I Kings 14-18

I Kings 14

¹At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill,

²and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Now get up, disguise yourself so they will not recognize you as my wife, and go to Shiloh. For Ahijah the prophet is there; it was he who spoke about my kingship over this people.

³Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the boy.”

⁴Jeroboam’s wife did as instructed; she arose and went to Shiloh and arrived at Ahijah’s house. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age.

⁵But the LORD had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill. You are to say such and such to her, because when she arrives, she will be disguised.”

⁶So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet entering the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you disguised? For I have been sent to you with bad news.

⁷Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over My people Israel.

⁸I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. But you were not like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, doing only what was right in My eyes.

⁹You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back.

¹⁰Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone!

¹¹Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.’ For the LORD has spoken.

¹²As for you, get up and go home. When your feet enter the city, the child will die.

¹³All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. For this is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will receive a proper burial, because only in him has the LORD, the God of Israel, found any good in the house of Jeroboam.

¹⁴Moreover, the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is the day—yes, even today!

¹⁵For the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that He gave their fathers, and He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking the LORD to anger.

¹⁶So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

¹⁷Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and departed for Tirzah, and as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died.

¹⁸And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

¹⁹As for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he waged war and how he reigned, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

²⁰And the length of Jeroboam’s reign was twenty-two years, and he rested with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.

²¹Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.

²²And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done.

²³They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

²⁴There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the abominations of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

²⁵In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem.

²⁶He seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made.

²⁷Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.

²⁸And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards would bear the shields, and later they would return them to the guardroom.

²⁹As for the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, along with all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

³⁰There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days.

³¹And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David; his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And his son Abijam reigned in his place.

I Kings 15

¹In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah,

²and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

³And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather had been.

⁴Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong.

⁵For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

⁶And there was war between the houses of Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Abijam’s life.

⁷As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

⁸And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.

⁹In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became king of Judah,

¹⁰and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done.

¹²He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

¹³He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁴The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.

¹⁵And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and other articles that he and his father had dedicated.

¹⁶Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days.

¹⁷Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:

¹⁹“Let there be a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

²⁰And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.

²¹When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.

²²Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.

²³Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet.

²⁴And Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.

²⁵In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years.

²⁶And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

²⁷Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging the city.

²⁸In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.

²⁹As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite,

³⁰because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he had provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.

³¹As for the rest of the acts of Nadab, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

³²And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days.

³³In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years.

³⁴And Baasha did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

I Kings 16

¹Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying:

²“Even though I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have caused My people Israel to sin and to provoke Me to anger by their sins.

³So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat:

⁴Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”

⁵As for the rest of the acts of Baasha, along with his accomplishments and might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

⁶And Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah reigned in his place.

⁷Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands and becoming like the house of Jeroboam, and also because Baasha had struck down the house of Jeroboam.

⁸In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

⁹However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.

¹⁰So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place.

¹¹As soon as Zimri began to reign and was seated on the throne, he struck down the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male, whether a kinsman or friend.

¹²So Zimri destroyed the entire household of Baasha, according to the word that the LORD had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet.

¹³This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.

¹⁴As for the rest of the acts of Elah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

¹⁵In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines,

¹⁶and the people in the camp heard that Zimri had not only conspired but had also struck down the king. So there in the camp that very day, all Israel proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.

¹⁷Then Omri and all the Israelites marched up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah.

¹⁸When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down upon himself. So he died

¹⁹because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD and following the example of Jeroboam and the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.

²⁰As for the rest of the acts of Zimri and the treason he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

²¹At that time the people of Israel were divided: Half of the people supported Tibni son of Ginath as king, and half supported Omri.

²²But the followers of Omri proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

²³In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.

²⁴He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill.

²⁵But Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD and acted more wickedly than all who were before him.

²⁶For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.

²⁷As for the rest of the acts of Omri, along with his accomplishments and the might he exercised, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

²⁸And Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his place.

²⁹In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty-two years.

³⁰However, Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.

³¹And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.

³²First, Ahab set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria.

³³Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.

³⁴In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.

I Kings 17

¹Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”

²Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah:

³“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.

⁴And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

⁵So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.

⁶The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook.

⁷Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

⁸Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah:

⁹“Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

¹⁰So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.”

¹¹And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”

¹²But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”

¹³“Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son,

¹⁴for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’”

¹⁵So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household.

¹⁶The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.

¹⁷Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him.

¹⁸“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”

¹⁹But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.

²⁰Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, by causing her son to die?”

²¹Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”

²²And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived.

²³Then Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. “Look, your son is alive,” Elijah declared.

²⁴Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.”

I Kings 18

¹After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”

²So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,

³and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,

⁴for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)

⁵Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”

⁶So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.

⁷Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”

⁸“It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”

⁹But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?

¹⁰As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.

¹¹And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’

¹²I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

¹³Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.

¹⁴And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”

¹⁵Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”

¹⁶So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

¹⁸“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.

¹⁹Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

²⁰So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.

²¹Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.

²²Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.

²³Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire.

²⁴Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”

²⁵Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”

²⁶And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.

²⁷At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”

²⁸So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.

²⁹Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.

³⁰Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.

³¹And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.”

³²And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.

³³Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood,

³⁴and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time.

³⁵So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

³⁶At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command.

³⁷Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.”

³⁸Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.

³⁹When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”

⁴⁰Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.

⁴¹And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”

⁴²So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees.

⁴³“Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant. So the servant went and looked, and he said, “There is nothing there.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

⁴⁴On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

⁴⁵Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.

⁴⁶And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.