Category: 1 Kings

The Visit of the Queen of Sheba

1 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame,and she traveled to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions.

2 She brought with her a large group of attendants, as well as camels loaded with spices, jewels, and a large amount of gold. When she and Solomon met, she asked him all the questions that she could think of.

3 He answered them all; there was nothing too difficult for him to explain.

4 The queen of Sheba heard Solomon’s wisdom and saw the palace he had built.

5 She saw the food that was served at his table, the living quarters for his officials, the organization of his palace staff and the uniforms they wore, the servants who waited on him at feasts, and the sacrifices he offered in the Temple. It left her breathless and amazed.

6 She said to King Solomon, “What I heard in my own country about youand your wisdom is true!

7 But I couldn’t believe it until I had come and seen it all for myself. But I didn’t hear even half of it; your wisdom and wealth are much greater than what I was told.

8 How fortunate are your wives!And how fortunate your servants, who are always in your presence and are privileged to hear your wise sayings!

9 Praise theLordyour God! He has shown how pleased he is with you by making you king of Israel. Because his love for Israel is eternal, he has made you their king so that you can maintain law and justice.”

10 She presented to King Solomon the gifts she had brought: almost five tons of gold and a very large amount of spices and jewels. The amount of spices she gave him was by far the greatest that he ever received at any time.

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11 Hiram’s fleet, which had brought gold from Ophir, also brought from there a large amount of juniper wood and jewels.

12 Solomon used the wood to build railings in the Temple and the palace, and also to make harps and lyres for the musicians. It was the finest juniper wood ever imported into Israel; none like it has ever been seen again.)

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she asked for, besides all the other customary gifts that he had generously given her. Then she and her attendants returned to the land of Sheba.

King Solomon’s Wealth

14 Every year King Solomon received over twenty-five tons of gold,

15 in addition to the taxespaid by merchants, the profits from trade, and tribute paid by the Arabian kings and the governors of the Israelite districts.

16 Solomon made two hundred large shields and had each one overlaid with almost fifteen pounds of gold.

17 He also made three hundred smaller shields, overlaying each one of them with nearly four pounds of gold. He had all these shields placed in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.

18 He also had a large throne made. Part of it was covered with ivory and the rest of it was covered with the finest gold.

19-20 The throne had six steps leading up to it, with the figure of a lion at each end of every step, a total of twelve lions. At the back of the throne was the figure of a bull’s head, and beside each of the two armrests was the figure of a lion. No throne like this had ever existed in any other kingdom.

21 All of Solomon’s drinking cups were made of gold, and all the utensils in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. No silver was used, since it was not considered valuable in Solomon’s day.

22 He had a fleet of ocean-going ships sailing with Hiram’s fleet. Every three years his fleet would return, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.

23 King Solomon was richer and wiser than any other king,

24 and the whole world wanted to come and listen to the wisdom that God had given him.

25 Everyone who came brought him a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This continued year after year.

26 Solomon built up a force of fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand cavalry horses. Some of them he kept in Jerusalem and the rest he stationed in various other cities.

27 During his reign silver was as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycamore in the foothills of Judah.

28 The king’s agents controlled the export of horses from Musriand Cilicia,

29 and the export of chariots from Egypt. They supplied the Hittite and Syrian kings with horses and chariots, selling chariots for 600 pieces of silver each and horses for 150 each.

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Solomon Turns Away from God

1 Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides the daughter of the king of Egypt he married Hittite women and women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon.

2 He married them even though theLordhad commanded the Israelites not to intermarry with these people, because they would cause the Israelites to give their loyalty to other gods.

3 Solomon married seven hundred princesses and also had three hundred concubines. They made him turn away from God,

4 and by the time he was old they had led him into the worship of foreign gods. He was not faithful to theLordhis God, as his father David had been.

5 He worshiped Astarte, the goddess of Sidon, and Molech, the disgusting god of Ammon.

6 He sinned against theLordand was not true to him as his father David had been.

7 On the mountain east of Jerusalem he built a place to worship Chemosh, the disgusting god of Moab, and a place to worship Molech, the disgusting god of Ammon.

8 He also built places of worship where all his foreign wives could burn incense and offer sacrifices to their own gods.

9-10 Even though theLord, the God of Israel, had appeared to Solomon twice and had commanded him not to worship foreign gods, Solomon did not obey theLordbut turned away from him. So theLordwas angry with Solomon

11 and said to him, “Because you have deliberately broken your covenant with me and disobeyed my commands, I promise that I will take the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your officials.

12 However, for the sake of your father David I will not do this in your lifetime, but during the reign of your son.

13 And I will not take the whole kingdom away from him; instead, I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have made my own.”

Solomon’s Enemies

14 So theLordcaused Hadad, of the royal family of Edom, to turn against Solomon.

15-16 Long before this, when David had conquered Edom, Joab the commander of his army had gone there to bury the dead. He and his men remained in Edom six months, and during that time they killed every male in Edom

17 except Hadad and some of his father’s Edomite servants, who escaped to Egypt. (At that time Hadad was just a child.)

18 They left Midian and went to Paran, where some other men joined them. Then they traveled to Egypt and went to the king, who gave Hadad some land and a house and provided him with food.

19 Hadad won the friendship of the king, and the king gave his sister-in-law, the sister of Queen Tahpenes, to Hadad in marriage.

20 She bore him a son, Genubath, who was raised by the queen in the palace, where he lived with the king’s sons.

21 When the news reached Hadad in Egypt that David had died and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to the king, “Let me go back to my own country.”

22 “Why?” the king asked. “Have I failed to give you something? Is that why you want to go back home?”

“Just let me go,” Hadad answered the king. And he went back to his country.

As king of Edom, Hadad was an evil, bitter enemy of Israel.

23 God also caused Rezon son of Eliada to turn against Solomon. Rezon had fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah,

24 and had become the leader of a gang of outlaws. (This happened after David had defeated Hadadezer and had slaughtered his Syrian allies.) Rezon and his gang went and lived in Damascus, where his followers made him king of Syria.

25 He was an enemy of Israel during the lifetime of Solomon.

God’s Promise to Jeroboam

26 Another man who turned against King Solomon was one of his officials, Jeroboam son of Nebat, from Zeredah in Ephraim. His mother was a widow named Zeruah.

27 This is the story of the revolt.

Solomon was filling in the land on the east side of Jerusalem and repairing the city walls.

28 Jeroboam was an able young man, and when Solomon noticed how hard he worked, he put him in charge of all the forced labor in the territory of the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim.

29 One day, as Jeroboam was traveling from Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh met him alone on the road in the open country.

30 Ahijah took off the new robe he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces,

31 and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, because theLord, the God of Israel, says to you, ‘I am going to take the kingdom away from Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes.

32 Solomon will keep one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen to be my own from the whole land of Israel.

33 I am going to do this because Solomon has rejected me and hasworshiped foreign gods: Astarte, the goddess of Sidon; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of Ammon. Solomon hasdisobeyed me; he has done wrong and has not kept my laws and commands as his father David did.

34 But I will not take the whole kingdom away from Solomon, and I will keep him in power as long as he lives. This I will do for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose and who obeyed my laws and commands.

35 I will take the kingdom away from Solomon’s son and will give you ten tribes,

36 but I will let Solomon’s son keep one tribe, so that I will always have a descendant of my servant David ruling in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as the place where I am worshiped.

37 Jeroboam, I will make you king of Israel, and you will rule over all the territory that you want.

38 If you obey me completely, live by my laws, and win my approval by doing what I command, as my servant David did, I will always be with you. I will make you king of Israel and will make sure that your descendants rule after you, just as I have done for David.

39 Because of Solomon’s sin I will punish the descendants of David, but not for all time.’”

40 And so Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he escaped to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon’s death.

The Death of Solomon

41 Everything else that Solomon did, his career, and his wisdom, are all recorded inThe History of Solomon.

42 He was king in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.

43 He died and was buried in David’s City, and his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.

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The Northern Tribes Revolt

1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all the people of northern Israel had gathered to make him king.

2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had gone to Egypt to escape from King Solomon, heard this news, he returned fromEgypt.

3 The people of the northern tribes sent for him, and then they all went together to Rehoboam and said to him,

4 “Your father Solomon treated us harshly and placed heavy burdens on us. If you make these burdens lighter and make life easier for us, we will be your loyal subjects.”

5 “Come back in three days and I will give you my answer,” he replied. So they left.

6 King Rehoboam consulted the older men who had served as his father Solomon’s advisers. “What answer do you advise me to give these people?” he asked.

7 They replied, “If you want to serve this people well, give a favorable answer to their request, and they will always serve you loyally.”

8 But he ignored the advice of the older men and went instead to the young men who had grown up with him and who were now his advisers.

9 “What do you advise me to do?” he asked. “What shall I say to the people who are asking me to make their burdens lighter?”

10 They replied, “This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!’

11 Tell them, ‘My father placed heavy burdens on you; I will make them even heavier. He beat you with whips; I’ll flog you with bullwhips!’”

12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to King Rehoboam, as he had instructed them.

13 The king ignored the advice of the older men and spoke harshly to the people,

14 as the younger men had advised. He said, “My father placed heavy burdens on you; I will make them even heavier. He beat you with whips; I’ll flog you with bullwhips!”

15 It was the will of theLordto bring about what he had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. This is why the king did not pay any attention to the people.

16 When the people saw that the king would not listen to them, they shouted, “Down with David and his family! What have they ever done for us? People of Israel, let’s go home! Let Rehoboam look out for himself!”

So the people of Israel rebelled,

17 leaving Rehoboam as king only of the people who lived in the territory of Judah.

18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge of the forced labor, to go to the Israelites, but they stoned him to death. At this, Rehoboam hurriedly got in his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem.

19 Ever since that time the people of the northern kingdom of Israel have been in rebellion against the dynasty of David.

20 When the people of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned from Egypt, they invited him to a meeting of the people and made him king of Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to David’s descendants.

Shemaiah’s Prophecy

21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he called together 180,000 of the best soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He intended to go to war and restore his control over the northern tribes of Israel.

22 But God told the prophet Shemaiah

23 to give this message to Rehoboam and to all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin:

24 “Do not attack your own relatives, the people of Israel. Go home, all of you. What has happened is my will.” They all obeyed theLord’s command and went back home.

Jeroboam Turns Away from God

25 King Jeroboam of Israel fortified the town of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there for a while. Then he left and fortified the town of Penuel.

26-27 He said to himself, “As things are now, if my people go to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices to theLordin the Temple there, they will transfer their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah and will kill me.”

28 After thinking it over, he made two bull-calves of gold and said to his people, “You have been going long enough to Jerusalem to worship. People of Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt!”

29 He placed one of the gold bull-calves in Bethel and the other in Dan.

30 And so the people sinned, going to worship in Bethel and in Dan.

31 Jeroboam also built places of worship on hilltops, and he chose priests from families who were not of the tribe of Levi.

Worship at Bethel Is Condemned

32 Jeroboam also instituted a religious festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival in Judah. On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the gold bull-calves he had made, and he placed there in Bethel the priests serving at the places of worship he had built.

33 And on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the day that he himself had set, he went to Bethel and offered a sacrifice on the altar in celebration of the festival he had instituted for the people of Israel.

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1 At theLord’s command a prophet from Judah went to Bethel and arrived there as Jeroboam stood at the altar to offer the sacrifice.

2 Following theLord’s command, the prophet denounced the altar: “O altar, altar, this is what theLordsays: A child, whose name will be Josiah, will be born to the family of David. He will slaughter on you the priests serving at the pagan altars who offer sacrifices on you, and he will burn human bones on you.”

3 And the prophet went on to say, “This altar will fall apart, and the ashes on it will be scattered. Then you will know that theLordhas spoken through me.”

4 When King Jeroboam heard this, he pointed at him and ordered, “Seize that man!” At once the king’s arm became paralyzed so that he couldn’t pull it back.

5 The altar suddenly fell apart and the ashes spilled to the ground, as the prophet had predicted in the name of theLord.

6 King Jeroboam said to the prophet, “Please pray for me to theLordyour God, and ask him to heal my arm!”

The prophet prayed to theLord, and the king’s arm was healed.

7 Then the king said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat. I will reward you for what you have done.”

8 The prophet answered, “Even if you gave me half of your wealth, I would not go with you or eat or drink anything with you.

9 TheLordhas commanded me not to eat or drink a thing, and not to return home the same way I came.”

10 So he did not go back the same way he had come, but by another road.

The Old Prophet of Bethel

11 At that time there was an old prophet living in Bethel. His sonscame and told him what the prophet from Judah had done in Bethel that day and what he had said to King Jeroboam.

12 “Which way did he go when he left?” the old prophet asked them. They showed himthe road

13 and he told them to saddle his donkey for him. They did so, and he rode off

14 down the road after the prophet from Judah and found him sitting under an oak tree. “Are you the prophet from Judah?” he asked.

“I am,” the man answered.

15 “Come home and have a meal with me,” he said.

16 But the prophet from Judah answered, “I can’t go home with you or accept your hospitality. And I won’t eat or drink anything with you here,

17 because theLordhas commanded me not to eat or drink a thing, and not to return home the same way I came.”

18 Then the old prophet from Bethel said to him, “I, too, am a prophet just like you, and at theLord’s command an angel told me to take you home with me and offer you my hospitality.” But the old prophet was lying.

19 So the prophet from Judah went home with the old prophet and had a meal with him.

20 As they were sitting at the table, the word of theLordcame to the old prophet,

21 and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, “TheLordsays that you disobeyed him and did not do what he commanded.

22 Instead, you returned and ate a meal in a place he had ordered you not to eat in. Because of this you will be killed, and your body will not be buried in your family grave.”

23 After they had finished eating, the old prophet saddled the donkey for the prophet from Judah,

24 who rode off. On the way a lion met him and killed him. His body lay on the road, and the donkey and the lion stood beside it.

25 Some men passed by and saw the body on the road, with the lion standing near by. They went on into Bethel and reported what they had seen.

26 When the old prophet heard about it, he said, “That is the prophet who disobeyed theLord’s command! And so theLordsent the lion to attack and kill him, just as theLordsaid he would.”

27 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle my donkey for me.” They did so,

28 and he rode off and found the prophet’s body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion still standing by it. The lion had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey.

29 The old prophet picked up the body, put it on the donkey, and brought it back to Bethel to mourn over it and bury it.

30 He buried it in his own family grave, and he and his sons mourned over it, saying, “Oh my brother, my brother!”

31 After the burial the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in this grave and lay my body next to his.

32 The words that he spoke at theLord’s command against the altar in Bethel and against all the places of worship in the towns of Samaria will surely come true.”

Jeroboam’s Fatal Sin

33 King Jeroboam of Israel still did not turn from his evil ways but continued to choose priests from ordinary families to serve at the altars he had built. He ordained as priest anyone who wanted to be one.

34 This sin on his part brought about the ruin and total destruction of his dynasty.

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The Death of Jeroboam’s Son

1 At that time King Jeroboam’s son Abijah got sick.

2 Jeroboam said to his wife, “Disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you, and go to Shiloh, where the prophet Ahijah lives, the one who said I would be king of Israel.

3 Take him ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey. Ask him what is going to happen to our son, and he will tell you.”

4 So she went to Ahijah’s home in Shiloh. Old age had made Ahijah blind.

5 TheLordhad told him that Jeroboam’s wife was coming to ask him about her son, who was sick. And theLordtold Ahijah what to say.

When Jeroboam’s wife arrived, she pretended to be someone else.

6 But when Ahijah heard her coming in the door, he said, “Come in. I know you are Jeroboam’s wife. Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have bad news for you.

7 Go and tell Jeroboam that this is what theLord, the God of Israel, says to him: ‘I chose you from among the people and made you the ruler of my people Israel.

8 I took the kingdom away from David’s descendants and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David, who was completely loyal to me, obeyed my commands, and did only what I approve of.

9 You have committed far greater sins than those who ruled before you. You have rejected me and have aroused my anger by making idols and metal images to worship.

10 Because of this I will bring disaster on your dynasty and will kill all your male descendants, young and old alike. I will get rid of your family; they will be swept away like dung.

11 Any members of your family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and any who die in the open country will be eaten by vultures. I, theLord, have spoken.’”

12 And Ahijah went on to say to Jeroboam’s wife, “Now go back home. As soon as you enter the town, your son will die.

13 All the people of Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He will be the only member of Jeroboam’s family who will be properly buried, because he is the only one with whom theLord, the God of Israel, is pleased.

14 TheLordis going to place a king over Israel who will put an end to Jeroboam’s dynasty.

15 TheLordwill punish Israel, and she will shake like a reed shaking in a stream. He will uproot the people of Israel from this good land which he gave to their ancestors, and he will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they have aroused his anger by making idols of the goddess Asherah.

16 TheLordwill abandon Israel because Jeroboam sinned and led the people of Israel into sin.”

17 Jeroboam’s wife went back to Tirzah. Just as she entered her home, the child died.

18 The people of Israel mourned for him and buried him, as theLordhad said through his servant, the prophet Ahijah.

The Death of Jeroboam

19 Everything else that King Jeroboam did, the wars he fought and how he ruled, are all recorded inThe History of the Kings of Israel.

20 Jeroboam ruled as king for twenty-two years. He died and was buried, and his son Nadab succeeded him as king.

King Rehoboam of Judah

21 Solomon’s son Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which theLordhad chosen from all the territory of Israel as the place where he was to be worshiped. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah from Ammon.

22 The people of Judah sinned against theLordand did more to arouse his anger against them than all their ancestors had done.

23 They built places of worship for false gods and put up stone pillars and symbols of Asherah to worship on the hills and under shady trees.

24 Worst of all, there were men and women who served as prostitutes at those pagan places of worship. The people of Judah practiced all the shameful things done by the people whom theLordhad driven out of the land as the Israelites advanced into the country.

25 In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.

26 He took away all the treasures in the Temple and in the palace, including the gold shields Solomon had made.

27 To replace them, King Rehoboam made bronze shields and entrusted them to the officers responsible for guarding the palace gates.

28 Every time the king went to the Temple, the guards carried the shields and then returned them to the guardroom.

29 Everything else that King Rehoboam did is recorded inThe History of the Kings of Judah.

30 During all this time Rehoboam and Jeroboam were constantly at war with each other.

31 Rehoboam died and was buried in the royal tombs in David’s City and his son Abijah succeeded him as king.

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King Abijah of Judah

1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel, Abijah became king of Judah,

2 and he ruled three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom.

3 He committed the same sins as his father and was not completely loyal to theLordhis God, as his great-grandfather David had been.

4 But for David’s sake theLordhis God gave Abijah a son to rule after him in Jerusalem and to keep Jerusalem secure.

5 TheLorddid this because David had done what pleased him and had never disobeyed any of his commands, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.

6 The war which had begun between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued throughout Abijah’s lifetime.

7 And everything else that Abijah did is recorded inThe History of the Kings of Judah.

8 Abijah died and was buried in David’s City, and his son Asa succeeded him as king.

King Asa of Judah

9 In the twentieth year of the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel, Asa became king of Judah,

10 and he ruled forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom.

11 Asa did what pleased theLord, as his ancestor David had done.

12 He expelled from the country all the male and female prostitutes serving at the pagan places of worship, and he removed all the idols his predecessors had made.

13 He removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an obscene idol of the fertility goddess Asherah. Asa cut down the idol and burned it in Kidron Valley.

14 Even though Asa did not destroy all the pagan places of worship, he remained faithful to theLordall his life.

15 He placed in the Temple all the objects his father had dedicated to God, as well as the gold and silver objects that he himself dedicated.

16 King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel were constantly at war with each other as long as they were in power.

17 Baasha invaded Judah and started to fortify Ramah in order to cut off all traffic in and out of Judah.

18 So King Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the Temple and the palace, and sent it by some of his officials to Damascus, to King Benhadad of Syria, the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion, with this message:

19 “Let us be allies, as our fathers were. This silver and gold is a present for you. Now break your alliance with King Baasha of Israel, so that he will have to pull his troops out of my territory.”

20 King Benhadad agreed to Asa’s proposal and sent his commanding officers and their armies to attack the cities of Israel. They captured Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, the area near Lake Galilee, and the whole territory of Naphtali.

21 When King Baasha heard what had happened, he stopped fortifying Ramah and went to Tirzah.

22 Then King Asa sent out an order throughout all of Judah requiring everyone, without exception, to help carry away from Ramah the stones and timber that Baasha had been using to fortify it. With this material Asa fortified Mizpah and Geba, a city in the territory of Benjamin.

23 Everything else that King Asa did, his brave deeds and the towns he fortified, are all recorded inThe History of the Kings of Judah. But in his old age he was crippled by a foot disease.

24 Asa died and was buried in the royal tombs in David’s City, and his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king.

King Nadab of Israel

25 In the second year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, King Jeroboam’s son Nadab became king of Israel, and he ruled for two years.

26 Like his father before him, he sinned against theLordand led Israel into sin.

27 Baasha son of Ahijah, of the tribe of Issachar, plotted against Nadab and killed him as Nadab and his army were besieging the city of Gibbethon in Philistia.

28 This happened during the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. And so Baasha succeeded Nadab as king of Israel.

29 At once he began killing all the members of Jeroboam’s family. In accordance with what theLordhad said through his servant, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh, all of Jeroboam’s family were killed; not one survived.

30 This happened because Jeroboam aroused the anger of theLord, the God of Israel, by the sins that he committed and that he caused Israel to commit.

31 Everything else that Nadab did is recorded inThe History of the Kings of Israel.

32 King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel were constantly at war with each other as long as they were in power.

King Baasha of Israel

33 In the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel, and he ruled in Tirzah for twenty-four years.

34 Like King Jeroboam before him, he sinned against theLordand led Israel into sin.

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1 TheLordspoke to the prophet Jehu son of Hanani and gave him this message for Baasha:

2 “You were a nobody, but I made you the leader of my people Israel. And now you have sinned like Jeroboam and have led my people into sin. Their sins have aroused my anger,

3 and so I will do away with you and your family, just as I did with Jeroboam.

4 Any members of your family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and any who die in the open country will be eaten by vultures.”

5 Everything else that Baasha did and all his brave deeds are recorded inThe History of the Kings of Israel.

6 Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah succeeded him as king.

7 That message from theLordagainst Baasha and his family was given by the prophet Jehu because of the sins that Baasha committed against theLord. He aroused theLord’s anger not only because of the evil he did, just as King Jeroboam had done before him, but also because he killed all of Jeroboam’s family.

King Elah of Israel

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

9 Zimri, one of his officers who was in charge of half of the king’s chariots, plotted against him. One day in Tirzah, Elah was getting drunk in the home of Arza, who was in charge of the palace.

10 Zimri entered the house, assassinated Elah, and succeeded him as king. This happened in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Asa of Judah.

11 As soon as Zimri became king he killed off all the members of Baasha’s family. Every male relative and friend was put to death.

12 And so, in accordance with what theLordhad said against Baasha through the prophet Jehu, Zimri killed all the family of Baasha.

13 Because of their idolatry and because they led Israel into sin, Baasha and his son Elah had aroused the anger of theLord, the God of Israel.

14 Everything else that Elah did is recorded inThe History of the Kings of Israel.

King Zimri of Israel

15 In the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Zimri ruled in Tirzah over Israel for seven days. The Israelite troops were besieging the city of Gibbethon in Philistia,

16 and when they heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and assassinated him, then and there they all proclaimed their commander Omri king of Israel.

17 Omri and his troops left Gibbethon and went and besieged Tirzah.

18 When Zimri saw that the city had fallen, he went into the palace’s inner fortress, set the palace on fire, and died in the flames.

19 This happened because of his sins against theLord. Like his predecessor Jeroboam, he displeased theLordby his own sins and by leading Israel into sin.

20 Everything else that Zimri did, including the account of his conspiracy, is recorded inThe History of the Kings of Israel.

King Omri of Israel

21 The people of Israel were divided: some of them wanted to make Tibni son of Ginath king, and the others were in favor of Omri.

22 In the end, those in favor of Omri won out; Tibni died and Omri became king.

23 So in the thirty-first year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he ruled for twelve years. The first six years he ruled in Tirzah,

24 and then he bought the hill of Samaria for six thousand pieces of silver from a man named Shemer. Omri fortified the hill, built a town there, and named it Samaria, after Shemer, the former owner of the hill.

25 Omri sinned against theLordmore than any of his predecessors.

26 Like Jeroboam before him, he aroused the anger of theLord, the God of Israel, by his sins and by leading the people into sin and idolatry.

27 Everything else that Omri did and all his accomplishments are recorded inThe History of the Kings of Israel.

28 Omri died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab succeeded him as king.

King Ahab of Israel

29 In the thirty-eighth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for twenty-two years.

30 He sinned against theLordmore than any of his predecessors.

31 It was not enough for him to sin like King Jeroboam; he went further and married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon, and worshiped Baal.

32 He built a temple to Baal in Samaria, made an altar for him, and put it in the temple.

33 He also put up an image of the goddess Asherah. He did more to arouse the anger of theLord, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel before him.

34 During his reign Hiel from Bethel rebuilt Jericho. As theLordhad foretold through Joshua son of Nun, Hiel lost his oldest son Abiram when he laid the foundation of Jericho, and his youngest son Segub when he built the gates.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/1KI/16-c6b47ed90fd805a2ce93b5465b9cec58.mp3?version_id=68—

Elijah and the Drought

1 A prophet named Elijah, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to King Ahab, “In the name of theLord, the living God of Israel, whom I serve, I tell you that there will be no dew or rain for the next two or three years until I say so.”

2 Then theLordsaid to Elijah,

3 “Leave this place and go east and hide yourself near Cherith Brook, east of the Jordan.

4 The brook will supply you with water to drink, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there.”

5 Elijah obeyed theLord’s command, and went and stayed by Cherith Brook.

6 He drank water from the brook, and ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and every evening.

7 After a while the brook dried up because of the lack of rain.

Elijah and the Widow in Zarephath

8 Then theLordsaid to Elijah,

9 “Now go to the town of Zarephath, near Sidon, and stay there. I have commanded a widow who lives there to feed you.”

10 So Elijah went to Zarephath, and as he came to the town gate, he saw a widow gathering firewood. “Please bring me a drink of water,” he said to her.

11 And as she was going to get it, he called out, “And please bring me some bread, too.”

12 She answered, “By the livingLordyour God I swear that I don’t have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a bit of olive oil in a jar. I came here to gather some firewood to take back home and prepare what little I have for my son and me. That will be our last meal, and then we will starve to death.”

13 “Don’t worry,” Elijah said to her. “Go on and prepare your meal. But first make a small loaf from what you have and bring it to me, and then prepare the rest for you and your son.

14 For this is what theLord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The bowl will not run out of flour or the jar run out of oil before the day that I, theLord, send rain.’”

15 The widow went and did as Elijah had told her, and all of them had enough food for many days.

16 As theLordhad promised through Elijah, the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil.

17 Some time later the widow’s son got sick; he got worse and worse, and finally he died.

18 She said to Elijah, “Man of God, why did you do this to me? Did you come here to remind God of my sins and so cause my son’s death?”

19 “Give the boy to me,” Elijah said. He took the boy from her arms, carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying, and laid him on the bed.

20 Then he prayed aloud, “OLordmy God, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow? She has been kind enough to take care of me, and now you kill her son!”

21 Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, “OLordmy God, restore this child to life!”

22 TheLordanswered Elijah’s prayer; the child started breathing again and revived.

23 Elijah took the boy back downstairs to his mother and said to her, “Look, your son is alive!”

24 She answered, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that theLordreally speaks through you!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/1KI/17-f23850b003332d26f2ac2ae56a4038f6.mp3?version_id=68—

Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

1 After some time, in the third year of the drought, theLordsaid to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab, and I will send rain.”

2 So Elijah started out.

The famine in Samaria was at its worst,

3 so Ahab called in Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devout worshiper of theLord,

4 and when Jezebel was killing theLord’s prophets, Obadiah took a hundred of them, hid them in caves in two groups of fifty, and provided them with food and water.)

5 Ahab said to Obadiah, “Let us go and lookat every spring and every stream bed in the land to see if we can find enough grass to keep the horses and mules alive. Maybe we won’t have to kill any of our animals.”

6 They agreed on which part of the land each one would explore, and set off in different directions.

7 As Obadiah was on his way, he suddenly met Elijah. He recognized him, bowed low before him, and asked, “Is it really you, sir?”

8 “Yes, I’m Elijah,” he answered. “Go and tell your master the king that I am here.”

9 Obadiah answered, “What have I done that you want to put me in danger of being killed by King Ahab?

10 By the livingLord, your God, I swear that the king has made a search for you in every country in the world. Whenever the ruler of a country reported that you were not in his country, Ahab would require that ruler to swear that you could not be found.

11 And now you want me to go and tell him that you are here?

12 What if the spirit of theLordcarries you off to some unknown place as soon as I leave? Then, when I tell Ahab that you are here and he can’t find you, he will put me to death. Remember that I have been a devout worshiper of theLordever since I was a boy.

13 Haven’t you heard that when Jezebel was killing the prophets of theLordI hid a hundred of them in caves, in two groups of fifty, and supplied them with food and water?

14 So how can you order me to go and tell the king that you are here? He will kill me!”

15 Elijah answered, “By the livingLordAlmighty, whom I serve, I promise that I will present myself to the king today.”

16 So Obadiah went to King Ahab and told him, and Ahab set off to meet Elijah.

17 When Ahab saw him, he said, “So there you are—the worst troublemaker in Israel!”

18 “I’m not the troublemaker,” Elijah answered. “You are—you and your father. You are disobeying theLord’s commands and worshiping the idols of Baal.

19 Now order all the people of Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Bring along the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah who are supported by Queen Jezebel.”

20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and the prophets of Baal to meet at Mount Carmel.

21 Elijah went up to the people and said, “How much longer will it take you to make up your minds? If theLordis God, worship him; but if Baal is God, worship him!” But the people didn’t say a word.

22 Then Elijah said, “I am the only prophet of theLordstill left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal.

23 Bring two bulls; let the prophets of Baal take one, kill it, cut it in pieces, and put it on the wood—but don’t light the fire. I will do the same with the other bull.

24 Then let the prophets of Baal pray to their god, and I will pray to theLord, and the one who answers by sending fire—he is God.”

The people shouted their approval.

25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since there are so many of you, you take a bull and prepare it first. Pray to your god, but don’t set fire to the wood.”

26 They took the bull that was brought to them, prepared it, and prayed to Baal until noon. They shouted, “Answer us, Baal!” and kept dancing around the altar they had built. But no answer came.

27 At noon Elijah started making fun of them: “Pray louder! He is a god! Maybe he is day-dreaming or relieving himself, or perhaps he’s gone off on a trip! Or maybe he’s sleeping, and you’ve got to wake him up!”

28 So the prophets prayed louder and cut themselves with knives and daggers, according to their ritual, until blood flowed.

29 They kept on ranting and raving until the middle of the afternoon; but no answer came, not a sound was heard.

30 Then Elijah said to the people, “Come closer to me,” and they all gathered around him. He set about repairing the altar of theLordwhich had been torn down.

31 He took twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes named for the sons of Jacob, the man to whom theLordhad given the name Israel.

32 With these stones he rebuilt the altar for the worship of theLord. He dug a trench around it, large enough to hold about four gallons of water.

33 Then he placed the wood on the altar, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the offering and the wood.” They did so,

34 and he said, “Do it again”—and they did. “Do it once more,” he said—and they did.

35 The water ran down around the altar and filled the trench.

36 At the hour of the afternoon sacrifice the prophet Elijah approached the altar and prayed, “OLord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove now that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant and have done all this at your command.

37 Answer me,Lord, answer me, so that this people will know that you, theLord, are God and that you are bringing them back to yourself.”

38 TheLordsent fire down, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench.

39 When the people saw this, they threw themselves on the ground and exclaimed, “TheLordis God; theLordalone is God!”

40 Elijah ordered, “Seize the prophets of Baal; don’t let any of them get away!” The people seized them all, and Elijah led them down to Kishon Brook and killed them.

The End of the Drought

41 Then Elijah said to King Ahab, “Now, go and eat. I hear the roar of rain approaching.”

42 While Ahab went to eat, Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bowed down to the ground, with his head between his knees.

43 He said to his servant, “Go and look toward the sea.”

The servant went and returned, saying, “I didn’t see a thing.” Seven times in all Elijah told him to go and look.

44 The seventh time he returned and said, “I saw a little cloud no bigger than a man’s hand, coming up from the sea.”

Elijah ordered his servant, “Go to King Ahab and tell him to get in his chariot and go back home before the rain stops him.”

45 In a little while the sky was covered with dark clouds, the wind began to blow, and a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got in his chariot and started back to Jezreel.

46 The power of theLordcame on Elijah; he fastened his clothes tight around his waist and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/1KI/18-8541d984dda7ec1fc21a0d2f21f722ce.mp3?version_id=68—

Elijah on Mount Sinai

1 King Ahab told his wife Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had put all the prophets of Baal to death.

2 She sent a message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I don’t do the same thing to you that you did to the prophets.”

3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life; he took his servant and went to Beersheba in Judah.

Leaving the servant there,

4 Elijah walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down in the shade of a tree and wished he would die. “It’s too much,Lord,” he prayed. “Take away my life; I might as well be dead!”

5 He lay down under the tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Wake up and eat.”

6 He looked around and saw a loaf of bread and a jar of water near his head. He ate and drank, and lay down again.

7 TheLord’s angel returned and woke him up a second time, saying, “Get up and eat, or the trip will be too much for you.”

8 Elijah got up, ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to walk forty days to Sinai, the holy mountain.

9 There he went into a cave to spend the night.

Suddenly theLordspoke to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

10 He answered, “LordGod Almighty, I have always served you—you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left—and they are trying to kill me!”

11 “Go out and stand before me on top of the mountain,” theLordsaid to him. Then theLordpassed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks—but theLordwas not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake—but theLordwas not in the earthquake.

12 After the earthquake there was a fire—but theLordwas not in the fire. And after the fire there was the soft whisper of a voice.

13 When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

14 He answered, “LordGod Almighty, I have always served you—you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left—and they are trying to kill me.”

15 TheLordsaid, “Return to the wilderness near Damascus, then enter the city and anoint Hazael as king of Syria;

16 anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.

17 Anyone who escapes being put to death by Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and anyone who escapes Jehu will be killed by Elisha.

18 Yet I will leave seven thousand people alive in Israel—all those who are loyal to me and have not bowed to Baal or kissed his idol.”

The Call of Elisha

19 Elijah left and found Elisha plowing with a team of oxen; there were eleven teams ahead of him, and he was plowing with the last one. Elijah took off his cloak and put it on Elisha.

20 Elisha then left his oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you.”

Elijah answered, “All right, go back. I’m not stopping you!”

21 Then Elisha went to his team of oxen, killed them, and cooked the meat, using the yoke as fuel for the fire. He gave the meat to the people, and they ate it. Then he went and followed Elijah as his helper.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/1KI/19-b7116e58fa9b00785caa15f50e5a2b0b.mp3?version_id=68—