all the storage cities that belonged to him, and the cities where chariots and horses were kept. He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.

Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out completely). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day.

These men were also in charge of Solomon's work projects; there were a total of 550 men who supervised the workers.

Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense along with them before the Lord. He made the temple his official worship place.

Hiram sent his fleet and some of his sailors, who were well acquainted with the sea, to serve with Solomon's men.

She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true!

I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn't hear even half the story! Your wisdom and wealth surpass what was reported to me.

Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy!

May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions."

Solomon received 666 talents of gold per year,

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of gold were used for each shield.

He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.

There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.

There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.

All of King Solomon's cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon's time.

Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.

The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands.

They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, "You must not establish friendly relations with them! If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods." But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.

So the Lord said to Solomon, "Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.

However, for your father David's sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son's hand instead.

But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave your son one tribe for my servant David's sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem."

Pharaoh said to him, "What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?" Hadad replied, "Nothing, but please give me permission to leave."

He gathered some men and organized a raiding band. When David tried to kill them, they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city.

At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah was wearing a brand new robe,

The rest of the events of Solomon's reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon.

When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since.

"Your father made us work too hard. Now if you lighten the demands he made and don't make us work as hard, we will serve you."

They said to him, "Today if you show a willingness to help these people and grant their request, they will be your servants from this time forward."

He asked them, "How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, 'Lessen the demands your father placed on us'?"

The young advisers with whom Rehoboam had grown up said to him, "Say this to these people who have said to you, 'Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.' Say this to them: 'I am a lot harsher than my father!

My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.'"

and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, "My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh."

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, "We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse! Return to your homes, O Israel! Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!" So Israel returned to their homes.

The Lord says this: "Do not attack and make war with your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you go home, for I have caused this to happen."'" They obeyed the Lord and went home as the Lord had ordered them to do.

After the king had consulted with his advisers, he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, "It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt."

He built temples on the high places and appointed as priests people who were not Levites.

The king pled with the prophet, "Seek the favor of the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored." So the prophet sought the Lord's favor and the king's hand was restored to its former condition.

But the prophet said to the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I could not go with you and eat and drink in this place.

For the Lord gave me strict orders, 'Do not eat or drink there and do not go home the way you came.'"

and took off after the prophet, whom he found sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, "Are you the prophet from Judah?" He answered, "Yes, I am."

But he replied, "I can't go back with you or eat and drink with you in this place.

For the Lord gave me strict orders, 'Do not eat or drink there; do not go back the way you came.'"

The old prophet then said, "I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord's authority, 'Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.'" But he was lying to him.

While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke through the old prophet

and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, "This is what the Lord says, 'You have rebelled against the Lord and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you.

You went back and ate and drank in this place, even though he said to you, "Do not eat or drink there." Therefore your corpse will not be buried in your ancestral tomb.'"

Some men came by and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it. They went and reported what they had seen in the city where the old prophet lived.

After he buried him, he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the tomb where the prophet is buried; put my bones right beside his bones,

Jeroboam told his wife, "Disguise yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam's wife. Then go to Shiloh; Ahijah the prophet, who told me I would rule over this nation, lives there.

When Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, "Come on in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have been commissioned to give you bad news.

I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only what I approve.

Dogs will eat the members of your family who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country."' Indeed, the Lord has announced it!

The rest of the events of Jeroboam's reign, including the details of his battles and rule, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

There were also male cultic prostitutes in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.

In King Rehoboam's fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.

The rest of the events of Rehoboam's reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.

Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other.

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king over Judah.

He did this because David had done what he approved and had not disregarded any of his commandments his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite.

Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other throughout Abijah's lifetime.

The rest of the events of Abijah's reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. Abijah and Jeroboam had been at war with each other.

In the twentieth year of Jeroboam's reign over Israel, Asa became the king of Judah.

The high places were not eliminated, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.

Now Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other.

King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah and established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah.

"I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made. See, I have sent you silver and gold as a present. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land."

King Asa ordered all the men of Judah (no exemptions were granted) to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah. King Asa used the materials to build up Geba (in Benjamin) and Mizpah.

The rest of the events of Asa's reign, including all his successes and accomplishments, as well as a record of the cities he built, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. Yet when he was very old he developed a foot disease.

In the second year of Asa's reign over Judah, Jeroboam's son Nadab became the king of Israel; he ruled Israel for two years.

Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, conspired against Nadab and assassinated him in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory. This happened while Nadab and all the Israelite army were besieging Gibbethon.

Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa's reign over Judah and replaced him as king.

The rest of the events of Nadab's reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

Asa and King Nadab of Israel were continually at war with each other.

In the third year of Asa's reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah; he ruled for twenty-four years.

So I am ready to burn up Baasha and his family, and make your family like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat.

The rest of the events of Baasha's reign, including his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

In the twenty-sixth year of King Asa's reign over Judah, Baasha's son Elah became king over Israel; he ruled in Tirzah for two years.

Zimri came in and struck him dead. (This happened in the twenty-seventh year of Asa's reign over Judah.) Zimri replaced Elah as king.

The rest of the events of Elah's reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

In the twenty-seventh year of Asa's reign over Judah, Zimri became king over Israel; he ruled for seven days in Tirzah. Zimri's revolt took place while the army was deployed in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory.

When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he went into the fortified area of the royal palace. He set the palace on fire and died in the flames.

The rest of the events of Zimri's reign, including the details of his revolt, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

At that time the people of Israel were divided in their loyalties. Half the people supported Tibni son of Ginath and wanted to make him king; the other half supported Omri.

Omri's supporters were stronger than those who supported Tibni son of Ginath. Tibni died; Omri became king.

In the thirty-first year of Asa's reign over Judah, Omri became king over Israel. He ruled for twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.

Omri did more evil in the sight of the Lord than all who were before him.

The rest of the events of Omri's reign, including his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa's reign over Judah, Omri's son Ahab became king over Israel. Ahab son of Omri ruled over Israel for twenty-two years in Samaria.

Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the sight of the Lord than all who were before him.

As if following in the sinful footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not bad enough, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Then he worshiped and bowed to Baal.

Ahab also made an Asherah pole; he did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command."

She said, "As certainly as the Lord your God lives, I have no food, except for a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. Right now I am gathering a couple of sticks for a fire. Then I'm going home to make one final meal for my son and myself. After we have eaten that, we will die of starvation."

Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go and do as you planned. But first make a small cake for me and bring it to me; then make something for yourself and your son.

He said to her, "Hand me your son." He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him down on his bed.

Then he called out to the Lord, "O Lord, my God, are you also bringing disaster on this widow I am staying with by killing her son?"

Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upper room to the house, and handed him to his mother. Elijah then said, "See, your son is alive!"

The woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a prophet and that the Lord really does speak through you."

Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the Lord told Elijah, "Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground."