Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked the king. Joab said, "Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your servant!"

Absalom said to Joab, "Look, I sent a message to you saying, 'Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message: "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there."' Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!"

But the king said, "What do we have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he curses because the Lord has said to him, 'Curse David!', who can say to him, 'Why have you done this?'"

Hushai replied to Absalom, "No, I will be loyal to the one whom the Lord, these people, and all the men of Israel have chosen.

Ahithophel replied to Absalom, "Have sex with your father's concubines whom he left to care for the palace. All Israel will hear that you have made yourself repulsive to your father. Then your followers will be motivated to support you."

Then Hushai reported to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, "Here is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the leaders of Israel to do, and here is what I have advised.

But the soldiers replied, "You should not do this! For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won't be too concerned about us. Even if half of us should die, they won't be too concerned about us. But you are like ten thousand of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support."

Joab replied to the man who was telling him this, "What! You saw this? Why didn't you strike him down right on the spot? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a commemorative belt!"

If I had acted at risk of my own life -- and nothing is hidden from the king! -- you would have abandoned me."

Prior to this Absalom had set up a monument and dedicated it to himself in the King's Valley, reasoning "I have no son who will carry on my name." He named the monument after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom's Memorial.

Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go and tell the king what you have seen." After bowing to Joab, the Cushite ran off.

Ahimaaz the son of Zadok again spoke to Joab, "Whatever happens, let me go after the Cushite." But Joab said, "Why is it that you want to go, my son? You have no good news that will bring you a reward."

Then the Cushite arrived and said, "May my lord the king now receive the good news! The Lord has vindicated you today and delivered you from the hand of all who have rebelled against you!"

The king asked the Cushite, "How is the young man Absalom?" The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who have plotted against you be like that young man!"

The king then became very upset. He went up to the upper room over the gate and wept. As he went he said, "My son, Absalom! My son, my son, Absalom! If only I could have died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!"

So Joab visited the king at his home. He said, "Today you have embarrassed all your servants who have saved your life this day, as well as the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your concubines.

You seem to love your enemies and hate your friends! For you have as much as declared today that leaders and servants don't matter to you. I realize now that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, it would be all right with you.

For I, your servant, know that I sinned, and I have come today as the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king."

But David said, "What do we have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? You are like my enemy today! Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don't you realize that today I am king over Israel?"

After all, there was no one in the entire house of my grandfather who did not deserve death from my lord the king. But instead you allowed me to eat at your own table! What further claim do I have to ask the king for anything?"

Mephibosheth said to the king, "Let him have the whole thing! My lord the king has returned safely to his house!"

Barzillai replied to the king, "How many days do I have left to my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?

All the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, "Because the king is our close relative! Why are you so upset about this? Have we eaten at the king's expense? Or have we misappropriated anything for our own use?"

The men of Israel replied to the men of Judah, "We have ten shares in the king, and we have a greater claim on David than you do! Why do you want to curse us? Weren't we the first to suggest bringing back our king?" But the comments of the men of Judah were more severe than those of the men of Israel.

Now a wicked man named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He blew the trumpet and said, "We have no share in David; we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse! Every man go home, O Israel!"

Then David went to his palace in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement. Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them. They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows.

The Gibeonites said to him, "We have no claim to silver or gold from Saul or from his family, nor would we be justified in putting to death anyone in Israel." David asked, "What then are you asking me to do for you?"

For I have obeyed the Lord's commands; I have not rebelled against my God.

David felt guilty after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, "I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly."

When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, "Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep -- what have they done? Attack me and my family."

The young woman was very beautiful; she became the king's nurse and served him, but the king did not have sexual relations with her.

For today he has gone down and sacrificed many cattle, steers, and sheep and has invited all the king's sons, the army commanders, and Abiathar the priest. At this moment they are having a feast in his presence, and they have declared, 'Long live King Adonijah!'

Then follow him up as he comes and sits on my throne. He will be king in my place; I have decreed that he will be ruler over Israel and Judah."

The king's servants have even come to congratulate our master King David, saying, 'May your God make Solomon more famous than you and make him an even greater king than you!' Then the king leaned on the bed

and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, 'If your descendants watch their step and live faithfully in my presence with all their heart and being, then,' he promised, 'you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'

"Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim. He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promised him by the Lord, 'I will not strike you down with the sword.'

He added, "I have something to say to you." She replied, "Speak."

Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?"

Solomon replied, "You demonstrated great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served you faithfully, properly, and sincerely. You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne.

Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David's place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced.

The real mother spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused. She said, "My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don't kill him!" But the other woman said, "Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!"

So I have decided to build a temple to honor the Lord my God, as the Lord instructed my father David, 'Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, is the one who will build a temple to honor me.'

So now order some cedars of Lebanon to be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants. I will pay your servants whatever you say is appropriate, for you know that we have no one among us who knows how to cut down trees like the Sidonians."

The bottom floor of the extension was seven and a half feet wide, the middle floor nine feet wide, and the third floor ten and a half feet wide. He made ledges on the temple's outer walls so the beams would not have to be inserted into the walls.

The poles were so long their ends were visible from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point. They have remained there to this very day.

O Lord, truly I have built a lofty temple for you, a place where you can live permanently."

He told David, 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.'

The Lord told my father David, 'It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me.

The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have taken my father David's place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor of the Lord God of Israel

You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; this very day you have fulfilled what you promised.

Now, O Lord, God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, 'You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel, provided that your descendants watch their step and serve me as you have done.'

"God does not really live on the earth! Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built!

then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly you will then teach them the right way to live and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess.

When your people come to their senses in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, 'We have sinned and gone astray; we have done evil.'

Forgive all the rebellious acts of your sinful people and cause their captors to have mercy on them.

May the Lord our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him, so that he might vindicate his servant and his people Israel as the need arises.

The Lord said to him, "I have answered your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home; I will be constantly present there.

Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently, just as I promised your father David, 'You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'

then I will remove Israel from the land I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed among all the nations.

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.

He will retain one tribe, for my servant David's sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

I am taking the kingdom from him because they have abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon's father David did.

I will leave his son one tribe so my servant David's dynasty may continue to serve me in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home.

I will select you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel.

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!

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.

The king then said to the prophet, "Come home with me and have something to eat. I'd like to give a present."

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.

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.

You have sinned more than all who came before you. You went and angered me by making other gods, formed out of metal; you have completely disregarded me.

"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."

"I raised you up from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel. Yet you followed in Jeroboam's footsteps and encouraged my people Israel to sin; their sins have made me angry.

Drink from the stream; I have already told the ravens to bring you food there."

"Get up, go to Zarephath in Sidonian territory, and live there. I have already told a widow who lives there to provide for you."

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."

She asked Elijah, "Why, prophet, have you come to me to confront me with my sin and kill my son?"

Ahab told Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grazing areas so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill some of the animals."

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

Elijah replied, "I have not brought disaster on Israel. But you and your father's dynasty have, by abandoning the Lord's commandments and following the Baals.

When it was time for the evening offering, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and prayed: "O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

He answered, "I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life."

He answered, "I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life."

I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him."

He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, then I will follow you." Elijah said to him, "Go back! Indeed, what have I done to you?"

His advisers said to him, "Look, we have heard that the kings of the Israelite dynasty are kind. Allow us to put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and surrender to the king of Israel. Maybe he will spare our lives."

So the prophet said to him, "Because you have disobeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you." When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him.

Then his wife Jezebel came in and said to him, "Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?"

His wife Jezebel said to him, "You are the king of Israel! Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you."

Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, 'You cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death."

Say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: "Haven't you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?"' Then say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: "In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth's blood they will also lick up your blood -- yes, yours!"'"

When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, "So, you have found me, my enemy!" Elijah replied, "I have found you, because you are committed to doing evil in the sight of the Lord.

"Have you noticed how Ahab shows remorse before me? Because he shows remorse before me, I will not bring disaster on his dynasty during his lifetime, but during the reign of his son."

Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. Then the Lord said, 'They have no master. They should go home in peace.'"

He replied, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.' The Lord said, 'Deceive and overpower him. Go out and do as you have proposed.'

When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you returned?"

The king sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, "Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours.

Indeed, fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. So now, please have respect for my life."

They said to him, "Look, there are fifty capable men with your servants. Let them go and look for your master, for the wind sent from the Lord may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys." But Elisha replied, "Don't send them out."

He went out to the spring and threw the salt in. Then he said, "This is what the Lord says, 'I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops."