Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem:

because David had practiced what the LORD considered to be right. He never avoided anything that the LORD had commanded him during his entire lifetime, except for the case of Uriah the Hittite.

And he was king for forty-one years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.

Those used for sex purposes in the worship of the gods he sent out of the country, and he took away all the images which his fathers had made.

And also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

"There is a bond between thee and me as was between thy father and mine. Therefore, I send thee both gold and silver for a gift, that thou go and break the covenant between thee and Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me."

So Ben-hadad did as King Asa said, and sent the captains of his armies against the towns of Israel, attacking Ijon and Dan and Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth as far as all the land of Naphtali.

Then King Asa proclaimed among all of Israel that there was no one free from obligation, so they carried the stones of Ramah and its wood with which Baasha had built, and King Asa rebuilt Geba in Benjamin with them, and the Mizpah.

Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, became king over Israel in the second year that Asa was king of Judah; and he was king of Israel for two years.

And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.

for the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and wherewith he made Israel to sin, because of his provocation wherewith he provoked Jehovah, the God of Israel, to anger.

In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years.

And he did that which displeased the LORD, for he walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin wherewith he made Israel sin.

Those who die for Baasha in the city, the dogs will eat; those who die for him in the field, the birds of the heavens will eat."

And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.

In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah for two years.

For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned [over Israel] for seven days at Tirzah. Now the troops were camped against Gibbethon, [a city] which belonged to the Philistines,

And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died,

For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.

Then there was a division among the people of Israel; half the people were for making Tibni, son of Ginath, king, and half were supporting Omri.

In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel [for] twelve years. He reigned in Tirzah six years,

And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.

Omri practiced what the LORD considered to be evil, doing far more evil than anyone who had reigned before him.

For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

In the thirty-eighth year that Asa was king of Judah, Ahab, the son of Omri, became king over Israel; and Ahab was king in Samaria for twenty-two years.

And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

Go from this place; and thou hast turned for thee eastward, and been hidden by the brook Cherith, that is on the front of the Jordan,

You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”

So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

The crows [were] bringing bread and meat in the morning for him and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the wadi.

And it came to pass after a while that the torrent dried up, for there had been no rain in the land.

“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

So he arose and went to Zarephath and came to the gate of the city. There [was] a widow woman gathering wood, so he called to her, and he said, "Please bring a little water for me in a vessel so that I can drink."

And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

She went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.

"What do we have in common, you man of God?" she accused Elijah. "You came to me so you could uncover my guilt! And you're responsible for the death of my son!"

And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab, for there was a great famishment in Samaria.

Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah was a man who greatly feared the Lord

For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

And Ahab said to Obadiah, Come, let us go through all the country, to all the fountains of water and all the rivers, and see if there is any grass to be had for the horses and the transport beasts, so that we may be able to keep some of the beasts from destruction.

So they divided the land for themselves in order to pass through it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

Obadiah said, "What sin have I committed that you are ready to hand your servant over to Ahab for execution?

As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear they had not found you.

And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.

Hasn't anyone told you, my master, what I did when Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets? I hid 100 of the LORD's prophets by fifties in a cave and provided food and water for them.

Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.

So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and got the prophets together at Mount Carmel.

Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:

And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.

And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.

As midday passed, they played the part of prophets and raved dramatically until the time for offering the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes of Jacob's descendants, to whom the message from the LORD had come that "Israel is to be your name."

and he built an altar with the stones in the name of Yahweh. Then he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold about four gallons.

And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.

Then he said, "Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood." When they had done so, he said, "Do it again." So they did it again. Then he said, "Do it a third time." So they did it a third time.

At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that at Your word I have done all these things.

Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.

So he got up and took food and drink, and in the strength of that food he went on for forty days and nights, to Horeb, the mountain of God.

And there he went into a hole in the rock for the night; then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?

And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

And Jehovah saith unto him, 'Go turn back on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus, and thou hast gone in, and anointed Hazael for king over Aram,

and Jehu son of Nimshi thou dost anoint for king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel-Meholah, thou dost anoint for prophet in thy stead.

Yet I have reserved [for me] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.

And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?

So Elisha turned back, took the pair of oxen, sacrificed them, boiled their flesh using the farm implements for fuel, and gave the food to the people with him. Then he got up, followed Elijah, and became his servant.

for if, at this time to-morrow, I send my servants unto thee then they have searched thy house, and the houses of thy servants, and it hath been, every desirable thing of thine eyes they place in their hand, and have taken away.'

Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.

Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.

And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

And the king of Israel said in answer, Say to him, The time for loud talk is not when a man is putting on his arms, but when he is taking them off.

Now when this answer was given to Ben-hadad, he was drinking with the kings in the tents, and he said to his men, Take up your positions. So they put themselves in position for attacking the town.

And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.

And also if they come for war, take them yet alive." And when those men of the sheriffs of the shires were come out of the city and the Host after them,

And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

And, the servants of the king of Syria, said unto him, - Gods of the mountains, are their gods, for this cause, prevailed they against us, - but, only let us fight with them in the plain, and verily we shall prevail against them.

And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.

It happened at the turning of the year that Ben-Hadad mustered Aram and went up to Aphek for the war with Israel.

These encamped opposite for seven days, and it happened on the seventh day that {the battle began}, and the {Israelites} killed the Arameans, one hundred thousand infantry in one day.

And his servants said unto him, Lo! we pray thee, we have heard, of the kings of the house of Israel, that, kings known for lovingkindness, they are. Let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes about our head, and let us go forth unto the king of Israel, peradventure he will save alive thy soul.

And they girded sack cloth about their loins and put ropes about their heads, and went out to the king of Israel and said, "Thy servant Benhadad sayeth, 'I pray thee let me live.'" And he said, "Is he yet alive? He is my brother." And they took the word for good luck and hastily caught it out of his mouth, and said, "Yea, thy brother Benhadad."

Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, so they quickly picked up on this and responded, “Yes, it is your brother Ben-hadad.”

Then he said, “Go and bring him.”

So Ben-hadad came out to him, and Ahab had him come up into the chariot.

And Benhadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

The king of Israel left for home resentful and angry, and he entered Samaria.

And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

And Naboth saith unto Ahab, 'Far be it from me, by Jehovah, my giving the inheritance of my fathers to thee;'