Then Absalom said moreover, "Oh, that I were a judge in the land, and that all men which have pleas and matter in the law, should come to me. For I would do them justice."

And at forty years' end Absalom said unto the king, "Let me go, I pray thee, to Hebron; and pay my vow which I have vowed unto the LORD.

But and if the Lord thus say - 'I have no pleasure in thee' - behold, here am I, let him do with me what seemeth best in his eyes."

And one told David, saying, "Ahithophel is one of them that have conspired with Absalom." Then said David, "O LORD, turn the counsel of Ahithophel unto foolishness."

And if thou return to the city: then shalt thou say unto Absalom, 'I will be thy servant O king: thus long have I been thy father's servant, and now I am thine,' and destroy me the counsel of Ahithophel.

And behold, ye have there with you their two sons: Ahimaaz Zadok's son, and Jonathan Abiathar's son, by which ye shall send me all that ye can hear."

And the king said, "What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse: for the LORD hath bid him curse David. And who dare presume to say wherefore doth he so?"

and will bring again all the people unto thee. And when all these men which thou seekest are turned to thee, all the people shall have rest."

Then said Hushai unto Zadok and Abiathar the priests, "Of this and that manner did Ahithophel and the elders of Israel counsel Absalom. And thus and thus have I counseled.

And Joab said unto him that told him, "Lo, sawest thou him? And why didst thou not there smite him to the ground, that I should have given thee ten sicles of silver and a soldier's girdle?"

Moreover though I had jeoparded my life and done falsely thereto, yet could nought of all the matter have been hid from the king: yea, and thou thyself wouldest be against me."

And this Absalom, yet in his lifetime, took and reared up a pillar, which is yet in King's Dale. For he said, "I have no male child. And therefore, to keep my name in remembrance do I it." And he called the pillar after his own name. And it is called unto this day, Absalom's pillar.

And the king said to Cushi, "Is the lad Absalom safe?" And Cushi answered, "The enemies of my lord the king and all that rise against thee, to have thee, be as thy lad is."

And Joab went into the house to the king and said, "Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life and the lives of thy sons and daughters, and the lives of thy wives and concubines:

For thy servant doth know how that I have done amiss. And therefore behold, I am the first this day of all the house of Joseph that am come to meet my lord the king."

And he said, "My lord king, my servant deceived me. For thy servant said: that I would have mine ass saddled to ride thereon, for to go to the king, because thy servant is lame.

For all my father's house were but dead men unto my lord the king: and yet didst thou put me among them that eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet, to cry any more unto the king?"

And the king said, "It needeth thee not to speak any more, for I have said that thou and Ziba shall divide the lands between you."

Wherefore all the men of Israel came to the king and said unto him, "Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king and his household and all David's men with him over Jordan?"

And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, "We have ten parts in the king, and have thereto more right to David than ye. Why then did ye despise us, that our advice had not been first had in restoring our king again?" And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

And there happened to be an unthrifty fellow named Sheba, the son of Bichri a man of Benjamin which blew a trumpet and said, "We have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse, O Israel.

And Joab said to Amasa, "Are all things in rest and peace my brother?" And Joab took Amasa by the chin with the right hand, as though he would have kissed him.

And the Gibeonites said unto him, "We have no matter of silver or of gold with Saul or with his house: neither have we any man that we would kill in Israel." Then he said, "What say ye that I shall do for you?"

And David waxed fainty, and Ishbi of Nob one of the sons of the Giants whose spear head weighed three hundredth sicles of brass, and was girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.

For the waves of death have closed me about, and the floods of Belial have feared me.

The cords of hell have compassed me about, and the snares of death have overtaken me.

And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And he said unto the LORD, "I have sinned exceedingly in that I have done. And now LORD take away the trespass of thy servant: for I have done foolishly."

And Gad came to David and showed him and said unto him, "Whether wilt thou have seven years hunger in thy land, or that thou flee three months before thine enemies and they following thee, or that there be three days pestilence in thy land? Now understand, and see what word I shall bring again to him that sent me."

And when the Angel stretched out his hand unto Jerusalem to have destroyed it, the LORD had compassion to do that evil, and said to the Angel that destroyed the people, "It is sufficient: let thine hand cease." And the Angel was at the threshing place of Araunah the Jebusite.

Then spake David unto the LORD when he saw the Angel that smote the people, and said, "Lo, it is I that have sinned, and I that have done wickedly. But these sheep what have they done? Let I pray thee thine hand be on me and on my father's house."

And then come up after him, and let him come and sit upon my seat. For he shall be king in my stead. And him I have commanded to be captain over Israel and Judah."

And the king sent with him, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they have set him upon the king's mule.

And Zadok the priest and Nathan the Prophet have anointed him king in Gihon. And as they came up again they rejoiced that the city did sound again. And that is the noise that ye have heard.

And he said, "It betokeneth peace." Then said he, "I have a matter to show thee." And she said, "Say on."

Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, "God do so to me and so thereto if Adonijah have not spoken this word against himself.

And the king sent and called Shimei and said unto him, "Did I not adjure thee by the LORD, and testified unto thee saying, 'Be sure whensoever thou goest out and walkest abroad any whither, thou shalt die for it?' And thou answeredst me, 'It is good tidings that I have heard.'

see, I have done according to thy petition. And behold, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

And thereto I have given thee that thou askedst not, both riches and honour: so that there shall be no king like thee all thy days.

And Hiram sent again to Solomon, saying, "I have accepted the request which thou sentest to me for, and will satisfy all thy lust, concerning timber of Cedar trees and fir.

I have built thee a house to dwell in, and a habitation for thee to abide in forever."

'From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city among any of the tribes of Israel, to build a house, that my name might be there: But I have chosen David to be ruler over my people Israel.'

And the LORD hath made good his word that he spake. For I stood up in the room of David my father, and sat on the seat of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

And I have prepared therein a place for the Ark wherein the covenant of the LORD is, which he made with our fathers, after he had brought them out of the land of Egypt."

But indeed can God dwell on the earth? Behold: neither heaven, nor heaven above all heavens are able to contain thee - how much less then this house that I have built?

And hearken unto the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel which they shall pray in this place. And hear thou, up unto heaven thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest have mercy.

When thy people Israel be put to the worse before their enemies, because they have sinned against thee, and afterward turn again to thee and praise thy name, and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house:

If heaven be shut up, that there be no rain, because they have sinned against thee: yet if they pray in this place and praise thy name and turn from their sins, through thy scourging of them:

hear thou up to heaven thy dwelling place and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all nations of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee as do thy people Israel, and that it may be known that this house which I have built is called after thy name.

And when they go out to battle against their enemies whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen and toward the house that I have built for thy name:

And finally, when they shall have sinned against thee - for there is no man that sinneth not - and thou art angry with them and hast delivered them to their enemies, that they be carried away prisoners unto the land of their enemies, whether far or near;

yet if they turn again unto their hearts in the land where they be in captivity, and return and pray unto thee in the land of them that hold them captive, saying, 'We have sinned and have done wickedly and have trespassed,'

and so turn again unto thee with all their hearts and all their souls in the land of their enemies which hold them captive, and pray unto thee, toward the land which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

and be merciful unto thy people that have sinned against thee, and unto all their trespass that they have trespassed against thee, and get them favour in the sight of them that hold them captive that they may have compassion on them.

And these my words which I have prayed before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he defend the cause of his servant and of his people Israel evermore,

And the LORD said unto him, "I have heard thy prayer and intercession that thou madest before me, and have hallowed this house which thou hast built, to put my name there forever and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in pureness of heart and plainness, to do all that I have commanded thee, and shalt keep mine ordinances and customs:

But and if ye and your children shall turn away from after me, and shall not keep mine ordinances which I have set before you, but shall go and serve other gods and bow yourselves unto them:

then I will weed Israel out of the land which I have given them. And this house which I have hallowed for my name, I will put out of my sight. And Israel shall be a proverb and a fable unto all nations.

And it shall be answered then, 'Because they forsook the LORD their God which brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods and have stooped unto him and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.'"

whereupon the LORD said to Solomon, "Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept mine covenant and mine ordinances which I have commanded thee, therefore I will rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

Howbeit I will not take away all: but will give one tribe to thy son, because of David my servant and because of Jerusalem which I have chosen."

and he shall have one, for my servant David's sake and for Jerusalem the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:

because they have forsaken me, and have bowed themselves unto Ashtaroth the God of the Sidonians, and to Chemosh the God of the Moabites and to Milcom the God of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that pleaseth me, and mine ordinances and customs, as David his father.

and will give his son one, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me, to put my name there.

And he said unto them, "What counsel give ye, to answer this people withal which have communed with me saying, 'Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us, lighter?'"

And the young men that were brought up with him, answered him, saying, "This people that have said unto thee, 'Thy father made our yoke heavy, make thou it us lighter' - thus answer them: 'My little finger shall be weightier than my father's loins!

And now, where my father put a grievous yoke upon you, I will make it heavier. For where my father corrected you with scourges, I will chastise you with scorpions."

And when all Israel saw that the king regarded them not, the people answered the king again saying, "We have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents therefore Israel, and now see to thine own house David." And so Israel departed unto their tents.

And the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed that groweth in the water is shaken, and will weed Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond Euphrates, because they have made them groves to anger the LORD.

Drink of the river for I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there."

"Up, and get thee to Zarephath a city of Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain thee."

And she answered, "As surely as the LORD thy God liveth, I have no bread, but even a handful of meal in a pitcher, and a little oil in a cruse. And see, I have gathered a few sticks for to go and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it and then die."

For thus sayeth the LORD God of Israel, 'The pitcher of meal shall not be wasted, neither shall thy oil cruse be without oil, until the LORD have sent rain upon the earth.'"

Then said she unto Elijah, "What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me, that my sin should be thought on and my son slain?"

And the other answered, "What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver me unto the hand of Ahab, to slay me?

And as soon as I am gone from thee, the spirit of the LORD shall carry thee away, whither I shall not know: and then when I have gone and told Ahab, and then he can not find thee, he shall slay me. And yet I thy servant have feared the LORD from my young age.

And he said, "It is not I that trouble Israel, but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and hast followed Baal.

And he answered, "I have been thorough angry for the LORD God of Hosts' sake. For the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, and have broken down thine altars and slain the Prophets with the sword, and I only am left, and they seek my soul to have it too."

And he answered, "I was jealous for the LORD God of Hosts' sake: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant and have cast down thine altars and slain thy prophets with the sword, and I only am left, and they seek my soul to have it."

And thereto I have left me seven thousand in Israel, of which never man bowed his knees unto Baal nor kissed him with his mouth."

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

And the king of Israel answered, and said, "My lord king, according to thy saying, I am thine with all I have."

And the messengers came again to Ahab and said, "Thus sayeth Benhadad, 'I have therefore sent unto thee, saying: deliver me then thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children.

Then Benhadad sent unto him and said, "Thus do the gods to me and so thereto, if the dust of Samaria be enough for all the people that follow me, that every man may have a handful."

Then said the servants of the kings of Syria to him, "The gods of the hills are their gods, and therefore they had the better of us. But let us fight with them in the plain, and for what ye will, we shall have the better of them.

Then said his servants unto him, "Behold, we have heard say that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sack cloth about our Loins and ropes about our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: haply he will save thy life."

And he said unto the king, "Thus sayeth the LORD, 'Because thou hast let go a man that ought to have died, thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his."

And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, "Let me have thy vineyard, to make me a garden of herbs thereof, because it lieth so nigh my house: and I will give thee a better vineyard for it: or if it please thee I will give thee, the worth of it in silver."

And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron and said, "Thus sayeth the LORD, 'With these horns thou shalt winnow the Syrians until thou have made an end of them."

Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have no shepherds. And the LORD said, 'Those have no master; let them return, every man to his house in peace.'"

And as soon as they were over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee." And Elisha said, "Let me, I pray thee, have thy spirit double in me."

And he said, "Thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken away from thee, thou shalt have it so: if thou do not, it shall not be."

And Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father and of thy mother." And the king of Israel said unto him, "Oh nay, but hath the LORD called these three kings to deliver them into the hands of the Moabites?"

they said, "It is blood, the kings have fought together and one slain another. Now therefore ye Moabites get you to the spoil."

And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was so strong for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew the sword, to have broken up unto the king of Edom. But they could not.

And then he took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the walls. And there came so great wrath upon Israel, that they departed from him and returned to their own land.

And the wife conceived and bare a son the same season that Elisha had said unto her, "As soon as the fruit could have life."

And he brought the letter to the king of Israel containing this tenor, "Now when this letter is come up to thee: Behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou shouldest rid him of his leprosy."

And Naaman was wroth and went away, and said, "Behold, I thought in myself, he would have come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and put his hand on the place of the disease, and so take away the leprosy.

Then came his servants and communed with him, and said, "Father if the prophet had bid thee done some great thing, oughtest thou not to have done it? How much rather then shouldest thou do it, while he sayeth to thee only, 'Wash and be clean?'"