Bible in 90 Days
38 He also made ten bronze basins, each of which could hold about 240 gallons.[a] Each basin was 6 feet in diameter;[b] there was one basin for each stand. 39 He put five basins on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. He put “The Sea” on the south side, in the southeast corner.
40 Hiram also made basins, shovels, and bowls. He[c] finished all the work on the Lord’s temple he had been assigned by King Solomon.[d] 41 He made[e] the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars, 42 the 400 pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar), 43 the ten movable stands with their ten basins, 44 the big bronze basin called “The Sea” with its twelve bulls underneath,[f] 45 and the pots, shovels, and bowls. All these items King Solomon assigned Hiram to make for the Lord’s temple[g] were made from polished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in earth foundries[h] in the region of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all these items unweighed; there were so many of them they did not weigh the bronze.[i]
48 Solomon also made all these items for the Lord’s temple: the gold altar, the gold table on which was kept the Bread of the Presence,[j] 49 the pure gold lampstands at the entrance to the inner sanctuary (five on the right and five on the left), the gold flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs, 50 the pure gold bowls, trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 51 When King Solomon finished constructing the Lord’s temple, he[k] put the holy items that belonged to his father David (the silver, gold, and other articles) in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.
Solomon Moves the Ark into the Temple
8 [l] Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem Israel’s elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the City of David (that is, Zion).[m] 2 All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival[n] in the month of Ethanim[o] (the seventh month). 3 When all Israel’s elders had arrived, the priests lifted the ark. 4 The priests and Levites carried the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting,[p] and all the holy items in the tent.[q] 5 Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered.[r]
6 The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its assigned[s] place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim’s wings extended over the place where the ark sat; the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.[t] 8 The poles were so long their ends were visible from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point.[u] They have remained there to this very day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb.[v] It was there that[w] the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 10 Once the priests left the Holy Place, a cloud filled the Lord’s temple. 11 The priests could not carry out their duties[x] because of the cloud; the Lord’s glory filled his temple.[y]
12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness. 13 O Lord,[z] truly I have built a lofty temple for you, a place where you can live permanently.” 14 Then the king turned around[aa] and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there.[ab] 15 He said, “The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled[ac] what he promised[ad] my father David. 16 He told David,[ae] ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live.[af] But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.’ 17 Now my father David had a strong desire[ag] to build a temple to honor the Lord God of Israel.[ah] 18 The Lord told my father David, ‘It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me.[ai] 19 But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.’[aj] 20 The Lord has kept the promise he made.[ak] I have taken my father David’s place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor[al] of the Lord God of Israel 21 and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the Lord made with our ancestors[am] when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
Solomon Prays for Israel
22 Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward the sky.[an] 23 He prayed:[ao] “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty[ap] to your servants who obey you with sincerity.[aq] 24 You have kept your word to your servant, my father David;[ar] this very day you have fulfilled what you promised.[as] 25 Now, O Lord, God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, ‘You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel,[at] provided that your descendants watch their step[au] and serve me as you have done.’[av] 26 Now, O God of Israel, may the promise you made[aw] to your servant, my father David, be realized.[ax]
27 “God does not really live on the earth![ay] Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built! 28 But respond favorably to[az] your servant’s prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer[ba] the desperate prayer[bb] your servant is presenting to you[bc] today. 29 Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live.[bd] May you answer your servant’s prayer for this place.[be] 30 Respond to the request of your servant and your people Israel for this place.[bf] Hear from inside your heavenly dwelling place[bg] and respond favorably.[bh]
31 “When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple, be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false.[bi] 32 Listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants’ claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve.[bj]
33 “The time will come when[bk] your people Israel are defeated by an enemy[bl] because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you,[bm] and pray for your help[bn] in this temple, 34 then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.
35 “The time will come when[bo] the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people[bp] sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you,[bq] and turn away from their sin because you punish[br] them, 36 then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly[bs] you will then teach them the right way to live[bt] and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess.[bu]
37 “The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust[bv] invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land,[bw] or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs. 38 When all your people Israel pray and ask for help,[bx] as they acknowledge their pain[by] and spread out their hands toward this temple, 39 then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin,[bz] and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives.[ca] (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.)[cb] 40 Then they will obey[cc] you throughout their lifetimes as[cd] they live on the land you gave to our ancestors.
41 “Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation.[ce] 42 When they hear about your great reputation[cf] and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds,[cg] they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple. 43 Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners.[ch] Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation,[ci] obey[cj] you as your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you.[ck]
44 “When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies,[cl] and they direct their prayers to the Lord[cm] toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor,[cn] 45 then listen from heaven to their prayers for help[co] and vindicate them.[cp]
46 “The time will come when your people[cq] will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land,[cr] whether far away or close by. 47 When your people[cs] come to their senses[ct] in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, ‘We have sinned and gone astray;[cu] we have done evil.’ 48 When they return to you with all their heart and being[cv] in the land[cw] where they are held prisoner, and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor,[cx] 49 then listen from your heavenly dwelling place to their prayers for help[cy] and vindicate them.[cz] 50 Forgive all the rebellious acts of your sinful people and cause their captors to have mercy on them.[da] 51 After all,[db] they are your people and your special possession[dc] whom you brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the iron-smelting furnace.[dd]
52 “May you be attentive[de] to your servant’s and your people Israel’s requests for help and may you respond to all their prayers to you.[df] 53 After all,[dg] you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession,[dh] just as you, O Sovereign Lord, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”
54 When Solomon finished presenting all these prayers and requests to the Lord, he got up from before the altar of the Lord where he had kneeled and spread out his hands toward the sky.[di] 55 When he stood up, he pronounced a blessing over the entire assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice: 56 “The Lord is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure[dj] just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled![dk] 57 May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us. 58 May he make us submissive,[dl] so we can follow all his instructions[dm] and obey[dn] the commandments, rules, and regulations he commanded our ancestors. 59 May the Lord our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him,[do] so that he might vindicate[dp] his servant and his people Israel as the need arises. 60 Then[dq] all the nations of the earth will recognize that the Lord is the only genuine God.[dr] 61 May you demonstrate wholehearted devotion to the Lord our God[ds] by following[dt] his rules and obeying[du] his commandments, as you are now doing.”[dv]
Solomon Dedicates the Temple
62 The king and all Israel with him were presenting sacrifices to the Lord. 63 Solomon offered as peace offerings[dw] to the Lord 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. Then the king and all the Israelites dedicated the Lord’s temple. 64 That day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that is in front of the Lord’s temple. He offered there burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat from the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold all these offerings.[dx] 65 At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the Lord our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Stream of Egypt[dy] in the south.[dz] 66 On the fifteenth day after the festival started,[ea] he dismissed the people. They asked God to empower the king[eb] and then went to their homes, happy and content[ec] because of all the good the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.
The Lord Gives Solomon a Promise and a Warning
9 After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned,[ed] 2 the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, in the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon.[ee] 3 The Lord said to him, “I have answered[ef] your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home;[eg] I will be constantly present there.[eh] 4 You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations.[ei] 5 Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently,[ej] just as I promised your father David, ‘You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’[ek]
6 “But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep,[el] and decide to serve and worship other gods,[em] 7 then I will remove Israel from the land[en] I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence,[eo] and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed[ep] among all the nations. 8 This temple will become a heap of ruins;[eq] everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn,[er] saying, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?’ 9 Others will then answer,[es] ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors[et] out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served.[eu] That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.’”
Foreign Affairs and Building Projects
10 After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and the royal palace,[ev] 11 King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre twenty towns in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted. 12 When Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them.[ew] 13 Hiram asked,[ex] “Why did you give me these towns, my friend?”[ey] He called that area the region of Cabul, a name which it has retained to this day.[ez] 14 Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents[fa] of gold.
15 Here are the details concerning the work crews[fb] King Solomon conscripted[fc] to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of[fd] Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city. He gave it as a wedding present to his daughter, who had married Solomon.) 17 Solomon built up Gezer, lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, Tadmor in the wilderness,[fe] 19 all the storage cities that belonged to him,[ff] and the cities where chariots and horses were kept.[fg] He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.[fh] 20 Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.[fi] 21 Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out completely). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day.[fj] 22 Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews;[fk] the Israelites served as his soldiers, attendants, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces.[fl] 23 These men were also in charge of Solomon’s work projects; there were a total of 550 men who supervised the workers.[fm] 24 Solomon built the terrace as soon as Pharaoh’s daughter moved up from the City of David[fn] to the palace Solomon built for her.[fo]
25 Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings[fp] on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense along with them before the Lord. He made the temple his official worship place.[fq]
26 King Solomon also built ships[fr] in Ezion Geber, which is located near Elat in the land of Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. 27 Hiram sent his fleet and some of his sailors, who were well acquainted with the sea, to serve with Solomon’s men.[fs] 28 They sailed[ft] to Ophir, took from there 420 talents[fu] of gold, and then brought them to King Solomon.
Solomon Entertains a Queen
10 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon,[fv] she came to challenge[fw] him with difficult questions.[fx] 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp,[fy] bringing with her camels carrying spices,[fz] a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king.[ga] 4 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom,[gb] the palace[gc] he had built, 5 the food in his banquet hall,[gd] his servants and attendants,[ge] their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed.[gf] 6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight[gg] was true! 7 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story![gh] Your wisdom and wealth[gi] surpass what was reported to me. 8 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy![gj] 9 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored[gk] you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions.”[gl] 10 She gave the king 120 talents[gm] of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched.[gn] 11 (Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems. 12 With the timber the king made supports[go] for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments[gp] for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day.[gq]) 13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her.[gr] Then she left and returned[gs] to her homeland with her attendants.
Solomon’s Wealth
14 Solomon received 666 talents[gt] of gold per year,[gu] 15 besides what he collected from the merchants,[gv] traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures[gw] of gold were used for each shield. 17 He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold; three minas[gx] of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.[gy]
18 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.[gz] 20 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.[ha]
21 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time.[hb] 22 Along with Hiram’s fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships[hc] that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet[hd] came into port with cargoes of[he] gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[hf]
23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth.[hg] 24 Everyone[hh] in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.[hi] 25 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.[hj]
26 Solomon accumulated[hk] chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem.[hl] 27 The king made silver as plentiful[hm] in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was[hn] as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the foothills.[ho] 28 Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt[hp] and from Que; the king’s traders purchased them from Que. 29 They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.[hq]
The Lord Punishes Solomon for Idolatry
11 King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them![hr] If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.”[hs] But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.[ht]
3 He had 700 royal wives[hu] and 300 concubines;[hv] his wives had a powerful influence over him.[hw] 4 When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to[hx] other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been.[hy] 5 Solomon worshiped[hz] the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.[ia] 6 Solomon did evil in the Lord’s sight;[ib] he did not remain loyal to[ic] the Lord, as his father David had. 7 Furthermore,[id] on the hill east of Jerusalem[ie] Solomon built a high place[if] for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh[ig] and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.[ih] 8 He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.[ii]
9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance[ij] away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions[ik] 10 and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods.[il] But he did not obey[im] the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you,[in] I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 However, for your father David’s sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son’s hand instead. 13 But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave[io] your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”
14 The Lord brought[ip] against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. 15 During David’s campaign against Edom,[iq] Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. 16 For Joab and the entire Israelite army[ir] stayed there six months until they had exterminated every male in Edom.[is] 17 Hadad,[it] who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father’s Edomite servants and headed for Egypt.[iu] 18 They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, gave him a house and some land and supplied him with food.[iv] 19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so well[iw] he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife.[ix] 20 Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to his son,[iy] named Genubath. Tahpenes raised[iz] him in Pharaoh’s palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons. 21 While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away[ja] and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, “Give me permission to leave[jb] so I can return to my homeland.” 22 Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?”[jc] Hadad replied,[jd] “Nothing, but please give me permission to leave.”[je]
23 God also brought against Solomon[jf] another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. 24 He gathered some men and organized a raiding band.[jg] When David tried to kill them,[jh] they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. 25 He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed[ji] Israel and ruled over Syria.
26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against[jj] the king. He was an Ephraimite[jk] from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king:[jl] Solomon built a terrace, and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David.[jm] 28 Jeroboam was a talented man;[jn] when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe[jo] of Joseph. 29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah[jp] was wearing a brand new robe, 30 and he grabbed the robe[jq] and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you. 32 He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33 I am taking the kingdom from him[jr] because they have[js] abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions[jt] by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, as Solomon’s father David did.[ju] 34 I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. 35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you.[jv] 36 I will leave[jw] his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me[jx] in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home.[jy] 37 I will select[jz] you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. 38 You must obey[ka] all I command you to do, follow my instructions,[kb] do what I approve,[kc] and keep my rules and commandments, as my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David;[kd] I will give you Israel. 39 I will humiliate David’s descendants because of this,[ke] but not forever.’”[kf] 40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt.[kg] He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.
Solomon’s Reign Ends
41 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon.[kh] 42 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. 43 Then Solomon passed away[ki] and was buried in the city of his father David.[kj] His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.[kk]
Rehoboam Loses His Kingdom
12 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in[kl] Shechem to make Rehoboam[km] king. 2 [kn] When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since.[ko] 3 They sent for him,[kp] and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made us work too hard.[kq] Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.”[kr] 5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then return to me.” So the people went away.
6 King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served[ks] his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them,[kt] “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 They said to him, “Today if you will be a servant to these people and grant their request,[ku] speaking kind words to them,[kv] they will be your servants from this time forward.”[kw] 8 But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.[kx] 9 He asked them, “How do you advise me[ky] to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?”[kz] 10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam[la] had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you, ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.’[lb] Say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father![lc] 11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.[ld] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’”[le]
12 Jeroboam and all the people reported[lf] to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, “Return to me on the third day.” 13 The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men 14 and followed[lg] the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.[lh] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.”[li] 15 The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events[lj] so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made[lk] through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, “We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse![ll] Return to your homes, O Israel![lm] Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!”[ln] So Israel returned to their homes.[lo] 17 (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) 18 King Rehoboam sent Adoniram,[lp] the supervisor of the work crews,[lq] out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day. 20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty.[lr]
21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin[ls] to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon. 22 But God told Shemaiah the prophet,[lt] 23 “Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah, and to all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the rest of the people, 24 ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you go home. Indeed this thing has happened because of me.”’” So they obeyed the Lord’s message. They went home in keeping with the Lord’s message.
Jeroboam Makes Golden Calves
25 [lu] Jeroboam built up Shechem in the Ephraimite hill country and lived there. From there he went out and built up Penuel. 26 Jeroboam then thought to himself:[lv] “Now the Davidic dynasty could regain the kingdom.[lw] 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, their loyalty could shift to their former master,[lx] King Rehoboam of Judah. They might kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.” 28 After the king had consulted with his advisers,[ly] he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people,[lz] “It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 29 He put one in Bethel and the other in Dan. 30 This caused Israel to sin;[ma] the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.[mb]
31 He built temples[mc] on the high places and appointed as priests common people who were not Levites. 32 Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month,[md] like the festival celebrated in Judah.[me] On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made.[mf] In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.
A Prophet from Judah Visits Bethel
33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen)[mg] Jeroboam[mh] offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices. 13 1 Just then[mi] a prophet[mj] arrived from Judah with[mk] the Lord’s message for Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice. 2 He cried out against the altar with the Lord’s message, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord has said, ‘Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’”[ml] 3 That day he had also given a sign, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has declared: The altar will split open and the ashes[mm] on it will pour out.” 4 When the king heard the prophet’s message that he had cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam took his hand from the altar and pointed it[mn] saying, “Seize him!” Then the hand that he had pointed at him stiffened up,[mo] and he could not pull it back. 5 Meanwhile the altar split open, and the ashes[mp] poured from the altar in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had given with the Lord’s message. 6 The king responded to[mq] the prophet, “Seek the favor of[mr] the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored.” So the prophet sought the Lord’s favor and the king’s hand was restored as it was at first. 7 The king then said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat, so that I may give you a gift.”[ms] 8 But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,[mt] I would not go with you. I am not allowed to eat food or drink water in this place. 9 For this is how I was commanded in the Lord’s message, ‘Eat no food. Drink no water. And do not return by the way you came.’” 10 So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel.
11 Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. When his sons[mu] came home, they told him everything the prophet[mv] had done in Bethel that day. And they told their father all the words that he had spoken to the king.[mw] 12 Their father asked them, “Which road did he take?” His sons showed him[mx] the road the prophet from Judah had taken. 13 He then told his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” When they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and took off after the prophet, whom he found sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, “Are you the prophet from Judah?” He answered, “Yes, I am.” 15 He then said to him, “Come home with me and eat something.” 16 But he replied, “I can’t go back with you.[my] I am not allowed to eat food or to drink water with you in this place. 17 For an order came to me in the Lord’s message, ‘Eat no food. Drink no water there. And do not return by the way you came.’” 18 Then the old prophet[mz] said, “I too am a prophet like you. And an angel has told me in a message from the Lord, ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat food and drink water.’” But he had lied to him.[na] 19 So the prophet[nb] went back with him. He ate food in his house and he drank water.
20 While they were sitting at the table, the Lord’s message came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 So he cried out to the prophet[nc] who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘You[nd] have rebelled against the Lord’s instruction[ne] and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. 22 You went back. You ate food. And you drank water in the place of which he had said to you, “Eat no food. Drink no water.” Therefore[nf] your corpse will not be buried in your ancestral tomb.’”[ng]
23 So this is what happened after he had eaten food and drunk water.[nh] The old prophet[ni] saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 So the prophet from Judah travelled on. Then a lion attacked him on the road and killed him.
There was his body lying on the road, with the donkey standing next to it, and the lion just standing there by the body. 25 Then some men came passing by and saw the body lying in the road with the lion standing next to the body. They went and reported what they had seen[nj] in the city where the old prophet lived. 26 When the old prophet who had invited him to his house heard the news,[nk] he said, “It is the prophet[nl] who rebelled against the Lord.[nm] The Lord delivered him over to the lion and it tore him up[nn] and killed him, in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken to him.” 27 He told his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” So they saddled it. 28 He went and found the body lying in the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it;[no] the lion had neither eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. 29 The old prophet[np] picked up the prophet’s[nq] body, put it on the donkey, and brought it back. The old prophet then entered the city to mourn him and to bury him. 30 He put the body into his own tomb, and they[nr] mourned over him, saying, “Ah, my brother!” 31 After he buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the tomb where the prophet[ns] is buried; put my bones right beside his bones, 32 because the message that he announced as the Lord’s message against the altar in Bethel and against all the temples on the high places in the cities of the north[nt] will certainly be fulfilled.”
A Prophet Announces the End of Jeroboam’s Dynasty
33 After this happened, Jeroboam still did not change his evil ways;[nu] he continued to appoint common people[nv] as priests at the high places. Anyone who wanted the job he consecrated as a priest.[nw] 34 This sin caused Jeroboam’s dynasty[nx] to come to an end and to be destroyed from the face of the earth.
14 [ny] At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became sick. 2 Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise[nz] yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam’s wife. Then go to Shiloh; Ahijah the prophet, who told me I would rule over this nation, lives there.[oa] 3 Take[ob] ten loaves of bread, some small cakes, and a container of honey and visit him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”
4 Jeroboam’s wife did as she was told. She went to Shiloh and visited Ahijah.[oc] Now Ahijah could not see; he had lost his eyesight in his old age.[od] 5 But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Look, Jeroboam’s wife is coming to find out from you what will happen to her son, for he is sick. Tell her such and such.[oe] When she comes, she will be in a disguise.” 6 When Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come on in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have been commissioned to give you bad news.[of] 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: “I raised you up[og] from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel. 8 I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only what I approve.[oh] 9 You have sinned more than all who came before you. You went and angered me by making other gods, formed out of metal; you have completely disregarded me.[oi] 10 So I am ready to bring disaster[oj] on the dynasty[ok] of Jeroboam. I will cut off every last male belonging to Jeroboam in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated.[ol] I will burn up the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one burns manure until it is completely consumed.[om] 11 Dogs will eat the members of your family[on] who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”’ Indeed, the Lord has announced it!
12 “As for you, get up and go home. When you set foot in the city, the boy will die. 13 All Israel will mourn him and bury him. He is the only one in Jeroboam’s family[oo] who will receive a decent burial, for he is the only one in whom the Lord God of Israel found anything good. 14 The Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will cut off Jeroboam’s dynasty.[op] It is ready to happen![oq] 15 The Lord will attack Israel, making it like a reed that sways in the water.[or] He will remove Israel from this good land he gave to their ancestors[os] and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River,[ot] because they angered the Lord by making Asherah poles.[ou] 16 He will hand Israel over to their enemies[ov] because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit.”
17 So Jeroboam’s wife got up and went back to[ow] Tirzah. As she crossed the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18 All Israel buried him and mourned for him, in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken through his servant, the prophet Ahijah.
Jeroboam’s Reign Ends
19 The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, including the details of his battles and rule, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[ox] 20 Jeroboam ruled for twenty-two years; then he passed away.[oy] His son Nadab replaced him as king.
Rehoboam’s Reign over Judah
21 Now Rehoboam son of Solomon ruled in Judah. He[oz] was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home.[pa] His mother was an Ammonite woman[pb] named Naamah.
22 Judah did evil in the sight of[pc] the Lord. They made him more jealous by their sins than their ancestors had done.[pd] 23 They even built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 There were also male cultic prostitutes[pe] in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations[pf] that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.
25 In King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 He took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including all the golden shields that Solomon had made. 27 King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard[pg] who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 28 Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guard carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom.
29 The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[ph] 30 Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other. 31 Rehoboam passed away[pi] and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His mother was an Ammonite named Naamah. His son Abijah[pj] replaced him as king.
Abijah’s Reign over Judah
15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah[pk] became king over Judah. 2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.[pl] 3 He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been.[pm] 4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty[pn] in Jerusalem by giving him a son[po] to succeed him[pp] and by protecting Jerusalem.[pq] 5 He did this[pr] because David had done what he approved[ps] and had not disregarded any of his commandments[pt] his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite. 6 Rehoboam[pu] and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other throughout Abijah’s[pv] lifetime. 7 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[pw] Abijah and Jeroboam had been at war with each other. 8 Abijah passed away[px] and was buried[py] in the City of David. His son Asa replaced him as king.
Asa’s Reign over Judah
9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became the king of Judah. 10 He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother[pz] was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 11 Asa did what the Lord approved[qa] as his ancestor[qb] David had done. 12 He removed the male cultic prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the disgusting idols[qc] his ancestors[qd] had made. 13 He also removed Maacah his grandmother[qe] from her position as queen mother[qf] because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her loathsome pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 The high places were not eliminated, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.[qg] 15 He brought the holy items that he and his father had made into the Lord’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles.[qh]
16 Now Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other.[qi] 17 King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah and established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah.[qj] 18 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and handed it to his servants. He then told them to deliver it[qk] to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: 19 “I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made.[ql] See, I have sent you silver and gold as a present. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.”[qm] 20 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel.[qn] They conquered[qo] Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all the territory of Naphtali, including the region of Kinnereth.[qp] 21 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying[qq] Ramah and settled down in Tirzah. 22 King Asa ordered all the men of Judah (no exemptions were granted) to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah.[qr] King Asa used the materials to build up[qs] Geba (in Benjamin) and Mizpah.
23 The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, including all his successes and accomplishments, as well as a record of the cities he built, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[qt] Yet when he was very old he developed a foot disease.[qu] 24 Asa passed away[qv] and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoshaphat replaced him as king.
Nadab’s Reign over Israel
25 In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Nadab became the king of Israel; he ruled Israel for two years. 26 He did evil in the sight of[qw] the Lord. He followed in his father’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to sin.[qx]
27 Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, conspired against Nadab[qy] and assassinated him in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory. This happened while Nadab and all the Israelite army were besieging Gibbethon. 28 Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah and replaced him as king. 29 When he became king, he executed Jeroboam’s entire family.[qz] He wiped out[ra] everyone who breathed, in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 This happened because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit. These sins angered the Lord God of Israel.[rb]
31 The rest of the events of Nadab’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[rc] 32 Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other.
Baasha’s Reign over Israel
33 In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah; he ruled for twenty-four years. 34 He did evil in the sight of[rd] the Lord; he followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to sin.[re]
16 The Lord’s message against Baasha came to[rf] Jehu son of Hanani: 2 “I raised you up[rg] from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel. Yet you followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps[rh] and encouraged my people Israel to sin; their sins have made me angry.[ri] 3 So I am ready to burn up[rj] Baasha and his family, and make your family[rk] like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4 Dogs will eat the members of Baasha’s family[rl] who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”
5 The rest of the events of Baasha’s reign, including his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[rm] 6 Baasha passed away[rn] and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah replaced him as king. 7 And so it was the Lord’s message came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his family.[ro] This was because of all the evil he had done in the Lord’s view, by angering him with his deeds and becoming like Jeroboam’s dynasty,[rp] and because of how he had destroyed Jeroboam’s dynasty.[rq]
Elah’s Reign over Israel
8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha’s son Elah became king over Israel; he ruled in Tirzah for two years. 9 His servant Zimri, a commander of half of his chariot force, conspired against him. While Elah was in Tirzah drinking heavily[rr] at the house of Arza, who supervised the palace in Tirzah, 10 Zimri came in and struck him dead. (This happened in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah.) Zimri replaced Elah as king.[rs] 11 When he became king and occupied the throne, he killed Baasha’s entire family. He did not spare any male belonging to him; he killed his relatives and his friends.[rt] 12 Zimri destroyed Baasha’s entire family, in keeping with the Lord’s message which he had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet. 13 This happened because of all the sins which Baasha and his son Elah committed and which they made Israel commit. They angered the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols.[ru]
14 The rest of the events of Elah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[rv]
Zimri’s Reign over Israel
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri became king over Israel; he ruled for seven days in Tirzah. Zimri’s revolt took place while the army was deployed[rw] in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory. 16 While deployed there, the army received this report:[rx] “Zimri has conspired against the king and assassinated him.”[ry] So all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day in the camp. 17 Omri and all Israel went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he went into the fortified area of the royal palace. He set the palace on fire and died in the flames.[rz] 19 This happened because of the sins he committed. He did evil in the sight of[sa] the Lord and followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to continue sinning.[sb]
20 The rest of the events of Zimri’s reign, including the details of his revolt, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[sc]
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