Beginning

Abijah, king of Judah

15 Abijah became king of Judah after Nebat's son Jeroboam had been king of Israel for 18 years. ² Abijah ruled in Jerusalem as king for three years. His mother's name was Maakah. She was the daughter of Abishalom.^{[a] 3} Abijah did the same bad things that his father had done before him. He did not serve the Lord his God faithfully, as his ancestor King David had done. ⁴ But the Lord his God gave Abijah a son to rule after him in Jerusalem. He also made Jerusalem a strong city. The Lord did that because of his promise to David. ⁵ David had always done things that pleased the Lord. David had obeyed the Lord's commands in his whole life, except what he did to Uriah, the Hittite man.^[b]

⁶ In Abijah's whole life, there was a war between the armies of Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

⁷ The other things that happened while Abijah was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Judah's kings’. It tells about all the things that Abijah did. While Abijah was king, there was war between his army and Jeroboam's army.

⁸ Abijah died and they buried him beside his ancestors in the City of David. Abijah's son Asa became king after him.

Asa, king of Judah

⁹ Asa became king of Judah when Jeroboam had been king of Israel for 20 years. ¹⁰ Asa ruled in Jerusalem as king for 41 years. His grandmother was Maakah. She was the daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ Asa did things that pleased the Lord, as his ancestor King David had done. ¹² He removed the male prostitutes from the altars on the hills. He sent them out of Judah. He removed all the useless idols that his ancestors had made. ¹³ He also told his grandmother Maakah that she could no longer have authority as the Queen Mother.^[c] This was because she had made a disgusting Asherah pole to worship. Asa cut down the Asherah pole and he burned it in the Kidron Valley.^{[d] 14} Asa did not remove the altars on all the hills, but he served the Lord faithfully for his whole life. ¹⁵ He brought into the Lord's temple the things that he and his father had made as gifts to the Lord. They used silver and gold to make some of these things.

¹⁶ There was always a war between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel while they ruled. ¹⁷ One time, Baasha attacked Judah. He put a group of his soldiers in Ramah and he made it a strong town. As a result, nobody could travel into Judah or out of Judah, where King Asa ruled.^{[e] 18} So Asa took all the silver and gold that they had stored in his palace and in the Lord's temple. He gave it to his servants. He told them to take it to Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus. Ben-Hadad's father was Tabrimmon and his grandfather was Hezion. ¹⁹ Asa sent this message to Ben-Hadad: ‘We should make an agreement to be friends, as our fathers did. I am sending you this gift of silver and gold. Please stop being friends with Baasha, king of Israel. If you no longer help him, he will have to take his soldiers out of my country.’ ²⁰ Ben-Hadad agreed to do what King Asa asked him to do. He sent his army with its leaders to attack towns in Israel. They won the battles at Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maakah, as well as the region of Kinnereth and the land of Naphtali. ²¹ When King Baasha heard this news, he stopped the work in Ramah. He left there and he went to live in Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa commanded all the men in Judah to do some hard work. Everyone had to do this: They must carry away from Ramah all the big stones and the wood that Baasha had been using there. Then King Asa used those things to make Geba (in Benjamin's land) and Mizpah strong towns again.

²³ The other things that happened while Asa was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Judah's kings’. It tells about Asa's power and all the great things that he did. It also tells about the cities that he built. When Asa became an old man he had a disease in his feet.

²⁴ Asa died and they buried him beside his ancestors in the City of David, his ancestor. Asa's son Jehoshaphat became king after him.

Nadab, king of Israel

²⁵ When Asa had been king of Judah for two years, Jeroboam's son became king of Israel. Nadab ruled Israel as king for two years. ²⁶ He did things that the Lord said were evil. He did the same bad things that his father had done. He also caused the Israelites to do bad things.

²⁷ Baasha decided to kill King Nadab. Baasha was Ahijah's son and he belonged to Issachar's tribe. This happened while Nadab and Israel's army were attacking Gibbethon, a town of the Philistines. ²⁸ Baasha killed King Nadab in the third year that Asa was king of Judah. Baasha became king of Israel instead of Nadab.

²⁹ When Baasha became king, he killed all Jeroboam's descendants. He did not leave anyone in Jeroboam's family alive. He killed them all. The Lord had already said that this would happen. He had given the message to his servant Ahijah, who was from Shiloh.^{[f] 30} This happened because of Jeroboam's sins, and the sins which he caused the Israelites to do. These sins had made the Lord, Israel's God, very angry.

³¹ The other things that happened while Nadab was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about all the things that Nadab did. ³² There was always a war between the armies of King Asa and King Nadab.

Baasha, king of Israel

³³ In the third year that Asa was king of Judah, Ahijah's son Baasha became the king of all Israel. He was living in Tirzah. Baasha ruled as king for 24 years.^{[g] 34} Baasha did things that the Lord said were evil. He did the same sins that Jeroboam had done. He also caused the Israelites to do those bad things.

16 Then God gave a message to Hanani's son Jehu about punishment for King Baasha. ² This was the message: ‘Even though you were not an important person, I made you the leader of my people, the Israelites. But then you did all the bad things that Jeroboam did! Also, you caused my people the Israelites to do bad things. Their sins have caused me to become very angry. ³ So now I am ready to destroy you and your family. I will remove your family as I did to the family of Nebat's son Jeroboam. ⁴ If people of your family die in the city, dogs will eat their bodies. If they die in the country, vultures will eat them.’

⁵ The other things that happened while Baasha was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about all the things that Baasha did and about his power. ⁶ Baasha died and they buried him in Tirzah. His son Elah became king after him.

⁷ Hanani's son Jehu, the prophet, had received a message from the Lord about Baasha and his family. Baasha had done many things that the Lord said were evil, in the same way that Jeroboam had done. Baasha had even destroyed Jeroboam's whole family. These bad things made the Lord very angry.

Elah, king of Israel

⁸ When Asa had been king of Judah for 26 years, Baasha's son Elah became king of Israel. He ruled as king in Tirzah for two years.

⁹ Zimri was one of Elah's officers. He had authority over half of Elah's chariots. Zimri decided to kill King Elah. One day, Elah was in the home of a man called Arza, an officer who had authority over the king's palace in Tirzah. Elah was drinking too much wine and he became drunk. ¹⁰ Zimri came in to Arza's house. He hit Elah and he killed him. When this happened, Asa had been king of Judah for 27 years. Zimri made himself king instead of Elah.

¹¹ When Zimri began to rule Israel as king, he killed everybody in Baasha's family. He did not leave any of Baasha's male relatives alive. He even killed Baasha's friends. ¹² Zimri killed everybody in Baasha's family, as the Lord had said it would happen. The prophet Jehu had spoken the Lord's message against Baasha. ¹³ This happened because of all the sins that Baasha and his son Elah had done. They had also caused the Israelites to do bad things. The useless idols that they worshipped had made the Lord, Israel's God, very angry.

¹⁴ The other things that happened while Elah was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about all the things that Elah did.

Zimri, king of Israel

¹⁵ When Asa had been king of Judah for 27 years, Zimri became king of Israel. He ruled as king in Tirzah for seven days.

When Zimri killed King Elah, Israel's army was attacking a Philistine town called Gibbethon. ¹⁶ The army received this message: ‘Zimri has turned against the king and he has killed King Elah.’ Omri was the officer who led Israel's army. That day, Omri's soldiers decided to make Omri the king of Israel, while they were in their camp at Gibbethon. ¹⁷ So Omri and all Israel's army left Gibbethon and they went to attack Tirzah. ¹⁸ Zimri saw that Omri had taken power over the city. So he went into the strong buildings of the king's palace. He lit a fire to burn the palace all around him. Zimri himself died in the fire. ¹⁹ This happened because of the sins that he had done. He did things that the Lord says are evil. He did the same bad things that Jeroboam had done. He also caused the Israelites to continue doing bad things.

²⁰ The other things that happened while Zimri was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about how he killed King Elah, as well as the other things that he did.

Omri, king of Israel

²¹ At that time, half of the Israelite people wanted Omri to be their king. But half of the people wanted Ginath's son Tibni to be their king. The two groups of people could not agree together. ²² But the group who wanted Omri to be king was stronger than the other group. As a result, Tibni died. Then Omri became the king of Israel.^[h]

²³ Omri became king of Israel when Asa had been king of Judah for 31 years. Omri ruled Israel as king for 12 years. He lived in Tirzah for the first six years. ²⁴ Then Omri bought a hill from a man called Shemer. He paid Shemer 70 kilograms of silver for it. He built a city on the hill and he called the city Samaria. That was because the hill had belonged to Shemer.^[i]

²⁵ But Omri did many things that the Lord said were evil. He did more evil things than all the kings of Israel who lived before him. ²⁶ He did the same bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done and that he caused the Israelites to do. The useless idols that they worshipped caused the Lord, Israel's God, to be very angry.

²⁷ The other things that happened while Omri was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about the things that he did and the power that he had. ²⁸ Omri died and they buried him in Samaria. His son Ahab became king of Israel after him.

Ahab, king of Israel

²⁹ Omri's son Ahab became king of Israel when Asa had been king of Judah for 38 years. Ahab ruled Israel as king in Samaria for 22 years.

³⁰ Omri's son Ahab did many things that the Lord said were evil. He did more evil things than all the kings of Israel who lived before him. ³¹ He did the same bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. He even did something that was even worse. He married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. Ahab served Baal as his god and he worshipped him. ³² Ahab built a temple for Baal in Samaria. He made an altar for Baal in this temple. ³³ Ahab also made an Asherah pole to worship. He did many bad things that made the Lord, Israel's God, angry. He did more bad things than all the kings of Israel who lived before him.

³⁴ While Ahab ruled as king, Hiel built Jericho city again. Hiel came from Bethel. Abiram, his firstborn son, died when Hiel built the city's foundation. Segub, his youngest son, died when he built the gates in the city's wall. The Lord had told Nun's son Joshua that this would happen.^[j]

Elijah and the widow

17 There was a prophet called Elijah who came from Tishbe in Gilead. He said to King Ahab, ‘I am a servant of the Lord, Israel's God. As surely as God lives, there will be no rain or dew for the next few years. Nothing will make the ground wet until I command it to happen.’

² Then the Lord told Elijah, ³ ‘Leave here! Go to the east. Hide in the Kerith valley, east of the Jordan River.^{[k] 4} You will drink water from the stream. I have also commanded the ravens to feed you there.’ ⁵ Elijah obeyed the Lord's message. He went to live in the Kerith valley, near the Jordan River. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat to eat, every morning and every evening. He drank water from the stream.

⁷ After some time the stream became dry, because there had been no rain in the whole land.

⁸ Then the Lord told Elijah, ⁹ ‘Go now to Zarephath in the region of Sidon. Go and live there. I have told a widow who lives there that she must give you food to eat.’

¹⁰ So Elijah went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the town gate, he met a widow.^[l] She was picking up some sticks. Elijah asked her, ‘Please bring me some water in a jar, so that I can drink it.’ ¹¹ While she went to get it, he said, ‘Please bring me a piece of bread too.’ ¹² She replied, ‘As surely as the Lord your God lives, I do not have any bread. I have only a small amount of flour in a bowl and some olive oil in a small jar. I am now picking up a few sticks to take home. Then I will cook a meal for myself and for my son. We will eat it. Then we will die because there is nothing else to eat.’

¹³ Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid. Go home and do what you have said. But first, use some of your flour to make a small piece of bread for me. Then bring it to me. After that, you should make something for yourself and for your son. ¹⁴ This is what the Lord, Israel's God, says: “You will not use all the flour in your bowl. You will not use all the oil in your jar. They will not become empty until the day when the Lord causes rain to fall on the ground again.” ’

¹⁵ Then the widow went home. She did what Elijah had told her to do. After that, there was enough food every day for Elijah and for the widow and her family. ¹⁶ The flour in the bowl and the olive oil in the jar never finished. The Lord had promised Elijah that this would happen.

¹⁷ Some time after that, the widow's son became ill. He became very ill until he could no longer breathe. ¹⁸ The woman said to Elijah, ‘Servant of God, why have you come to hurt me like this? Did you come to kill my son so that I would remember all my sins?’ ¹⁹ Elijah replied, ‘Give your son to me.’ He took her son from her arms. He carried the boy upstairs, to the room where he was staying. He put the boy down to lie on his bed. ²⁰ Then Elijah prayed to the Lord, ‘Lord, my God! Why have you caused such bad trouble to happen to this kind widow? I came to stay with her and now you have killed her son!’ ²¹ Then Elijah lay with his body across the boy. He did that three times. He prayed to the Lord, ‘Lord, my God, please cause this boy's life to return to him!’ ²² The Lord answered Elijah's prayer. The boy started to breathe again. He was alive! ²³ Elijah picked up the boy. He carried him down from his room into the house. He gave the boy to his mother and he said, ‘Look! Your son is alive!’ ²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a servant of God. The words that you speak are truly a message from the Lord.’