You must serve me as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations.

Then I will establish your dynasty, just as I promised your father David, 'You will not fail to have a successor ruling over Israel.'

"But if you people ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, and decide to serve and worship other gods,

As for this temple, which was once majestic, everyone who passes by it will be shocked and say, 'Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?'

Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it.

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

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

Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews; the Israelites served as his soldiers, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces.

Solomon moved Pharaoh's daughter up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, "My wife must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, for the places where the ark of the Lord has entered are holy."

Then Solomon offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built in front of the temple's porch.

As his father David had decreed, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests to do their assigned tasks, the Levitical orders to lead worship and help the priests with their daily tasks, and the divisions of the gatekeepers to serve at their assigned gates. This was what David the man of God had ordered.

They did not neglect any detail of the king's orders pertaining to the priests, Levites, and treasuries.

All the work ordered by Solomon was completed, from the day the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid until it was finished; the Lord's temple was completed.

Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and to Elat on the coast in the land of Edom.

Huram sent him ships and some of his sailors, men who were well acquainted with the sea. They sailed with Solomon's men to Ophir, and took from there 450 talents of gold, which they brought back to King Solomon.

When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, she came to challenge him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp, bringing with her camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind.

Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king.

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 surpasses what was reported to me.

May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! Because of your God's love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions."

With the timber the king made steps for the Lord's temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that.)

King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants.

besides what he collected from the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

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

There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.

All the kings of the earth wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.

He ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt.

The rest of the events of Solomon's reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Annals of Nathan the Prophet, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Vision of Iddo the Seer pertaining to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in Shechem to make Rehoboam king.

They sent for him and Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

"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."

He said to them, "Go away for three days, then return to me." So the people went away.

King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, "How do you advise me to answer these people?"

They said to him, "If you are fair to these people, grant their request, and are cordial to them, 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!

Jeroboam and all the people reported to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, "Return to me on the third day."

The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men

The king refused to listen to the people, because God was instigating this turn of events so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

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 all Israel returned to their homes.

(Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.)

King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, the supervisor of the work crews, out after them, but the Israelites stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem.

So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day.

When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from Judah and Benjamin to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

"Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin,

The Lord says this: "Do not attack and make war with your brothers. Each of you go home, for I have caused this to happen."'" They obeyed the Lord and called off the attack against Jeroboam.

In each city there were shields and spears; he strongly fortified them. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.

The Levites even left their pasturelands and their property behind and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons prohibited them from serving as the Lord's priests.

Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the worship centers and to lead in the worship of the goat idols and calf idols he had made.

Those among all the Israelite tribes who were determined to worship the Lord God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their ancestors.

They supported the kingdom of Judah and were loyal to Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years; they followed the edicts of David and Solomon for three years.

He later married Maacah the daughter of Absalom. She bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as the leader over his brothers, for he intended to name him his successor.

Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, in King Rehoboam's fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.

Shemaiah the prophet visited Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were assembled in Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, "This is what the Lord says: 'You have rejected me, so I have rejected you and will hand you over to Shishak.'"

When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, he gave this message to Shemaiah: "They have humbled themselves, so I will not destroy them. I will deliver them soon. My anger will not be unleashed against Jerusalem through Shishak.

King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace.

Whenever the king visited the Lord's temple, the royal guards carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom.

King Rehoboam solidified his rule in Jerusalem; he was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home. Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite named Naamah.

He did evil because he was not determined to follow the Lord.

The events of Rehoboam's reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Annals of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer that include genealogical records.

Abijah ascended Mount Zemaraim, in the Ephraimite hill country, and said: "Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel!

Don't you realize that the Lord God of Israel has given David and his dynasty lasting dominion over Israel by a formal agreement?

But you banished the Lord's priests, Aaron's descendants, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests just as the surrounding nations do! Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of these fake gods!

They offer burnt sacrifices to the Lord every morning and every evening, along with fragrant incense. They arrange the Bread of the Presence on a ritually clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. Certainly we are observing the Lord our God's regulations, but you have rejected him.

Now look, God is with us as our leader. His priests are ready to blow the trumpets to signal the attack against you. You Israelites, don't fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, for you will not win!"

Now Jeroboam had sent some men to ambush the Judahite army from behind. The main army was in front of the Judahite army; the ambushers were behind it.

The men of Judah turned around and realized they were being attacked from the front and the rear. So they cried out for help to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets,

The Israelites fled from before the Judahite army, and God handed them over to the men of Judah.

That day the Israelites were defeated; the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord God of their ancestors.

Abijah's power grew; he had fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to observe his law and commands.

He said to the people of Judah: "Let's build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates. The land remains ours because we have followed the Lord our God and he has made us secure on all sides." So they built the cities and prospered.

and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

Asa prayed to the Lord his God: "O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. O Lord our God, don't let men prevail against you!"

They defeated all the cities surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic. The men of Judah looted all the cities, for they contained a huge amount of goods.

They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock. They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem.

He met Asa and told him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him. If you seek him, he will respond to you, but if you reject him, he will reject you.

For a long time Israel had no true God, or priest to instruct them, or law.

Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them.

One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil.

But as for you, be strong and don't get discouraged, for your work will be rewarded."

He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

At that time they sacrificed to the Lord some of the plunder they had brought back, including 700 head of cattle and 7,000 sheep.

They solemnly agreed to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with their whole heart and being.

They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns.

All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. He made them secure on every side.

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

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah, and he established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah.

Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord's temple and of the royal palace and sent it to King Ben Hadad of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message:

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

Ben Hadad accepted King Asa's offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

King Asa ordered all the men of Judah to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah. He used the materials to build up Geba and Mizpah.

At that time Hanani the prophet visited King Asa of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.

Did not the Cushites and Libyans have a huge army with chariots and a very large number of horsemen? But when you relied on the Lord, he handed them over to you!

Certainly the Lord watches the whole earth carefully and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him. You have acted foolishly in this matter; from now on you will have war.

The events of Asa's reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

He was buried in the tomb he had carved out in the City of David. They laid him to rest on a bier covered with spices and assorted mixtures of ointments. They made a huge bonfire to honor him.

The Lord made his kingdom secure; all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he became very wealthy and greatly respected.

He was committed to following the Lord; he even removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.