1 Kings 13-17

New American Standard Bible 1995

Jeroboam Warned, Stricken

13 Now behold, there came ^(A)a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar ^(B)to burn incense. ^2 (C)He cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, ^(D)Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” ³ Then he gave a ^[a]sign the same day, saying, “^(E)This is the ^[b]sign which the Lord has spoken, ‘Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ^[c]ashes which are on it shall be poured out.’” ⁴ Now when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” But his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. ⁵ The altar also was split apart and the ^[d]ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the ^[e]sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. ⁶ The king said to the man of God, “Please ^[f](F)entreat the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” So ^(G)the man of God ^[g]entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. ⁷ Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and ^(H)I will give you a reward.” ⁸ But the man of God said to the king, “^(I)If you were to give me half your house I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. ⁹ For so ^[h]it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came.’” ¹⁰ So he went another way and did not return by the way which he came to Bethel.

The Disobedient Prophet

¹¹ Now ^(J)an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his ^[i]sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they related to their father. ¹² Their father said to them, “^[j]Which way did he go?” Now his sons ^[k]had seen the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone. ¹³ Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. ¹⁴ So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under ^[l]an oak; and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” ¹⁵ Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” ¹⁶ He said, “^(K)I cannot return with you, nor go with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. ¹⁷ For a command came to me ^(L)by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came.’” ¹⁸ He said to him, “^(M)I also am a prophet like you, and ^(N)an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But ^(O)he lied to him. ¹⁹ So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.

²⁰ Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; ²¹ and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have ^[m]disobeyed the ^[n]command of the Lord, and have not observed the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, ²² but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water”; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.’” ²³ It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back. ²⁴ Now when he had gone, ^(P)a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body. ²⁵ And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body; so they came and told it in the city where ^(Q)the old prophet lived.

²⁶ Now when the prophet who brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God, who ^[o]disobeyed the ^[p]command of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.” ²⁷ Then he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. ²⁸ He went and found his body thrown on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor torn the donkey. ²⁹ So the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back, and he came to the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him. ³⁰ He laid his body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “^(R)Alas, my brother!” ³¹ After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; ^(S)lay my bones beside his bones. ^32 (T)For the thing shall surely come to pass which he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and ^(U)against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of ^(V)Samaria.”

³³ After this event Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but ^(W)again he made priests of the high places from among ^[q]all the people; ^(X)any who would, he ordained, to be priests of the high places. ^34 [r](Y)This event became sin to the house of Jeroboam, ^(Z)even to blot it out and destroy it from off the face of the earth.

Ahijah Prophesies against the King

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. ² Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise now, and ^(AA)disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to ^(AB)Shiloh; behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who ^(AC)spoke concerning me that I would be king over this people. ^3 (AD)Take ten loaves with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

⁴ Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose and went to ^(AE)Shiloh, and came to the house of ^(AF)Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, ^(AG)for his eyes were ^[s]dim because of his age. ⁵ Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ^[t]inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. You shall say thus and thus to her, for it will be when she arrives that ^(AH)she will pretend to be another woman.”

⁶ When Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam, why do you pretend to be another woman? For I am sent to you with a harsh message. ⁷ Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “^(AI)Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel, ⁸ and ^(AJ)tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—^(AK)yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, ^(AL)to do only that which was right in My sight; ⁹ you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and ^(AM)have gone and made for yourself other gods and ^(AN)molten images to provoke Me to anger, and have ^(AO)cast Me behind your back— ¹⁰ therefore behold, I am bringing calamity on the house of Jeroboam, and ^(AP)will cut off from Jeroboam ^[u]every male person, ^(AQ)both bond and free in Israel, and I ^(AR)will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone. ^11 (AS)Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs will eat. And he who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat; for the Lord has spoken it.”’ ¹² Now you, arise, go to your house. ^(AT)When your feet enter the city the child will die. ¹³ All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for ^[v]he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him ^(AU)something good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(AV)the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam this day ^[w]and from now on.

¹⁵ “For the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and ^(AW)He will uproot Israel from ^(AX)this good land which He gave to their fathers, and ^(AY)will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, ^(AZ)because they have made their ^[x]Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. ¹⁶ He will give up Israel ^(BA)on account of the sins of Jeroboam, which he ^[y]committed and with which he made Israel to sin.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed and came to ^(BB)Tirzah. ^(BC)As she was entering the threshold of the house, the child died. ^18 (BD)All Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, ^(BE)how he made war and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ²⁰ The time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Misleads Judah

^21 (BF)Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, ^(BG)the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. ^22 (BH)Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they ^(BI)provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with ^[z]the sins which they ^[aa]committed. ²³ For they also built for themselves ^(BJ)high places and sacred ^(BK)pillars and ^[ab](BL)Asherim on every high hill and ^(BM)beneath every luxuriant tree. ²⁴ There were also ^(BN)male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

^25 (BO)Now it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. ²⁶ He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and ^(BP)he took everything, ^[ac](BQ)even taking all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. ²⁷ So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and ^(BR)committed them to the ^[ad]care of the commanders of the ^[ae]guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. ²⁸ Then it happened as often as the king entered the house of the Lord, that the ^[af]guards would carry them and would bring them back into the ^[ag]guards’ room.

^29 (BS)Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^30 (BT)There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. ³¹ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and ^(BU)his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son became king in his place.

Abijam Reigns over Judah

15 ^(BV)Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^[ah](BW)Maacah the daughter of ^[ai](BX)Abishalom. ³ He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and ^(BY)his heart was not ^[aj]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David. ⁴ But for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a ^(BZ)lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem; ^5 (CA)because David did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, ^(CB)except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. ^6 (CC)There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

⁷ Now ^(CD)the rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^(CE)And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

Asa Succeeds Abijam

^8 (CF)And Abijam slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son became king in his place.

⁹ So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah. ¹⁰ He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem; and ^(CG)his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ^11 (CH)Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father. ^12 (CI)He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and ^(CJ)removed all the idols which his fathers had made. ^13 [ak](CK)He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ^[al]as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and ^(CL)burned it at the brook Kidron. ^14 (CM)But the high places were not taken away; nevertheless ^(CN)the heart of Asa was ^[am]wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. ^15 (CO)He brought into the house of the Lord the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.

^16 (CP)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ^17 (CQ)Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and ^[an](CR)fortified Ramah ^(CS)in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸ Then ^(CT)Asa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And ^(CU)King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in ^(CV)Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ “Let there be a ^(CW)treaty between ^[ao]you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a present of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” ²⁰ So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and ^[ap]conquered ^(CX)Ijon, ^(CY)Dan, ^(CZ)Abel-beth-maacah and all ^(DA)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha heard of it, ^(DB)he ceased ^[aq]fortifying Ramah and remained in ^(DC)Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah—none was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built. And King Asa built with them ^(DD)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa

^23 (DE)Now the rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴ And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and ^(DF)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

Nadab, then Baasha, Rules over Israel

²⁵ Now ^(DG)Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(DH)walked in the way of his father and ^(DI)in his sin which he made Israel sin. ²⁷ Then ^(DJ)Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha struck him down at ^(DK)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

²⁸ So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. ²⁹ It came about as soon as he was king, he struck down all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam ^[ar]any persons alive, until he had destroyed them, ^(DL)according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ³⁰ and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and ^(DM)which he made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

^31 (DN)Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

War with Judah

^32 (DO)There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel at Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. ³⁴ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(DP)walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin.

Prophecy against Baasha

16 Now the word of the Lord came to ^(DQ)Jehu the son of ^(DR)Hanani against Baasha, saying, ² “Inasmuch as I ^(DS)exalted you from the dust and made you leader over My people Israel, and ^(DT)you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made My people Israel sin, provoking Me to anger with their sins, ³ behold, ^(DU)I will consume ^(DV)Baasha and his house, and ^(DW)I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ^4 (DX)Anyone of Baasha who dies in the city the dogs will eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat.”

^5 (DY)Now the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

The Israelite Kings

⁶ And Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried in ^(DZ)Tirzah, and Elah his son became king in his place. ⁷ Moreover, the word of the Lord through ^(EA)the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani also came against Baasha and his household, both because of all the evil which he did in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger with ^(EB)the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because ^(EC)he struck ^[as]it.

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel at Tirzah, and reigned two years. ⁹ His servant ^(ED)Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was at Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, ^(EE)who was over the household at Tirzah. ¹⁰ Then Zimri went in and struck him and put him to death in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and became king in his place. ¹¹ It came about when he became king, as soon as he sat on his throne, that ^(EF)he ^[at]killed all the household of Baasha; he did not leave ^[au]a single male, neither of his ^[av]relatives nor of his friends.

¹² Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, ^(EG)according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke against Baasha through ^(EH)Jehu the prophet, ¹³ for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel sin, ^(EI)provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their ^[aw]idols. ^14 (EJ)Now the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days at Tirzah. Now the people were camped against ^(EK)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. ¹⁶ The people who were camped heard ^[ax]it said, “Zimri has conspired and has also struck down the king.” Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. ¹⁷ Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸ When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over him with fire, and ^(EL)died, ¹⁹ because of his sins which he sinned, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(EM)walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, making Israel sin. ^20 (EN)Now the rest of the acts of Zimri and his conspiracy which he ^[ay]carried out, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

²¹ Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; the other half followed Omri. ²² But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. And Tibni died and Omri became king. ²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel and reigned twelve years; he reigned six years at ^(EO)Tirzah. ²⁴ He bought the hill ^[az]Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built ^[ba](EP)Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

^25 (EQ)Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(ER)acted more wickedly than all who were before him. ²⁶ For he ^(ES)walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sins which he made Israel sin, provoking the Lord God of Israel with their ^[bb]idols. ²⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might which he ^[bc]showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁸ So Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son became king in his place.

²⁹ Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord ^(ET)more than all who were before him.

³¹ It came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that ^(EU)he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the ^(EV)Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him. ³² So he erected an altar for Baal in ^(EW)the house of Baal which he built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab also made ^(EX)the ^[bd]Asherah. Thus ^(EY)Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him. ^34 (EZ)In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

Elijah Predicts Drought

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of ^[be](FA)the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “^(FB)As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely ^(FC)there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” ² The word of the Lord came to him, saying, ³ “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is ^[bf]east of the Jordan. ⁴ It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and ^(FD)I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.” ⁵ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is ^[bg]east of the Jordan. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. ⁷ It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Arise, go to ^(FE)Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, ^(FF)I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and ^(FG)he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a ^[bh]jar, that I may drink.” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” ¹² But she said, “^(FH)As the Lord your God lives, ^(FI)I have no ^[bi]bread, only a handful of flour in the ^[bj]bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering ^[bk]a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and ^(FJ)die.” ¹³ Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from ^[bl]it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The ^[bm]bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil ^[bn]be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’” ¹⁵ So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The ^[bo]bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil ^[bp]become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

¹⁷ Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸ So she said to Elijah, “^(FK)What do I have to do with you, O ^(FL)man of God? ^[bq]You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!” ¹⁹ He said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ He called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am ^[br]staying, by causing her son to die?” ^21 (FM)Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return ^[bs]to him.” ²² The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, ^(FN)and the life of the child returned ^[bt]to him and he revived. ²³ Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” ²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “^(FO)Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”