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Bible in 90 Days

An intensive Bible reading plan that walks through the entire Bible in 90 days.
Duration: 88 days
English Standard Version (ESV)
Version
1 Kings 7:38-16:20

38 And he made (A)ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands. 39 And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.

40 (B)Hiram also made (C)the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord: 41 the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two (D)latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars; 42 and the (E)four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars; 43 the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands; 44 and (F)the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath the sea.

45 Now (G)the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels in the house of the Lord, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished bronze. 46 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between (H)Succoth and (I)Zarethan. 47 And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them; (J)the weight of the bronze was not ascertained.

48 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the Lord: (K)the golden altar, (L)the golden table for (M)the bread of the Presence, 49 (N)the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; (O)the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; 50 the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and (P)fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, (Q)the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple.

51 Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in (R)the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

(S)Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, (T)the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, (U)to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of (V)the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at (W)the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and (X)the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the Lord, (Y)the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, (Z)sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. (AA)Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord (AB)to its place in (AC)the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. (AD)And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before (AE)the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except (AF)the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where (AG)the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, (AH)a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Solomon Blesses the Lord

12 (AI)Then Solomon said, “The Lord[a] has said that he would dwell (AJ)in thick darkness. 13 (AK)I have indeed built you an exalted house, (AL)a place for you to dwell in forever.” 14 Then the king turned around and (AM)blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 15 And he said, (AN)“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled (AO)what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, 16 (AP)‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, (AQ)that my name might be there. (AR)But I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ 17 (AS)Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 (AT)Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ 20 Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, (AU)as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 And there I have provided a place for the ark, (AV)in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

22 Then Solomon (AW)stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and (AX)spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, (AY)there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, (AZ)keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. (BA)You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, (BB)‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 (BC)Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, (BD)heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 (BE)that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, (BF)‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

31 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take (BG)an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, 32 then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, (BH)condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

33 (BI)“When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and (BJ)if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

35 (BK)“When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when (BL)you teach them (BM)the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

37 (BN)“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates,[b] whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, 39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways ((BO)for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), 40 that they may fear you (BP)all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

41 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name (BQ)and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order (BR)that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and (BS)fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

44 “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord (BT)toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

46 “If they sin against you—(BU)for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive (BV)to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet (BW)if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, (BX)‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 (BY)if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you (BZ)toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and (CA)grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 ((CB)for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, (CC)from the midst of the iron furnace). 52 (CD)Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, (CE)as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

Solomon's Benediction

54 (CF)Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had (CG)knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and (CH)blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. (CI)Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. (CJ)May he not leave us or forsake us, 58 that he may (CK)incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, 60 that (CL)all the peoples of the earth may know that (CM)the Lord is God; there is no other. 61 (CN)Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon's Sacrifices

62 (CO)Then (CP)the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. 64 The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because (CQ)the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.

65 So Solomon held (CR)the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from (CS)Lebo-hamath to (CT)the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days.[c] 66 On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.

The Lord Appears to Solomon

(CU)As soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord (CV)and the king's house and (CW)all that Solomon desired to build, (CX)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, (CY)by putting my name there forever. (CZ)My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. And as for you, if you will (DA)walk before me, (DB)as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, (DC)then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ (DD)But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, (DE)then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, (DF)and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, (DG)and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins.[d] Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, (DH)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because (DI)they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon's Other Acts

10 (DJ)At the end of (DK)twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king's house, 11 and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. 13 Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of (DL)Cabul to this day. 14 Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents[e] of gold.

15 And this is the account of (DM)the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and (DN)the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and (DO)Hazor and (DP)Megiddo and Gezer 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed (DQ)the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to (DR)his daughter, Solomon's wife; 17 so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and (DS)Lower Beth-horon 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,[f] 19 and all the store cities that Solomon had, and (DT)the cities for his chariots, and the cities for (DU)his horsemen, and whatever Solomon (DV)desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel— 21 (DW)their descendants who were left after them in the land, (DX)whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction[g](DY)these Solomon drafted to be (DZ)slaves, and so they are to this day. 22 But (EA)of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves. They were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen.

23 These were the chief officers who were over Solomon's work: (EB)550 (EC)who had charge of the people who carried on the work.

24 But (ED)Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to (EE)her own house that Solomon had built for her. (EF)Then he built (EG)the Millo.

25 Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the Lord, making offerings with it[h] before the Lord. So he finished the house.

26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships at (EH)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent (EI)with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to (EJ)Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba

10 (EK)Now when (EL)the queen of (EM)Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came (EN)to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels (EO)bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. (EP)Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! (EQ)Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! (ER)Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, (ES)that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10 (ET)Then she gave the king 120 talents[i] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 Moreover, (EU)the fleet of Hiram, which brought (EV)gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12 And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.

13 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon's Great Wealth

14 (EW)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels[j] of gold went into each shield. 17 And he made 300 (EX)shields of beaten gold; three minas[k] of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in (EY)the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top,[l] and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 20 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. 21 All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of (EZ)the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had (FA)a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[m]

23 (FB)Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 25 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh,[n] spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

26 (FC)And Solomon gathered together (FD)chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the (FE)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as (FF)the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 And Solomon's (FG)import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders received them from Kue at a price. 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of (FH)the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon Turns from the Lord

11 Now (FI)King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, (FJ)“You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and (FK)his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, (FL)as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after (FM)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after (FN)Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for (FO)Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for (FP)Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

The Lord Raises Adversaries

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because (FQ)his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, (FR)who had appeared to him twice 10 and (FS)had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, (FT)I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, (FU)I will not tear away all the kingdom, but (FV)I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem (FW)that I have chosen.”

14 And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom. 15 For (FX)when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he struck down every male in Edom 16 (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom). 17 But Hadad fled to Egypt, together with certain Edomites of his father's servants, Hadad still being a little child. 18 They set out from Midian and came to (FY)Paran and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him an allowance of food and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20 And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 But when Hadad heard in Egypt (FZ)that David slept with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.” 22 But Pharaoh said to him, “What have you lacked with me that you are now seeking to go to your own country?” And he said to him, “Only let me depart.”

23 God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master (GA)Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 And he gathered men about him and became leader of a marauding band, (GB)after the killing by David. And they went to Damascus and lived there and made him king in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. And he loathed Israel and reigned over Syria.

26 (GC)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, (GD)an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also (GE)lifted up his hand against the king. 27 And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. (GF)Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father. 28 The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet (GG)Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country. 30 Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, (GH)and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, (GI)I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes 32 (but (GJ)he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, (GK)the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have[o] forsaken me (GL)and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did. 34 Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes. 35 (GM)But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and will give it to you, ten tribes. 36 Yet to his son (GN)I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have (GO)a lamp before me in Jerusalem, (GP)the city where I have chosen to put my name. 37 And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, (GQ)I will be with you and (GR)will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.’” 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to (GS)Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

41 (GT)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? 42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 And Solomon (GU)slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And (GV)Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam's Folly

12 (GW)Rehoboam went to (GX)Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. And as soon as (GY)Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for (GZ)he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from[p] Egypt. And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, (HA)“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” He said to them, (HB)“Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.

Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. 11 And now, whereas (HC)my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, (HD)“Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, (HE)“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for (HF)it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which (HG)the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

The Kingdom Divided

16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. (HH)To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over (HI)the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent (HJ)Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 (HK)So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but (HL)the tribe of Judah only.

21 (HM)When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to (HN)Shemaiah the man of God: 23 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the (HO)rest of the people, 24 ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, (HP)for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam's Golden Calves

25 Then Jeroboam (HQ)built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and (HR)built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people (HS)go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and (HT)made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. (HU)Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then (HV)this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.[q] 31 He also made (HW)temples on high places and (HX)appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like (HY)the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel (HZ)the priests of the high places that he had made. 33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar (IA)to make offerings.

A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam

13 And behold, (IB)a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar (IC)to make offerings. (ID)And the man 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, (IE)Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” And he gave (IF)a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. And the king said to the man of God, (IG)“Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before. And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and (IH)I will give you a reward.” And the man of God said to the king, (II)“If you give me half your house, (IJ)I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

The Prophet's Disobedience

11 Now (IK)an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons[r] came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. 14 And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under 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 And he said, (IL)“I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me (IM)by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.

20 And as they sat at the table, 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, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have come back and have 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 tomb of your fathers.’” 23 And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And as he went away (IN)a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where (IO)the old prophet lived.

26 And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” 27 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28 And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city[s] to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, (IP)“Alas, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; (IQ)lay my bones beside his bones. 32 (IR)For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against (IS)all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of (IT)Samaria shall surely come to pass.”

33 After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. 34 (IU)And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, (IV)so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

Prophecy Against Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to (IW)Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, (IX)who said of me that I should be king over this people. (IY)Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”

Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to (IZ)Shiloh and came to the house of (JA)Ahijah. Now (JB)Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. And the Lord said to (JC)Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.”

When she came, she pretended to be another woman. But when (JD)Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: (JE)“Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel and (JF)tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been (JG)like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and (JH)made for yourself other gods and (JI)metal images, provoking me to anger, and (JJ)have cast me behind your back, 10 therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and (JK)will cut off from Jeroboam every male, (JL)both bond and free in Israel, and (JM)will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. 11 (JN)Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’ 12 Arise therefore, go to your house. (JO)When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him (JP)there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. 14 (JQ)Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, 15 the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and (JR)root up Israel out of (JS)this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them (JT)beyond the Euphrates,[t] because they have made their (JU)Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”

17 Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to (JV)Tirzah. And (JW)as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, (JX)according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.

The Death of Jeroboam

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

Rehoboam Reigns in Judah

21 (JZ)Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, (KA)the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. (KB)His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. 22 (KC)And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they (KD)provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves (KE)high places (KF)and pillars and (KG)Asherim on every high hill and (KH)under every green tree, 24 and there were also (KI)male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

25 (KJ)In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak 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. (KK)He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold (KL)that Solomon had made, 27 and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. 28 And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.

29 (KM)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 (KN)And 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. (KO)His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. And (KP)Abijam his son reigned in his place.

Abijam Reigns in Judah

15 (KQ)Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and (KR)his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father. Nevertheless, for David's sake the Lord his God gave him (KS)a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, because (KT)David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, (KU)except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. (KV)Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. (KW)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? (KX)And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. (KY)And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place.

Asa Reigns in Judah

In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah, 10 and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 (KZ)And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. 12 He put away the (LA)male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed (LB)all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 (LC)He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and (LD)burned it at the brook Kidron. 14 (LE)But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, (LF)the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. 15 And (LG)he brought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels.

16 (LH)And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 (LI)Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and (LJ)built Ramah, (LK)that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold (LL)that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house and gave them into the hands of his servants. (LM)And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, (LN)who lived in Damascus, saying, 19 “Let there be (LO)a covenant[u] between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” 20 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered (LP)Ijon, (LQ)Dan, (LR)Abel-beth-maacah, and all (LS)Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21 And when Baasha heard of it, (LT)he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in (LU)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 been building, and with them King Asa built (LV)Geba of Benjamin and (LW)Mizpah. 23 (LX)Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in 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 (LY)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

Nadab Reigns in Israel

25 (LZ)Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord (MA)and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin (MB)which he made Israel to sin.

27 (MC)Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him down at (MD)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for 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 And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, (ME)according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and (MF)that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.

31 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? 32 (MG)And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

Baasha Reigns in Israel

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

16 And the word of the Lord came to (MI)Jehu the son of (MJ)Hanani against Baasha, saying, “Since I (MK)exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and (ML)you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, behold, I will utterly (MM)sweep away (MN)Baasha and his house, and I will make your house (MO)like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. (MP)Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the heavens shall eat.”

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? And Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried at (MQ)Tirzah, and Elah his son reigned in his place. Moreover, the word of the Lord came by the prophet (MR)Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and also because (MS)he destroyed it.

Elah Reigns in Israel

In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned two years. But his servant (MT)Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, (MU)who was over the household in Tirzah, 10 Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.

11 When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he struck down (MV)all the house of Baasha. He (MW)did not leave him a single male of his relatives or his friends. 12 Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, (MX)according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke against Baasha by (MY)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 to sin, (MZ)provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols. 14 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?

Zimri Reigns in Israel

15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against (NA)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, 16 and the troops who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired, and he has killed the king.” Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17 So Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. 18 And 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 died, 19 because of his sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, (NB)walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for his sin which he committed, making Israel to sin. 20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the conspiracy that he made, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.