What Ish-bosheth said made Abner furious, so he replied, "A dog's head for Judah is that what I am? Up until today I've kept on showing loyalty to your father Saul's dynasty, to his relatives and friends, and I haven't turned you over to David, but you're charging me today with moral guilt regarding this woman!

I will take away the kingdom from the dynasty of Saul by making the throne of David firm over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beer-sheba!"

He reigned over Judah for seven years and six months in Hebron, and he reigned over all of Israel including Judah for 33 years in Jerusalem.

Then David and all the people with him set out from Baal-judah to bring up from there the Ark of God, who is called the Name, the name of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, and who is enthroned on the cherubim.

Uriah replied, "The ark, along with Israel and Judah, are encamped in tents, while my commanding officer Joab and my master's staff members are camping out in the open fields. Should I go home, eat, drink, and have sex with my wife? Not on your life! I won't do something like this, will I?"

""I gave you your former master's household. ""I placed your former master's wives right in your arms. ""I gave you Israel and Judah. ""And if this had been too little, I would have added much more than that to you!

So King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: "Ask the elders of Judah, "Why are you the last to bring the king back to his palace, considering that what's being reported throughout all of Israel has come to the king at his palace?

By doing things like this, he persuaded all the men of Judah to unite in support of him. They sent the king this message: "Come on back, you and all of your army!"

The men of Judah went out as far as Gilgal to greet the king and escort him across the Jordan River while Gera's son Shimei, a descendant of Benjamin from Bahurim, accompanied them to meet King David.

As the king crossed over the Jordan River to Gilgal, Chimham accompanied him, as did all the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel.

Not long afterward, all the men of Israel started coming to the king, complaining to him, "Why did our relatives in Judah's army sneak you away, taking the king and his household over the Jordan River, along with David's army?"

Everybody from Judah shouted to the men from Israel, "We did this because the king is closely related to us. So why are you angry about this? Have we lived off the king's expense? Have we appropriated anything for ourselves?"

But the men from Israel answered the men from Judah: "We represent ten of the tribes of Israel! So we have more right to David than you do! Why haven't you taken us seriously? Weren't we the first to talk about bringing back our king?" But what the people of Judah had to say was harsher than what the people of Israel were saying.

So all of the other Israeli soldiers abandoned David to follow Bichri's son Sheba, while the army of Judah remained with the king all the way from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, David ordered Amasa, "Muster the army of Judah here within three days, and be here yourself!"

But when Amasa went out to muster the army of Judah, he delayed to act within the time allotted to him.

So the king called together the Gibeonites and conferred with them. Now the Gibeonites weren't part of the nation of Israel, but were the survivors from the Amorites. Although the Israelis had promised to spare them, Saul had started to execute them in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.

Later, God's anger blazed forth against Israel, so he incited David to move against them by telling him, "Go take a census of Israel and Judah."

Joab reported the total number of men to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 men trained for war. In Judah there were 500,000.

Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatted cattle by the Serpent Stone near En-rogel, inviting all of his relatives, the king's sons, and all of the men of Judah who worked for the king,

After this, you are to follow him back here, and he is to come and sit on my throne and take my place as king, because I've appointed him to be Commander-in-Chief over Israel and Judah."

The LORD will repay him for his bloodshed because, without my father David's consent he attacked and murdered two men more righteous and better than he, Ner's son Abner, the commander of Israel's army and Jether's son Amasa, commander of Judah's army.

Judah and Israel became as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They enjoyed abundance, and ate, drank, and rejoiced regularly.

Judah and Israel lived safely, and everyone enjoyed their own vine and fig tree from Dan to Beer-sheba through all of Solomon's life.

And so Rehoboam ruled over the Israelis who lived in the cities of Judah.

Now when all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him and invited him to visit their assembly, where they installed him as king over all of Israel. Nobody (with the sole exception of the tribe of Judah) would align with David's dynasty.

As soon as Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he assembled 180,000 elite soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, intending to attack the dynasty of Israel and restore the kingdom to Solomon's son Rehoboam.

"Tell Solomon's son Rehoboam, king of Judah, all the dynasty of Judah, Benjamin, and the rest of the people,

If these people keep going up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD there, the hearts of these people will return to their lord, King Rehoboam of Judah. Then they'll kill me and return to Rehoboam, king of Judah!"

Jeroboam invented a festival for the fifteenth day of the eighth month similar to the festival that takes place in Judah. He approached the altar that he had set up in Bethel and sacrificed to the calves that he had made, having stationed in Bethel the priests that he had appointed.

Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD.

"Which way did he go?" their father asked him, since his sons had observed the way that the man of God had taken to return to Judah from Bethel.

and he rode off after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. "You're the man of God who came from Judah, aren't you?" the old prophet asked him. "I am," he replied.

because I've been given a command in the form of this message from the LORD: "You are to eat no food, drink no water, and do not return to Judah by traveling the way by which you go there.'"

so he cried out to the man of God from Judah: "This is what the LORD says: "Because you disobeyed a command from the LORD and haven't done what the LORD your God commanded you to do,

Meanwhile, Solomon's son Rehoboam reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city where the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to place his Name. His mother was an Ammonite named Naamah.

Judah practiced what the LORD considered to be evil. They did more to provoke him to jealousy than their ancestors had ever done by committing the sins that they committed.

As to the rest of Rehoboam's accomplishments, and everything else that he undertook, they are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, aren't they?

Abijah reigned over Judah starting in the eighteenth year of Nebat's son Jeroboam's reign.

The rest of Abijah's accomplishments, including everything he undertook, are written in the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? And a state of war continued to exist between Abijah and Jeroboam.

Asa began to reign as Judah's king during the twentieth year of the reign of Jeroboam as king over Israel.

King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and interdicted Ramah by building fortifications around it so no one could enter or leave to join King Asa of Judah.

so King Asa published a proclamation throughout Judah (no one was left out) and they carried away the stones and timber with which Baasha had been fortifying Judah. King Asa used them to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah.

The rest of Asa's accomplishments, his strength, everything that he undertook, and the cities that he fortified are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? However, as he approached old age, he became diseased in his feet.

Jeroboam's son Nadab became king over Israel during the second year of the reign of King Asa over Judah. He reigned over Israel for two years,

Baasha killed him during the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah and took Nadab's place as king.

During the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Ahijah's son Baasha became king over all of Israel. He reigned for 24 years at Tirzah.

During the twenty-sixth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Baasha's son Elah became king over Israel and reigned at Tirzah for two years.

Zimri went inside, attacked him, and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, and then became king in Elah's place.

Zimri reigned for seven days at Tirzah during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. At that time, the army was encamped in a siege against Gibbethon of Philistia.

During the thirty-first year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Omri became king over Israel. He reigned for twelve years, six of them at Tirzah.

Omri's son Ahab became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa of Judah. He reigned over Israel in Samaria for 22 years.

Elijah was terrified, so he got up and ran for his life to Beer-sheba, which is part of Judah, and left his servant there

During that third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit the king of Israel.

Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were each sitting on their respective thrones, arrayed in their robes, on the threshing floor at the entrance to the city gate of Samaria, and all of the prophets were prophesying in front of them.

So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah both attacked Ramoth-gilead.

Asa's son Jehoshaphat became king over Judah during the fourth year of the reign of King Ahab of Israel.

Now the rest of Jehoshaphat's accomplishments, the power that he demonstrated, and how he waged war are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not?

Ahab's son Ahaziah became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. He reigned for two years over Israel.

After this, Jehoram ascended to the throne during the second year of the reign of Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram from Judah. He took the place of Ahaziah, who had no son. The rest of Ahaziah's activities are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?

Ahab's son Jehoram ascended to the throne of Israel at Samaria during the eighteenth year of the reign of Judah's King Jehoshaphat. He reigned for twelve years,

As he was going out, he sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight Moab?"

So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom made a complete circuit on the road for seven days, but there was no water for the army or for the livestock that accompanied them.

But Elisha responded, "As the LORD of the Heavenly Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, I would never pay attention to you or even look in your direction were it not for my continuous respect for the presence of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.

Sometime during the fifth year of the reign of Ahab's son Joram, king of Israel (while Jehoshaphat was still ruling as king of Judah), Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram ascended to the throne of Judah.

But the LORD remained unwilling to destroy Judah for the sake of his servant David, since he had promised to keep David's lamp burning brightly through his descendants every day.

During Jehoram's lifetime, Edom rebelled from Judah's hegemony and appointed a king to rule over themselves.

Edom remains in rebellion against Judah to this day, and Libnah revolted at the same time.

The rest of the official acts of Joram, along with everything else that he did, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not?

Joram's son Ahaziah began to reign as king of Judah during the twelfth year of the reign of Ahab's son Joram, king of Israel.

Then King Joram retreated to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah during the battle against King Hazael of Aram. Jehoram's son Ahaziah, king of Judah, went to visit Ahab's son Joram in Jezreel because Joram was sick.

Then Jehu rode by chariot to Jezreel, since Joram was recovering there. King Ahaziah from Judah had come to visit Joram.

Joram replied, "Let's begin our attack!" As soon as his chariot was prepared, both King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out, each in his own chariot, to fight against Jehu. They met together in the property that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite.

As soon as King Ahaziah of Judah observed this, he attempted to flee by the garden house road, but Jehu pursued him. At the ascent toward Gur which is near Ibleam, he ordered, "Shoot him in the chariot, too!"

Ahaziah had begun to reign over Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Ahab's son Joram.

Jehu met up with the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked them, "Who are you?" They answered, "We're Ahaziah's relatives, and we've come down to greet the king's sons and the sons of the queen mother."

So King Jehoash of Judah took all of the sacred things that his ancestors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, along with his own dedicated things, and all the gold that could be located within the treasure vaults of the LORD's Temple and in the king's palace, and paid off King Hazael of Aram. Then Hazael left Jerusalem.

Now the rest of the Joash's activities everything he did are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not?

During the twenty-third year of the reign of Ahaziah's son Joash, king of Judah, Jehu's son Jehoahaz began his seventeen year reign in Samaria over Israel.

During the thirty-seventh year of the reign of King Joash of Judah, Jehoahaz's son Jehoash began a sixteen year reign as king over Israel in Samaria.