不认识圣经，就是不认识基督，不认识基督，就是不认识基督所建立的天主教会。
旧约·列王纪上
共22章:
前编撒罗满君王史(列上1－11)
第一章(53)
达味年老
1:1
达味王年纪已老，虽然盖着许多被褥，仍然不觉温暖。
1:2
于是他的臣仆对他说：「让人为我主大王找一个年轻少女来，服侍大王，照料大王，睡在大王怀里，温暖我主大王。」
1:3
他们就在以色列全境，寻找美丽的少女；找着了一个叔能女子阿彼沙格，便领她到君王那里。
1:4
这少女非常美丽，她就照料服侍君王，君王却没有认识她。
阿多尼雅的野心
1:5
那时，哈基特的儿子阿多尼雅自尊自大说：「我必要作王！」他遂为自己预备了车辆和骑兵，有五十人在他面前开道。
1:6
他的父亲一生从未责骂过他说：「你为什么这样做﹖」他出生于阿贝沙隆之后，也是个十分英俊的人。
1:7
他曾与责鲁雅的儿子约阿布和司祭厄贝雅塔尔商议过，他们二人都支持阿多尼雅。
1:8
但是司祭匝多克、约雅达的儿子贝纳雅、先知纳堂、史米勒依，以及达味的勇士们，都不拥护阿多尼雅。
1:9
一天，阿多尼雅在洛革耳泉旁的左赫肋特盘石上，宰杀了牛羊和肥犊，邀请了君王的儿子们─他所有的兄弟，和所有作君王臣仆的犹大人，
1:10
惟独没有邀请先知纳堂、贝纳雅、勇士们和他的兄弟撒罗满。
先知劝立撒罗满为王
1:11 纳堂对撒罗满的母亲巴特舍巴说：「你没有听说：哈基特的儿子阿多尼雅已作了王，而我们的主上达味还不知道吗﹖
1:12
现在，我给你出个主意，好保全你和你儿子撒罗满的性命。
1:13
你去见达味，对他说：我主大王，你不是曾向你的婢女起誓说：你的儿子撒罗满必要继我为王，坐上我的宝座吗﹖为什么阿多尼雅却作了王呢﹖
1:14
当你还在那里与君王说话时，我便随后进来，证实你的话。」
1:15
巴特舍巴于是进了君王的内室。君王年纪已老，叔能女子阿彼沙格正在旁服侍君王。
1:16
巴特舍巴便俯伏叩拜君王。君王问说：「你有什么事﹖」
1:17
巴特舍巴答说：「我主，你曾指着上主你的天主向你的婢女起誓说：你的儿子撒罗满必要继我为王，坐上我的宝座。
1:18
但是，现在阿多尼雅已作了王，而我主大王，你还不知道。
1:19
他宰杀了许多牛、肥犊和羊，邀请了君王所有的儿子和厄贝雅塔尔司祭并约阿布元帅，惟独你的仆人撒罗满，他没有邀请。
1:20
我主大王，现在全以色列人的眼望着你，等待你通告他们，谁要坐上我主大王的宝座，继承大王。
1:21
不然，将来我主大王同自己的祖先长眠之后，我和我的儿子撒罗满必被列为罪犯。」
1:22
正当她同君王谈话时，纳堂先知进来了。
1:23
有人禀告君王说：「纳堂先知来了。」他来到君王面前，便俯首至地，向君王下拜。
1:24
纳堂说：「我主大王，想必你说过，阿多尼雅必要继我为王，坐上我的宝座
1:25
因为他今天下去，宰杀了许多牛、肥犊和羊，邀请了君王所有的儿子和军官，以及厄贝雅塔尔司祭；他们在他面前吃喝，呼喊说：阿多尼雅王万岁！
1:26
至于你的仆人我、匝多克司祭、约雅达的儿子贝纳雅，以及你的儿子撒罗满，他都没有邀请。
1:27
如果这事是出于我主大王，难道你会不通告你的仆人，谁要坐上我主大王的宝座，继承大王吗﹖」
1:28
达味回答说：「快给我召巴特，舍巴来！」她便进来立在君王面前。
1:29
君王起誓说：「救我脱离各种患难的上主永在！
1:30
我既然曾指着上主以色列的天主向你起誓说：你的儿子撒罗满必要继我为王，代我坐上我的宝座：今天我就要这样作。」
1:31
巴特舍巴遂俯伏在地，叩拜君王说：「愿我主大王达味万岁！」
撒罗满登极为王
1:32 达味王接着说：「将司祭匝多克、先知纳堂、约雅达的儿子贝纳雅，给我召来。」他们都来到君王面前。
1:33
君王对他们说：「率领你们主子的仆人，立刻叫我儿撒罗满骑上我自己的骡子，护送他下到基红去。
1:34
司祭匝多克和先知纳堂要在那里给他傅油，立他为以色列王。你们要吹号欢呼说：「撒罗满王万岁！」35 以后，你们跟他上来，他要来坐我的宝座，继位为王，因为我已钦定他作以色列和犹大的领袖。」
1:36
约雅达的儿子贝纳雅回答君王说：「但愿如此！愿我主大王的上主天主，如此照准！
1:37
上主如何与我主大王同在，也愿他与撒罗满同在！使他的王位高于我主君王达味的王位。」
1:38
于是司祭匝多克、先知纳堂、约雅达的儿子贝纳雅、革勒提人和培肋提人下去，叫撒罗满骑上达味王的骡子，护送他到了基红。
1:39
司祭匝多克从会幕里取过油角来，给撒罗满傅了油，人们立即吹号,众百姓一齐欢呼说：「撒罗满王万岁！」,以后所有的人民拥护他上去，吹着笛子，尽情欢乐，以致大地也因他们的欢呼声而震动。
阿多尼雅的党羽瓦解
1:41
阿多尼雅和他所请的一切客人欢宴刚完，都听见了这声音；约阿布一听见号声，便问说﹕「为什么城中这样鼓噪﹖」
1:42
他正说话的时候，司祭厄贝雅塔尔的儿子约纳堂来了，阿多尼雅说﹕「进来，你是个英雄好汉，想必带来了好消息！」
1:43
约纳堂回答阿多尼雅说﹕「不！我们的主上达味王已立撒罗满为王了。
1:44
君王派司祭匝多克、先知纳堂、约雅达的儿子贝纳雅、革勒提人和培肋提人，护送他下去，叫他骑上了君王的骡子。
1:45
司祭匝多克和先知纳堂已在基红给他傅了油，立他为王。现在他们正从那里欢呼上来，震动了全城﹕这就是你们听到的喧嚷声。
1:46
撒罗满现已坐上了君王的宝座，
1:47
君王的臣仆都来祝贺我们的主上达味王说﹕愿你的天主使撒罗满的名声比你的名声更荣耀，使他的王位比你的王位更兴隆！君王就伏在床上下拜，
1:48
且说﹕上主以色列的天主应受赞美！因为今天他指派了一个人坐上了我的宝座，我也亲自眼看见了。」
1:49
阿多尼雅请来的客人都害了怕，起来各自走了。
1:50
阿多尼雅也害怕撒罗满，遂起来跑到上主的会幕内，抱住祭坛的角。
1:51
有人告诉撒罗满说﹕「看，阿多尼雅害怕撒罗满王，抱住祭坛的角说﹕撒罗满王先得向我起誓﹕决不用刀杀死他的仆人。」
1:52
撒罗满说：「如果他肯做一个忠义的人，他的一根头发也不会落在地上；但如果发现他有什么不对，必死无疑。」
1:53
撒罗满王遂派人去，叫他从祭坛上下来；他便前来，俯伏在撒罗满王前。撒罗满对他说﹕「你回家去罢！」
第二章(46)
达味王的遗嘱
2:1 达味死的日子已经近了，便嘱咐自己的儿子撒罗满说：
2:2
「我现在要走世人应走的路，你要作英勇有为的大丈夫，
2:3
恪守上主你天主的典章，履行他的道路，遵守他的规律、诫命、法令和制度，如梅瑟法律上所记载的：这样无论你做什么，无论你往何处去，必然顺利；
2:4
上主也必履行他关于我所说的话，说：如果你的子孙固守他们的道路，真能全心全意在我面前行走，那么，你的后代就决不缺坐上以色列宝座的人。
2:5
此外，你也知道责鲁雅的儿子约阿布对我所做的事，对以色列军队的两个统帅乃尔的儿子阿贝乃尔和耶特尔的儿子阿玛撒所做的事；他在升平时，杀了他们，像在战争时杀人，使我腰间的带子和脚上的鞋染了无辜的血。
2:6
你要凭你的明智行事，不要让他平安无事，白头下入阴府。
2:7
至于基肋阿得人巴尔齐来人的子孙，你却应该厚待他们，使他们列入你席上的食客，因为当我逃避你哥哥阿贝沙隆时，他们是怎样的照顾了我。
2:8
看，在你身旁还有巴胡陵地的本雅明人革辣的儿子史米，在我去玛哈纳殷那一天，他恶毒地咒骂了我；但是，后来他又下到约旦河来迎接我，当时我指着上主对他起誓说：我决不用刀处决你。
2:9
现在，你可不要把他看作无罪的人，你既然明智，就该知道怎样对付他，使他白发染血，下入阴府。」
达味逝世撒罗满即位
2:10 达味与自己的列祖同眠，葬在达味城。
2:11
达味作以色列王四十年：在赫贝龙作王七年，在耶路撒冷作王三十三年。
2:12
撒罗满于是坐上了他父亲达味的宝座，他的王国很是巩固。
阿多尼雅自招杀身之祸
2:13 哈基特的儿子阿多尼雅来见撒罗满的母亲巴特舍巴，她问说：「你来这里平安吗﹖」阿多尼雅回答说：「平安。」
2:14
继而又说：「我有句话对你说。」巴特舍巴说：「请说罢！」
2:15
他说：「你知道王国原该归于我，全以色列都期待我为王。无奈王国反而归于我的弟弟；当然，归他是由于上主。
2:16
现在，我要求你一件事，请你不要拒绝我！」巴特舍巴对他说：「说罢！」
2:17
阿多尼雅说：「我求你向撒罗满说：将叔能的女子阿彼沙格给我为妻，因为他决不会拒绝你的请求。」
2:18
巴特舍巴说：「好！我要为你请求君王。」
2:19
巴特舍巴于是去见撒罗满王，为阿多尼雅请求。君王遂起身迎接她，向她俯首致敬，然后坐在宝座上；又叫人为君王的母亲另预备了一个座位，她便坐在君王的右边。
2:20
巴特舍巴说：「我要求你一件小事，请你不要拒绝我！」君王对她说：「母亲！你求罢！我决不拒绝。」
2:21
巴特舍巴说：「请你将叔能的女子阿彼沙格给你哥哥阿多尼雅为妻。」
2:22
撒罗满回答母亲说：「你为什么为阿多尼雅要求叔能的女子阿彼沙格呢﹖你为他要求王国罢！因为他是我的哥哥，何况厄贝雅塔尔司祭和责鲁雅的儿子约阿布又都拥护他。」
2:23
撒罗满王便指着上主起誓说：「如果阿多尼雅说了这话，而不丧失性命，愿上主严厉惩罚我，并加倍地惩罚我！
2:24
上主支持我，使我坐上了我父亲达味的宝座，照他所应许的，给我建立了王室，现在，我指着永生的上主起誓：阿多尼雅今天必该处死！」
2:25
撒罗满王便派约雅达的儿子贝纳雅去杀了阿多尼雅；阿多尼雅便死了。
厄贝雅塔尔被革职
2:26 此后，君王对于厄贝雅塔尔司祭说：「你回阿纳托特，往你的庄田去罢！你原是该死的人，但今天我不杀你，因为你曾在我父亲达味面前，抬过吾主上主的约柜，与我父亲同受过一切艰苦。」
2:27
这样，撒罗满罢免了厄贝雅塔尔作上主的司祭，应验了上主昔日在史罗指着厄里家族所说的话。
约阿布被处决
2:28 约阿布既然支持阿多尼雅，而没有支持撒罗满，他听到了这消息，便跑到上主的会幕里，抱住祭坛的角。
2:29
有人报告撒罗满王说：「约阿布逃到上主的会幕里，站在祭坛旁。」撒罗满就吩咐约雅达的儿子贝纳雅说：「你去，将他杀死！」
2:30
贝纳雅便到上主的会幕内，对约阿布说：「君王这样吩咐：你出来罢！」他回答说：「我不出去，我宁愿死在这里。」贝纳雅回来向君王复命说：「约阿布这样说了，这样回答了我。」
2:31
君王对他说：「你就照他所说的去做：将他杀死埋掉，今天你即应从我身上，由我父家除去约阿布所流的无辜之血。
2:32
上主必要使他所流的血归到他头上，因为他曾杀死了两个比他更正义，更慈善的人。他用刀杀死了乃尔的儿子，以色列军队的统帅阿贝乃尔，和耶特尔的儿子，犹大军队的统帅阿玛撒，这事我父亲一点都不知道。
2:33
他们的血要永归在约阿布和他子孙的头上；至于达味，他的后裔，他的家族，他的王位，必永远享受由上主而来的平安！」
2:34
约雅达的儿子贝纳雅就上去，杀了他，把他葬在他旷野中的家园。
2:35
君王遂委任约雅达的儿子贝纳雅，代替约阿布统率军队，又委任匝多克司祭，代替厄贝雅塔尔。
史米违命处死
2:36 君王派人将史米召来，对他说：「你要在耶路撒冷为你建筑一座房屋，住在那里，不可从那里出来，到任何地方去。
2:37
你应当知道：你那一天出来，渡过克德龙溪，你那一天就一定要死；你的血必归在你头上。」
2:38
史米对君王说：「这话很好！我主大王怎样说，你的仆人就怎样做。」史米于是常住在耶路撒冷。
2:39
三年以后，史米的两个仆人逃到玛敖客的儿子，加特的君王阿基士那里去了。有人告诉史米说：「你的仆人在加特。」
2:40
史米便起来，备好自己的驴，往加特阿基士那里，找他的仆人。史米去了，从加特带回了自己的仆人。
2:41
有人告诉撒罗满说：「史米从耶路撒冷去了加特，又回来了。」
2:42
君王便派人将史米召来，对他说：「难道我没有叫你指着上主起誓，预先警告你说：你应当知道：你那一天出去，不论到任何地方，你那一天就一定要死么﹖你不是也对我说过：这话很好，我听见了么﹖
2:43
为什么你没有遵守对上主的誓言和我吩咐你的命令﹖」
2:44
君王又对史米说：「你心里明白你对我父亲达味所做的一切恶事，所以上主要将你的邪恶都归在你头上。
2:45
而撒罗满王却要蒙受祝福，达味的王权要在上主面前，永远坚定不移！」
2:46
于是君王命令约雅达的儿子贝纳雅出去，击杀了史米，史米就死了。此后王国在撒罗满治下才算巩固了。
第三章(28)
撒罗满与外族结亲
3:1 撒罗满和埃及王法郎结亲，娶了法郎的公主，接她住在达味城，直等到他建完了自己的宫殿、上主的殿及耶路撒冷四周围的城垣。
3:2
百姓仍然在高丘上献祭，因为直到那时，还没有为上主的名建造殿宇。
3:3
撒罗满爱慕上主，遵行他父亲达味的律例，只是仍在高丘上献祭焚香。
上主显现给撒罗满
3:4 撒罗满王去了基贝红，为在那里献祭，因为那是一个最广大的高丘。撒罗满在那里的祭坛上奉献了一千全燔祭。
3:5
撒罗满在基贝红时，夜间上主借梦显现给他；天主对他说﹕「你不拘求什么，我必给你。」
3:6
撒罗满说﹕「你的仆人，我的父亲达味曾以虔诚、公义及正直的心与你同行，你曾向他表示了伟大的恩德，又为给他保持这伟大的恩德，赐给了他一个儿子，坐在他的宝座上，如同今天一样。
3:7
上主，我的天主，现在你使你的仆人替代我父亲达味为王，但我还太年轻，不知道如何处理国事。
3:8
你的仆人是住在你所选的民族中间，这是一个多得不可统计，不可胜数的大民族。
3:9
为此，求你赐给你的仆人一颗慧心，可统治你的百姓，判断善恶；否则，谁能统治你这样众多的人民呢﹖」
3:10
因为撒罗满求了这件事，获得了上主的欢心。
3:11
天主于是对他说﹕「因为你求了这件事，而没有为你自己求长寿，也没有为你自己求富贵，也没有要求你敌人的性命，单单为你自己求了智慧，为能辨明正义。
3:12
我必照你的话作，赏赐你一颗聪明智慧的心，在你以前没有像你的人，在你以后，也不会兴起一个像你的人。
3:13
你没有要求的荣华富贵，我也赏赐你，使你在列王中，一生没有可与你相比的。
3:14
如果你履行我的道路，恪守我的法律和我的命令，一如你父亲达味所行的，我必要延长你的寿命。」
3:15
撒罗满醒来，才知道原是一梦；以后他回了耶路撒冷，立在上主的约柜前，奉献了全燔祭与和平祭，设宴款待了自己所有的臣仆。
撒罗满断狱如神
3:16 有一天，有两个妓女来见君王，立在君王面前。
3:17
一个女人说﹕「我主，我和这个女人同住一房，在这房里，我靠着她生了一个孩子。
3:18
我生产后第三天，这个女人也生了一个孩子。我们住在一起，在这房里，除我们二人外，再没有别人住在这房里。
3:19
有一夜，这个女人的儿子死了，是因为她睡觉压死的。
3:20
她半夜起来，趁你婢女熟睡时，从我身边抱去我的儿子，放在她怀里，把她死了的儿子，放在我怀里。
3:21
当我清早起来，给孩子喂奶时，发觉孩子死了；及至天亮，我仔细一看，发觉他不是我亲生的儿子。」
3:22
另一个女人说﹕「不是的，活的是我的儿子，死的是你的儿子。」这个女人说﹕「不是的，死的是你的儿子，活的是我的儿子。」她们俩就这样在君王面前争论不休。
3:23
君王说﹕「这一个说﹕活的是我的儿子，死的是你的儿子；那一个说﹕不是的，死的是你的儿子，活的是我的儿子。」
3:24
君王吩咐说﹕「给我拿把刀来！」人就给君王拿来了一把刀。
3:25
君王遂下令说﹕「把那活孩子劈成两半﹕一半给这一个，一半给那一个。」
3:26
那活孩子的母亲因为爱子心切，就对君王说﹕「我主，请把活孩子给那女人罢！千万不要杀他！」那个女人说﹕「劈开罢！这孩子不归我，也不归你！」
3:27
君王于是宣判说﹕「将活孩子给这个女人，不要杀他。这个女人实在是他的母亲！」
3:28
全以色列人听了君王所断的案件，便都尊敬君王，因为他们见他断案时，具有天主的智慧。
第四章(20)
撒罗满的朝臣
4:1 撒罗满王作王统治全以色列。
4:2
以下是他所有的官吏﹕匝多克的儿子阿匝黎雅作大司祭，
4:3
史沙的两个儿子厄里曷勒夫和阿希雅作书记，阿希路得的儿子约沙特作御史，
4:4
约雅达的儿子贝纳雅统率军队，【匝多克和厄贝雅塔尔为司祭，】
4:5
纳堂的儿子阿匝黎雅为太守之长，纳堂的儿子匝步得为君王的朋友，
4:6
阿希沙尔为家宰，阿贝达的儿子阿多尼兰管理苦役。
十二太守
4:7 撒罗满另立了十二个太守管理全以色列，供应君王和王室的食粮；一年之中每人供应一个月。
4:8
他们的名字如下﹕胡尔的儿子管理厄弗辣因山地；
4:9
德刻尔的儿子管理玛卡兹、沙耳宾、贝特舍默士、阿雅隆及贝特哈南；
4:10
赫达布的儿子管理阿鲁波特、索苛及赫斐尔全地；
4:11
阿彼纳达布的儿子管理多尔全境，他娶了撒落满的女儿塔法特为妻；
4:12
阿希路得的儿子巴阿纳，管理塔纳客、默基多直到约刻默罕外，以及位于依次勒耳下边的全贝特商，曾贝特商直到靠近匝尔堂的阿贝耳默曷拉；
4:13
革贝尔的儿子管理辣摩特基肋阿得，和在基肋阿得地的默纳协的儿子雅依尔的乡村；在巴商阿尔哥布地，所有的六十座设有城墙和铜闩的大城市，也归他管理；
4:14
依多的儿子阿希纳达布管理玛哈纳殷；
4:15
阿希玛兹管理纳斐塔里，他也娶了撒罗满的女儿巴色玛特为妻；
4:16
胡瑟的儿子巴阿纳管理阿协尔和则步隆；
4:17
帕鲁亚的儿子约沙特管理依撒加尔；
4:18
厄拉的儿子史米管理本雅明；
4:19
乌黎的儿子革贝尔管理加得，即昔日属阿摩黎王息红和巴商王敖格的地区。犹大地区另派太守管理。
4:20
当时犹大和以色列人数，像海边的沙粒那么多；他们有吃有喝，非常快乐。
第五章(32)
撒罗满的富贵
5:1 由大河直至培肋舍特人地和埃及边界诸王国，都在撒罗满统治之下；撒罗满一生岁月中，这些王国都向他进贡，表示臣服。
5:2
撒罗满每月所用的食品﹕细面十「苛尔，」粗面六十「苛尔；」
5:3
肥牛十只，牧放的牛二十只，羊一百只；此外还有鹿、羚羊、麅子和肥禽。
5:4
因为他统治大河西岸全境，从提斐撒到迦萨，大河西岸诸王都属他权下，于是四邻边境都相安无事。
5:5
撒罗满一生岁月中，从丹到贝尔舍巴的犹大和以色列人，都各安居在自己的葡萄树和无花果树下。
5:6
撒罗满有四千厩套车的马，并有一万二千匹坐骑。
5:7
那些太守每人各按自己的月份，供应撒罗满王和所有赴撒罗满王宴席的人，而一无所缺。
5:8
每人各按所受的命令，将饲养战马及骏马的大麦和草料，送到所指定的地方。
撒罗满的智慧
5:9 天主赐给了撒罗满绝大的智慧和聪明，心胸宽大，有如海边的沙滩。
5:10
撒罗满的智慧超过所有东方人和埃及人的一切智慧。
5:11
他比所有的人更有智慧﹕比则辣黑人厄堂，比玛曷耳的儿子赫曼、加耳苛耳和达尔达都更有智慧﹔他的声誉传遍周围列国。
5:12
他说过三千句箴言，作的诗歌有一千五百首。
5:13
他讲论过草木，从黎巴嫩山上长的香柏，到墙上寄生的牛膝草﹔也讲论过走兽和飞禽，爬虫和鱼类。
5:14
为此，万民和各国的君王，凡听说撒罗满智慧的，都来听他的智慧。
准备建筑圣殿
5:15 提洛王希兰听说撒罗满受傅继父为王，就派自己的仆人去见撒罗满，因为希兰一生常是达味的好友。
5:16
撒罗满也派人去见希兰说﹕
5:17
「你知道我父亲达味因了四周的战争，在上主没有将敌人置于他脚下以前，不能为上主他的天主的名建造殿宇。
5:18
但是现在，上主我的天主使我四周泰平，没有仇敌，也没有灾祸。
5:19
所以我决意要为上主我天主的名建造殿宇，一如上主对我父亲曾说过﹕你的儿子，即我使他继你坐你宝座的那一位，要为我的名建造殿宇。
5:20
所以现在，请你吩咐人从黎巴嫩给我砍伐香柏木，我的仆人会与你的仆人一起工作，我必照你所说定的，把你仆人的工资全交给你，因为你知道在我们中间，没有像漆冬人那样善于砍伐树木的。」
5:21
希兰听了撒罗满的话，非常高兴说﹕「上主今日应受赞美，因为他赐给了达味一个有智慧的儿子，统治这个强大的民族。」
5:22
希兰遂派人去见撒罗满说﹕「你派人来向我说的话，我都听到了﹔至于香柏木和柏木，我必全照你的心愿去做。
5:23
我仆人把这些木料从黎巴嫩运下海中，编成木筏，由海上转运到你给我指定的地方，我在那里拆开，你在那里接收﹔但是，你也要成全我的心愿，拿食粮来供应我的宫廷。」
5:24
希兰于是全照撒罗满的要求，供给他香柏木和柏木，
5:25
撒罗满则供给希兰麦子两万「苛尔，」纯油二十「苛尔，」作为他宫廷的食粮。撒罗满年年这样供应希兰。
5:26
上主依照所许的，赐给了撒罗满智慧；希兰与撒罗满之间，彼此和好，二人相互订立了盟约。
征调工人
5:27 撒罗满王由全以色列中，征人服役，共征调了三万﹔
5:28
每月轮流派一万人上黎巴嫩山﹕一个月在黎巴嫩山，两个月留在家中﹔由阿多兰监督劳工。
5:29
撒罗满有七万搬运重物的工人，有八万在山上工作的石匠﹔
5:30
此外，还有三千三百监管工作的头目，指挥人民工作。
5:31
君王吩咐人开采巨大和贵重的石头，以凿好的石头建筑殿宇的基础。
5:32
撒罗满和希兰的工人，以及革巴耳人都开凿石头，预备木料和石头，建造殿宇。
第六章(38)
建造圣殿
6:1 以色列子民出离埃及地后四百八十年，撒罗满作以色列王第四年「齐夫」月，【即二月，】开始建造上主的殿。
6:2
撒罗满王为上主所建立的殿，长六十肘，宽二十肘，高三十肘。
6:3
殿堂前的门廊长二十肘，宽与殿的宽度相等，共十肘，在殿堂之前。
6:4
又为殿作了窗户，有窗框和窗棂。
6:5
紧靠殿墙，即围着外殿和内殿的墙，周围建造了分层厢房﹕
6:6
下层宽五肘，中层宽六肘，第三层宽七肘﹔使殿周围对面的墙突出，免得梁木插入殿墙内。
6:7
建造殿宇时，始终是采用凿好了的石头，所以在建殿时，全听不到锤子、斧子及任何铁器的响声。
6:8
厢房最下层的门，设在殿的右边，人可从螺旋梯上到中层，由中层上到第三层。
6:9
殿造完了以后，又用香柏木梁和木板，盖上了殿顶。
6:10
殿的四周建立了厢房，每层高五肘，用香柏木梁使之与殿墙相连接。
6:11
有上主的话传于撒罗满说﹕「
6:12
关于你正在进行建造的这殿，如果你履行我的法律，遵守我的规例，按照我的一切命令行事，我必对你实践我向你父亲达味所说的话，
6:13
必常住在以色列子民中，永不拋弃我的百姓以色列。」
圣殿内部
6:14 撒罗满建殿，终于完成。
6:15
殿内的墙壁全铺上香柏木板，从殿的地面到天花板的椽、梁，全盖上木板﹔殿内地面都铺上柏木板。
6:16
内殿即至圣所，长二十肘，从地板到天花板都盖上香柏木板。
6:17
至圣所前的外殿，长四十肘。
6:18
殿内的香柏木板上，都刻有匏瓜和初开的花﹕全部都是香柏木，看不到一块石头。
6:19
殿堂内部设有内殿，为安放上主的约柜。
6:20
内殿长二十肘，宽二十肘，高二十肘，全都贴上纯金﹔他又用香柏木做了一个祭坛，
6:21
放在内殿前，全都包上金。
6:22
整个殿宇都贴上金，贴满了整个殿宇。
6:23
内殿里又用橄榄木作了两个革鲁宾，每个高十肘。
6:24
革鲁宾的一个翅膀长五肘，革鲁宾的另一个翅膀也长五肘，从一个翅膀尖到另一个翅膀尖，共十肘。
6:25
另一个革鲁宾也是十肘;两个革鲁宾，有一样的尺寸，有一样的形状。
6:26
一个革鲁宾高十肘，另一个革鲁宾也是如此。
6:27
两个革鲁宾都安放在内殿，革鲁宾的翅膀是伸开的﹕这个革鲁宾的一个翅膀靠着这边的墙，那个革鲁宾的一个翅膀靠着那边的墙，里面的两个翅膀，在殿中央相接。
6:28
两个革鲁宾全包上金。
6:29
内殿和外殿四周墙壁，都刻有革鲁宾、棕树和花朵初开的形状。
6:30
内殿和外殿的地板，都铺上金。
6:31
内殿的门，是用橄榄木作的，门柱和门框，为五角形。
6:32
橄榄木的两门扇上，刻有革鲁宾、棕树和花朵初开的形像。花上包金，革鲁宾和棕树上贴金。
6:33
外殿的门和门柱也是橄榄木作的，为四角形﹔
6:34
两扇门都是用柏木作的﹕这一扇有两叶可以折叠，那一扇也有两叶可以折叠。
6:35
门上刻有革鲁宾、棕树和花朵初开的形像，雕刻以后，全贴上金。
6:36
内院的墙，三层是用好的石头，一层是用香柏木建造的。
6:37
第四年，「齐夫」月，奠定了上主殿宇的基础﹔
6:38
第十一年，「步耳」月【即八月，】上主的殿各部分全依照计划完成﹔建殿的工作共费时七年。
第七章(51)
建造宫室
7:1 此后，撒罗满为自己建造宫室，十三年方告完成。
7:2
他建造的，有黎巴嫩林宫，长一百肘，宽五十肘，高三十肘；有三行香柏木柱子，柱子上端有香柏木托梁。
7:3
上面盖上香柏木板；每行十五根柱子，共有四十五根。
7:4
窗户有三排，三排窗户彼此相对。
7:5
门和窗户都是方形；三层窗户都彼此相对。
7:6
又造了有圆柱的大厅，长五十肘，宽三十肘；大厅前面另有一个廊子，廊子前面有柱子和顶盖。
7:7
他又造了一厅，中间设有审判的座位，在那里审案；从地面到梁，都是用香柏木铺盖的。
7:8
厅后的另一院内，有君王住的宫室，建筑式样，完全与审判厅相同；为君王所娶的法郎公主，也建造了与审判厅相同的宫室。
7:9
从外院直到大院的这一切建筑，从地基到屋顶，都是用按尺寸凿好，用锯内外锯平的宝贵石头建造的。
7:10
地基也都是用贵重巨大的石头砌成的，有的十肘长，有的八肘长；
7:11
上面有按尺寸凿好的贵重石头和香柏木。
7:12
大院四周的墙有三层凿好的石头和一层香柏木板；上主的殿宇的内院和殿廊，都包围在内。
两根铜柱
7:13 撒罗满王派人由提洛将希兰接来。
7:14
希兰是纳斐塔里支派一个寡妇的儿子，他父亲是提洛的一个铜匠；他多才多艺，会做一切铜工。他来到撒罗满前，为他做一切工作，
7:15
铸了两根铜柱：一根高十八肘，周径十二肘，四指厚，中空；另一根也是这样。
7:16
制了两个铜铸的柱头，安在柱子顶端：一个柱头高五肘，另一个柱头也高五肘。
7:17
他又制了两个铜网，为遮护柱子顶端的柱头：这一个柱头有一个铜网，另一个柱头也有一个铜网。
7:18
在网子周围，又制了两行石榴，遮住柱头：两个柱头都是如此。
7:19
柱子顶端上的柱头，刻有百合花形像，四肘高。
7:20
两根柱子顶端上的柱头突起处，网子后面，各有石榴二百个，分行围绕着。
7:21
他将两根柱子竖立在殿廊的前面：给立在右边的柱子，起名叫雅津；给立在左边的柱子，起名叫波阿次：
7:22
这样，柱子的工作就算完成了。
铜海
7:23 他又铸造了一座铜海，圆形，直径十肘，高五肘，周径三十肘。
7:24
铜海边缘下面周围有匏瓜，每肘十个，四面围绕着铜海；匏瓜分成两行，是铸铜海时铸上去的。
7:25
铜海安放在十二只铜牛上；三只向北，三只向西，三只向南，三只向东。铜海安放在牛背上，牛尾朝里。
7:26
铜海厚一掌，边像杯边，形似百合花，可容两千「巴特。」
盆与盆座
7:27 又铸造了十个铜盆座，每个长四肘，宽四肘，高三肘。
7:28
盆座的造法是这样：盆座有镶板，镶板装入框架内，
7:29
在框架中间的镶板上刻有狮子、牛和革鲁宾的形像，在框架上也有雕刻；狮子和牛的形像下，刻有花纹浮雕。
7:30
每个盆座有四个铜轮和铜轴；盆底有四脚作支柱，支柱是铸成的；每边都刻有花纹。
7:31
盆座的口，从座底至口边高一肘半；口成圆形，为安放铜盆之用；在口的边缘上也有雕刻；盆座的镶板是四方形的，而不是圆形的。
7:32
四个轮子是在镶板之下，轮轴与座底相接；轮子高一肘半。
7:33
轮子的制法和车轮的制法一样，轮轴、轮辋、轮辐和轮毂，都是铸成的。
7:34
每个盆座有四根支柱支持四角，支柱与盆座是一块铸成的。
7:35
盆座顶上有一个圆架，高半肘；在座顶上有柄，镶板与座是一块铸成的。
7:36
镶板壁上刻有革鲁宾、狮子和棕树；四周空处另刻有花纹。
7:37
十个盆座都是这样做的：铸法、尺寸和式样完全相同。
7:38
又制了十个铜盆，每个铜盆可容四十「巴特；」每个铜盆高四肘；十个铜盆座上，每个安放一个铜盆。
7:39
他把盆座，五个放在殿的右边，五个放在殿的左边；至于铜海，他放在殿右靠东南方。
希兰所制物品
7:40 希兰又制造了锅、铲和盘：这样，希兰为撒罗满作完了上主殿宇的一切工作：
7:41
计有柱子两根，柱子顶端球形的柱头两个，遮护柱子顶端球形柱头的网子两个，
7:42
两个网子上的石榴四百个，─每个网子上有两行石榴，为遮护柱子顶端的两个球形柱头，
7:43
盆座十个，放在座上的盆子十个，
7:44
铜海一个，铜海下的铜牛十二只，
7:45
锅铲和盘;以上这一切器具，都是希兰给撒罗满用光滑的铜，为上主的殿制造的，
7:46
是他在约旦平原，稣苛特与匝尔堂之间，用胶泥模铸成的。
7:47
撒罗满没有秤量这一切器皿，因为铜太多，重量无法计算。
7:48
以后撒罗满又制造了上主殿内的一切用具：就是金祭坛，供饼的金桌，
7:49
内殿前的灯台，五个在右边，五个在左边，都是纯金的；还有花蕊、灯盏、烛剪，也是金的。
7:50
又有盆、刀、碗、杯、火盘，都是纯金的；还有内殿既至圣所，和正殿的门枢，都是金的。
7:51
撒罗满就这样完成了为上主的殿所作的一切工作。撒罗满将他父亲达味所奉献的银子、金子和器皿运了来，存放在上主殿宇的府库内。
第八章(66)
迎约柜入圣殿
8:1 那时，撒罗满召集以色列众长老，各支派的首领和以色列子民各家族族长，都到耶路撒冷，为将上主的约柜从达味城，即熙雍运上来。
8:2
以色列全体民众于是在「厄塔宁」月，即第七月的庆节期中，聚集在撒罗满王那里。
8:3
以色列所有的长老来到后，司祭们便抬起约柜，
8:4
司祭和肋未人分别将上主的约柜、会幕和帐幕中所有的圣器运了上来。
8:5
撒罗满王和聚集在他那里的以色列全会众，在约柜前祭杀了牛羊，多得无法计算，不可胜数。
8:6
司祭们将上主的约柜抬到殿的内部，即至圣所内，放在革鲁宾翅膀下早已预备的地方。
8:7
革鲁宾的翅膀原是伸开的，正遮在约柜的所在地之上，所以革鲁宾在上面正遮着约柜和抬约柜的杠杆。
8:8
这杠杆很长，杠头从内殿前的圣所可以看见，在殿外却看不见；直到今天还在那里。
8:9
约柜内除两块石版外，没有别的东西，是以色列子民出埃及后，上主与他们立约时，梅瑟在曷勒布山放在里面的。
8:10
当司祭从圣所出来时，云彩充满了上主的殿，
8:11
以致为了云彩，司祭们不能继续奉职，因为上主的荣耀充满了上主的殿。
8:12
当时，撒罗满便说：「上主曾决定住在幽暗之中，
8:13
如今我已为你建筑了一个居所，作为你永久的住处。」
撒罗满向百姓致辞
8:14 然后，君王转过身来，祝福在场站立的以色列全会众，
8:15
说「上主以色列的天主，应受赞美！因为他亲自完成了他亲口对我父亲达味所作的预许。他曾说过：
8:16
自从我领我的百姓以色列出离埃及的那天起，我从未在以色列各支派中选择一城，建造一座作我名下的殿。但是现在，我选择了耶路撒冷作我名的居所，拣选了达味作我百姓以色列的领袖。
8:17
我父亲达味原有意为上主以色列天主的名，建造一座殿宇，
8:18
但上主却对我父亲达味说：你有意为我的名建造一座殿宇，你这番心意固然很好，
8:19
但不是你要建造这殿宇，而是你亲生的儿子，他要为我的名建造这殿宇。
8:20
现在，上主实现了他说的话，我已如上主所说的，继承了我父亲达味，坐上了以色列的宝座；我也为上主以色列天主的名，建造了这座殿宇，
8:21
在殿内我也为约柜预备了一个地方，约柜内存有上主的约版，就是他领我们的祖先出埃及时，与他们所立的约。」
祈祷词
8:22 此后，撒罗满当着以色列全会众，立在上主的祭坛前，举手向天，说：
8:23
「上主，以色列的天主！上天下地没有一个神能与你相比。你对那全心在你面前行走的仆人，常是守约表示慈爱。
8:24
你对你仆人我父亲达味所应许的，你都履行了；你亲口应允的，你也亲手成就了，正如今天一样。
8:25
上主，以色列的天主，现在求你实践你向你的仆人，我的父亲达味所应许的罢！你曾说过：只要你的子孙固守正道，在我面前行走，如你一样在我面前行走，你决不缺人在我面前坐以色列的宝座。
8:26
上主，以色列的天主，现在求你，使你向你仆人我父亲达味所应许的话，予以实现罢！
8:27
但是，天主实在住在地上吗﹖看，天和天上的天尚且容不下你，何况我所建造的这座殿宇呢﹖
8:28
上主，我的天主，请垂允你仆人的祈祷和恳求，俯听你仆人今天在你面前所发的呼号和祈祷！
8:29
愿你的眼睛昼夜垂视这座殿宇，看顾你所说「我的名要永留在此」的地方！愿你垂听你仆人向这地方要行的祈祷！
8:30
愿你垂听你仆人和百姓以色列向这地方所发的哀祷！愿你在天上，从你的居所予以垂听！请垂听，宽恕！
8:31
若有人得罪了自己的邻人，被迫以咒词起誓，而来到这殿内，在你的祭坛前起誓，
8:32
愿你从天上垂听受理，为你的仆人审断：惩罚恶人，照他的恶行，报应在他的头上；宣告义人无罪，照他的正义酬报他。
8:33
当你的百姓以色列犯罪得罪了你，在敌人面前被击败时，如果他们回心转意，称颂你的名，在这殿内向你祈祷恳求，
8:34
愿你从天上予以垂听，宽恕你百姓以色列的罪过，领他们回到你赐给他们祖先的地方！
8:35
几时他们犯罪得罪了你，致使天空闭塞不雨；如果他们向这地方祈祷，称颂你的名，并因你的惩罚而远离罪过，
8:36
求你从天上垂听，赦免你仆人和你百姓以色列的罪，指给他们应走的正路，使雨降在你赐予你百姓作为基业的地上。
8:37
如果此地发生饥馑瘟疫，五谷枯萎生霉，或遭受蝗虫蚂蚱，或有敌人犯境围困门下，或不拘遭受什么灾祸疾病；
8:38
如果你的百姓以色列，个人或团体，心中感到内疚，向这殿伸手祈祷哀求，
8:39
愿你从天上你的居所，予以垂听、宽恕、援助，照各人的作为予以赏罚，因为你认识人的心，─惟有你认识所有人子的心，─
8:40
使他们在你赐予我们祖先的地上，终生敬畏你。
8:41
至于那不属于你百姓以色列的外方人，如为了你的大名自远方而来，─
8:42
因为他们听见了你的大名，和你大能的手及伸开的手臂，─来向这殿祈祷，
8:43
愿你从天上你的居所俯听，照外方人所请求于你的一切去行：这样可使地上万民都认识你的名而敬畏你，如同你的百姓以色列一样，使他们知道我所建造的这殿，是属于你名下的。
8:44
你的人民，如果在你派遣他们所走的路上，与敌人交战，而他们向你所拣选的这城，向我为你名建造的这殿，祈求上主，
8:45
愿你从天上俯听他们的祈祷和哀求，为他们住持正义。
8:46
如果他们犯罪得罪了你，─因为没有不犯罪的人，─而你向他们发怒，将他们交于敌人，让敌人将他们掳到或远或近的敌人地域内，
8:47
他们若在被掳往的地方，回心转意，在充军之地，求你说：我们犯了罪，我们行了恶，做了背理的事；
8:48
如果他们在俘掳他们的敌人地域内，全心全意归向你，向你赐给他们祖先的地方，向你所拣选的这城，和我为你名建造的这殿哀求你，
8:49
愿你从天上你的居所，俯听他们的祈祷和恳求，并为他们主持正义，
8:50
宽恕得罪你的百姓，宽恕他们违犯你的一切过犯，使他们在俘掳他们的敌人面前获得怜悯，对他们表示同情，
8:51
因为他们究竟是你的百姓，是你从埃及，由镕铁炉中领出来的产业。
8:52
愿你常睁眼垂顾你仆人的哀求，你百姓以色列的哀求，他们无论何时呼号你，愿你都予以垂听！
8:53
我主上主，因为你曾将他们从地上的万民中选拔出来，作你的产业，正如你在领我们祖先出离埃及时，藉你的仆人梅瑟所声明的。」
祝福词
8:54 撒罗满跪在上主的祭坛前，举手向天，祈祷哀求上主完毕，就起来，
8:55
立着，高声祝福以色列全会众说：
8:56
「上主应受赞美！因为他照自己所应许的，使自己的百姓以色列获得了安居；凡他借自己的仆人梅瑟所应许赐福的话，一句也没有落空。
8:57
愿上主我们的天主与我们同在，有如与我们的祖先同在一样：不离开我们，也不拋弃我们。
8:58
愿他使我们的心归向他，履行他的一切道路，恪守他吩咐我们祖先的诫命、律例和典章。
8:59
愿我在上主面前所作的恳切祷词，昼夜在上主我们的天主面前，好使他天天维护他仆人和他的百姓以色列，
8:60
使地上万民都知道：只有上主是天主，他以外没有别的神。
8:61
但愿我们的心全归于上主我们的天主，遵行他的律例，恪守他的诫命，如同今天一样。」
行奉献礼
8:62 此后，君王和全以色列，一同在上主面前祭杀了牺牲。
8:63
撒罗满祭杀了牛两万二千头，羊十二万只，献于上主，作为和平祭；君王和全以色列子民，就这样为上主的殿举行了奉献礼。
8:64
当天，君王又祝圣了上主殿前的内院，在那里奉献了全燔祭、素祭与和平祭的脂油，因为上主面前的铜祭坛太小，容不下全燔祭、素祭及和平祭的脂油。
8:65
同时，撒罗满又举行了庆节，与从哈玛特渡口到埃及小河的全以色列人，举行了盛大集会，在上主我们的天主面前，举行庆节七天【又七天，共十四天。】
8:66
第八天，君王遣散了百姓；他们为君王祝福后，各自回了本家，对上主向他的仆人达味，他的百姓以色列，所施的种种恩宠，都非常高兴欢喜。
第九章(28)
上主再次显现
9:1 撒罗满建造完了上主的殿、王宫和他所喜欢建造的一切建筑物以后，
9:2
上主第二次显现给撒罗满，像在基贝红显现给他一样。
9:3
上主对他说：「我已应允了你在我面前所行的祈祷和哀求，我也祝圣了你所建筑的这殿，将我的名永远安放在那里，我的眼和我的心，也将时常留在那里。
9:4
至于你，如果你在我面前行走，像你父亲达味那样行走，心地纯朴，公正无私，遵守我所吩咐你的一切，恪守我的法律和点章，
9:5
我必永远巩固你在以色列中的王位，照我应许你父亲达味所说：你的子孙中，决不缺人坐上以色列的宝座。
9:6
但是，如果你们或你们的子孙远离我，不遵守我给你们颁赐的诫命和律例，而去服侍敬拜别的神，
9:7
我必要将以色列从我赐给他们的地面上除掉，而我为我的名所祝圣的这殿，我也必要弃之不顾，使以色列成为万民中的话柄和笑谈，
9:8
这殿要成为废墟，凡从这里经过的人，都要惊愕嗟叹说：上主为什么这样对待了这地和这殿﹖
9:9
人必回答说：是因为他们离弃了领他们祖先出离埃及的上主，他们的天主，而归依、崇拜、服侍了别的神，为此，上主使这一切灾祸临到他们身上。」
撒罗满与希兰的交易
9:10 撒罗满费时二十年，才完成了那两大殿宇：即上主的殿宇和君王的宫殿。
9:11
其间提洛王希兰曾依照撒罗满的要求，供给了他香柏木、柏木和黄金。此时撒罗满王便将加里肋亚境内二十座城，送给了希兰。
9:12
希兰从提洛前来，观看撒罗满送给他的城，一见就不满意，
9:13
说「吾兄，你送给我的这些城，是什么城﹖」因此直到今日，这些城仍称为加步耳地。
9:14
希兰原送给了撒罗满王一百二十「塔冷通」黄金。
建城造船
9:15 此段记载撒罗满征夫服役，建造上主的殿、王宫、米罗、耶路撒冷的城墙、哈祚尔、默基多、革则尔。
9:16
【以前，埃及王法郎曾上来，攻取了革则尔，放火烧城，屠杀了城里的客纳罕人，将这城赐给了自己的女儿，撒罗满的妻子，作为妆奁。
9:17
为此撒罗满重修了革则尔。】下贝特曷龙、
9:18
巴拉特和境内靠近旷野的塔玛尔、
9:19
撒罗满所有的贮货城、屯车城和养马城，以及撒罗满在耶路撒冷，在黎巴嫩，在他管辖的各地内，喜欢建造的一切建筑物。
9:20
至于不属于以色列子民的阿摩黎人、赫特人、培黎齐人、希威人和耶步斯人的遗族，
9:21
就是以色列人子民未能消灭而留在地方上的外族子孙，撒罗满都征来充作苦役，直到今天。
9:22
至于以色列子民，他不令他们作苦役，只叫他们服兵役，作朝臣、将帅、军官、战车长和骑兵长。
9:23
管理撒罗满工程的主任官员，计有五百五十人，他们负责监督作工的人。
9:24
法郎的女儿从达味城，搬进撒罗满为她建造的宫室之后，撒罗满才开始建造米罗。
9:25
撒罗满每年三次在他建的祭坛上，向上主奉献全燔祭与和平祭，在上主面前的香坛上焚香；又常修理圣殿。
9:26
此后，撒罗满王又在厄东城，红海之滨，靠近厄拉特的厄兹雍革贝尔建造船只。
9:27
希兰派遣自己的臣仆，善于航海的船员，与撒罗满的仆人同船航行，
9:28
去了敖非尔，从那里装载了四百二十「塔冷通」黄金，运到撒罗满王那里。
第十章(29)
舍巴女王来访
10:1 舍巴女王听说撒罗满因上主之名获得的声望，即前来以难题考问撒罗满。
10:2
她带了许多随员，骆驼装载大批的香料、黄金和宝石，来到了耶路撒冷；当她进见撒罗满时，就向他提出了心中的一切疑难，
10:3
撒罗满对她所问的一切难题，一一给她解答了，没有一样可难住君王，而不能给她解答的。
10:4
舍巴女王看见了撒罗满的种种智慧和建造的宫殿，
10:5
筵席上的肴馔，群臣的坐次，仆从的侍候和服装，供应的饮料，以及他在上主殿内奉献的全燔祭，惊讶得出神，
10:6
因而对君王说：「关于你的言行和智慧，我在我国内所听到的传说，的确是真的！
10:7
以前我原不相信这些传闻，及至我来亲眼见了，才知道人告诉我的还不及一半；你的智慧和你的富贵远超过我所听闻的。
10:8
你的妻妾，你的臣仆，能常常侍立在你面前，聆听你的智慧，是多么有福！上主，你的天主应收赞美！他喜爱你，使你坐了以色列的王位；
10:9
上主因为永远喜爱以色列，才立你为王，秉公行义。」
10:10
舍巴女王遂将一百二十「塔冷通」黄金，大批香料和宝石，赠送给君王；以后进入的香料，再没有像舍巴女王送给撒罗满的那样多。
10:11
从敖非尔运金子的希兰船只，也从敖非尔运来了大批檀香木和宝石。
10:12
君王用檀香木，为上主的殿和君王的宫殿制造了栏杆，又为歌咏者制造了琴和瑟；以后再没有这样的檀香木运进来，也没有人再看见过，直到今天。
10:13
撒罗满王除了照王的宽洪大量送给舍巴女王的礼品外，凡女王所要求的、喜爱的物品，君王都送给了她。以后，她和自己的臣仆走了，回了本国。
撒罗满的财富
10:14 撒罗满每年收入的金子，重量有六百六十六「塔冷通」；
10:15
由商人、小贩、各国君王和本国太守所进献的，尚不计算在内。
10:16
撒罗满王用黄金打造了二百个大盾牌，每个用金六百「协刻耳」。
10:17
有用黄金打造了三百个小盾牌，每个用金三「米纳」。君王把这些盾牌，都放在黎巴嫩林宫。
10:18
君王又用象牙制造了一个大宝座，用纯金包镶。
10:19
宝座有六级台阶，座背后有牛头，座位两边有扶手，扶手两旁立着两只狮子。
10:20
六级台阶上立着十二只狮子，每边六只。任何国家都没有像这样的宝座。
10:21
撒罗满王所有饮器都是金的，黎巴嫩林宫的一切器具，都是纯金的，没有一件是银子的；银子在撒罗满时代并不值什么。
10:22
因为君王有一队塔尔史士船只，与希兰的船只一同航海；去塔尔史士的船只，每三年往返一次，运来金、银、象牙、猿猴和孔雀。
撒罗满的智慧
10:23 这样，撒罗满王在富贵和智慧上，超过了世上所有的君王。
10:24
全世界上的人都想见撒罗满的面，听听天主赋于他心中的智慧。
10:25
各人给他带来自己的礼物：银器、金器、衣服、兵器、香料、骏马和骡子：年年都是如此。
撒罗满的马车
10:26 撒罗满也积聚了战车和骑兵；他拥有战车一千四百辆，骑兵一万二千，驻扎在屯车城和耶路撒冷君王左右。
10:27
君王在耶路撒冷有的银子多如石头，香柏木多如平原的桑树。
10:28
撒罗满所有的马，都是从慕兹黎和科厄运来的，是君王的商人付出定价，从科厄买来的。
10:29
从慕兹黎运来一辆战车，需银六百「协刻耳；」一匹马，需银一百五十「协刻耳。」同样，为赫特人和阿兰人的君王输送车马，也是经过这些商人。
第十一章(43)
撒罗满敬拜邪神
11:1 撒罗满除了法郎的公主外，又爱上了许多外国女子：即摩阿布女子，阿孟女子，厄东女子，漆冬女子，赫特女子。
11:2
关于这些民族，上主曾吩咐以色列子民说：「你们不可到他们中间去，他们也不可到你们中间来，否则他们必会引诱你们的心，倾向他们的神。」但是，撒罗满却恋爱这些女子。
11:3
他有七百个各地公主为妻妾，另外还有三百妃子；这些妻妾终于败坏了他的心。
11:4
当撒罗满年老的时候，这些妻妾迷惑了他的心，勾引他去崇拜别的神；他的心已不像他父亲达味的心，全属于上主他的天主。
11:5
这样，他随从了漆冬人的女神阿市托勒特，和阿孟人的可憎之物米耳公。
11:6
撒罗满作了上主眼中视为恶的事，不像他父亲达味那样全心服从上主。
11:7
那时，撒罗满在耶路撒冷东面的山上，为摩阿布人的可憎之物革摩士，为阿孟子民的可憎之物摩肋客，修筑了丘坛。
11:8
他为所有的外国妻妾，都修筑了丘坛，各给自己的神焚香献祭。
上主发怒警告
11:9 上主遂向撒罗满发怒，因为他的心偏离了两次显现给他的上主以色列的天主。
11:10
当时，上主对此事曾吩咐过他，不可去随从别的神，但他却没有遵守上主的命令。
11:11
于是，上主对撒罗满说：「你既然这样行事，不遵守我的盟约，和我吩咐你的诫命，我必要夺去你的王国，赐给你的一个臣仆。
11:12
虽然如此，但为了你父亲达味的缘故，在你有生之日，我不作这事；我将要由你儿子手中夺去。
11:13
但是仍不完全夺去，为了我仆人达味和我所拣选的耶路撒冷，我仍给你的儿子留下一支派。」
撒罗满的外患
11:14 那时，上主兴起一个反抗撒罗满的人，就是厄东王的后裔，厄东人哈达得。
11:15
当达味打败厄东后，军长约阿布前去埋葬阵亡的人时，杀了厄东所有的男子；
11:16
约阿布和全以色列在厄东逗留了六个月，直到将厄东所有的男子完全杀掉。
11:17
哈达得却同他父亲的几个臣仆厄东人逃往埃及，那时哈达得还很年轻。
11:18
他们从米德杨起身，到了帕兰，从帕兰又带了些人来到埃及，投奔埃及王法郎；法郎给了他一座房屋，供给他食用，又给了他一块土地。
11:19
哈达得在法郎眼前很是得宠，因此将自己的妻子塔培乃斯王后的妹妹，嫁给他为妻。
11:20
塔培乃斯的妹妹给哈达得生了一个儿子叫革奴巴特。塔培乃斯在法郎宫中抚养他，因此革奴巴特便住在法郎宫中，同法郎的公子们一起。
11:21
哈达得在埃及听说达味已与他的列祖同眠，军长约阿布也已去世，便对法郎说：「请让我走，回到我故乡去！」
11:22
法郎对他说：「你在我这里缺少什么，竟想回到你的故乡去﹖」他回答说：「什么也不缺，只求你让我回去！」
11:23
天主又兴起一个反抗撒罗满的人，就是厄肋雅达的儿子勒宗。他由自己的主人祚巴王哈达德则尔前出走。
11:24
在达味击杀阿兰人时，聚集了一些人，作了土匪头目，去了大马士革，盘踞在那里，做了大马士革王。
11:25
撒罗满有生之日，勒宗始终与以色列为敌。哈达得就回了国。哈达得的危害，即在于他作了厄东的君王，不断骚扰以色列。
撒罗满的内忧
11:26 厄弗辣大地责勒达人，乃巴特的儿子雅洛贝罕，─他的母亲名叫责鲁阿，是个寡妇─原是撒罗满的臣仆，他也起来反抗君王。
11:27
他反抗君王的原委是这样：当时撒罗满正在建筑米罗，修葺他父亲达味城的裂口；
11:28
雅洛贝罕这个人原很有才能，撒罗满见这少年人很能做事，便派他监督若瑟族的一切劳役。
11:29
有一次，雅洛贝罕走出耶路撒冷，史罗的先知阿希雅在路上遇见了他；先知身上穿著一件新外衣，在田间只有他们二人。
11:30
阿希雅便拿起他所穿的新外衣，撕成了十二块，
11:31
然后对雅洛贝罕说：「你拿十块，因为上主以色列的天主这样说：看，我必将撒罗满手中的王国撕裂，将十个支派交给你。
11:32
为了我仆人达味，和我从以色列支派中选的耶路撒冷城的缘故，仍给他留下一支派，
11:33
因为他背弃了我，崇拜了漆冬人的女神阿市托勒特、摩阿布人的神革摩士和阿孟人的神米耳公。他没有像他父亲达味那样履行我的道路，行我视为正义的事，恪守我的律例和诫命。
11:34
但我不愿从他手中夺去整个王国，我要使他有生之日作首领，是为了我所选的仆人达味的缘故，因为他遵守了我的诫命和律例。
11:35
我却要从他儿子的手中夺回王国，给你十个支派，
11:36
只留下一个支派给他的儿子，使我的仆人达味，在我所拣选立我名的耶路撒冷城中，在我面前常有一盏明灯。
11:37
我选取你，使你随意统治一切，作以色列的君王。
11:38
如果你听从我吩咐你的一切，履行我的道路，行我视为正义的事，恪守我的律例和诫命，如同我的仆人达味一样，我必与你同在，为你建立一巩固的家室，像我为达味所建立的一样。我将以色列交给你，
11:39
藉以贬抑达味的后裔，但不致于久远。」
11:40
因此，撒罗满想杀害雅洛贝罕，雅洛贝罕遂起身逃往埃及，投奔埃及王史沙克；他住在埃及，直到撒罗满逝世。
撒罗满逝世
11:41 撒罗满其余的事迹，他的一切作为和智慧，都记载在撒罗满实录上。
11:42
撒罗满在耶路撒冷作王，统治全以色列，凡四十年。
11:43
撒罗满与他的列祖同眠，葬在他父亲达味城内；他的儿子勒哈贝罕继位为王。
中编犹大以色列两国史(-列下)
第十二章(33)
分裂近因
12:1 勒哈贝罕去了舍根，因为全以色列集合在舍根，要立他为王。
12:2
乃巴特的儿子雅洛贝罕，为躲避撒罗满王，曾逃往埃及，现在听说撒罗满已死，便从埃及回来了。
12:3
有人派人请了他回来，他便和以色列全会众前来，对勒哈贝罕说：「
12:4
你的父亲使我们的负担繁重，现在，你得减轻你父亲加给我们的苦役和重轭，我们才肯服事你。」
12:5
他回答他们说：「你们暂时回去，三天以后再来见我。」人民就都走了。
12:6
勒哈贝罕便同那些在他父亲撒罗满在世时作臣仆的老年人商议说：「依你们的意见，我该怎样答复这些民众﹖」
12:7
他们回答说：「如果你今天愿意作这民众的仆人，服事他们，答应他们，对他们说好话，他们必会常常服事你。」
12:8
但是，君王竟拒绝了老年人给他出的主意，反去同那些与他一起长大，侍立在他面前的少年商议，
12:9
问他们说：「这些人民对我说：请你将你父亲加于我们的重轭减轻些。依你们的意见我该怎样答复他们﹖」
12:10
这些与他一起长大的少年人答说：「这些人民对你说：你父亲使我们负担繁重，请你给我们减轻些！你要回答他们，对他们这样说：我的小指比我父亲的腰还粗！
12:11
我父亲曾加重了你们的重担，我更要加重你们的重担；我父亲用皮鞭责打你们，我却要用铁刺鞭责打你们！」
12:12
雅洛贝罕和全体人民照君王所说：「你们第三天再来见我」的话，第三天就来见勒哈贝罕。
12:13
君王严厉答复了人民，拋弃了老年人给他出的主意，
12:14
却依照少年人的主张，对民众说：「我的父亲加重了你们的重担，我更要加重，我父亲用皮鞭责打你们，我反要用铁刺鞭责打你们。」
12:15
君王始终不肯听从民众。这一转变原是出于上主，为实现他自己的话，就是上主藉史罗人阿希雅对乃巴特的儿子雅洛贝罕所说的话。
政治分裂
12:16 全以色列人见君王不肯依从他们，便回复君王说﹕「我们与达味有什么分子﹖我们与叶瑟的儿子毫无关系！以色列！回到你的帐幕去罢！达味啊！现在你只顾你的本家罢！」以色列人于是都回了自己的帐幕，
12:17
只有那些住在犹大城市的以色列子民，仍属勒哈贝罕统治。
12:18
勒哈贝罕王派遣监管劳役的阿多兰，去见以色列，以色列人却用石头将它砸死，勒哈贝罕急忙上车，逃回了耶路撒冷。
12:19
这样，以色列便与达味家分离了，直到现在。
12:20
那时，全以色列人听说雅洛贝罕已经回来，便派人邀请它前来赴会，立他为王，统治全以色列；从此跟随达味家的，只有犹大支派。
12:21
勒哈贝罕一回到耶路撒冷，即刻召集犹大全家和本雅明支派所有十八万善战的精兵，要去攻打以色列家，想把王国夺回，再归属撒罗满的儿子勒哈贝罕；
12:22
但是，天主有话传于天主的人舍玛雅说﹕
12:23
「你去告诉撒罗满的儿子，犹大王勒哈贝罕，犹大全家和本雅明以及其余的人民说﹕
12:24
上主这样说﹕你们不要前去，攻打你们的兄弟以色列人，你们各自回家去罢！因为这事原出于我。」他们便听从了上主的话，依照上主的话回去了。
宗教分裂
12:25 雅洛贝罕在厄弗辣因山地修筑了舍根，住在那里；后又从那里出来，修筑了培奴耳。
12:26
雅洛贝罕心中思量﹕「这王国迟早要归于达味王室；
12:27
如果这人民上耶路撒冷，在上主殿内献祭，他们的心难免不归向他们的主上犹大王勒哈贝罕，把我打死，再归属于犹大王勒哈贝罕。」
12:28
因此，雅洛贝罕王拿定了主意，制造了两只金牛犊，对人民说﹕，「你们不需要再上耶路撒冷去了；以色列！看，这就是领你们由埃及地上来的天主！」
12:29
他将一只供在贝特耳，一只供在丹。
12:30
这使以色列陷于罪恶，因为民众竟远至丹去敬拜另一只。
12:31
雅贝洛罕又在高丘建立了神殿，将不属于肋末子孙的平民立为司祭；
12:32
规定八月十五日举行庆节，像在犹大所举行的庆节一样，亲自上坛献祭。他也如此在贝特耳向他所制造的牛犊献了祭，并在贝特耳为他建造的高丘神坛，委派了司祭。
12:33
在他随意选定的八月十五日，他亲自上了他在贝特耳所筑的祭坛，为以色列子民举行庆节，上坛焚香献祭。
第十三章(34)
先知警告雅洛贝罕
13:1 正值雅洛贝罕站在祭坛那里要献祭焚香时，有一位天主的人，奉上主的命，从犹大来到贝特耳，
13:2
以上主的名义对祭坛呼喊说﹕「祭坛，祭坛！上主这样说﹕看，达味家要生一个儿子，名叫约史雅，他要在你上面祭杀那些在你上面焚香献祭的高丘司祭，人们的骨骸也要在你上面焚烧。」
13:3
同时，他又提出一个预兆说﹕「这是上主所说的预兆﹕看，这祭坛要破裂，上面的灰要倾撒下来。」
13:4
雅洛贝罕王一听见天主的人，对贝特耳祭坛呼喊的话，便从祭坛上伸出手来说﹕「抓住他！」他向天主的人伸出来的手，即刻枯干了，不能收回；
13:5
同时祭坛也破裂了，灰也从祭坛上倾撒了下来，正如天主的人奉上主的命令所提出的预兆。
13:6
君王于是对天主的人说﹕「请你为我祈祷，向上主你的天主求情，使我收回手来。」天主的人便向上主求情，君王的手即刻收回来了，恢复了原状。
13:7
君王对天主的人说﹕「请你同我到家里去，吃些点心，我要赐给你一个礼物。」
13:8
天主的人对君王说﹕「你就是将半个宫殿赐给我，我也不同你去，也不在这个地方吃饭喝水，
13:9
因为有上主的话吩咐我说﹕你不可吃饭，也不可喝水，也不可从你来的路上回去。」于是，他另取道而行，没有从他来贝特耳的路上回去。
天主的人受欺骗
13:11 有一个老先知住在贝特耳，他的儿子们前来，将天主的人当天在贝特耳所作的一切事，都告诉了他，把天主的人对君王所说的话，也都讲给他们的父亲听。
13:12
父亲便问他们说﹕「他走了那条路﹖」他的儿子们就把从犹大来的天主的人所走的路指给他。
13:13
老先知遂吩咐他的儿子们说﹕「快给我备好驴！」他们即为他备好了驴，他就骑上，
13:14
去追赶天主的人，发现他正坐在橡树下，就问他说﹕「你是从犹大来的天主的人吗﹖」他答说﹕「是。」
13:15
老先知对他说﹕「请你同我到家里去吃点饭罢！」
13:16
天主的人答说﹕「我不能同你回去，也不能与你同行，更不能在这地方同你一起吃饭喝水，
13:17
因为有上主的话对我说﹕你在那里不可吃饭，也不可喝水，也不可从你来的路上回去。」
13:18
老先知对他说﹕「我也如同你一样，是个先知，有一位天使曾奉上主的命对我说﹕你去领他跟你回到你家吃饭喝水罢！」老先知原是在欺骗他。
13:19
天主的人就跟老先知回去，在他家里吃了饭，也喝了水。
13:20
正当他们二人坐席时，有上主的话传于那领天主的人回来的先知，
13:21
他就对那从犹大来的天主的人喊叫说﹕「上主这样说﹕因为你违背了上主的话，没有遵守上主你的天主吩咐你的命令，竟然回来了，在上主吩咐你不可吃饭喝水的地方，吃了饭，喝了水，为此，
13:22
你的尸体不得葬入你祖先的坟墓中。」
13:23
他吃喝完了以后，老先知就给他所带回来的先知备了驴，
13:24
他就骑上去了；途中遇见了一只狮子将他咬死，他的尸体横卧在路上，驴站在尸体旁边，那只狮子也站在尸体旁边。
13:25
有路过的人，看见尸体横卧在路上，狮子站在尸体的旁边，就到老先知所住的城中述说了这事。
13:26
那个从路上带回天主的人的老先知听了这事，就说﹕「这是天主的人，因为他违背了上主的命令，所以上主将他交于狮子，狮子撕裂了他，将他咬死，正如上主关于他所说的话。」
13:27
老先知即吩咐自己的儿子们说﹕「给我备好驴！」他们将驴备好。
13:28
老先知去了，发现天主的人的尸体横卧在路上，驴和狮子站在尸体旁边；狮子没有吞掉尸体，也没有撕裂驴。
13:29
老先知就抱起天主的人的尸体，放在驴上，驮回城中，为他举哀治丧，
13:30
将他的尸体安葬在自己的坟墓里；人哀悼他说﹕「哀哉，吾兄！」
13:31
安葬他以后，老先知吩咐儿子们说﹕「我死了以后，你们要把我葬在安葬天主的人的坟墓里，把我的遗骸安放在他的遗骸旁，
13:32
因为他奉上主的命对贝特耳的祭坛，和对撒玛黎雅各城高丘上的一切神殿所喊出的话，必要应验。」
雅洛贝罕怙恶不悛
13:33 这事以后，雅洛贝罕始终没有离开他作恶的道路，仍继续从平民中选派高丘的司祭；凡是愿意的，他就祝圣他们当高丘的司祭。
13:34
雅洛贝罕家因此陷于罪恶，招致丧亡，由地上消灭。
第十四章(31)
雅洛贝罕的儿子患病
14:1 那时，雅洛贝罕的儿子阿彼雅患病，
14:2
雅洛贝罕对自己的妻子说：「请你起来改装，教人认不出你是雅洛贝罕的妻子，往史罗去，在那里有先知阿希雅，他曾预言过我要作这人民的君王。
14:3
你带上十块饼，一些饼干和一瓶蜜去见他，他会告诉你孩子将来究竟如何。」
14:4
雅洛贝罕的妻子就这样做了：起身去了史罗，来到阿希雅的家。阿希雅因年老，眼睛昏花，不能看清；
14:5
但上主却预先对阿希雅说：「雅洛贝罕的妻子，要来问你有关她儿子的事，因为她儿子病了；你要如此这般地答复她；她来时，是作另一妇人的打扮。」
阿希雅预言孩子必死
14:6 她一进门，阿希雅听见她的脚步声，就说：「雅洛贝罕的妻子，请进来！你为什么扮作另一妇人﹖我正奉命要告诉你一个凶信。
14:7
你去告诉雅洛贝罕，上主以色列的天主这样说：我从人民中提拔了你，立你作我人民以色列的领袖；
14:8
我从达味家夺过王国来交给你，而你却不像我的仆人达味那样遵守我的诫命，全心随从我，只行我视为正义的事；
14:9
你反而作恶甚于你以前的任何人，且去为你自己制造别的神，铸造偶像，惹我发怒，完全背弃了我。
14:10
因此，我要降灾惩罚雅洛贝罕家，消灭以色列所有属于雅洛贝罕的男人，无论是自由的或是不自由的，一概除掉；我要扫除雅洛贝罕的家，有如人清除粪土一样。
14:11
凡属雅洛贝罕的人，死在城中的，必为狗吞食，死在田野间的，必为空中的飞鸟啄食：因为上主说了。
14:12
现在，你快起身回家；当你的脚踏进城门时，孩子就要死去。
14:13
全以色列人要哀悼他，埋葬他；雅洛贝罕家中，只有他得进入坟墓，因为雅洛贝罕家中，只有他行了一些中悦上主，以色列的天主的善事。
14:14
上主必为自己另选一位君王来统治以色列，那天他要消灭雅洛贝罕家。现在，我还能说什么﹖
14:15
上主必要打击以色列，使他们摇动如同水中的芦苇；并将以色列从上主赐给他们祖先的福地上拔除，使他们分散在大河之外，因为他们制造了阿舍辣惹上主发怒。
14:16
由于雅洛贝罕自己所犯的罪，和使他以色列所犯的罪，上主必要拋弃以色列。」
14:17
雅洛贝罕的妻子遂起身走了，到了提尔匝，一进家门，孩子就死了。
14:18
全以色列埋葬了他，并为他举哀，正如上主借着他的仆人阿希雅先知所说的话。
雅洛贝罕逝世
14:19 雅洛贝罕其余的事迹，有关他怎样战争，怎样作王，都记载在以色列列王实录上。
14:20
雅洛贝罕在位凡二十二年，然后与列祖同眠。他的儿子纳达布继位为王。
勒哈贝罕为犹大王
14:21 撒罗满的儿子勒哈贝罕在犹大为王，他登极时，年四十一岁。他在耶路撒冷，即在上主从以色列各支派中选出归他名下的城中，作王十七年；他的母亲名叫纳阿玛，是阿孟人。
14:22
犹大人行了上主视为恶的事；他们所犯的罪比他们祖先所犯的，更激怒上主，
14:23
因为他们也在各地的高岗上，在各绿树下，修筑了丘坛、柱像和阿舍辣；
14:24
境内还有为神卖淫的男女，完全仿效了上主从以色列前所驱逐的异族，做了种种可憎恶的事。
埃及王进攻犹大
14:25 勒哈贝罕作王第五年，埃及王史沙克上来进攻耶路撒冷，
14:26
劫去上主殿内和王宫的宝物，全部带走，连撒罗满所制的一切金盾牌也都带去。
14:27
勒哈贝罕只得制造铜盾牌来代替，交给防卫宫门的侍卫长保管；
14:28
每逢君王进入上主的殿时，侍卫便手持这些盾牌；事后，仍将盾牌送回侍卫室中。
勒哈贝罕逝世
14:29 勒哈贝罕其余的事迹，他的一切作为，都记载在犹大列王实录上。
14:30
勒哈贝罕与雅洛贝罕之间不断发生战事。
14:31
勒哈贝罕与列祖同眠，与列祖同葬在达味城。他的母亲名叫纳阿玛，是阿孟人；他的儿子阿彼雅继位为王。
第十五章(34)
阿彼雅为犹大王
15:1 乃巴特的儿子雅洛贝罕王十八年，阿彼雅登极作犹大王，
15:2
在耶路撒冷作王三年；他母亲名叫玛阿加，是阿贝沙隆的外孙女。
15:3
阿彼雅作了他父亲在他以前所行的一切邪恶；他的心对上主他的天主，不像他祖父达味的那样诚实。
15:4
但是，上主他的天主，为了达味的缘故，仍使他在耶路撒冷，有一盏灯，立他的儿子接他的位，并保全耶路撒冷，
15:5
因为达味除了赫特人乌黎雅那件事以外，常行了上主视为正义的事，一生岁月从未违背上主所吩咐他的一切。
15:6
【勒哈贝罕与雅洛贝罕之间不断发生战事。】
15:7
阿彼雅其余的事迹，他的一切作为，都记载在犹大列王实录上。阿彼雅与雅洛贝罕之间，常发生战事。
15:8
阿彼雅与列祖同眠，葬在达味城；他的儿子阿撒继位为王。
阿撒为犹大王
15:9 以色列王雅洛贝罕二十年，阿撒登极作犹大王，
15:10
在耶路撒冷作王四十一年；他的祖母名叫玛阿加，是阿贝沙隆的外孙女。
15:11
阿撒行了上主视为正直的事，像他的祖父达味一样。
15:12
他将为神卖淫的男女由国内除掉，彻去了他祖先所立的一切偶像，
15:13
并废除了他祖母玛阿加作太后的权位，因为她给阿舍辣立了可憎恶的柱像；阿撒把她所立的像砍倒，在克德龙谷焚毁。
15:14
只有丘坛没有废除；不过阿撒的心一生全属上主。
15:15
阿撒将他父亲所献的，和他自己所献的金银和器皿，都送入上主的殿内。
15:16
阿撒与以色列王巴厄沙之间不断发生战争。
15:17
以色列王巴厄沙上来进攻犹大，并在辣玛修筑工事，防止人民同犹大王阿撒来往。
15:18
那时，阿撒将上主殿内和王宫内宝库中所剩余的金银取出，交给他的臣仆，打发他们去见住在大马士革的阿兰王，赫则雍的孙子，塔贝黎孟的儿子本哈达得说：
15:19
「我与你之间，我父亲与你父亲之间都立过约；现在我给你送来金银作为礼品，请你废除你与以色列王巴厄沙所立的约，使他远离我！」
15:20
本哈达得听了阿撒王的话，即刻派自己的军长去攻打以色列的城市，攻下了依雍、丹、阿贝耳贝特玛阿加、基乃勒特全境和纳裴塔里全境。
15:21
巴厄沙一听说这事，就停止在辣玛的工事，回到了提尔匝。
15:22
于是阿撒王召集全犹大人民，一个也不例外，吩咐他们将巴厄沙修筑辣玛所用的石头和木料运走；阿撒王用来修建本雅明的革巴和米兹帕。
15:23
阿撒其余的事迹，关于他的一切伟业和作为，并建造的城防，都记载在犹大列王实录上。他年老时，患了足疾。
15:24
阿撒与列祖同眠，与列祖同葬在他祖父达味城内；他的儿子约沙法特继位为王。
纳达布为以色列王
15:25 犹大王阿撒二年，雅洛贝罕的儿子纳达布登极作以色列王。他二年作以色列王，
15:26
行了上主视为恶的事，走了他父亲的路，犯了他父亲使以色列陷于罪恶的罪。
15:27
依撒加尔家族，阿希雅的儿子巴厄沙结党背叛了他，在属于培肋舍特人的基贝通将他杀死，那时纳达布和全以色列人正在围攻基贝通。
15:28
犹大王阿撒三年，巴厄沙杀了纳达布，篡了他的王位。
15:29
他登极后，立即杀了亚洛贝罕全家；凡属于雅洛贝罕家中的人，没有留下一个，都杀绝了：这正应了上主藉他仆人史罗人阿希雅所说的话。
15:30
这是因为亚洛贝罕自己犯的罪和他使以色列犯的罪，激怒了上主，以色列的天主。
15:31
纳达布其余的事迹，他的一切作为，都记载在以色列列王实录上。
15:32
【阿撒与以色列王巴厄沙之间常发生战事。】
巴厄沙为以色列王
15:33 犹大王阿撒三年，阿希雅的儿子巴厄沙在提尔匝登极，作全以色列王，在位凡二十四年。
15:34
他行了上主视为恶的事，走了雅洛贝罕所走的路，犯了使以色列陷于罪恶的事。
第十六章(34)
16:1 那时，有上主的话传于哈纳尼的儿子耶胡，斥责巴厄沙说：
16:2
「我由尘埃中提拔了你，立你做我民以色列的领袖，你却走了雅洛贝罕的路，使我民以色列犯罪，激怒我；
16:3
我现在，我要扫除巴厄沙和他的家族，使他的家如同乃巴特的儿子雅洛贝罕的一家一样：
16:4
凡属巴厄沙家的人，死在城中的，必为狗吞食，死在田野间的，必为空中的飞鸟啄食。」
16:5
巴厄沙其余的事迹，他所行的事和他的功绩，都记载在以色列列王实录上。
16:6
巴厄沙与列祖同眠，葬在提尔匝；他的儿子厄拉继位为王。
16:7
上主藉哈纳尼的儿子，先知耶胡传话斥责巴厄沙和他的家族，是因为他行了许多上主眼中视为恶的事，以自己的作为激怒了上主，如同雅洛贝罕的家一样；又因为他杀了雅洛贝罕全家。
厄拉为以色列王
16:8 犹大王阿撒二十六年，巴厄沙的儿子厄拉在提尔匝登极作以色列王，在位凡二年。
16:9
他的臣仆，即率领他半数战车的队长，齐默黎结党背叛了他。当他在提尔匝，他的家宰在阿尔匝家喝醉酒时，
16:10
齐默黎冲入，击杀了他，篡夺了他的王位，时在犹大王阿撒二十七年。
16:11
齐默黎一登极，立刻屠杀了巴厄沙全家，没有给他留下一个男子，连他的亲属朋友都杀了。
16:12
齐默黎这样毁灭了巴厄沙全家，应验了上主藉先知耶胡斥责巴厄沙所说的话。
16:13
这是因为巴厄沙和他的儿子厄拉所犯的一切罪，即引以色列陷于罪恶的罪，因他们制造了虚无偶像，激怒了上主，以色列的天主。
16:14
厄拉其余的事迹，他的一切作为，都记载在以色列列王实录上。
齐默黎为以色列王
16:15 犹大王阿撒二十七年，齐默黎在提尔匝作王仅七天。当时人民正在围攻培肋舍特人的基贝通，
16:16
消息传到营中说：齐默黎已经叛变，击杀了君王，全以色列人当天即在营中，选立了军长敖默黎作以色列王。
16:17
敖默黎和与他在一起的全以色列人，从基贝通上去围攻提尔匝。
16:18
齐默黎一见城已失陷，即走进王宫的城堡，纵火焚烧王宫，自焚而死。
16:19
这是因为他所犯的罪恶，行了上主视为恶的事，走了雅洛贝罕的路，并以自己所犯的罪，使以色列陷于罪恶。
16:20
齐默黎其余的事迹，暗杀叛变的事，都记载在以色列列王实录上。
16:21
那时，以色列人民分裂为二：一半跟随基纳特的儿子提贝尼，要立他为王；一半跟随敖默黎。
16:22
跟随敖默黎的人胜过了跟随基纳特的儿子提贝尼的人；提贝尼死后，敖默黎便作了王。
敖默黎为以色列王
16:23 犹大王阿撒三十一年，敖默黎登极作以色列王，在位凡十二年，其中六年在提尔匝。
16:24
敖默黎用两「塔冷通」银子，由舍默尔手中买下了芍默龙山。他修建了这座山，依照山的原主舍默尔的名字，给他所建筑的城起名叫「撒玛黎雅。」
16:25
敖默黎行了上主视为恶的事，甚至比他以前的人更为邪恶。
16:26
事事仿效乃巴特的儿子雅洛贝罕所走的路，犯了使以色列陷于罪恶的罪，又敬拜邪神偶像，激怒上主，以色列的天主。
16:27
敖默黎其余的事迹，他的作为和功迹，都记载在以色列列王实录上。
16:28
敖默黎与列祖同眠，葬在撒玛黎雅；他的儿子阿哈布继位为王。
阿哈布为以色列王
16:29 犹大王阿撒三十八年，敖默黎的儿子阿哈布登极作以色列王。敖默黎的儿子阿哈布在撒玛黎雅作以色列王，凡二十二年。
16:30
敖默黎的儿子阿哈布行了上主视为恶的事，甚于他以前的人。
16:31
他走了乃巴特的儿子雅洛贝罕犯罪的路，尚以为是小事，又娶了漆冬王厄特巴耳的女儿依则贝耳为妻，亲自去服事敬拜巴耳，
16:32
在撒玛黎雅为巴耳建筑了一座庙宇，庙内为巴耳设立了一座祭坛。
16:33
阿哈布又立了阿舍辣；阿哈布行事激怒上主，以色列的天主，尤甚于他以前的以色列王。
16:34
他在位的时候，贝特耳人希耳重建了耶里哥；奠基的时候，死了长子阿彼兰；安门的时候，死了幼子色古布：这正应验了上主藉农的儿子若苏厄所说的话。
第十七章(24)
厄里亚先知预言旱灾
17:1 基肋阿得提市贝出身的提市贝人厄里亚对阿哈布说：「我指着我所服侍的永生上主、以色列的天主起誓：这几年如果没有我的命令，天决不降露或落雨！」
17:2
有上主的话传于厄里亚说：
17:3
「你离开这里，转向东方，隐居在约但河东的革黎特小河旁。
17:4
你要喝那小河里的水，我已经吩咐乌鸦在那里供给你食物。」
17:5
厄里亚就依照上主的话去做，去住在约但河东的革黎特小河旁。
17:6
乌鸦早晨给他送饼和肉来，晚上也给他送饼和肉来；渴了，就喝那小河里的水。
17:7
不几天以后，那地方没有落雨，小河也干涸了。
17:8
有上主的话传于厄里亚说：
17:9
「你起身往漆冬匝尔法特去，住在那里；我已吩咐那里的一个寡妇供养你。」
17:10
他就起身往匝尔法特去了，来到城门时，看见一个寡妇在那里拾木柴。厄里亚唤她说：「请你用器皿取点水来给我喝！」
17:11
她正要去取水的时候，厄里亚又叫住她说：「请你也顺便给我拿点饼来！」
17:12
那寡妇说：「我指着永生上主你的天主起誓：我没有饼，缸里只有一把面，罐里还有一点油。你看，我正要拾两根木柴，回去为我和我的儿子做点东西，吃了等死。」
17:13
厄里亚对她说：「你不用害怕，仅管照你所说的去做；只是先为我做一个小饼，给我拿来！然后，再为你和你的儿子做，
17:14
因为上主以色列的天主这样说：直到上主使雨落在这地上的那一天，缸里的面，决不会用完；罐里的油，也决不会缺少。」
17:15
那个寡妇就照了厄里亚的话去做了；她和厄里亚并她的孩子吃了许多日子；
17:16
缸里的面，果然没有用完，罐里的油，也没有减少，正如上主借着厄里亚所说的话。
复活寡妇的儿子
17:17 这事以后，那妇人，即那家的主母的儿子病了，病得很重，就断了气。
17:18
妇人于是对厄里亚说：「天主的人，我与你有什么关系﹖你到我这里来，竟叫上主记起我的罪恶，杀死了我的儿子！」
17:19
厄里亚对妇人说：「把你的儿子交给我！」于是厄里亚从她怀里接过孩子来，抱到他住的楼上，放在自己的床上，
17:20
呼求上主说：「上主，我的天主！我寄居在这寡妇家中，难道你也忍心加害于她，杀死她的儿子吗﹖」
17:21
厄里亚三次伏在孩子身上，呼求上主说：「上主，我的天主，求你使这孩子的灵魂再回到他身上！」
17:22
上主听了厄里亚的呼求，孩子的灵魂又回到他身上，孩子就又活了。
17:23
厄里亚将孩子从楼上抱下来，到房间内，把孩子交给他的母亲说：「看，你儿子活了！」
17:24
那妇人对厄里亚说：「现在我知道你是天主的人，上主借你的口所说的话，确是真理。」
第十八章(46)
预告旱灾结束
18:1 过了许多时日，到了第三年，有上主的话传于厄里亚说：「你去见阿哈布，我要在这地上降雨。」
18:2
厄里亚就去见阿哈布；那时，撒玛黎雅正遭受严重的饥荒。
18:3
阿哈布将自己的家宰敖巴狄雅召来，─敖巴狄雅原是一位很敬畏上主的人。
18:4
当依则贝耳杀害上主的先知时，他曾收留了一百个先知，每五十人分藏在一个洞里，私下供给他们饮食??
5
阿哈布对敖巴狄雅说：「我们要走遍这地，到所有的水泉和小河那里去，或许能找到一些青草，使骡马生存，免得丧失许多牲畜。」
18:6
他们于是分地巡行；阿哈布独自走了一条路，敖巴狄雅也独自走了另一条路。
敖巴狄雅遇厄里亚
18:7 敖巴狄雅走路时，厄里亚恰巧遇见了他；敖巴狄雅认得他，便俯伏在地说：「你不就是我主厄里亚吗﹖」
18:8
厄里亚回答说：「是，你去告诉你的主人说：厄里亚在这里。」
18:9
敖巴狄雅说：「我犯了什么罪﹖你竟要将你的仆人交于阿哈布手中，让他杀死我﹖
18:10
我指着永生的上主，你的天主起誓：没有一个民族，没有一个国家，我的主上不派人去寻找你的；如果人们说：厄里亚不在我们这里；他一定要叫那个国家和那个民族起誓说：实在他们没有找到你。
18:11
现在你说：你去告诉你的主人说：厄里亚在这里。
18:12
我一离开你，上主的神把你带到我所不知道的地方去；我若去告诉阿哈布，而他找不到你，启不要杀死我﹖你的仆人自幼也是个敬畏上主的人啊！
18:13
难道我主没有听说过：当依则贝耳残杀上主的先知时，我所作的事﹖我曾隐藏一百个上主的先知，每五十人分藏在一个洞里，由我供给他们饮食。
18:14
现在你说：你去告诉你的主人，厄里亚在这里，他一定要杀我！」
18:15
厄里亚说：「我指着我所服侍的万军的永生上主起誓：今天我一定要叫阿哈布看见我。」
阿哈布和厄里亚见面
18:16 敖巴狄雅于是前去会见阿哈布，告诉了他这消息，阿哈布就去迎接厄里亚。
18:17
阿哈布一见厄里亚，就对他说：「叫以色列遭难的人，不就是你吗﹖」
18:18
厄里亚答说：「不是我叫以色列遭难，而是你和你的父家，因为你们拋弃了上主的诫命，归顺了巴耳邪神。
18:19
现在，你派人去召集全以色列人，同受依则贝耳供养的那四百五十个巴耳的先知，【及那四百个阿舍辣的先知，】上加尔默耳山，到我跟前来。」
18:20
阿哈布便派人召集了所有的以色列子民，聚集了那些先知，一起到了加尔默耳山上。
厄里亚与假先知比试
18:21 厄里亚走向全体民众面前说：「你们摇摆不定，模棱两可，要到几时呢﹖如果上主是天主，你们就应该随从上主；如果巴耳是天主，就该随从巴耳。」人民一句话也不回答。
18:22
厄里亚对人民说：「上主的先知只剩下我一个人了，巴耳的先知却有四百五十人。
18:23
请给我们牵两只公牛犊来；他们可任选一只，剖分成块，放在木柴上，不要点火；我也照样预备另一只，放在木柴上，也不点火。
18:24
你们呼求你们神的名字，我也呼求上主的名字：那降火显示应允的神，就是真神。」民众回答说：「你这话说得很好！」
18:25
厄里亚对巴耳的先知们说：「因为你们人数众多，你们应该先挑选一只牛犊，准备好，然后呼求你们神的名字，只是不要点火。」
18:26
他们即将人给他们的公牛犊牵来，预备好，从早晨直到中午呼求巴耳的名字说：「巴耳，应允我们罢！」但是没有声音，也没有答应的。他们就在自己所筑的祭坛旁，跪下又起来，跳个不停。
18:27
到了中午，厄里亚嘲弄他们说：「你们再高声喊叫，因为他是神，或者他正在沉思冥想，或者它暂时隐退，或者正在外旅行，或者他正在睡觉，必须把他叫醒。」
18:28
他们遂更高声喊叫，照他们的习惯，用刀用枪割伤自己，直到全身流出血来。
18:29
过了中午，他们仍继续狂喊乱叫，直到晚祭的时候，但仍然没有声音，也没有答应的，也没有理会的。
18:30
厄里亚对全你人民说：「你们到我这里来。」全体人民便都到他那边去；厄里亚立即重修了已经坍塌了的上主的祭坛；
18:31
依照雅各伯子孙的支派数目，取了十二块石头，─这雅各伯就是上主曾对他说过：「你的名字要叫以色列。」
18:32
用这些石头，为上主的名筑成一座祭坛，在祭坛四周作了一个水沟，可容二「色阿」谷种。
18:33
把木柴放好，将牛犊剖分成块，放在木柴上，
18:34
然后吩咐说：「盛满四桶水，倒在全燔祭和木柴上！」他们就这样做了。他又吩咐说：「再倒一次！」他们就再倒了一次；他再吩咐说：「倒第三次！」他们就倒了第三次；
18:35
水沿祭坛四周奔流，沟里满了水。
18:36
到了要奉献晚祭的时候，厄里亚先知走近前来说：「上主，亚巴郎、依撒格和以色列的天主，求你今天使人知道：你是以色列的天主，我是你的仆人，是奉你的命作这一切事。
18:37
上主，求你应允我，应允我！使这人民知道你上主，是真天主，是你叫他们心回意转。」
18:38
于是上主的火降下，焚尽了全燔祭、柴木、石头和尘土，也烧干了沟中的水。
18:39
全体人民见了，都俯伏在地说：「雅威是天主，雅威是天主！」
18:40
厄里亚对民众说：「你们捉住巴耳的先知，不要让他们走脱一个！」民众立即捉住他们。厄里亚带他们下到克雄小河旁，在那里将他们全部杀掉。
天降大雨
18:41 厄里亚对阿哈布说：「你上去吃喝罢！因为已听到大雨的怒号声。」
18:42
阿哈布就上去吃喝，厄里亚却上了加尔默耳山顶，跪伏在地，将脸放在两膝之间。
18:43
以后，对自己的仆人说：「你上去，朝海那边观看！」仆人就上去观看，说：「什么也没有。」厄里亚说：「你来回观看七次！」他就去了七次。
18:44
第七次仆人说：「看，有一片云彩，小得像手掌那么大，从海上升起来了。」厄里亚说：「你上去告诉阿哈布说：快套车下去，免得被雨阻止！」
18:45
转瞬之间，天空因风云而变为昏黑，落下大雨；阿哈布上车去了依次勒耳。
18:46
上主的手临于厄里亚身上，他就束上腰，跑在阿哈布前头，直到依次勒耳的城门口。
第十九章(21)
厄里亚退往曷勒布山
19:1 阿哈布将厄里亚所作的一切，以及他如何刀斩众先知的事，全告诉了依则贝耳。
19:2
依则贝耳就派使者去对厄里亚说：「明天这个时候，如果我不使你的性命如同那些先知一样，愿众神明严厉，且加倍严厉地惩罚我！」
19:3
厄里亚害了怕，遂起身逃命，到了犹大境内的贝尔舍巴，叫他的仆人留在那里，
19:4
自己却进入旷野，走了一天的路，来到一棵杜松树下，坐下求死说：「上主啊！现在已经够了！收去我的性命罢！因为我并不比我的祖先好。」
19:5
以后，就躺在那棵杜松树下，睡着了；忽然，有位天使拍醒他，对他说：「起来，吃罢！」
19:6
他看了看，见头旁有一块用炭火烤熟的饼和一罐水；他吃了喝了，又躺下睡了。
19:7
上主的使者第二次又来拍醒他说：「起来，吃罢！因为你还有一段很远的路。」
19:8
他就起来，吃了喝了，赖那食物的力量，走了四十天四十夜，一直到了天主的山曷勒布。
天主显现给厄里亚
19:9 他来到那里，进了一个山洞，在那里过夜；有上主的话传于他说：「厄里亚，你在这里做什么﹖」
19:10
厄里亚答说：「我为上主万军的天主忧心如焚，因为以色列子民背弃了你的盟约，毁坏了你的祭坛，刀斩了你的先知，只剩下了我一个，他们还要夺取我的性命！」
19:11
上主吩咐他说：「你出来，站在山上，立在上主面前。」那时，上主正从那里经过，在上主面前，暴风大作，裂山碎石，但是，上主却不在风暴中；暴风以后有地震，但是上主亦不在地震中；
19:12
地震以后有烈火，但是上主仍不在烈火中；烈火以后，有轻微细弱的风声。
19:13
厄里亚一听见这声音，即用外衣蒙住脸出来，站在洞口。遂有声音对他说：「厄里亚，你在这里做什么﹖」
19:14
他答说：「我为上主万军的天主忧心如焚，因为以色列子民背弃了你的盟约，毁坏了你的祭坛，刀斩了你的先知，只剩下了我一个，他们还要夺取我的性命！」
厄里亚奉命敷油
19:15 上主对厄里亚说：「你回去，仍取道旷野，往大马士革去，到了那里，给哈匝耳敷油，立他为阿兰王。
19:16
去给尼默史的孙子耶胡敷油，立他为以色列王；再去给阿贝耳默曷拉人沙法特的儿子厄里叟敷油，立他接替你为先知；
19:17
将来躲过哈匝耳的刀的，必为耶胡所杀；躲过耶胡的刀的，必为厄里叟所杀。
19:18
然而，在以色列我要为我自己留下七千人；他们全是从未向巴耳屈过膝，未与巴耳亲过嘴的人。」
厄里叟蒙召
19:19 厄里亚于是从那里起身，去找沙法特的儿子厄里叟。他正在耕田，在他面前有十二对牛，他自己赶着第十二对；厄里亚走过他身边，将自己的外衣披在他身上。
19:20
厄里叟丢下那些牛，追上厄里亚说：「请你让我先回去和我的父母吻别，然后来跟随你。」厄里亚对他说：「你去罢！要再回来！因为我应为你作的，已经作了。」
19:21
厄里叟离开了厄里亚，回来牵出一对牛宰杀了，用驾驭牛的用具煮熟，分给众人吃；然后他便起身跟随厄里亚，作了他的侍从。
第二十章(43)
本哈达得进攻阿哈布
20:1 阿兰王本哈达得召集了自己所有的军队，带同三十二个王子，乘坐战马战车，前去围攻撒玛黎雅。
20:2 他先派使者进城，来见以色列王阿哈布，
20:3 对他说：「本哈达得这样说：你的金银全应归我，只是你的妻子儿女，仍归于你。」
20:4 以色列王回答说：「我主大王，就依照你的话，我和我的一切都归于你。」
20:5 不料，使者们又回答说：「本哈达得这样说：我已派人通知你：将你的金银和你的妻子儿女全交给我。
20:6 须知，明天这时，我必派我的仆人到你这里来，搜索你和你仆人的房屋，凡他们看中的东西，都要随手拿去。」
20:7 以色列王将国内所有长老召来，说：「你们想想看：这人的要求是多么无理！他先派人要我的金银，我没有拒绝他；现在竟又派人来我这里，要我的妻子儿女。」
20:8 众长老和全体人民对他说：「你不要听从，也不要应允！」
20:9 因此，他对本哈达得的使者说：「你们回去告诉我主大王说：你第一次派人向你仆人所要求的，我必全照办；至于这另一要求，我却不能照办。」使者遂回去，向本哈达得回话。
20:10 本哈达得于是派人对阿哈布说：「如果撒玛黎雅的尘土，足够跟随我的人每人抓一把，愿众神明严厉，且加倍严厉地惩罚我！」
20:11 以色列王回答说：「有句俗话说：佩带武器的人，不可像卸去了武器的人那样自负。」
20:12 本哈达得和众王正在帐内饮酒，一听见这话，就对他的臣仆说：「列队进攻！」他们即刻列队攻城。
阿哈布赖主获胜
20:13 这时，忽然有一个先知，来见以色列王阿哈布说：「上主这样说：你不是看见这支强大的军队吗﹖今天，我要将他们交在你手中，叫你知道我是上主。」
20:14 阿哈布问说：「借着谁﹖」先知答说：「上主这样说：借着众省长的少年军人。」阿哈布又问说：「谁指挥作战﹖」先知答说：「你自己。」
20:15 于是阿哈布检阅了众省长的少年人，计有二百三十二人；然后又检阅了所有军人，即全体以色列子民，共七千人。
20:16 到了中午，他们出发，那时，本哈达得正和协助他的三十二个王子在帐中饮酒。
20:17 众省长的少年军人首先出发，本哈达得派出的探子回报他说：「有人从撒玛黎雅出来了。」
20:18 他遂吩咐说：「如果他们前来，是为求和，将他们活活捉住；如果他们前来，是为交战，也将他们活活捉住。」
20:19 众省长的少年军人和跟随他们的军队冲出城来，
20:20 个个见人便杀，阿兰人逃走，以色列人在后面乘胜追赶；阿兰王本哈达得急速上马与骑兵一起逃走。
20:21 那时，以色列王出来，掳掠了许多战马和战车，使阿兰人大败。
20:22 那位先知前来对以色列王说：「你要发奋图强，留心认清你当作的事，因为明年春季，阿兰王必要再来攻击你。」
阿兰王整军再战
20:23 阿兰王的臣仆对阿兰王说：「以色列的神是山神，所以他们比我们强；但如果我们在平原上与他们交战，我们必会得胜。
20:24 这是大王应该作的事：废除众王子各人的职位，另立军长代替，
20:25 召募新军，补充所损失的军队，照数补充战马战车；然后在平原上与他们会战，我们定能战胜他们。」阿兰王听从了他们的建议，就这样进行。
本哈达得再战再败
20:26 过年以后，本哈达得检阅了阿兰人上到阿费克，进攻以色列。
20:27 以色列子民也动员起来，携带军粮，出来迎战；以色列子民在他们对面扎营，好象两群山羊；至于阿兰人却遍地皆是。
20:28 天主的人又前来对以色列王说：「上主这样说：既然阿兰人说：上主是山神而不是平原神，所以我必将这支庞大的军队交在你手中，叫你们知道我是上主。」
20:29 以色列人和阿兰人相对扎营七天；第七天上，就交了战；一天之内以色列子民杀死了十万阿兰步兵，
20:30 其余的人都逃入阿费克城内，城墙倒塌，压死了残存的两万七千人。本哈达得也逃入城内，藏在极严密的暗室内。
20:30 本哈达得投降
20:31
本哈达得的臣仆对本哈达得说：「看，我们听说以色列家的君王，都是仁慈的君王，请你让我们腰里束上麻布，头上系上绳索，去见以色列王，或者他会保全你的性命。」
20:32
于是他们腰里束上麻布，头上系上绳索，去见以色列王说：「你的仆人本哈达得说：求你保全我的性命！」阿哈布问说：「他还活着么﹖他是我的兄弟。」
20:33
这些人认为这话是个吉兆，急忙抓住他的话说：「本哈达得确是陛下的兄弟。」阿哈布说：「你们去领他来！」本哈达得便出来参见君王；阿哈布请他上了自己的车。
20:34
本哈达得对君王说：「我父亲从你父亲手中抢去的城市，我都要归还给你；并且你可在大马士革设立市场，如同我父亲在撒玛黎雅所设立的一样。」阿哈布说：「我就根据这条约放你走。」这样，君王与他订立了条约，放他走了。
阿哈布失策受责
20:35 那时，有个先知的弟子奉上主的命，对自己的同伴说：「请你打我！」那人却拒绝打他。
20:36
他就对那人说：「既然你不听上主的命，看，你一离开我，就有一个狮子把你咬死。」那人一离开他，果然路上遇见一只狮子，把他咬死了。
20:37
以后，先知的弟子又遇见一个人，对他说：「请你打我！」那人就动手打他，将他打伤了。
20:38
先知便站在路旁，用头巾遮住自己的眼睛，等候君王。
20:39
君王从那里经过时，他便对君王呼喊说：「你的仆人出来交战，忽有一个人转来，给我带来一个人说：你要看守这个人，倘若失踪了，定要你替他偿命，或赔偿一「塔冷通」银子。
20:40
你的仆人正在东忙西乱时，那人不见了。」以色列王对他说：「这就是你的定案，你已经自下判决。」
20:41
他于是急忙拉下他遮眼的头巾，以色列王才认出他原是一位先知。
20:42
先知对君王说：「上主这样说：你既然亲手放走了我所要消灭的人，所以你要替他偿命，你的人民必要抵偿他的人民。」
20:43
以色列王闷闷不乐地回了撒玛黎雅，进了自己的宫殿。
第二十一章(29)
葡萄园的风波
21:1 这事以后，依次勒耳人纳波特在依次勒耳，靠近撒玛黎雅王阿哈布的宫殿，有一个葡萄园。
21:2
阿哈布对纳波特说：「请将你的葡萄园让给我，我可以用作菜园，因为离我的宫殿很近；我愿拿一个更好的葡萄园来与你交换；或者，如果你认为好，我也可以照葡萄园的价值给你钱。」
21:3
纳波特回答阿哈布说：「上主决不许我将我祖先的产业让给你！」
21:4
阿哈布由于依次勒耳人纳波特对他说了：「我决不将我祖先的产业让给你」的话，便闷闷不乐地回到宫中，躺在床上，转过脸去，不肯吃饭。
21:5
他的妻子依则贝耳来见他，问他说：「你为什么心里这样忧闷，连饭都不肯吃﹖」
21:6
阿哈布回答说：「因为我对依次勒耳人纳波特说：请将你的葡萄园按现价卖给我，或者如果你愿意，我可以拿另一个葡萄园来与你交换；他却回答说：我决不将我的葡萄园让给你。」
21:7
他的妻子依则贝耳对他说：「你真会统治以色列！只管起来吃饭，心情愉快，我必将依次勒耳人纳波特的葡萄园交给你。」
21:8
依则贝耳便以阿哈布的名义写了一封信，盖上君王的印章，送给与纳波特同住一城的长老和官绅，
21:9
信上写道：「请你们宣布禁食，叫纳波特坐上民众的首位，
21:10
然后再叫两个流氓坐在他的对面，作证控告他说：纳波特辱骂了天主和君王，你们应将他拉出城外，用石头砸死。」
21:11
那些与纳波特同住在一城的长老和官绅，便照依则贝耳吩咐他们的，照她在送给他们的信上所写的去行：
21:12
宣布禁食，叫纳波特坐上民众的首位，
21:13
两个流氓前来坐在他的对面，当众作证控告他说：「纳波特辱骂了天主和君王。」众人便将他拉出城外，用石头砸死了。
21:14
然后派人告诉依则贝耳说：「纳波特已用石头砸死了。」
21:15
依则贝耳听说纳波特已用石头砸死了，就对阿哈布说：「你起来，去占领依次勒耳人纳波特，先前不肯照现价卖给你的葡萄园，因为纳波特已经不在了，已经死了。」
21:16
阿哈布一听说纳波特死了，就起身下到依次勒耳人纳波特的葡萄园，霸占了那葡萄园。
厄里亚预言天主的惩罚
21:17 那时，有上主的话传于提市贝人厄里亚说：
21:18
「你起来，下去会晤住在撒玛黎雅的以色列王阿哈布；看，他现在正在纳波特的葡萄园内，他下到那里去霸占了那葡萄园。
21:19
你要对他说：上主这样说：你杀了人，还要霸占他的产业吗﹖继而对他说：上主这样说：狗在什么地方，舔了纳波特的血，也要在什么地方舔你的血。」
21:20
阿哈布对厄里亚说：「我的对头，你又找到了我的错吗﹖」厄里亚答说：「是，我找到了你的错，因为你出卖了你自己，去行上主视为恶的事。
21:21
我必要在你身上降灾，消灭你的宗族；以色列所有属于阿哈布的男子无论是自由的或不自由的，一概灭绝。
21:22
我要使你的家像乃巴特的儿子雅洛贝罕的家，又像阿希雅的儿子巴厄沙的家，因为你惹我发怒，使以色列陷于罪恶。
21:23
至于依则贝耳，上主也预言说：狗要在依则贝耳的田间，吞食依则贝耳。
21:24
凡属阿哈布的人，死在城中的，要为狗吞食，死在田间的，要为空中的飞鸟啄食。」
21:25
实在，从来没有人像阿哈布一样，受他的妻子依则贝耳的引诱，这样出卖自己，行上主视为恶的事。
21:26
他行了最可憎恶的事，归依了邪神偶像，全像上主从以色列子民前，赶走了阿摩黎人所行的一样。
阿哈布忏悔免罚
21:27 阿哈布一听这些话，就撕破自己的衣服，身穿麻衣，禁食，穿著麻衣睡觉，低头缓步行走。
21:28
于是有上主的话传于提市贝人厄里亚说：
21:29
「阿哈布在我面前这样自卑自贱，你看见了没有﹖他既然在我面前自卑自贱，在他有生之日，我不降此灾祸；但是，到他儿子的日子，我要使这灾祸临于他家。」
第二十二章(54)
南北两国战阿兰
22:1 阿兰与以色列之间连续三年没有战争。
22:2 第三年上，犹大王约沙法特下去见以色列王。
22:3 以色列王对自己的臣仆说：「你们知道辣摩特基肋阿得原属于我们，而我们一直没有设法从阿兰王的手中夺回来。」
22:4 然后对约沙法特说：「你愿意同我一起去攻取辣摩特基肋阿得吗﹖」约沙法特回答以色列王说：「你怎样，我也怎样；我的人民就如同是你的人民，我的马就如同是你的马。」
假先知预言战胜
22:5 以后，约沙法特对以色列王说：「请你先求问上主说什么﹖」
22:6 以色列王于是召集了众先知，人数约有四百，问他们说：「我上去进攻辣摩特基肋阿得，还是不去呢﹖」他们回答说：「上去，上主必将那地交于大王手中。」
22:7 但是，约沙法特说：「这里就没有一位上主的先知，我们可托他求问吗﹖」
22:8 以色列王回答约沙法特说：「还有一个我们可以托他求问上主；不过我憎恨他，因为他对我说预言，总不说吉祥话，只说凶言；这人即是依默拉的儿子米加雅。」约沙法特对他说：「请大王别这样说！」
22:9 以色列王于是召一个宦官来，吩咐他说：「快去将依默拉的儿子米加雅召来！」
22:10 当时以色列王和犹大王在撒玛黎雅城门前的广场上，各穿朝服，坐在宝座上；所有的先知在他们面前说预言。
22:11 革纳阿纳的儿子漆德克雅带来了些自制的铁角说：「上主这样说：你要用这些铁角杀尽阿兰人。」
22:12 所有的先知也同样预言说：「你上辣摩特基肋阿得去，必然顺利，上主必将那地交于大王手中！」
米加雅预言战败
22:13 那去召米加雅的使者对米加雅说：「看，先知们都一口同声对君王说吉祥话，希望你说话，也如同他们中的一个一样，也说吉祥话。」
22:14 米加雅回答说：「我指着永生的上主起誓：上主吩咐我什么，我就说什么！」
22:15 米加雅来到君王那里，君王问他说：「米加雅，我们应该上去进攻辣摩特基肋阿得，还是不去呢﹖」他回答说：「上去，必然顺利！上主必将那地交在大王手中！」
22:16 君王对他说：「我应该多少次叫你宣誓，你才奉上主的名对我说实话呢﹖」
22:17 米加雅答说：「我看见全以色列人散在山上，好象没有牧人的羊群。上主说：这些人既然没有主人，就让他们各自平安回家罢！」
22:18 以色列王对约沙法特说：「我不是告诉过你：他对我说预言总不说吉祥话，只说凶言﹖」
22:19 米加雅答说：「为此，你且静听上主的话：我见上主坐在宝座上，天上的万军侍立在他左右。
22:20 上主问说：有谁能去唆使阿哈布，叫他上去进攻辣摩特基肋阿得，而死在那里呢﹖那时有的说这样，有的说那样。
22:21 以后，有一个神出来，立在上主面前说：我能唆使他。上主问他说：用什么方法﹖
22:22 那神回答说：我去，在他所有的先知口中做虚言的神。上主答说：你必能唆使他，也必会成功，你去照办罢！
22:23 现在上主将虚言的神，放入你这些先知口中，上主已注定你必遭殃。」
22:24 那时，革纳阿纳的儿子漆德克雅前来，打米加雅的脸说：「上主的神又何曾离开了我，而同你谈话呢﹖」
22:25 米加雅答说：「在你进入最严密的室内隐藏的那一天，你就会知道了。」
22:26 以色列王吩咐说：「将米加雅带回去，交给阿孟市长及约阿士王子，
22:27 说君王这样吩咐：将这人下在监里，少给他吃的喝的，等我平安回来。」
22:28 米加雅说：「你如果能平安回来，那么，上主就没有藉我说过话。」后又说：「众百姓！你们要听清楚啊！」
阿哈布阵亡
22:29 以色列王遂与犹大王约沙法特上去，进攻辣摩特基肋阿得。
22:30 以色列王对约沙法特说：「我要改装上阵，你可以仍穿朝服。」于是以色列王改装上了阵。
22:31 阿兰王曾吩咐自己的三十二个战车队长说：「你们不必与大小将士交战，只攻打以色列王！」
22:32 战车队长一看见约沙法特，便说：「这必是以色列王！」遂转身向他进攻，约沙法特连声叫苦；
22:33 战车队长见他不是以色列王，就不再追击他。
22:34 有人偶然一箭，射入以色列王的铠甲与腰带中间，君王对驾车的人说：「转回！载我离开阵地，我已受伤。」
22:35 但那天战事越来越激烈，君王仍然立在车上，抵抗阿兰人；晚上君王就死了；伤处的血直流到车底。
22:36 约在日落的时候，营中传出号令说：「各自回城，各自归家，
22:37 君王已死！」人们将君王送回撒玛黎雅，在那里埋葬了。
22:38 人在撒玛黎雅的池塘中，洗涤君王的车时，有狗来舔他的血，有妓女在那里沐浴，正应验上主所说的话。
22:39 阿哈布其余的事迹，他的一切作为，所建造的象牙宫，以及修筑的一切城市，都记载在以色列列王实录上。
22:40 阿哈布与祖先同眠，他的儿子阿哈齐雅继位为王。
约沙法特为犹大王
22:41 以色列王阿哈布四年，阿撒的儿子约沙法特登极作犹大王。
22:42 约沙法特登极时，年三十五岁；在耶路撒冷作王二十五年；他的母亲名叫阿组巴，是史肋希的女儿。
22:43 约沙法特完全走了他父亲阿撒的道路，不偏左右，行了上主视为正义的事；
22:44 只有丘坛，还没有铲除，人民仍在丘坛上焚香献祭。
22:45 约沙法特与以色列王相安无事。
22:46 约沙法特其余的事迹，他所做的英雄事迹，以及如何作战，都记载在犹大列王实录上。
22:47 约沙法特将他父亲活着时，所留下的为神卖淫的男女，全从国内铲除。
22:48 当时在厄东没有君王，只有总督代理。
22:49 约沙法特建造了塔尔史士船只，为到敖非尔去运输黄金，然而没有到达，船只就在厄兹雍革贝尔破坏了。
22:50 那时阿哈布的儿子阿哈齐雅对约沙法特说：「让我的仆人同你的仆人一起坐船去好了！」但是，约沙法特没有同意。
22:51 约沙法特与祖先同眠，与祖先一同葬在达味城；他的儿子约兰继位为王。
阿哈齐雅为以色列王
22:52 犹大王约沙法特十七年，阿哈布的儿子阿哈齐雅，在撒玛黎雅登极作以色列王；他作王统治以色列只有两年，
22:53 行了上主视为恶的事，随从了他父亲和他母亲以及乃巴特的儿子雅洛贝罕，使以色列陷于罪恶的道路，
22:54 服事敬拜了巴耳，激怒了上主，以色列的天主，全像他父亲所作的一样。
BOOK ENDS. Seraphim, April 2009.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter 1
I. THE DAVIDIC
SUCCESSION
David's last days.
The intrigues of Adonijah
1:1 King David was an old man
well on in years and though they laid coverlets over him he could not keep
warm.
1:2 So his servants said to
him, 'Let some young girl be found for my lord the king, to wait on the king
and look after him; she shall lie on your breast and this will keep my lord the
king warm'.
1:3 Having searched for a
beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel, they found Abishag of Shunem
and brought her to the king.
1:4 The girl was of great
beauty. She looked after the king and waited on him but the king had no
intercourse with her.
1:5 Now Adonijah, Haggith's
son, was ambitious; he thought he might be king; accordingly he procured a
chariot and team with fifty men to run in front of him.
1:6 At no time in his life had
his father ever crossed him by asking, 'Why do you behave like this?' He was also
very handsome; his mother had given birth to him after Absalom.
1:7 He conferred with Joab son
of Zeruiah and with the priest Abiathar[*a] who rallied to Adonijah's cause;
1:8 but neither Zadok the
priest, nor Benaiah son of Jehoiada, nor the prophet Nathan, nor Shimei and his
companions, David's champions, supported Adonijah.
1:9 One day when Adonijah was
sacrificing sheep and oxen and fattened calves at the Sliding Stone which is
beside the Fuller's Spring, he invited all his brothers, the royal princes, and
all the men of Judah in the king's service;
1:10 but he did not invite the
prophet Nathan, or Benaiah, or the champions, or his brother Solomon.
The intrigues of
Nathan and Bathsheba
1:11 Then Nathan said to
Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, 'Have you not heard that unknown to our lord
David, Adonijah, Haggith's son, has become king?
1:12 Well, this is my advice
to you if you want to save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
1:13 Go straight in to King
David and say, "My lord king, did you not make your servant this promise
on oath: Your son Solomon is to be king after me; he is the one who is to sit
on my throne? How is it, then, that Adonijah is king?"
1:14 And while you are still
there talking to the king, I will come in after you and confirm what you say.'
1:15 So Bathsheba went to the
king in his room (he was very old and Abishag of Shunem was in attendance
on him).
1:16 She knelt down and did
homage to the king, and the king said, 'What is your wish?'
1:17 'My lord,' she answered
'you swore this to your servant by Yahweh your God, "Your son Solomon is
to be king after me; he is the one who is to sit on my throne".
1:18 And now here is Adonijah
king and you, my lord king, knowing nothing about it.
1:19 He has sacrificed
quantities of oxen and fattened calves and sheep, and invited all the royal
princes, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the army commander; but he has not
invited your servant Solomon.
1:20 Yet you are the man, my
lord king, to whom all Israel looks, to name for them the successor of my lord
the king.[*b]
1:21 And when my lord the king
sleeps with his fathers, my son Solomon and I will be made to suffer for this.'
1:22 She was still speaking
when the prophet Nathan entered.
1:23 'The prophet Nathan is
here' they told the king; and he came into the king's presence and bowed down
to the ground on his face before the king.
1:24 'My lord king,' said
Nathan 'is this, then, your decree: "Adonijah is to be king after me; he
is the one who is to sit on my throne"?
1:25 For he has gone down
today and sacrificed quantities of oxen and fattened calves and sheep, and
invited all the royal princes, the army chiefs, and the priest Abiathar; and
they are there now, eating and drinking in his presence and shouting,
"Long live King Adonijah!".
1:26 He has not, however,
invited me your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, or your
servant Solomon.
1:27 Is this with my lord the
king's approval? Or have you not told those loyal to you who is to succeed to
the throne of my lord the king?'
Solomon is
consecrated king at David's nomination
1:28 Then King David spoke.
'Call Bathsheba to me' he said. And she came into the king's presence and stood
before him.
1:29 Then the king swore this
oath, 'As Yahweh lives, who has delivered me from all adversity,
1:30 just as I swore to you by
Yahweh the God of Israel that your son Solomon should be king after me and take
my place on the throne, so I will bring it about this very day'.
1:31 Bathsheba knelt down, her
face to the ground, and did homage to the king. 'May my lord King David live
for ever!' she said.
1:32 Then King David said,
'Summon Zadok the priest, the prophet Nathan and Benaiah son of Jehoiada'. So
they came into the king's presence.
1:33 'Take the royal guard
with you,' said the king 'mount my son Solomon on my own mule and escort him
down to Gihon.
1:34 There Zadok the priest
and the prophet Nathan are to anoint him king of Israel; then sound the trumpet
and shout, "Long live King Solomon!"
1:35 Then you are to follow
him up and he is to come and take his seat on my throne and be king in place of
me, for he is the man I have appointed as ruler of Israel and of Judah.'
1:36 Benaiah son of Jehoiada
answered the king. 'Amen!' he said 'And may Yahweh too say Amen to the words of
my lord the king!
1:37 As Yahweh has been with
my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon and make his throne even greater
than the throne of my lord King David!'
1:38 Then Zadok the priest,
the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and Pelethites
went down; they mounted Solomon on King David's mule and escorted him to Gihon.
1:39 Zadok the priest took the
horn of oil from the Tent and anointed Solomon. They sounded the trumpet and
all the people shouted, 'Long live King Solomon!'
1:40 The people all followed
him up, with pipes playing and loud rejoicing and shouts to split the earth.
Adonijah is afraid
1:41 Adonijah and his guests,
who had by then finished their meal, all heard the noise. Joab too heard the
sound of the trumpet and said, 'What is that noise of uproar in the city?'
1:42 While he was still
speaking, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest arrived. 'Come in,' Adonijah
said 'you are an honest man, so you must be bringing good news.'
1:43 'Yes,' Jonathan answered
'our lord King David has made Solomon king.
1:44 The king sent Zadok the
priest with him, and the prophet Nathan and Benaiah son of Jehoiada and the
Cherethites and Pelethites; they mounted him on the king's mule,
1:45 and Zadok the priest and
the prophet Nathan anointed him king at Gihon; and they went up from there with
shouts of joy and the city is now in an uproar; that was the noise you heard.
1:46 What is more, Solomon is
seated on the royal throne.
1:47 And further, the king's
officers have been to congratulate our lord King David with the words,
"May your God make the name of Solomon more glorious even than yours, and
his throne more exalted than your own!" And the king bowed down on his
bed,
1:48 and then said,
"Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see one
of my descendants sitting on my throne today".'
1:49 At this, all Adonijah's
guests, taking fright, rose and made off in their several directions.
1:50 Adonijah, in terror of
Solomon, rose too and ran off to cling to the horns of the altar.
1:51 Solomon was told, 'You
should know that Adonijah is in terror of King Solomon and is now clinging to
the horns of the altar, saying, "Let King Solomon first swear to me that
he will not have his servant put to the sword"'.
1:52 'Should he bear himself
honourably,' Solomon answered 'not one hair of his shall fall to the ground;
but if he is found malicious, he shall die.'
1:53 King Solomon then sent
for him to be brought down from the altar; he came and did homage to King
Solomon; Solomon said to him, 'Go to your house'.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter 2
David's testament.
His death
2:1 As David's life drew to
its close he laid this charge on his son Solomon,
2:2 'I am going the way of all
the earth. Be strong and show yourself a man.
2:3 Observe the injunctions of
Yahweh your God, following his ways and keeping his laws, his commandments, his
customs and his decrees, as it stands written in the Law of Moses, that so you
may be successful in all you do and undertake, so that Yahweh may fulfil the promise
he made me,
2:4 If your sons are careful
how they behave, and walk loyally before me with all their heart and soul, you
shall never lack for a man on the throne of Israel'.
2:5 'You know too what Joab
son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the army of
lsrael, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether; how he murdered them, how in
time of peace he took vengeance for blood shed in war, staining the belt round
my waist and the sandals on my feet with innocent blood.
2:6 You will be wise not to
let his grey head go down to Sheol in peace.
2:7 As regards the sons of
Barzillai of Gilead, treat them kindly, let them be among those who eat at your
table, for they were as kind to me when I was fleeing from your brother
Absalom.
2:8 You also have with you
Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim. He called down a terrible
curse on me the day I left for Mahanaim, but he came down to meet me at the
Jordan and I swore to him by Yahweh I would not put him to the sword.
2:9 But you, you must not let
him go unpunished; you are a wise man and will know how to deal with him to
bring his grey head down to Sheol in blood.'
2:10 So David slept with his
ancestors and was buried in the Citadel of David.
2:11 David's reign over Israel
lasted forty years: he reigned in Hebron for seven years, and in Jerusalem for
thirty-three.
The death of
Adonijah
2:12 Solomon was seated upon
the throne of David, and his sovereignty was securely established.
2:13 Adonijah, Haggith's son,
went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon and bowed down before her. 'Do you
bring peace?' she asked. He answered, 'Yes, peace'.
2:14 Then he said, 'I have
something to say to you'. 'Speak' she replied.
2:15 'You know' he said 'that
the kingdom should have come to me,[*a] and that all Israel expected me
to be king; but the crown eluded me and fell to my brother, since it came to
him from Yahweh.
2:16 Now I have one request to
make you; do not refuse me.' 'Speak' she said.
2:17 He went on, 'Please ask
King Solomon - for he will not refuse you - to give me Abishag of Shunem in
marriage'.
2:18 'Very well,'
Bathsheba replied 'I will speak to the king about you.'
2:19 So Bathsheba went to King
Solomon to speak to him about Adonijah; the king rose to meet her and bowed
before her; he then sat down on his throne; a seat was brought for the mother
of the king, and she sat down at his right hand.
2:20 She said, 'I have one
small request to make you; do not refuse me'. 'My mother,' the king
answered 'make your request, for I will not refuse you.'
2:21 'Let Abishag of Shunem'
she said 'be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah.'
2:22 King Solomon answered his
mother. 'And why' he said 'do you request Abishag of Shunem for Adonijah? You
might as well request the kingdom for him,[*b] since he is my elder brother and
Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah are on his side.'
2:23 And King Solomon swore by
Yahweh: 'May God do this to me and more' he said 'if Adonijah does not pay for
these words of his with his life!
2:24 As Yahweh lives who has
set me securely on the throne of David my father, and who, as he promised, has
given him a dynasty, Adonijah shall be put to death this very day.'
2:25 And King Solomon
commissioned Benaiah son of Jehoiada to strike him down, and he died.
The fate of
Abiathar and Joab
2:26 As for Abiathar the
priest, the king said to him, 'Go to Anathoth[*c] to your estate. You deserve
to die, but I am not going to put you to death now, since you carried the ark
of Yahweh in the presence of David my father and shared all my father's
hardships.'
2:27 Solomon deprived Abiathar
of the priesthood of Yahweh, thus fulfilling the oracle Yahweh had uttered
against the House of Eli at Shiloh.
2:28 When the news reached
Joab - for Joab had lent his support to Adonijah, though he had not supported
Absalom - he fled to the Tent of Yahweh and clung to the horns of the altar.
2:29 King Solomon was told,
'Joab has fled to the Tent of Yahweh; he is there beside the altar'. Then
Solomon sent word to Joab, 'What reason did you have for fleeing to the altar?'
Joab replied, 'I was afraid of you and fled to Yahweh'. Then Solomon sent
Benaiah son of Jehoiada. 'Go' he said 'and strike him down.'
2:30 Accordingly Benaiah went
to the Tent of Yahweh. 'By order of the king,' he said 'come out!' 'No,' he
said 'I will die here.' So Benaiah brought back word to the king, 'This is what
Joab said, and the answer he gave me'.
2:31 'Do as he says' the king
replied. 'Strike him down and bury him, and so rid me and my family today of
the innocent blood Joab has shed.
2:32 Yahweh will bring his
blood down on his own head, because he struck down two more honourable and
better men than he, and put to the sword, without my father David's knowledge,
Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether,
commander of the army of Judah.
2:33 May their blood come down
on the head of Joab and his descendants for ever, but may David, his
descendants, his dynasty, his throne, have peace for ever from Yahweh.'
2:34 Whereupon Benaiah son of
Jehoiada went out, struck Joab down and put him to death; he was buried at his
home in the wilderness
2:35 In his place as head of
the army the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada and, in place of Abiathar,
Zadok the priest.
The disobedience
and death of Shimei
2:36 The king had Shimei
summoned to him. 'Build yourself a house in Jerusalem,' he told him 'you are to
live there; do not move anywhere else.
2:37 The day you go out and
cross the wadi Kidron, be sure you will certainly die. Your blood will be on
your own head.'
2:38 'Very well,' Shimei
answered the king 'your servant will do as my lord the king orders.' And for a
long time Shimei lived in Jerusalem.
2:39 But when three years had
gone by, it happened that two of Shimei's slaves ran away to Achish son of
Maacah, king of Gath; Shimei was told, 'Your slaves are in Gath'.
2:40 At this, Shimei set about
saddling his donkey and went to Achish at Gath to find his slaves. He went off
and brought his slaves back from Gath.
2:41 Solomon was informed that
Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back.
2:42 The king had Shimei
summoned to him. 'Did I not make you swear by Yahweh,' he said 'and did I not
solemnly warn you: The day you go out to go anywhere else, be sure you will
certainly die?
2:43 Why did you not keep the
oath of Yahweh and the order I laid on you?
2:44 You know all the evil you
did to my father David' the king went on. 'Yahweh will bring your wickedness
down on your own head.
2:45 But may King Solomon be
blessed, and may the throne of David be kept secure before Yahweh for
ever.'
2:46 The king gave orders to
Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he went out and struck down Shimei; and he died.
And now the sovereignty was
securely in the hands of Solomon.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter 3
II. SOLOMON IN ALL
HIS GLORY
A. SOLOMON THE SAGE
Introduction
3:1 Solomon allied himself by
marriage with Pharaoh[*a] king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh's daughter, and
took her to the Citadel of David until he could complete the building of his
palace and the Temple of Yahweh and the wall surrounding Jerusalem.
3:2 The people, however, were
still sacrificing on the high places, because at that time a dwelling place for
the name of Yahweh had not yet been built.
3:3 Solomon loved Yahweh: he
followed the precepts of David his father, except that he offered sacrifice and
incense on the high places.
Solomon's dream at
Gibeon
3:4 The king went to Gibeon to
sacrifice there, since that was the greatest of the high places - Solomon
offered a thousand holocausts on that altar.
3:5 At Gibeon Yahweh appeared
in a dream to Solomon during the night. God said, 'Ask what you would like me
to give you'.
3:6 Solomon replied, 'You
showed great kindness to your servant David, my father, when he lived his life
before you in faithfulness and justice and integrity of heart; you have
continued this great kindness to him by allowing a son of his to sit on his
throne today.
3:7 Now, Yahweh my God, you
have made your servant king in succession to David my father. But I am a very young
man, unskilled in leadership.
3:8 Your servant finds himself
in the midst of this people of yours that you have chosen, a people so many its
number cannot be counted or reckoned.
3:9 Give your servant a heart
to understand how to discern between good and evil, for who could govern this
people of yours that is so great?'
3:10 It pleased Yahweh that
Solomon should have asked for this.
3:11 'Since you have asked for
this' Yahweh said 'and not asked for long life for yourself or riches or the
lives of your enemies, but have asked for a discerning judgement for yourself,
3:12 here and now I do what
you ask. I give you a heart wise and shrewd as none before you has had and none
will have after you.
3:13 What you have not asked I
shall give you too: such riches and glory as no other king ever had.
3:14 And I will give you a
long life, if you follow my ways, keeping my laws and commandments, as your
father David followed them.'
3:15 Then Solomon awoke; it
was a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant
of Yahweh; he offered holocausts and communion sacrifices, and held a banquet
for all his servants.
The judgement of
Solomon
3:16 Then two prostitutes came
to the king and stood before him.
3:17 'If it please you, my
lord,' one of the women said 'this woman and I live in the same house, and
while she was in the house I gave birth to a child.
3:18 Now it happened on the
third day after my delivery that this woman also gave birth to a child. We were
alone together; there was no one else in the house with us; just the two of us
in the house
3:19 Now one night this
woman's son died; she overlaid him.
3:20 And in the middle of the
night she got up and took my son from beside me while your servant was asleep;
she put him to her breast and put her own dead son to mine.
3:21 When I got up to suckle
my child, there he was, dead. But in the morning I looked at him carefully, and
he was not the child I had borne at all.'
3:22 Then the other woman
spoke. 'That is not true! My son is the live one, yours is the dead one'; and
the first retorted, 'That is not true! Your son is the dead one, mine is the
live one.' And so they wrangled before the king.
3:23 'This one says,' the king
observed '"My son is the one who is alive; your son is dead",
while the other says, "That is not true! Your son is the dead one, mine is
the live one."
3:24 Bring me a sword' said
the king; and a sword was brought into the king's presence.
3:25 'Cut the living child in
two,' the king said 'and give half to one, half to the other.'
3:26 At this the woman who was
the mother of the living child addressed the king, for she burned with pity for
her son. 'If it please you, my lord,' she said 'let them give her the child;
only do not let them think of killing it!' But the other said, 'He shall
belong to neither of us. Cut him up.'
3:27 Then the king gave his
decision. 'Give the child to the first woman,' he said 'and do not kill him.
She is his mother.'
3:28 All Israel came to hear
of the judgement the king had pronounced, and held the king in awe, recognising
that he possessed divine wisdom for dispensing justice.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter 4
Solomon's high
officials
4:1 King Solomon was king over
all Israel,
4:2 and these were his high
officials: Azariah son of Zadok, priest.
4:3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons
of Shisha, secretaries. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud, recorder.
4:4 (Benaiah son of Jehoiada,
commander of the army. Zadok and Abiathar, priests.)
4:5 Azariah son of Nathan,
chief administrator. Zabud son of Nathan, Friend of the King,
4:6 and his brother, master of
the palace. Eliab son of Joab, commander of the army. Adoram son of Abda, in
charge of forced labour.
Solomon's
administrators
4:7 Solomon had twelve administrators
for the whole of Israel who saw to the provisioning of the king and his
household; each had to provide for one month in the year.
4:8 These are their names: . .
. son of Hur, in the mountain country of Ephraim.
4:9 . . . son of Deker, in
Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, Aijalon as far as Beth-hanan.
4:10 . . . son of Hesed, in
Arubboth; his district was Socoh and all the land of Hepher.
4:11 . . . son of Abinadab:
the whole region of Dor. Taphath, Solomon's daughter, was his wife.
4:12 Baana son of Ahilud, in
Taanach and Megiddo as far as the other side of Jokmeam, and all Beth-shean
below Jezreel, from Beth-shean as far as Abel Meholah, which is beside
Zarethan.
4:13 . . . son of Geber, in
Ramoth-gilead: his district was the Encampments of Jair, son of Manasseh, which
are in Gilead; he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty fortified
towns, walled-in and with bolts of bronze.
4:14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in
Mahanaim.
4:15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali; he
too married a daughter of Solomon, Basemath.
4:16 Baana son of Hushai, in
Asher and in the highlands.
4:17 Jehoshaphat son of
Paruah, in Issachar.
4:18 Shimei son of Ela, in
Benjamin.
4:19 Geber son of Uri, in the
land of Gad, the land of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan.
In addition, there was one governor in the land.[*a]
JB 1 KINGS Chapter 5
5:7 <4:27 These
administrators provided the food for Solomon and for all those who were
admitted by him to the royal table, each for the period of a month; they saw to
it that nothing was wanting.
5:8 <28 They also provided
the barley and straw for the horses and draught animals, where required, each
according to his own assignment.
5:2 <22 The daily
provisions for Solomon were: thirty measures of fine flour and sixty measures
of meal,
5:3 <23 ten fattened oxen,
twenty free-grazing oxen, one hundred sheep, besides deer and gazelles,
roebucks and fattened cuckoos.
5:4 <24 For he was master
of all Transeuphrates[*a] - of all the kings of Transeuphrates from Tiphsah to
Gaza - and he enjoyed peace on all his frontiers.
5:5 <25 Judah and Israel
lived in security, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as
Beersheba, throughout the lifetime of Solomon.
<4:20 Judah and Israel were
like the sand by the sea for number; they ate and drank and lived happily.
5:1 <4:21 Solomon extended
his power over all the kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines
and the Egyptian border. They brought tribute and served him all his life long.
5:6 <26 For his chariots
Solomon had four thousand stalls and twelve thousand horses.
Solomon's fame
5:9 <29 Yahweh gave Solomon
immense wisdom and understanding, and a heart as vast as the sand on the
seashore.
5:10 <30 The wisdom of
Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the East, and all the wisdom of
Egypt.
5:11 <31 He was wiser than
any other, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite,[*b] wiser than Heman and Calcol and
Darda, the cantors.
5:12 <32 He composed three
thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five.
5:13 <33 He could talk
about plants from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing on the wall; and
he could talk of animals, and birds and reptiles and fish.
5:14 <34 Men from all
nations came to hear Solomon's wisdom, and he received gifts from all the kings
of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.
B. SOLOMON THE
BUILDER
Preparations for
building the Temple
5:15 <1 Hiram the king of
Tyre sent an embassy to Solomon, having learnt that he had been anointed king
in succession to his father
5:16 <2 and because Hiram
had always been a friend of David. And Solomon sent this message to Hiram,
5:17 <3 You are aware that
David my father was unable to build a temple for the name of Yahweh, his God, because
his enemies waged war on him from all sides, until Yahweh should put them under
his control.
5:18 <4 But now Yahweh my
God has given me rest on every side: not one enemy, no calamities.
5:19 <5 I therefore plan to
build a temple for the name of Yahweh my God, just as Yahweh said to David my
father, "Your son whom I will place on your throne to succeed you shall be
the man to build a temple for my name".
5:20 <6 So now have cedars
of Lebanon cut down for me; my servants will work with your servants, and I
will pay for the hire of your servants at whatever rate you fix. As you know,
we have no one as skilled in felling trees as the Sidonians.'
5:21 <7 When Hiram[*c]
heard what Solomon had said, he was delighted. 'Now blessed be Yahweh' he said
'who has given David a wise son to rule over this great people!'
5:22 <8 And Hiram sent word
to Solomon, 'I have received your message. For my part, I will supply all you
want in the way of cedar wood and juniper.
5:23 <9 Your servants will
bring these down from Lebanon to the sea, and I shall have them towed by sea to
any place you name; I shall discharge them there, and you will take them over.
For your part, you will see to the provisioning of my household as I direct.
5:24 <10 So Hiram provided
Solomon with all the cedar wood and juniper he wanted,
5:25 <11 while Solomon gave
Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat to feed his household, and twenty thousand
kors of pure oil. Solomon gave Hiram this every year.
5:26 <12 Yahweh gave
Solomon wisdom as he had promised him; good relations persisted between Solomon
and Hiram, and the two of them concluded a treaty.
5:27 <13 King Solomon
raised a levy throughout Israel for forced labour: the levy numbered thirty
thousand men.
5:28 <14 He sent these to
Lebanon in relays, ten thousand a month; they spent one month in Lebanon and
two months at home. Adoram was in charge of the forced labour.
5:29 <15 Solomon also had
seventy thousand porters and eighty thousand quarrymen in the mountains,
5:30 <16 as well as the
administrators' officials who supervised the work, three thousand three hundred
of them in charge of the men employed in the work.
5:31 <17 At the king's
orders they quarried huge stones, special stones, for the laying of the temple
foundations, dressed stones.
5:32 <18 Solomon's workmen
and Hiram's workmen and the Giblites cut and assembled the wood and stone for
the building of the Temple.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter 6
The Temple building
6:1 In the four hundred and
eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt[*a] the
fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the
second month, he began to build the Temple of Yahweh.
6:2 The Temple[*b] that King
Solomon built for Yahweh was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and twenty
five in height.
6:3 The Ulam in front of the
Hekal of the Temple was twenty cubits long across the width of the temple and
ten cubits wide along the length of the Temple.
6:4 He made windows for the
Temple with frames and latticework.
6:5 He also built an annex
against the Temple wall round the Hekal and the Debir, and made side tiers all
round.
6:6 The lower story was five
cubits wide, the middle one six cubits, and the third seven cubits, for round
the Temple on the outside he had placed offsets so that this was not attached
to the Temple walls.
6:7 The building of the Temple
was done with quarry-dressed stone; no sound of hammer or pick or any iron tool
was to be heard in the Temple while it was being built.
6:8 The entrance to the lower
story was at the right-hand corner of the Temple, and access to the middle
story above was by trap-doors, and so from the middle story to the third.
6:9 He built the Temple,
completed it, and covered it with cedar wood.
6:10 He built the annex on to
the whole length of the Temple; it was five cubits high and was attached to the
Temple by beams of cedar wood. .
6:11 And the word of Yahweh
came to Solomon,
6:12 'This house you are
building ... if you follow my statutes and obey my ordinances and faithfully
follow my commandments, I will fulfil that promise I made about you to
your father David.
6:13 And I will make my home
among the sons of Israel, and never forsake Israel my people.'
6:14 Solomon built the Temple,
and completed it.
Interior
furnishings. The Holy of Holies
6:15 He lined the inside of
the Temple walls with panels of cedar wood - panelling them on the inside from
the floor of the Temple to the rafters in the roof - and laid the floor of the
Temple with juniper planks.
6:16 The twenty cubits
measured from the end of the Temple he built of cedar planks from floor to
rafters, and this
part was reserved as the
Debir, the Holy of Holies.
6:17 The Temple measured forty
cubits - the Hekal - in front of the Debir.
6:18 There was cedar wood
round the inside of the Temple, ornamentally carved with gourds and rosettes;
all was cedar wood, with no stone showing.
6:19 In the inner part of the
Temple he designed a Debir, to contain the ark of the covenant of Yahweh.
6:20 The Debir was twenty
cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty high, and he plated it on the
inside with pure gold. He made an altar of cedar wood
6:21 in front of the Debir and
plated it with gold.
6:22 He plated the whole
Temple with gold, the whole Temple entirely.
The cherubs
6:23 In the Debir he made two
cherubs of olive wood ... It was ten cubits high.
6:24 One cherub's wing was
five cubits long and the other wing five cubits: ten cubits from wing tip to
wing tip.
6:25 The other cherub also
measured ten cubits; both cherubs had the same measurements and the same shape.
6:26 The height of one cherub
was the same as the other's.
6:27 He placed the cherubs in
the middle of the inner chamber; their wings were spread out so that the wing
of one touched one of the walls and the wing of the other touched the other
wall, while their wings met in the middle of the chamber, wing to wing.
6:28 And he plated the cherubs
with gold. All round the Temple walls he carved figures of cherubs, palm trees
and rosettes, both inside and outside.
6:30 He plated the floor of
the Temple with gold, both inside and outside.
The doors.
The court
6:31 He made the door of the
Debir with uprights of olive wood, and five-sided door jambs,
6:32 and the two leaves of
olive wood. He carved figures of cherubs, palm trees and rosettes which he
plated with gold; he put a gold surface on the cherubs and palm trees.
6:33 Similarly, he made
uprights of olive wood for the door of the Hekal, and four-sided door
jambs,
6:34 and the two leaves of
juniper: one leaf had two ribs binding it, and the other had two ribs binding
it.
6:35 He carved cherubs, palm
trees and rosettes, which he plated with gold laid evenly over the carvings.
6:36 He built the wall of the
inner court in three courses of dressed stone and one course of cedar beams.
The date
6:37 In the fourth year, in
the month of Ziv, the foundations of the Temple were laid;
6:38 in the eleventh year, in
the month of Bul - that is, the eighth month - the Temple was completed exactly
as it had been planned and designed. Solomon took seven years to build it.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter 7
Solomon's palace
7:1 As regards his palace,
Solomon spent thirteen years on it before the building was completed.
7:2 He built the Hall of the
Forest of Lebanon, a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits
high, on four rows of cedar wood pillars with cedar capitals on the pillars.
7:3 It was panelled in cedar
on the upper part as far as the planks above the pillars.
7:4 There were three rows of
architraves, forty-five in all, that is, fifteen in each row, facing one
another from three sides.
7:5 All the doors and uprights
were of rectangular design, facing one another from three sides.
7:6 And he made the Hall of
Pillars, fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide... with a porch in front.
7:7 He also made the Hall of
the Throne where he used to dispense justice, that is, the Hall of Justice; it
was panelled in cedar from floor to rafters.
7:8 His own living quarters,
in the other court and inwards from the Hall, were of the same construction.
And there was a house similar to this Hall for the daughter of Pharaoh whom he
had taken in marriage.
7:9 All these buildings were
of special stones cut to measure, trimmed on the inner and outer sides with the
saw, right from the foundations to the wood course
7:10 - their foundations were
of special stones, huge stones, stones of ten and eight cubits,
7:11 and, above these, special
stones, cut to measure, and cedar wood -
7:12 and, on the outside, the
great court had three courses of dressed stone round it and one course of cedar
beams; so also had the inner court of the Temple of Yahweh and the vestibule of
the Temple.
Hiram, the
bronzeworker
7:13 King Solomon sent for
Hiram of Tyre;
7:14 he was the son of a widow
of the tribe of Naphtali but his father had been a Tyrian, a bronzeworker. He
was a highly intelligent craftsman, skilled in all types of bronzework. He came
to King Solomon and did all this work for him:
The bronze pillars
7:15 He cast two bronze
pillars; the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a cord twelve cubits
long gave the measurement of its girth; so also was the second pillar.
7:16 He made two capitals of
cast bronze for the tops of the pillars; the height of one capital was five
cubits, and the height of the other five cubits.
7:17 He made two sets of
filigree to cover the moulding of the two capitals surmounting the pillars, one
filigree for one capital and one filigree for the other capital.
7:18 He also made
pomegranates: two rows of them round each filigree,
7:19b four hundred in all,
7:20 applied on the raised
moulding behind the filigree; there were two hundred pomegranates round one
capital and the same round the other capital.
7:19a The capitals surmounting
the pillars were flower-shaped.
7:21 He set up the pillars in
front of the vestibule of the sanctuary; he set up the right-hand pillar and
named it Jachin; he set up the left-hand pillar and named it Boaz.
7:22 So the work on the
pillars was completed.
The bronze 'Sea'
7:23 He made the Sea of cast
metal, ten cubits from rim to rim, circular in shape and five cubits high; a
cord thirty cubits long gave the measurement of its girth.
7:24 Under its rim and
completely encircling it were gourds; they went round the Sea over a length of
thirty cubits; the gourds were in two rows, of one and the same casting with
the rest.
7:25 It rested on twelve oxen,
three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, three facing east;
on these, their hind-quarters all turned inwards, stood the Sea.
7:26 It was a hand's breadth
in thickness, and its rim was shaped like the rim of a cup, like a flower. It
held two thousand baths.
The wheeled stands
and the bronze basins
7:27 He made the ten stands of
bronze; each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three high.
7:28 They were designed as
follows: they had an undercarriage and crosspieces to the undercarriage.
7:29 On the crosspieces of the
undercarriage were lions and bulls and cherubs, and on top of the undercarriage
was a support; under the lions and oxen there were scrolls in the style of...
7:30 Each stand had four
bronze wheels with bronze axles; its four feet had shoulderings under the
basin, and the shoulderings were cast...
7:31 Its mouth measured one
and a half cubits from where the shoulderings met to the top; its mouth was
round like a rest for a vessel, and on the mouth there were engravings too; the
crosspieces, however, were rectangular and not round.
7:32 The four wheels were
under the crosspieces. The axles of the wheels were inside the stands; the
height of the wheels was one and a half cubits.
7:33 The wheels were designed
like chariot wheels: their axles, felloes, spokes and naves had all been cast.
7:34 There were four
shoulderings at the four corners of each stand: the stand and the shoulderings
were all of a piece.
7:35 At the top of the stand
there was a support, circular in shape and half a cubit high; and on top of the
stand there were lugs. The crosspieces were of a piece with the stand.
7:36 On the bands he engraved
cherubs and lions and palm leaves... and scrolls right round.
7:37 He made the ten stands
like this: the same casting and the same measurements for all.
7:38 He made ten bronze
basins; each basin held forty baths and each basin measured four cubits, one
basin to each of the ten stands.
7:39 He arranged the stands,
five on the right-hand side of the Temple, five on the left-hand side of the
Temple; the Sea he placed on the right-hand side of the Temple to the
south-east.
The utensils.
Summary
7:40 Hiram made the ash
containers, the scoops and the sprinkling bowls. He finished all the work that
he did for King Solomon on the Temple of Yahweh:
7:41 two pillars; the two
mouldings of the capitals surmounting the pillars; the two sets of filigree to
cover the two mouldings of the capitals surmounting the pillars;
7:42 the four hundred pomegranates
for the two sets of filigree; the pomegranates of each set of filigree were in
two rows;
7:43 the ten stands and the
ten basins on the stands;
7:44 the one Sea and the
twelve oxen beneath the Sea;
7:45 the ash containers, the
scoops, the sprinkling bowls. All these furnishings made by Hiram for King
Solomon for the Temple of Yahweh were of burnished bronze.
7:46 He made them by the
process of sand casting, in the Jordan area between Succoth and Zarethan.
7:47 There were so many of
them, that the weight of the bronze was never calculated.
7:48 Solomon placed all the
furnishings he had made in the Temple of Yahweh: the golden altar and the table
for the loaves of offering, which was of gold;
7:49 the lamp-stands, five on
the right and five on the left in front of the Debir, of pure gold; the floral
work, the lamps, the extinguishers, of gold;
7:50 the basins, so knives,
sprinkling bowls, incense boats, censers, of pure gold; the door sockets for
the inner shrine - that is, the Holy of Holies - and for the Hekal, of gold.
7:51 So all the work that King
Solomon did for the Temple of Yahweh was completed, and Solomon brought what
his father David had consecrated, the silver and the gold and the vessels, and
put them in the treasury of the Temple of Yahweh.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter 8
The ark brought to
the Temple
8:1 Then Solomon called the
elders of Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the covenant of
Yahweh up from the Citadel of David, which is Zion.
8:2 All the men of Israel
assembled round King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, at the time of the
feast[*a] (that is, the seventh month),
8:3 and the priests took up
the ark
8:4 and the Tent of Meeting
with all the sacred vessels that were in it.
8:5 In the presence of the
ark, King Solomon and all Israel sacrificed sheep and oxen, countless,
innumerable.
8:6 The priests brought the
ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, in the Debir of the Temple, that
is, in the Holy of Holies, under the cherubs' wings.
8:7 For there where the ark
was placed the cherubs spread out their wings and sheltered the ark and its
shafts.
8:8a These were long enough
for their ends to be seen from the Holy Place in front of the Debir, but not
from outside.
8:9 There was nothing in the
ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed in it at Horeb, the tablets
of the covenant which Yahweh had made with the Israelites when they came out of
the land of Egypt;
8:8b they are still there
today.
The Lord takes
possession of his Temple
8:10 Now when the priests came
out of the sanctuary, the cloud filled the Temple of Yahweh,
8:11 and because of the cloud
the priests could no longer perform their duties: the glory of Yahweh filled
Yahweh's Temple.
8:12 Then Solomon said:
'Yahweh has chosen to dwell in the thick cloud.
8:13 Yes, I have built you a
dwelling, a place for you to live in for ever.'
Solomon addresses
the people
8:14 Then the king turned and
blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while the whole assembly of Israel stood.
8:15 He said, 'Blessed be
Yahweh, the God of lsrael, who has carried out by his hand what he promised
with his mouth to David my father when he said,
8:16 "From the day I
brought my people Israel out of Egypt I chose no city, in any of the tribes of
Israel, to have a house built where my name might make its home; but I chose
David, to rule over Israel my people".
8:17 My father David had set
his heart on building a house for the name of Yahweh the God of Israel,
8:18 but Yahweh said,
"You have set your heart on building a house for my name, and in this you
have done well;
8:19 and yet, you are not the
man to build the house; your son, born of your own body, shall build the house
for my name".
8:20 Yahweh has kept the
promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and am seated on the throne of
Israel, as Yahweh promised; I have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the
God of Israel,
8:21 and have made a place in
it for the ark containing the covenant that Yahweh made with our fathers when
he brought them out of the land of Egypt.'
Solomon's prayer
for himself
8:22 Then (in the presence of
the whole assembly of Israel) Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh and,
stretching out his hands towards heaven,
8:23 said, Yahweh, God of
Israel, not in heaven above nor on earth beneath is there such a God as you,
true to your covenant and your kindness towards your servants when they walk
wholeheartedly in your way
8:24 You have kept the promise
you made to your servant David my father; what you promised with your mouth,
today you have carried out by your hand.
8:25 And now, Yahweh, God of
Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant David when you said,
"You shall never lack for a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel,
if only your sons are careful how they behave, walking before me as you
yourself have done".
8:26 So now, God of Israel,
let the words come true which you spoke to your servant David my father.
8:27 Yet will God really live
with men on the earth? Why, the heavens and their own heavens cannot contain
you. How much less this house that I have built!
8:28 Listen to the prayer and
entreaty of your servant, Yahweh my God; listen to the cry and to the prayer
your servant makes to you today.
8:29 Day and night let your
eyes watch over this house, over this place of which you have said, "My
name shall be there". Listen to the prayer that your servant will offer in
this place.
Solomon's prayer
for the people
8:30 'Hear the entreaty of
your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven
where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.
8:31 'If a man sins against
his neighbour, and the neighbour calls down a curse on him and makes him swear
an oath before your altar in this Temple,
8:32 hear from heaven, and
act; decide between your servants: pronounce the wicked one guilty, bringing
his conduct down on his own head; and vindicate the innocent, rewarding him as
his innocence deserves.
8:33 'When your people Israel
are defeated by the enemy because they have sinned against you, if they return
to you and praise your name and pray to you and entreat you in this Temple,
8:34 hear from heaven; forgive
the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to
their ancestors.
8:35 'When the heavens are
shut and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray in
this place and praise your name and, having been humbled by you, repent of
their sin,
8:36 hear from heaven and
forgive the sin of your servant and of your people Israel - show them the good
way they ought to follow - and send rain on your land which you have given your
people for an inheritance.
8:37 'Should there be famine
in the land, or pestilence, blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; should
this people's enemy lay siege to one of its city gates; if there is any plague
or sickness;
8:38 if anyone should feel
remorse in his own heart and pray or make entreaty, stretching out his hands
towards this Temple,
8:39 hear from heaven where
your home is; forgive and act, dealing with each as his conduct deserves; for
you know every heart, - you alone know the hearts of all mankind -
8:40 and so they may come to
revere you as long as they live in the land you gave to our fathers
Supplementary
section
8:41 'And the foreigner too,
not belonging to your people Israel, if he comes from a distant country for the
sake of your name
8:42 - for men will hear of
your name, of your mighty hand and outstretched arm - if he comes and prays in
the temple,
8:43 hear from heaven where
your home is, and grant all the foreigner asks, so that all the peoples of the
earth may come to know your name and, like your people Israel, revere you, and
know that your name is given to the Temple I have built.
8:44 'If your people go out to
war against their enemies on the way that you send them, and if they turn
towards the city you have chosen and towards the Temple I have built for your
name, and pray to Yahweh,
8:45 hear from heaven their
prayer and their entreaty, and uphold their cause.
8:46 'If they sin against you
- for there is no man who does not sin - and you are angry with them and
deliver them to the enemy, and their conquerors lead them captive to a country
far or near,
8:47 if in the land of their
exile they come to themselves and repent, and in the country of their
conquerors they entreat you saying, "We have sinned, we have acted
perversely and wickedly",
8:48 and if they turn again to
you with all their heart and soul in the country of the enemies who have
deported them, and pray to you, turning towards the land you gave to their
ancestors, towards the city you have chosen, and towards the Temple I have
built for your name,
8:49 hear from heaven where
your home is,
8:50 forgive your people the
sins they have committed against you and all the crimes they have been guilty
of, grant them to win favour with their conquerors so that they may have pity
on them;
8:51 for they are your people
and your heritage whom you brought out of Egypt, that iron furnace.
Conclusion of the
prayer and blessing of the people
8:52 'Be always watchful for
the entreaty of your servant and of your people Israel, always hearing them
when they call to you.
8:53 For it was you who set
them apart from all the peoples of the earth to be your own heritage, as you declared
through Moses your servant when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, Lord
Yahweh.'
8:54 When Solomon had finished
offering this whole prayer and entreaty, he rose from where he was kneeling
with hands stretched out towards heaven before the altar of Yahweh,
8:55 and stood erect. And in a
loud voice he blessed the whole assembly of Israel.
8:56 'Blessed be Yahweh' he
said 'who has granted rest to his people Israel, keeping all his promises; of
all the promises of good that he made through Moses his servant, not one has
failed.
8:57 May Yahweh our God be
with us, as he was with our ancestors; may he never desert us or cast us off.
8:58 May he turn our hearts
towards him so that we may follow all his ways and keep the commandments, and
laws, and ordinances he gave to our ancestors.
8:59 May these words of mine,
of my entreaty before Yahweh, be present with Yahweh our God day and night,
that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of Israel his people,
as each day requires,
8:60 so that all the peoples
of the earth may come to know that Yahweh is God indeed, and that there is no
other.
8:61 May your hearts be wholly
with Yahweh our God, following his laws and keeping his commandments as at this
present day.'
The sacrifices on
the feast of Dedication
8:62 The king and all Israel
with him offered sacrifice before Yahweh.
8:63 Solomon offered
twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep as communion
sacrifices to Yahweh; and so the king and all the Israelites dedicated the
Temple of Yahweh.
8:64 On the same day the king
consecrated the middle of the court lying in front of the Temple of Yahweh; and
there he offered the holocaust, oblations and fatty parts of the communion
sacrifices, since the bronze altar that stood before Yahweh was too small to
hold the holocaust, oblation and the fatty parts of the communion sacrifices.
8:65 And so at that time,
Solomon celebrated the feast, and all the Israelites with him, a great
gathering from the Pass of Hamath to the wadi of Egypt, before Yahweh our God
for seven days.[*b]
8:66 Then, on the eighth day,
he dismissed the people, who blessed the king and went to their homes,
rejoicing and happy in heart for all the goodness Yahweh had shown to David and
to his people Israel.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter 9
Yahweh appears a
second time
9:1 When Solomon had finished
building the Temple of Yahweh and the royal palace and all he had a mind to
build,
9:2 Yahweh appeared to Solomon
a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.
9:3 Yahweh said to him, 'I
grant your prayer and the entreaty you have made before me. I consecrate this
house you have built: I place my name there for ever; my eyes and my heart
shall be always there.
9:4 For your part, if you walk
before me with innocence of heart and in honesty, like David your father, if
you do all I order you and keep my laws and my ordinances,
9:5 I will make your royal
throne secure over Israel for ever, as I promised David your father when I
said: You shall never lack for a man on the throne of Israel.
9:6 But if you turn away from
me, you or your sons, and do not keep the commandments and laws I have set
before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them,
9:7 then I will cut Israel off
from the land I have given them, and I will cast out from my presence this
Temple that I have consecrated for my name, and Israel shall become a proverb
and a byword among all the nations.
9:8 As for this exalted
Temple, all who pass by will be astounded; they will whistle and say, "Why
has Yahweh treated this country and this Temple like this?"
9:9 And the answer will be,
"Because they deserted Yahweh their God who brought their ancestors out of
the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and worshipped them and served
them; that is why Yahweh has brought all these disasters on them".'
The bargain with
Hiram
9:10 At the end of the twenty
years it took Solomon to erect the two buildings, the Temple of Yahweh and the
royal palace
9:11 (Hiram king of Tyre had
provided Solomon with as much cedar wood, juniper wood and gold as he had
wanted), King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in the land of Galilee.
9:12 But when Hiram came from
Tyre to view the towns Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them.
9:13 He said, 'What kind of
towns are these you have given me, my brother?' And to this day they are called
'the land of Cabul'.
9:14 'Hiram sent the king one
hundred and twenty talents of gold.
Forced labour for
Solomon's building programme
9:15 This is an account of the
forced labour King Solomon levied for the building of the Temple of Yahweh, his
own palace, the Millo[*a] and the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer
9:16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt
went up and captured Gezer, he burnt it down and massacred the Canaanites
living there; he then gave the town as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife,
9:17 and Solomon rebuilt
Gezer), Lower Beth-horon,
9:18 Baalath, Tamar in the
wilderness, inside the country,
9:19 all the garrison towns
owned by Solomon, all the towns for his chariots and horses, and all it pleased
Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and in all the countries subject to
him.
9:20 All those who survived of
the Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, Hivite and Jebusite peoples, who were not Israelites,
9:21 their descendants who
were left in the country after them, those on whom the Israelites had not been
able to enforce the ban, these Solomon conscripted as slave labourers, as they
are still.
9:22 However, Solomon did not
impose slave labour on the Israelites;[*b] these served as fighting men: they
were his guards, officers, equerries, chariot and cavalry commanders.
9:23 These were the
administrators' officials who supervised Solomon's work: five hundred and fifty
of them in charge of the people employed in the work.
9:24 After Pharaoh's daughter
had moved from the Citadel of David to the house which he had built for her, he
then built the Millo.
The maintenance of
the Temple
9:25 Three times a year
Solomon offered holocausts and communion sacrifices on the altar he had built
for Yahweh... and he kept the Temple in good repair.
C. SOLOMON THE
TRADER
Solomon as
ship-owner
9:26 King Solomon equipped a
fleet at Ezion-geber, which is near Elath on the shores of the Red Sea, in the
land of Edom.
9:27 For this fleet Hiram sent
men of his, sailors who knew the sea, to serve with Solomon's men.
9:28 They went to Ophir and
from there they brought back four hundred and twenty talents of gold, which
they delivered to King Solomon.[*c]
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
10
The queen of Sheba
visits Solomon
10:1 The fame of Solomon
having reached the queen of Sheba... [*a] she came to test him with difficult
questions.
10:2 She brought immense
riches to Jerusalem with her, camels laden with spices, great quantities of
gold, and precious stones. On coming to Solomon, she opened her mind freely to
him;
10:3 and Solomon had an answer
for all her questions, not one of them was too obscure for the king to expound.
10:4 When the queen of Sheba
saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,
10:5 the food at his table,
the accommodation for his officials, the organisation of his staff and the way
they were dressed, his cup-bearers, and the holocausts he offered in the Temple
of Yahweh, it left her breathless,
10:6 and she said to the king,
'What I heard in my own country about you and your wisdom was true, then!
10:7 Until I came and saw it
with my own eyes I could not believe what they told me, but clearly they told
me less than half: for wisdom and prosperity you surpass the report I heard.
10:8 How happy your wives are!
How happy are these servants of yours who wait on you always and hear your
wisdom!
10:9 Blessed be Yahweh your
God who has granted you his favour, setting you on the throne of Israel!
Because of Yahweh's everlasting love for Israel, he has made you king to deal
out law and justice.'
10:10 And she presented the
king with a hundred and twenty talents of gold and great quantities of spices
and precious stones; no such wealth of spices ever came again as those given to
King Solomon by the queen of Sheba.
10:11 And the fleet of Hiram,
which carried gold from Ophir, also brought great cargoes of almuggim wood and
precious stones.
10:12 The king made supports
with the almuggim wood for the Temple of Yahweh and for the royal palace, and
lyres and harps for the musicians; no more of this almuggim wood has since come
or been seen to this day.
10:13 And King Solomon in his
turn, presented the queen of Sheba with all she expressed a wish for, besides
those presents he made her out of his royal bounty. Then she went home, she and
her servants, to her own country.
Solomon's wealth
10:14 The weight of gold
coming to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,
10:15 not counting what came
in from merchants' dues and traders' profits, and from all the foreign kings
and the governors of the country.
10:16 King Solomon made three
hundred great shields of beaten gold, and plated each shield with six hundred
shekels of gold;
10:17 also three hundred small
shields of beaten gold, and plated each of these with three minas of gold; and
he put them in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.
10:18 The king also made a
great ivory throne, and plated it with refined gold.
10:19 The throne had six
steps, and bulls' heads at the back of it, and arms at either side of the seat;
two lions stood beside the arms,
10:20 and twelve lions stood
on either side of the six steps. No throne like this was ever made in any other
kingdom.
10:21 All King Solomon's
drinking vessels were of gold, and all the furnishings in the Hall of the
Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was thought little of in the time
of Solomon.
10:22 And the king also had a
fleet of Tarshish at sea with Hiram's fleet, and once every three years the
fleet of Tarshish would come back laden with gold and silver, ivory, apes and
baboons.
10:23 For riches and for
wisdom King Solomon outdid all the kings of the earth.
10:24 The whole world sought
audience of Solomon to hear the wisdom God had implanted in his heart
10:25 and each would bring his
own present: gold vessels, silver vessels, robes, armour, spices, horses and
mules; and this went on year after year.
Solomon's chariots
10:26 Solomon built up a force
of chariots and horses; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve
thousand horses; these he stationed in the chariot towns and near the king in
Jerusalem.
10:27 In Jerusalem the king
made silver common as pebbles, and cedars plentiful as the sycamores of the
Lowlands.
10:28 Solomon's horses were
imported from Cilicia; the king's agents took delivery of them from Cilicia at
a fixed rate.
10:29 A chariot was imported
from Egypt for six hundred shekels, a horse for a hundred and fifty. These were
exported through the king's agents to all the kings of the Hittites and to the
kings of Aram in the same way.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
11
D. HIS DECLINE
Solomon's wives
11:1 King Solomon loved many
foreign women: not only Pharaoh's daughter but Moabites, Edomites, Sidonians
and Hittites,
11:2 from those peoples of
whom Yahweh had said to the Israelites, 'You are not to go to them nor they to
you, or they will surely sway your hearts to their own gods'. But Solomon was
deeply attached to them.
11:3 He had seven hundred
wives of royal rank, and three hundred concubines.
11:4 When Solomon grew old his
wives swayed his heart to other gods; and his heart was not wholly with Yahweh
his God as his father David's had been.
11:5 Solomon became a follower
of Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom, the Ammonite
abomination.
11:6 He did what was
displeasing to Yahweh, and was not a wholehearted follower of Yahweh, as his
father David had been.
11:7 Then it was that Solomon
built a high place for Chemosh the god of Moab on the mountain to the east of
Jerusalem, and to Milcom the god of the Ammonites.
11:8 He did the same for all
his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrifice to their gods.
11:9 Yahweh was angry with
Solomon because his heart had turned from Yahweh the God of Israel who had
twice appeared to him
11:10 and who had then
forbidden him to follow other gods; but he did not carry out Yahweh's order.
11:11 Yahweh therefore said to
Solomon, 'Since you behave like this and do not keep my covenant or the laws I
laid down for you, I will most surely tear the kingdom away from you and give
it to one of your servants.'
11:12 For your father David's
sake, however, I will not do this during your lifetime, but will tear it out of
your son's hands.
11:13 Even so, I will not tear
the whole kingdom from him. For the sake of my servant David, and for the sake
of Jerusalem which I have chosen, I will leave your son one tribe.'[*a]
Solomon's foreign
enemies
11:14 Yahweh raised an enemy
against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, of the kingly stock of Edom.
11:15 After David had crushed
Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, had gone to bury the dead and he had
slaughtered the entire male population of Edom
11:16 (Joab stayed there with
all Israel for six months until he had exterminated the entire male population
of Edom),
11:17 but Hadad with a number
of Edomites in his father's service had fled to Egypt. Hadad had been only a
boy at the time.
11:18 They set out from
Midian, and on reaching Paran, took a number of men from Paran with them and
went on to Egypt, to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who provided him with a house,
undertook to maintain him, and assigned him an estate.
11:19 Hadad became a great
favourite of Pharaoh who gave him his own wife's sister in marriage, the sister
of the Great Lady Tahpenes.
11:20 The sister of Tahpenes
bore him Genubath his son whom Tahpenes brought up in Pharaoh's palace,
Genubath living with Pharaoh's children.
11:21 But when news reached
Hadad in Egypt that David slept with his ancestors and that Joab the commander
of the army was dead, he said to Pharaoh, 'Give me leave to return to my own
country'.
11:22 'Do you want for
anything here with me' said Pharaoh 'that you now ask to return to your own
country?' 'No,' he replied 'but please let me go.'
11:25b This is where the harm
of Hadad comes from: he loathed Israel and ruled Edom.
11:23 God raised a second
enemy against Solomon, Rezon son of Eliada. He had fled from his master,
Hadadezer king of Zobah.
11:24 A number of men having
rallied to him, he had become leader of a marauding band (which was then
massacred by David). Rezon captured Damascus and settled there and became king
of Damascus.
11:25a He was hostile to
Israel as long as Solomon lived.
The revolt of
Jeroboam
11:26 Jeroboam was the son of
Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah; the name of his mother, a widow, was Zeruah;
he was in Solomon's service but revolted against the king.
11:27 This is the account of
his revolt. Solomon was building the Millo and closing the breach in the
Citadel of David his father.
11:28 Now this Jeroboam was a
man of rank; Solomon, noticing how the young man set about his work, put him in
charge of all the forced labour of the House of Joseph.
11:29 One day when Jeroboam
had gone out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh accosted him on the
road. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak; the two of them were in the open country
by themselves.
11:30 Ahijah took the new
cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve strips,
11:31 saying to Jeroboam,
'Take ten strips for yourself, for thus Yahweh speaks, the God of Israel,
"I am going to tear the kingdom from Solomon's hand and give ten tribes to
you.
11:32 He shall keep one
tribe[*b] for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the
city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel;
11:33 for he has forsaken me
to worship Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab,
Milcom the god of the Ammonites; he has not followed my ways by doing what is
right in my eyes or keeping my laws and ordinances as his father David did.
11:34 But I will not take the
kingdom out of his own hands, since I have made him a prince for as long as he
lives, for the sake of my servant David who kept my commandments and laws.
11:35 I will, however, take
the kingdom from the hand of his son, giving the ten tribes to you.
11:36 I will keep one tribe to
give to his son, so that my servant David may always have a lamp in my presence
in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as a dwelling place for my name.
11:37 You nonetheless I will
take to rule over as much as you wish, and you shall be king of Israel.
11:38 If you listen to all my
orders and follow my ways, by doing what is right in my eyes and keeping my
laws and commandments as my servant David did, then I will be with you and will
build you as enduring a House as the one I built for David. I will give Israel
to you,
11:39 thus humbling the
descendants of David; but not for ever."'
11:40 Solomon tried to kill
Jeroboam but he made off and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and he remained
in Egypt until Solomon's death.
The end of the
reign of Solomon
11:41 The rest of the history
of Solomon, his entire career, his wisdom, is not all this recorded in the Book
of the Acts of Solomon?
11:42 Solomon's reign in
Jerusalem over all Israel lasted forty years.
11:43 Then Solomon slept with
his ancestors and was buried in the Citadel of David his father; Rehoboam his
son succeeded him.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
12
III. THE POLITICAL
AND RELIGIOUS SCHISM
The assembly at
Shechem
12:2 As soon as Jeroboam son
of Nebat heard the news - he was still in Egypt, where he had taken refuge from
King Solomon - he returned from Egypt.
12:1 Rehoboam went to Shechem,
for it was to Shechem that all Israel[*a] had gone to proclaim him king,
12:3 and they said this to
him,
12:4 'Your father gave us a
heavy burden to bear; lighten your father's harsh tyranny now, and the weight
of the burden he laid on us, and we will serve you'.
12:5 He said to them, 'Go away
for three days and then come back to me'. And the people went away.
12:6 King Rehoboam consulted
the elders, who had been in the service of his father Solomon while he was
alive. 'What reply' he asked 'do you advise me to give to this people?'
12:7 'Act as servant of this
people now,' they said 'humour them, treat them fairly, and they will be your
servants for ever.'
12:8 But he rejected the
advice given him by the elders and consulted the young men who had grown up
with him and were in his service.
12:9 'How do you advise us' he
asked 'to answer this people who have said to me, "Lighten the burden your
father imposed on us"?'
12:10 The young men who had
grown up with him replied, 'Give this answer to these people who have said,
"Your father gave us a heavy burden to bear, you must lighten it for
us", say this to them, "My little finger is thicker than my father's
loins!
12:11 So then, my father made
you bear a heavy burden. I will make it heavier still. My father beat you with
whips; I am going to beat you with loaded scourges."'
12:12 On the third day all the
people came to Rehoboam in obedience to the king's command: 'Come back to me on
the third day'.
12:13 The king, rejecting the
advice given him by the elders, gave the people a harsh answer,
12:14 speaking to them as the
young men had recommended. 'My father made you bear a heavy burden,' he said
'but I will make it heavier still. My father beat you with whips; I am going to
beat you with loaded scourges.'
12:15 The king in fact took no
notice of the people's wishes, and this was brought about by Yahweh to carry
out the promise he had spoken through Ahijah of Shiloh to Jeroboam son of
Nebat.
12:16 When all Israel saw that
the king took no notice of their wishes, they gave him this answer: 'What share
have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents,
Israel! Henceforth look after your own house, David!' And Israel went off to
their tents.
12:17 Rehoboam, however,
reigned over those sons of Israel who lived in the towns of Judah.
12:18 King Rehoboam sent
Adoram who was in charge of forced labour, but the Israelites stoned him to
death; whereupon King Rehoboam was obliged to mount his chariot and escape to
Jerusalem.
12:19 And Israel has been
separated from the House of David until the present day.
The political
schism
12:20 When all Israel heard
that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king
of all Israel; no one remained loyal to the House of David, except the tribe of
Judah.
12:21 Rehoboam went to
Jerusalem and mustered the whole House of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a
hundred and eighty thousand picked warriors, to fight the House of Israel and
win back the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.
12:22 But the word of Yahweh
came to Shemaiah the man of God,
12:23 'Say this to Rehoboam
son of Solomon, king of Judah, to the whole House of Judah, to Benjamin and to
the rest of the people,
12:24 "Yahweh says this:
Do not go to fight against your brothers, the sons of Israel; let everyone go
home, for what has happened is my doing"'.
12:25 Jeroboam fortified
Shechem in the mountain country of Ephraim, and lived there. Then, leaving
there, he fortified Penuel.
The religious
schism
12:26 Jeroboam thought to
himself, 'As things are, the kingdom will revert to the House of David.
12:27 If this people continues
to go up to the Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, the people's
heart will turn back again to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will
put me to death.'
12:28 So the king thought this
over and then made two golden calves; he said to the people, 'You have been
going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, Israel; these brought
you up out of the land of Egypt!'
12:29 He set up one in Bethel
12:30 and the people went in
procession all the way to Dan in front of the other.
12:31 He set up the temple of
the high places and appointed priests from ordinary families, who were not of
the sons of Levi.
12:32 Jeroboam also instituted
a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth of the month, like the feast that
was kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar.[*b] That was how he behaved in
Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made; and at Bethel he put the priests
of the high places he had established.
12:33 On the fifteenth of the
eighth month, the month he had deliberately chosen, he went up to the altar he
had made; he instituted a feast for the Israelites, and went up to the altar to
offer incense.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
13
The condemnation of
the altar in Bethel
13:1 There came to Bethel at
Yahweh's command a man of God from Judah, just as Jeroboam was standing by the
altar to offer the sacrifice,
13:2 and at Yahweh's command
this man denounced the altar. 'Altar, altar,' he said 'Yahweh says this,
"A son shall be born to the House of David, Josiah by name, who shall
immolate on you the priests of the high places who have offered sacrifice on
you, and on you shall he burn the bones of men".'
13:3 At the same time he gave
a sign. 'This is the sign' he said 'that Yahweh has spoken, "This altar
here will burst apart and the ashes that are on it will be scattered".'
13:4 When the king heard how
the man of God denounced the altar of Bethel, he stretched out his hand from
the altar, saying, 'Seize him!' But the hand he stretched out against the man
withered, and he could not draw it back,
13:5 and the altar burst apart
and the ashes from the altar were scattered, in accordance with the sign given
by the man of God at Yahweh's command.
13:6 The king said to the man
of God, 'I beg you to placate Yahweh your God, and so restore me the use of my
hand'. The man of God placated Yahweh; the king's hand was restored as it had
been before.
13:7 The king then said to the
man of God, 'Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a
present';
13:8 but the man of God answered
the king, 'Were you to give me half your house, I would not go with you. I will
eat and drink nothing here,
13:9 for I have had Yahweh's
order: "You are to eat or drink nothing, nor to return by the way you
came".'
13:10 And he left by another
road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
The man of God and
the prophet[*a]
13:11 Now there was an old
prophet living in Bethel and his sons came to tell him all that the man of God
had done in Bethel that day; and the words he had said to the king, they told
these to their father too.
13:12 'Which road did he
take?' their father asked. His sons showed him the road that the man of God who
came from Judah had taken.
13:13 'Saddle the donkey for
me' he said to his sons; they saddled he donkey for him and he mounted.
13:14 He followed the man of
God and found him sitting under a terebinth. 'Are you the man of God' he said
'who came from Judah?' 'I am' he replied.
13:15 'Come home with me' he
said 'and take some food.'
13:16 'I cannot go back with
you', he answered 'or eat or drink anything here,
13:17 for I have received
Yahweh's order: "You are to eat or drink nothing there, nor to return by
the way you came".'
13:18 'I too am a prophet like
you,' the other replied 'and an angel told me this by Yahweh's order:
"Bring him back with you to your house to eat and drink".' He was
lying to him.
13:19 The man of God went back
with him; he ate and drank at his house.
13:20 As they were sitting at
table a word of Yahweh came to the prophet who had brought him back,
13:21 and he addressed the man
of God who came from Judah. 'Yahweh says this,' he said '"Since you have
defied Yahweh's command and not obeyed the orders Yahweh your God gave you,
13:22 but have come back and
eaten and drunk where he forbade you to eat or drink, your corpse will never
reach the tomb of your ancestors".'
13:23 After he had eaten and
drunk, the prophet saddled the donkey for him, and he turned about and went
away.
13:24 A lion met him on the
road and killed him; his corpse lay stretched out on the road; the donkey stood
there beside it; the lion stood by the corpse too.
13:25 People going by saw the
corpse lying on the road and the lion standing by the corpse, and went and
spoke about it in the town where the old prophet lived.
13:26 When the prophet who had
made the man turn back heard about it, he said, 'That is the man of God who
defied Yahweh's command! Yahweh has handed him over to the lion, which has
mauled and killed him, just as Yahweh had foretold it would.'
13:27 He said to his sons,
'Saddle the donkey for me', and they saddled it.
13:28 He set off and found the
man's corpse lying on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside the
corpse; the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor mauled the donkey.
13:29 The prophet lifted the
corpse of the man of God and put it on the donkey and brought it back to the
town where he lived to hold mourning for him and bury him.
13:30 He laid the corpse in
his own tomb, and they raised the mourning cry for him, 'Alas, my brother!'
13:31 After burying him, the
prophet said to his sons, 'When I die, bury me in the same tomb as the man of
God, lay my bones beside his.
13:32 For the word he uttered
at Yahweh's command against the altar of Bethel and against all the shrines of
the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.'
13:33 Jeroboam did not give up
his wicked ways after this incident, but went on appointing priests for the
high places from the common people. He consecrated as priests of the high places
any who wished to be.
13:34 Such conduct made the
House of Jeroboam a sinful House, and caused its ruin and extinction from the
face of the earth.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
14
IV. THE TWO
KINGDOMS UNTIL ELIJAH
Continuation of the
reign of Jeroboam I (931-910)
14:1 At that time Abijah,
Jeroboam's son, fell sick,
14:2 and Jeroboam said to his
wife, 'Come, please disguise yourself so that no one will recognise you as
Jeroboam's wife, and go to Shiloh; the prophet Ahijah is there, the man who
said I was to be king over this people.
14:3 Go to him, and take ten
loaves and some savoury food and a jar of honey; he will tell you what will
happen to the child.'
14:4 Jeroboam's wife did this:
she set out, went to Shiloh and came to Ahijah's house. Now Ahijah could not
see, his eyes were dimmed with age,
14:5 but Yahweh had told him,
'Jeroboam's wife is now on her way to ask you for an oracle about her son, as
he is sick. You will tell her such and such. When she comes, she will pretend
to be some other woman.'
14:6 So when Ahijah heard her
footsteps at the door, he called, 'Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why pretend to be
someone else? I have bad news for you.
14:7 Go and tell Jeroboam,
"Yahweh says this, the God of Israel: I raised you from the people and
made you leader of my people Israel; I tore the kingdom from the House of David
and gave it to you.
14:8 But you have not been
like my servant David who kept my commandments and followed me with all his
heart doing only what is right in my eyes;
14:9 you have done more evil
than all your predecessors, you have gone and made yourself other gods, idols
of cast metal, provoking my anger, and you have turned your back on me.
14:10 For this I will bring
disaster on the House of Jeroboam, I will wipe out every male belonging to the
family of Jeroboam, fettered or free in Israel, I will sweep away the House of
Jeroboam as a man sweeps dung away till none is left.
14:11 Those of Jeroboam's
family who die in the city, the dogs will eat; and those who die in the open
country, the birds of the air will eat, for Yahweh has spoken."
14:12 Now get up and go home;
at the moment your feet enter the town, the child will die.
14:13 All Israel will mourn
for him, and bury him; and he alone of Jeroboam's household will go to the
tomb, for it is in him alone of the House of Jeroboam that anything pleasing to
Yahweh, the God of Israel, is found.
14:14 Yahweh will raise up a
king for himself over Israel to wipe out the House of Jeroboam.
14:15 Yahweh will make Israel
shake as a reed shakes in the water, he will uproot Israel from this prosperous
land which he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the river for
provoking Yahweh to anger by making their sacred poles.
14:16 He will abandon Israel
for the sins Jeroboam has committed and made Israel commit.'
14:17 Jeroboam's wife rose and
left. She arrived at Tirzah[*a] and when she crossed the threshold of the
house, the child was already dead.
14:18 They buried him, and all
Israel mourned him, just as Yahweh had foretold through his servant Ahijah the
prophet.
14:19 The rest of the history
of Jeroboam, what wars he waged, how he governed, these may be found recorded
in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
14:20 Jeroboam's reign lasted
twenty two years; then he slept with his ancestors; his son Nadab succeeded
him.
The reign of
Rehoboam (931-913)
14:21 In Judah Rehoboam son of
Solomon became king; he was forty-one years old when he came to the throne and
he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which Yahweh had chosen
out of all the tribes of Israel, to give his name a home there. His mother's
name was Naamah, the Ammonitess.
14:22 He did what is
displeasing to Yahweh, arousing his resentment more than his ancestors did by
all the sins they committed,
14:23 they who had built
themselves high places, and had set up pillars and sacred poles on every high
hill and under every spreading tree.
14:24 There were even men in
the country who were sacred prostitutes. He copied all the shameful practices
of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed for the sons of Israel.
14:25 In the fifth year of
Rehoboam, Shishak the king of Egypt marched on Jerusalem.
14:26 He took all the
treasures from the Temple of Yahweh and the treasures from the royal palace, he
took everything, including all the golden shields that Solomon had made;
14:27 in place of them King
Rehoboam had bronze shields made, entrusting them to the care of the officers
of the guard who guarded the king's palace gate.
14:28 Whenever the king went
to the Temple of Yahweh, the guards would carry them, returning them to the
guardroom afterwards.
14:29 The rest of the history
of Rehoboam, his entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the
Annals of the Kings of Judah?
14:30 Rehoboam and Jeroboam
were at war with each other throughout their reigns.
14:31 Then Rehoboam slept with
his ancestors and was buried in the Citadel of David; his son Abijam succeeded
him.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
15
The reign of Abijam
in Judah (913-911)
15:1 In the eighteenth year of
King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah
15:2 and reigned for three
years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah, daughter of Absalom.
15:3 He followed the sinful
example of his father before him in everything; his heart was not wholly with
Yahweh his God, as the heart of David his ancestor had been.
15:4 However, for David's
sake, Yahweh his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, assuring him sons after him
and keeping Jerusalem secure;
15:5 for David had done what
is right in the eyes of Yahweh and had never in all his life disobeyed whatever
he ordered him.
(6)7 The rest of the history
of Abijam, his entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the
Annals of the Kings of Judah? Abijam and Jeroboam were at war with each other.
15:8 Then Abijam slept with
his ancestors and they buried him in the Citadel of David; his son Asa
succeeded him.
The reign of Asa in
Judah (911-870)
15:9 In the twentieth year of
Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah
15:10 and reigned for
forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah, daughter of
Absalom.
15:11 Asa did what is right in
the eyes of Yahweh, as his ancestor David had done.
15:12 He drove out of the
country the men who had been sacred prostitutes and cleared away all the idols
his ancestors had made.
15:13 He even deprived his
grandmother of the dignity of queen mother for making an obscenity for Asherah;
Asa cut down her obscenity and burned it in the wadi
15:14 Though the high places
were not abolished, the heart of Asa was wholly with Yahweh throughout his
life.
15:15 He deposited the
offerings dedicated by his father and his own offerings too, in the Temple of
Yahweh, silver and gold and furnishings.
15:16 Asa and Baasha king of
Israel were at war with each other as long as they lived.
15:17 Baasha king of Israel
marched on Judah and fortified Ramah to blockade Asa king of Judah.
15:18 Asa then took the
remaining silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of Yahweh and the
royal palace. Entrusting this to his servants, he sent them with the following
message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion, the king of Aram who lived
in Damascus,
15:19 An alliance between
myself and you, as between my father and your father! With this I send you a
gift of silver and gold. Come, break off your alliance with Baasha king of
Israel, and he will have to retire from my territory.'
15:20 Ben-hadad agreed, and
sent his generals against the towns of Israel; he conquered Ijon, Dan,
Abel-beth-maacah, all Chinneroth, and the whole land of Naphtali too.
15:21 When Baasha heard this
he gave up fortifying Ramah and returned to Tirzah.
15:22 King Asa then summoned
the whole of Judah, no one was exempt; they took away the stones and timber
with which Baasha had been fortifying Ramah, and with them the king fortified
Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.
15:23 The rest of the history
of Asa, all his valour, his entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book
of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he suffered from
a disease of the feet.
15:24 Then Asa slept with his
ancestors and was buried in the Citadel of David his ancestor; his son
Jehoshaphat succeeded him.
The reign of Nadab
in Israel (910-909)
15:25 Nadab son of Jeroboam
became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned
over Israel for two years.
15:26 He did what is
displeasing to Yahweh; he copied his father's example and the sin into which he
had led Israel.
15:27 Baasha son of Ahijah, of
the House of Issachar, plotted against him and murdered him at Gibbethon, a
Philistine town which Nadab and all Israel were besieging.
15:28 Baasha killed Nadab and
succeeded him in the third year of Asa king of Judah.
15:29 No sooner was he king
than he butchered the entire House of Jeroboam, not sparing a soul, and wiped
it out, just as Yahweh had foretold through his servant Ahijah of Shiloh,
15:30 because of the sins into
which he had led Israel, and because he had provoked the anger of Yahweh, the
God of Israel.
15:31 The rest of the history
of Nadab, his entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals
of the Kings of Israel?[* ](32)a
The reign of Baasha
in Israel (909-889)
15:33 In the third year of Asa
king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of Israel at Tirzah for
twenty-four years.
15:34 He did what is
displeasing to Yahweh; he copied the example of Jeroboam and the sin into which
he had led Israel.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
16
16:1 The word of Yahweh came
to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha,
16:2 'I raised you from the
dust and made you leader of my people Israel, but you have followed Jeroboam's
example and led my people Israel into sins that provoke my anger.
16:3 Now I will sweep away
Baasha and his House; I will make your House like the House of Jeroboam son of
Nebat.
16:4 Those of Baasha's family
who die in the city, the dogs will eat; and those who die in the open country,
the birds of the air will eat.'
16:5 The rest of the history
of Baasha, his career, his valour, is not all this recorded in the Book of the
Annals of the Kings of Israel?
16:6 Then Baasha slept with
his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah; his son Elah succeeded him.
16:7 Furthermore, the word of
Yahweh was delivered through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and
his House, firstly because of all the evil he did in the sight of Yahweh,
provoking him to anger by his actions and becoming like the House of Jeroboam;
secondly because he destroyed that House.
The reign of Elah
in Israel (886-885)
16:8 In the twenty-sixth year
of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel at Tirzah, for
two years.
16:9 Zimri, one of his
officers, captain of half his chariotry, plotted against him. While he was at
Tirzah, drinking himself senseless in the house of Arza who was master of the
palace in Tirzah,
16:10 Zimri came in, struck
him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and
succeeded him.
16:11 On his accession, as
soon as he was seated on the throne, he butchered Baasha's entire family, not
leaving him a single male, or any relations, or friends.
16:12 Zimri destroyed the
whole House of Baasha, in accordance with the word which Yahweh had spoken
through the prophet Jehu,
16:13 because of all the sins of
Baasha and his son Elah into which they had led Israel, provoking the anger of
Yahweh, the God of Israel, with their useless idols.
16:14 The history of Elah, his
entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings
of Israel?
The reign of Zimri
in Israel (885)
16:15 In the twenty-seventh
year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri became king for seven days, in Tirzah. The
people were then encamped in front of Gibbethon, a Philistine town.
16:16 When news reached the
camp of how Zimri had not only plotted against but actually killed the king,
all Israel proclaimed Omri, their general, king of Israel in the camp the same
day.
16:17 Omri, and all Israel
with him, raised the siege of Gibbethon and laid siege to Tirzah.
16:18 When Zimri saw that the
town was captured, he went into the keep of the royal palace, burned the palace
over his own head, and died.
16:19 This was because of the
sin he committed by doing what is displeasing to Yahweh, by copying the example
of Jeroboam and the sin into which he had led Israel.
16:20 The rest of the history
of Zimri and the plot he hatched, is not all this recorded in the Book of the
Annals of the Kings of Israel?
16:21 The people of Israel
then split into two factions: one half following Tibni son of Ginath to make
him king, the other half following Omri.
16:22 But the faction of Omri
proved stronger than that of Tibni son of Ginath; Tibni died, and Omri became
king.
The reign of Omri
in Israel (885-874)
16:23 In the thirty-first year
of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel and reigned for twelve years.
He reigned for six years in Tirzah.
16:24 Then for two talents of
silver he bought a hill from Shemer and on it built a town which he named
Samaria after Shemer who had owned the hill.
16:25 Omri did what is
displeasing to Yahweh, and was worse than all his predecessors.
16:26 In every way he copied
the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the sins into which he had led Israel,
provoking the anger of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with their useless idols.
16:27 The rest of the history
of Omri, his career, his valour, is not all this recorded in the Book of the
Annals of the Kings of Israel?
16:28 Then Omri slept with his
ancestors and was buried in Samaria; his son Ahab succeeded him.
Introduction to the
reign of Ahab (874-853)
16:29 Ahab son of Omri became
king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over
Israel for twenty-two years in Samaria.
16:30 Ahab son of Omri did
what is displeasing to Yahweh, and was worse than all his predecessors.
16:31 The least that he did
was to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam son of Nebat: he married Jezebel,
the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians[*a] and then proceeded to serve
Baal and worship him.
16:32 He erected an altar to
him in the temple of Baal which he built in Samaria.
16:33 Ahab also put up a
sacred pole and committed other crimes as well, provoking the anger of Yahweh,
the God of Israel, more than all the kings of Israel who were his predecessors.
16:34 It was in his time that
Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho; he laid its foundations at the price of Abiram,
his first-born; its gates he erected at the price of his youngest son
Segub,[*b] just as Yahweh had foretold through Joshua son of Nun.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
17
V. THE ELIJAH CYCLE
A. THE GREAT
DROUGHT
Elijah foretells
the drought
17:1 Elijah the Tishbite, of
Tishbe in Gilead said to Ahab, 'As Yahweh lives, the God of Israel whom I
serve, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except at my order'.
At the wadi Cherith
17:2 The word of Yahweh came
to him,
17:3 'Go away from here, go
eastwards, and hide yourself in the wadi Cherith which lies east of Jordan.
17:4 You can drink from the
stream, and I have ordered the ravens to bring you food there.'
17:5 He did as Yahweh had
said; he went and stayed in the wadi Cherith which lies east of Jordan.
17:6 The ravens brought him
bread in the morning and meat in the evening, and he quenched his thirst at the
stream.
At Zarephath. The miracle of
the flour and the oil
17:7 But after a while the
stream dried up, for the country had no rain.
17:8 And then the word of
Yahweh came to him,
17:9 'Up and go to Zarephath,
a Sidonian town, and stay there. I have ordered a widow there to give you
food.'
17:10 So he went off to Sidon.
And when he reached the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks;
addressing her he said, 'Please bring a little water in a vessel for me to
drink'.
17:11 She was setting off to
bring it when he called after her. 'Please' he said 'bring me a scrap of bread
in your hand.'
17:12 'As Yahweh your God
lives,' she replied 'I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar
and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare
this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.'
17:13 But Elijah said to her,
'Do not be afraid, go and do as you have said; but first make a little scone of
it for me and bring it to me, and then make some for yourself and for your son.
17:14 For thus Yahweh speaks,
the God of Israel: "Jar of meal shall not be spent, jug of oil shall not
be emptied, before the day when Yahweh sends rain on the face of the
earth".'
17:15 The woman went and did
as Elijah told her and they ate the food, she, himself and her son.
17:16 The jar of meal was not
spent nor the jug of oil emptied, just as Yahweh had foretold through Elijah.
The widow's son
raised to life
17:17 It happened after this
that the son of the mistress of the house fell sick; his illness was so severe
that in the end he had no breath left in him.
17:18 And the woman said to
Elijah, 'What quarrel have you with me, man of God? Have you come here to bring
my sins home to me and to kill my son?'
17:19 'Give me your son' he
said, and taking him from her lap, carried him to the upper room where he was
staying and laid him on his own bed.
17:20 He cried out to Yahweh,
'Yahweh my God, do you mean to bring grief to the widow who is looking after me
by killing her son?'
17:21 He stretched himself on
the child three times and cried out to Yahweh, 'Yahweh my God, may the soul of
this child, I beg you, come into him again!'
17:22 Yahweh heard the prayer
of Elijah and the soul of the child returned to him again and he revived. '
17:23 Elijah took the child,
brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his
mother. 'Look,' Elijah said 'your son is alive.'
17:24 And the woman replied,
'Now I know you are a man of God and the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth
itself'.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
18
Elijah and Obadiah
18:1 A long time went by, and
the word of Yahweh came to Elijah in the third year, 'Go, present yourself to
Ahab; I am about to send down rain on the land'.
18:2 So Elijah set off to
present himself to Ahab. As the famine was particularly severe in Samaria,
18:3 Ahab summoned Obadiah,
the master of the palace - Obadiah held Yahweh in great reverence:
18:4 when Jezebel was
butchering the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took a hundred of them and hid them,
fifty at a time, in a cave, and kept them provided with food and water -
18:5 and Ahab said to Obadiah,
'Come along, we must scour the country, all the springs and all the wadis in
the hope of finding grass to keep horses and mules alive, or we shall have to
slaughter some of our stock'.
18:6 They divided the country
for the purpose of their survey; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went
another way by himself.
18:7 While Obadiah was on his
way, whom should he meet but Elijah; recognising him he fell on his face and
said, 'So it is you, my lord Elijah!'
18:8 'Yes,' he replied 'go and
tell your master, "Elijah is here".'
18:9 But Obadiah said, 'What
sin have I committed, for you to put your servant in Ahab's power and cause my
death?
18:10 As Yahweh your God
lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent in search of
you; and when they said, "He is not there", he made the kingdom or
nation swear on oath that they did not know where you were.
18:11 And now you say to me,
"Go and tell your master: Elijah is here".
18:12 But as soon as I leave
you, the spirit of Yahweh will carry you away and I shall not know where; I
shall come and tell Ahab; he will not be able to find you, and will kill me.
Yet from his youth your servant has revered Yahweh.
18:13 Has no one told my lord
what I did when Jezebel butchered the prophets of Yahweh, how I hid a hundred
of them in a cave, fifty at a time, and kept them provided with food and water?
18:14 And now you say to me,
"Go and tell your master: Elijah is here". Why, he will kill me!'
Elijah replied,
18:15 As Yahweh Sabaoth lives,
whom I serve, I shall present myself before him today!'
Elijah and Ahab
18:16 Obadiah went to find
Ahab and tell him the news, and Ahab then went to find Elijah.
18:17 When he saw Elijah, Ahab
said, 'So there you are, you scourge of Israel!'
18:18 'Not I,' he replied 'I
am not the scourge of Israel, you and your family are; because you have
deserted Yahweh and gone after the Baals.
18:19 Now give orders for all
Israel to gather round me on Mount Carmel, and also the four hundred prophets
of Baal who eat at Jezebel's table.'
The sacrifice on
Carmel
18:20 Ahab called all Israel
together and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
18:21 Elijah stepped out in
front of all the people. 'How long' he said 'do you mean to hobble first on one
leg then on the other? If Yahweh is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.' But
the people never said a word.
18:22 Elijah then said to
them, 'I, I alone, am left as a prophet of Yahweh, while the prophets of Baal
are four hundred and fifty.
18:23 Let two bulls be given
us; let them choose one for themselves, dismember it and lay it on the wood,
but not set fire to it. I in my turn will prepare the other bull, but not set
fire to it.
18:24 You must call on the
name of your god, and I shall call on the name of mine; the god who answers
with fire, is God indeed.' The people all answered, 'Agreed!'
18:25 Elijah then said to the
prophets of Baal, 'Choose one bull and begin, for there are more of you. Call
on the name of your god but light no fire.'
18:26 They took the bull and
prepared it, and from morning to midday they called on the name of Baal. 'O
Baal, answer us!' they cried, but there was no voice, no answer, as they
performed their hobbling dance round the altar they had made.
18:27 Midday came, and Elijah
mocked them. 'Call louder,' he said 'for he is a god: he is preoccupied or he
is busy, or he has gone on a journey; perhaps he is asleep and will wake up.'
18:28 So they shouted louder
and gashed themselves, as their custom was, with swords and spears until the
blood flowed down them.
18:29 Midday passed, and they
ranted on until the time the offering is presented;[*a] but there was no voice,
no answer, no attention given to them.
18:30 Then Elijah said to all
the people, 'Come closer to me', and all the people came closer to him. He
repaired the altar of Yahweh which had been broken down.
18:31 Elijah took twelve
stones, corresponding to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom
the word of Yahweh had come, 'Israel shall be your name',
18:32 and built an altar in
the name of Yahweh. Round the altar he dug a trench of a size to hold two
measures of seed.
18:33 He then arranged the
wood, dismembered the bull, and laid it on the wood.
18:34 Then he said, 'Fill four
jars with water and pour it on the holocaust and on the wood'; this they did.
He said, 'Do it a second time'; they did it a second time. He said, 'Do it a
third time'; they did it a third time.
18:35 The water flowed round
the altar and the trench itself was full of water.
18:36 At the time when the
offering is presented, Elijah the prophet stepped forward. 'Yahweh, God of
Abraham, Isaac and Israel,' he said 'let them know today that you are God in
Israel, and that I am your servant, that I have done all these things at your
command.
18:37 Answer me, Yahweh,
answer me, so that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God and are
winning back their hearts.'
18:38 Then the fire of Yahweh
fell and consumed the holocaust and wood and licked up the water in the
trench.
18:39 When all the people saw
this they fell on their faces. 'Yahweh is God,' they cried 'Yahweh is God.'
18:40 Elijah said, 'Seize the
prophets of Baal: do not let one of them escape'. They seized them, and Elijah
took them down to the wadi Kishon, and he slaughtered them there.
The drought ends
18:41 Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go
back, eat and drink; for I hear the sound of rain'.
18:42 While Ahab went back to
eat and drink, Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel and bowed down to the earth,
putting his face between his knees.
18:43 'Now go up,' he told his
servant 'and look out to the sea.' He went up and looked. 'There is nothing at
all' he said. 'Go back seven times' Elijah said.
18:44 The seventh time, the
servant said, 'Now there is a cloud, small as a man's hand, rising from the
sea'. Elijah said, 'Go and say to Ahab, "Harness the chariot and go down
before the rain stops you"'.
18:45 And with that the sky
grew dark with cloud and storm, and rain fell in torrents. Ahab mounted his
chariot and made for Jezreel.
18:46 The hand of Yahweh was
on Elijah, and tucking up his cloak he ran in front of Ahab as far as the
outskirts of Jezreel.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
19
B. ELIJAH AT HOREB
The journey to
Horeb
19:1 When Ahab told Jezebel
all that Elijah had done, and how he had put all the prophets to the sword,
19:2 Jezebel sent a messenger
to Elijah to say, 'May the gods do this to me and more, if by this time
tomorrow I have not made your life like the life of one of them!'
19:3 He was afraid and fled
for his life. He came to Beersheba, a town of Judah, where he left his servant.
19:4 He himself went on into
the wilderness, a day's journey, and sitting under a furze bush wished he were
dead. 'Yahweh,' he said 'I have had enough. Take my life; I am no better than
my ancestors.'
19:5 Then he lay down and went
to sleep. But an angel touched him and said, 'Get up and eat'.
19:6 He looked round, and
there at his head was a scone baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate
and drank and then lay down again.
19:7 But the angel of Yahweh
came back a second time and touched him and said, 'Get up and eat, or the
journey will be too long for you'.
19:8 So he got up and ate and
drank, and strengthened by that food he walked for forty days and forty nights
until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
The encounter with
God
19:9 There he went into the
cave[*a] and spent the night in it. Then the word of Yahweh came to him saying,
'What are you doing here, Elijah?'
19:10 He replied, 'I am filled
with jealous zeal for Yahweh Sabaoth, because the sons of Israel have deserted
you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to the sword. I am the only
one left, and they want to kill me.'
19:11 Then he was told, 'Go
out and stand on the mountain before Yahweh'. Then Yahweh himself went by.
There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the
rocks before Yahweh. But Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind came an
earthquake. But Yahweh was not in the earthquake.
19:12 After the earthquake
came a fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the
sound of a gentle breeze.
19:13 And when Elijah heard
this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance
of the cave. Then a voice came to him, which said, 'What are you doing here,
Elijah?'
19:14 He replied, 'I am filled
with jealous zeal for Yahweh Sabaoth, because the sons of Israel have deserted
you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to the sword. I am the only
one left and they want to kill me.'
19:15 'Go,' Yahweh said 'go
back by the same way to the wilderness of Damascus. You are to go and anoint
Hazael as king of Aram.
19:16 You are to anoint Jehu
son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and to anoint Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel
Meholah, as prophet to succeed you.
19:17 Anyone who escapes the
sword of Hazael will be put to death by Jehu; and anyone who escapes the sword
of Jehu will be put to death by Elisha.
19:18 But I shall spare seven thousand
in Israel: all the knees that have not bent before Baal, all the mouths that
have not kissed him.'
The call of Elisha
19:19 Leaving there, he came
on Elisha son of Shaphat as he was ploughing behind twelve yoke of oxen, he
himself being with the twelfth. Elijah passed near to him and threw his cloak
over him.
19:20 Elisha left his oxen and
ran after Elijah. 'Let me kiss my father and mother, then I will follow you' he
said. Elijah answered, 'Go, go back; for have I done anything to you?'
19:21 Elisha turned away, took
the pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He used the plough for cooking the oxen,
then gave to his men, who ate. He then rose, and followed Elijah and became his
servant.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
20
C. THE ARAMAEAN
WARS
The siege of
Samaria
20:1 Ben-hadad king of
Aram[*a] mustered his whole army - thirty-two kings were with him, and horses
and chariots - and went up to lay siege to Samaria and storm it.
20:2 He sent messengers into
the city to Ahab king of Israel to tell him,
20:3 'Thus says Ben-hadad,
"Your silver and gold are mine; you may keep your wives and
children".'
20:4 "The king of Israel
replied, 'As you command, my lord king. Myself and all I have are yours.'
20:5 But the messengers came
back and said, 'Ben-hadad says this, "I sent you this order: Hand over
your silver and your gold, your wives and your children.
20:6 Count on it that this
time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your house and your servants'
houses and lay hands on all they fancy and take it away."'
20:7 The king of Israel
summoned all the elders of the land and said, 'You can see clearly how this man
intends to ruin us. He now claims my wives and my children, although I have not
refused him my silver and my gold.'
20:8 All the elders and all
the people said, 'Take no notice. Do not consent'.
20:9 So he gave this answer to
Ben-hadad's messengers, 'Say to my lord the king, "All you first required
of your servant I will do, but this I cannot do"'. And the messengers went
back with the answer.
20:10 Ben-hadad then sent him
the following message, 'May the gods do this to me and more if there are enough
handfuls of rubble in Samaria for all the people in my following'.
20:11 But the king of Israel
returned this answer, 'The proverb says: The man who puts on his armour is not
the one who can boast, but the man who takes it off'.
20:12 When Ben-hadad heard
this message - he was under the awnings drinking with the kings - he gave
orders to his servants, 'Take post!' And they took up their positions against
the city.
Victory for Israel
20:13 A prophet then arrived,
looking for Ahab king of Israel. 'Yahweh says this' he said. 'You have seen
this mighty army? This very day I will deliver it into your hands, and you
shall know that I am Yahweh.'
20:14 'By whose means?' asked
Ahab. The prophet replied, 'Yahweh says this, "By means of the young
soldiers of the district governors"'. 'Who is to open the attack?' Ahab
asked. 'Yourself' the prophet answered.
20:15 So Ahab inspected the
young soldiers of the district governors: there were two hundred and
thirty-two. After these he reviewed the whole army, all the Israelites: there
were seven thousand.
20:16 They made a sortie at
midday, when Ben-hadad was drinking himself senseless under the awnings, he and
the thirty-two kings who were his allies.
20:17 The young soldiers of
the district governors led the sortie. Ben-hadad was informed, 'Some men have
come out of Samaria'.
20:18 He said, 'If they have
come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them
alive too'.
20:19 So they made a sortie
from the town, the young soldiers of the district governors and behind them the
army,
20:20 and each struck down his
man. Aram took to flight and Israel pursued; Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on
a chariot horse.
20:21 Then the king of Israel
came out, capturing horses and chariots and inflicting a great defeat on Aram.
Respite
20:22 The prophet went up to
the king of Israel. 'Come,' he said to him 'take courage and think carefully
what you should do, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will march
against you.'
20:23 The servants of the king
of Aram said to him, 'Their god is a god of the mountains; that is why they
have proved stronger than us. But if we fight them on level ground, we will
certainly beat them.
20:24 This is what you must
do: remove all these kings from their posts and appoint commanders instead.
20:25 You, for your part, must
recruit an army as large as the one that deserted you, with as many horses and
as many chariots; then if we fight them on level ground, we will certainly beat
them.' He listened to their advice and acted accordingly.
The victory of
Aphek
20:26 At the turn of the year,
Ben-hadad mustered the Aramaeans and went up to Aphek to fight Israel.
20:27 The Israelites had also
mustered, and marched out to meet them. Encamped opposite them, the Israelites
looked like two herds of goats, whereas the Aramaeans filled the countryside.
20:28 The man of God accosted
the king of Israel. 'Yahweh says this' he said. '"Since Aram has said that
Yahweh is a god of the mountains and not a god of the plains, I will put all
this mighty host into your power, and you shall know that I am Yahweh."'
20:29 For seven days they were
encamped opposite each other. On the seventh day battle was joined and the
Israelites slaughtered the Aramaeans, a hundred thousand foot soldiers[*b] in
one day.
20:30 The rest fled to Aphek,
into the town itself, but the walls fell down on the twenty-seven thousand who
remained. Now Ben-hadad had fled and taken refuge within the town in an inner
room.
20:31 'Look,' his servants
said to him 'we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful kings. Let us
put sackcloth round our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of
Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.'
20:32 So they wrapped
sackcloth round their waists and put ropes on their heads and went to the king
of Israel, and said, 'Your servant Ben-hadad says, "Spare my life"'.
'So he is still alive?' he answered. 'He is my brother.'[*c]
20:33 The men took this for a
good omen and quickly seized on his words. 'Yes,' they said 'Ben-hadad is your
brother.' Ahab said, 'Go and fetch him'. Then Ben-hadad came out to him and
Ahab made him get up into his chariot.
20:34 Ben-hadad said, 'I will
restore the towns my father took from your father and you may set up bazaars
for yourself in Damascus as my father did in Samaria. Myself, by the terms of
this treaty, you will set free.' So Ahab made a treaty with him and let him go
free.
A prophet condemns
Ahab's policy
20:35 At Yahweh's order a
member of the brotherhood of prophets said to a companion of his, 'Strike me',
but the man refused to strike him.
20:36 So he said to him,
'Since you have disobeyed the order of Yahweh, the very moment you leave me a
lion will kill you'. And no sooner had he left him than he met a lion, which
killed him.
20:37 The prophet then went to
find another man and said, 'Strike me', and the man struck him and wounded him.
20:38 The prophet then went
and stood waiting for the king on the road, disguising himself with his
headband over his eyes.
20:38 As the king passed, he
called out to him, 'Your servant was making his way to where the fight was
thickest when someone left the fighting to bring a man to me, and said,
"Guard this man; if he is found missing, your life will pay for his, or
else you will have to pay one talent of silver".
20:40 But while your servant
was busy with one thing and another, the man disappeared.' The king of Israel
said, 'That is your sentence, then. You have pronounced it yourself.'
20:41 At this the man quickly
pulled off the headband covering his eyes, and the king of Israel recognised
him as one of the prophets.[*d]
20:42 He said to the king,
'Yahweh says this, "Since you have let the man escape who was under my
ban, your life will pay for his, your people for his people"'.
20:43 And off went the king of
Israel, gloomy and out of temper, on his way back to Samaria.
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
21
D. NABOTH'S
VINEYARD
Naboth refuses to
hand over his vineyard
21:1 This is what happened
next: Naboth of Jezreel had a vineyard close by the palace of Ahab king of
Samaria,
21:2 and Ahab said to Naboth,
'Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it adjoins my house; I
will give you a better vineyard for it or, if you prefer, I will give you its
worth in money'.
21:3 But Naboth answered Ahab,
'Yahweh forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors!'
Ahab and Jezebel
21:4 Ahab went home gloomy and
out of temper at the words of Naboth of Jezreel, 'I will not give you the
inheritance of my fathers'. He lay down on his bed and turned his face away and
refused to eat.
21:5 His wife Jezebel came to
him. 'Why are you so dispirited' she said 'that you will not eat?'
21:6 He said, 'I have been
speaking to Naboth of Jezreel; I said: Give me your vineyard either
for money or, if you prefer,
for another vineyard in exchange. But he said, "I will not give you my
vineyard".'
21:7 Then his wife Jezebel
said, 'You make a fine king of Israel, and no mistake! Get up and eat; cheer
up, and you will feel better; I will get you the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel
myself.'
Naboth is murdered
21:8 So she wrote letters in
Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, sending them to the elders and
nobles who lived where Naboth lived.
21:9 In the letters she wrote,
'Proclaim a fast, and put Naboth in the forefront of the people.
21:10 Confront him with a
couple of scoundrels who will accuse him like this, "You have cursed God
and the king" Then take him outside and stone him to death.'
21:11 The men of Naboth's
town, the elders and nobles who lived in his town, did what Jezebel ordered,
what was written in the letters she had sent them.
21:12 They proclaimed a fast
and put Naboth in the forefront of the people.
21:13 Then the two scoundrels
came and stood in front of him and made their accusation, 'Naboth has cursed
God and the king'. They led him outside the town and stoned him to death.
21:14 They then sent word to
Jezebel, 'Naboth has been stoned to death'.
21:15 When Jezebel heard that
Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, 'Get up! Take possession of
the vineyard which Naboth of Jezreel would not give you for money, for Naboth
is no longer alive, he is dead.'
21:16 When Ahab heard that
Naboth was dead, he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel and
take possession of it.
Elijah pronounces
God's sentence
21:17 Then the word of Yahweh
came to Elijah the Tishbite,
21:18 'Up! Go down to meet
Ahab king of Israel, in Samaria. You will find him in Naboth's vineyard; he has
gone down to take possession of it.
21:19 You are to say this to
him, "Yahweh says this: You have committed murder; now you usurp as well.
For this - and Yahweh says this - in the place where the dogs licked the blood
of Naboth, the dogs will lick your blood too."'
21:20 Ahab said to Elijah, 'So
you have found me out, O my enemy!' Elijah answered, 'I have found you out. For
your double dealing, and since you have done what is displeasing to Yahweh,
21:21 I will now bring
disaster down on you; I will sweep away your descendants, and wipe out every
male belonging to the family of Ahab, fettered or free in Israel.
21:22 I will treat your House
as I treated the House of Jeroboam son of Nebat and of Baasha son of Ahijah,
for provoking my anger and leading Israel into sin.
21:23 (Against Jezebel too
Yahweh spoke these words: The dogs will eat Jezebel in the Field of Jezreel.)
21:24 Those of Ahab's family
who die in the city, the dogs will eat; and those who die in the open country,
the birds of the air will eat.'
21:25 And indeed there never
was anyone like Ahab for double dealing and for doing what is displeasing to
Yahweh, urged on by Jezebel his wife.
21:26 He behaved in the most
abominable way, adhering to idols, just as the Amorites used to do whom Yahweh
had dispossessed for the sons of Israel.
Ahab repents
21:27 When Ahab heard these
words, he tore his garments and put sackcloth next his skin and fasted; he
slept in the sackcloth; he walked with slow steps.
21:28 Then the word of Yahweh
came to Elijah the Tishbite, 'Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before
me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in
his days; I will bring the disaster down on his House in the days of his son.'
JB 1 KINGS Chapter
22
E. ANOTHER WAR WITH
ARAM
Ahab plans a
campaign against Ramoth-gilead
22:1 There was a lull of three
years, with no fighting between Aram and Israel.
22:2 Then, in the third year,
Jehoshaphat king of Judah paid a visit to the king of Israel.
22:3 The king of Israel said
to his officers, 'You are aware that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us? And yet we do
nothing to wrest it away from the king of Aram.'
22:4 He said to Jehoshaphat,
'Will you come with me to fight at Ramoth-gilead?' Jehoshaphat answered the
king of Israel, 'I am as ready as you, my men as your men, my horses as your horses'.
The spurious
prophets predict success
22:5 Jehoshaphat, however,
said to the king of Israel, 'First, please consult the word of Yahweh'.
22:6 So the king of Israel
called the prophets together, about four hundred of them. 'Should I march to
attack Ramoth-gilead' he asked 'or should I refrain?' 'March,' they replied
'Yahweh will deliver it into the power of the king.'
22:7 But Jehoshaphat said, 'Is
there no other prophet of Yahweh here for us to consult?'
22:8 The king of Israel
answered Jehoshaphat, 'There is one more man through whom we can consult
Yahweh, but I hate him because he never has a favourable prophecy for me, only
unfavourable ones; he is Micaiah son of Imlah'. 'The king should not say such
things' Jehoshaphat said.
22:9 Accordingly the king of
Israel summoned one of the eunuchs and said, 'Bring Micaiah son of Imlah
immediately'.
22:10 The king of Israel and
Jehoshaphat king of Judah were both sitting on their thrones in full regalia,
at the threshing-floor outside the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets
raving in front of them.
22:11 Zedekiah son of
Chenaanah had made himself iron horns. 'Yahweh says this' he said. '"With
these you will gore the Aramaeans till you make an end of them."'
22:12 And all the prophets
prophesied the same. 'March to Ramoth-gilead' they said 'and conquer. Yahweh
will deliver it into the power of the king.'
The prophet Micaiah
predicts defeat
22:13 The messenger who had
gone to summon Micaiah said, 'Here are all the prophets as one man speaking
favourably to the king. Try to speak like one of them and foretell
success.''
22:14 But Micaiah answered,
'As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that will I utter!'
22:15 When he came to the
king, the king said, 'Micaiah, should we march to attack Ramoth-gilead, or
should we refrain?' He answered, 'March and conquer. Yahweh will deliver it
into the power of the king.'
22:16 But the king said, 'How
often must I put you on oath to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of
Yahweh?'
22:17 Then Micaiah spoke: 'I
have seen all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd.
And Yahweh said, "These have no master, let each go home
unmolested".'
22:18 At this the king of
Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'Did I not tell you that he never gives me
favourable prophecies, but only unfavourable ones?'
22:19 Micaiah went on, 'Listen
rather to the word of Yahweh. I have seen Yahweh seated on his throne; all the
array of heaven stood in his presence, on his right and on his left.
22:20 Yahweh said, "Who
will trick Ahab into marching to his death at Ramoth-gilead?" At which
some answered one way, and some another.
22:21 Then the spirit came
forward and stood before Yahweh. "I," he said "I will trick
him." "How?" Yahweh asked.
22:22 He replied, "I will
go and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets". "You
shall trick him," Yahweh said "you shall succeed. Go and do it."
22:23 Now see how Yahweh has
put a lying spirit into the mouths of all your prophets here. But Yahweh has
pronounced disaster on you.'
22:24 Then Zedekiah son of
Chenaanah came up and struck Micaiah on the jaw. 'Which way' he asked 'did the
spirit of Yahweh leave me, to talk to you?'
22:25 'That is what you will
find out,' Micaiah retorted 'the day you flee to an inner room to hide.'
22:26 The king of Israel said,
'Seize Micaiah and hand him over to Amon, governor of the city, and to Prince
Joash,
22:27 and say, "These are
the king's orders: Put this man in prison and feed him on nothing but bread and
water until I come back safe and sound"'.
22:28 Micaiah said, 'If you
come back safe and sound, Yahweh has not spoken through me'.
Ahab falls at
Ramoth-gilead
22:29 The king of Israel and
Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead.
22:30 The king of Israel said
to Jehoshaphat, 'I will disguise myself to go into battle, but I want you to
wear your royal uniform'. The king of Israel went into battle disguised.
22:31 The king of Aram had
given his chariot commanders the following order: 'Do not attack anyone of
whatever rank, except the king of Israel'.
22:32 When the chariot
commanders caught sight of Jehoshaphat, they said, 'That is obviously the king
of Israel'. And they wheeled to the attack. But Jehoshaphat shouted his war cry
22:33 and the chariot
commanders, realising that he was not the king of Israel, called off their
pursuit.
22:34 Now one of the men,
drawing his bow at random, hit the king of Israel between the corslet and the
scale-armour of his breastplate. 'Turn about' the king said to his charioteer.
'Get me out of the battle; I have been hurt.'
22:35 But the battle grew
fiercer as the day went on; the king was held upright in his chariot facing the
Aramaeans, and in. the evening he died; the blood from the wound flowed into
the bottom of the chariot.
22:36 At sundown a shout ran
through the camp, 'Every man back to his town, every man back to his country;
22:37 the king is dead!' They
went to Samaria, and in Samaria they buried the king.
22:38 They washed the chariot
at the Pool of Samaria; the dogs licked up the blood, and the prostitutes
washed in it, in accordance with the word that Yahweh had spoken.
F. AFTER THE DEATH
OF AHAB
The end of the
reign of Ahab
22:39 The rest of the history
of Ahab, his entire career, the ivory house he erected, all the towns he built,
is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?
22:40 Then Ahab slept with his
ancestors; his son Ahaziah succeeded him.
The reign of
Jehoshaphat in Judah (870-848)
22:41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa
became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.
22:42 Jehoshaphat was
thirty-five years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for
twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah, daughter of
Shilhi.
22:43 In every way he followed
the example of his father Asa undeviatingly, doing what is right in the eyes of
Yahweh.
22:44 The high places,
however, were not abolished; the people still offered sacrifice and incense on
the high places.
22:45 Jehoshaphat was at peace
with the king of Israel.
22:46 The rest of the history
of Jehoshaphat, the valour he showed, the wars he waged, is not all this
recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
22:47 The remaining male
sacred prostitutes of those who had lived in the time of his father Asa, he
swept out of the country.
22:48 There was no king in
Edom,
22:49 and King Jehoshaphat
built a ship of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but his ship never reached
there: it was wrecked at Ezion-geber.
22:50 Then Ahaziah son of Ahab
said to Jehoshaphat, 'Let my men man the ships with yours'. But Jehoshaphat
would not agree.
22:51 Then Jehoshaphat slept
with his ancestors and was buried in the Citadel of David, his ancestor; his
son Jehoram succeeded him.
King Ahaziah of Israel
and the prophet Elijah (853-852)
22:52 Ahaziah son of Ahab
became king of Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of
Judah, and reigned over Israel for two years.
22:53 He did what is
displeasing to Yahweh, by following the example of his father and mother, and
of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had led Israel into sin.
22:54 He served Baal and
worshipped him, and provoked the anger of Yahweh the God of Israel just as his
father had done.
END OF JB 1 KINGS
[22 Chapters].