Revised Version 1885 (RV1885)

1 Thus all the work that Solomon wrought for the house of theLordwas finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers’ houses of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of theLordout of the city of David, which is Zion.

3 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king at the feast, which wasinthe seventh month.

4 And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark,

5 and they brought up the ark, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent; these did the priests the Levites bring up.

6 And king Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

7 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of theLordunto its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.

8 For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof above:

9 And the staves were so long that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without: and there it is, unto this day.

10 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put there at Horeb, when theLordmade a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, (for all the priests that were present had sanctified themselves, and did not keep their courses;

12 also the Levites which were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brethren, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)

13 it came even to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking theLord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised theLord,saying, For he is good; for his mercyendurethfor ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of theLord,

14 so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of theLordfilled the house of God.

1 Then spake Solomon, TheLordhath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

2 But I have built thee an house of habitation, and a place for thee to dwell in for ever.

3 And the king turned his face, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.

4 And he said, Blessed be theLord, the God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hands fulfilled it, saying,

5 Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be prince over my people Israel:

6 but I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

7 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of theLord, the God of Israel.

8 But theLordsaid unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart:

9 nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.

10 And theLordhath performed his word that he spake; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as theLordpromised, and have built the house for the name of theLord, the God of Israel.

11 And there have I set the ark, wherein is the covenant of theLord, which he made with the children of Israel.

12 And he stood before the altar of theLordin the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:

13 (for Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:)

14 and he said, OLord, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in the heaven, or in the earth; who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their heart:

15 who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: yea, thou spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

16 Now therefore, OLord, the God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk in my law as thou hast walked before me.

17 Now therefore, OLord, the God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David.

18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have builded!

19 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, OLordmy God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:

20 that thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place.

21 And hearken thou to the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yea, hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.

22 If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and he comeandswear before thine altar in this house:

23 then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, requiting the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

24 And if thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall turn again and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house:

25 then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.

26 When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them:

27 then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

28 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpiller; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague or whatsoever sickness there be;

29 what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man his own plague and his own sorrow, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house:

30 then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of the children of men;)

31 that they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

32 Moreover concerning the stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; when they shall come and pay toward this house:

33 then hear thou from heaven, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built, is called by thy name.

34 If thy people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatsoever way thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

35 then hear thou from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive unto a land far off or near;

37 yet if they shall bethink themselves, in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have dealt wickedly;

38 if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captive, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:

39 then hear thou from heaven, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause; and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.

40 Now, O my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent, unto the prayer that is made in this place.

41 Now therefore arise, OLordGod, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, OLordGod, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.

42 OLordGod, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.

1 Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of theLordfilled the house.

2 And the priests could not enter into the house of theLord, because the glory of theLordfilled theLord’S house.

3 And all the children of Israel looked on, when the fire came down, and the glory of theLordwas upon the house; and they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and gave thanks unto theLord,saying, For he is good; for his mercyendurethfor ever.

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before theLord.

5 And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

6 And the priests stood, according to their offices; the Levites also with instruments of music of theLord, which David the king had made to give thanks unto theLord, for his mercyendurethfor ever, when David praised by their ministry: and the priests sounded trumpets before them; and all Israel stood.

7 Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of theLord; for there he offered the burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offering, and the meal offering, and the fat.

8 So Solomon held the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt.

9 And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.

10 And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh mouth he sent the people away unto their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that theLordhad shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.

11 Thus Solomon finished the house of theLord, and the king’s house: and all that came into Solomon’s heart to make in the house of theLord, and in his own house, he prosperously effected.

12 And theLordappeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.

13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

14 if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent, unto the prayer that is made in this place.

16 For now have I chosen and hallowed this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments;

18 then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.

19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them:

20 then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

21 And this house, which is so high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall say, Why hath theLorddone thus unto this land, and to this house?

22 And they shall answer, Because they forsook theLord, the God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

1 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of theLord, and his own house,

2 that the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwelt there.

3 And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it.

4 And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath.

5 Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars;

6 and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

7 As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel;

8 of their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, of them did Solomon raise a levyof bondservants, unto this day.

9 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.

10 And these were the chief officers of king Solomon, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people,

11 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of theLordhath come.

12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto theLordon the altar of theLord, which he had built before the porch,

13 even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times in the year,evenin the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.

14 And he appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise, and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the doorkeepers also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.

15 And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.

16 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of theLord, and until it was finished.Sothe house of theLordwas perfected.

17 Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, on the sea shore in the land of Edom.

18 And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and fetched from thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great train, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

2 And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was not any thing hid from Solomon which he told her not.

3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

4 and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants; and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of theLord; there was no more spirit in her.

5 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom.

6 Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: thou exceedest the fame that I heard.

7 Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.

8 Blessed be theLordthy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on his throne, to be king for theLordthy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.

9 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

10 And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir; brought algum trees and precious stones.

11 And the king made of the algum trees terraces for the house of theLord, and for the king’s house, and harps and psalteries for the singers; and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.

12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants.

13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;

14 beside that which the chapmen and merchants brought: and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundredshekelsof beaten gold went to one target.

16 Andhe madethree hundred shields of beaten gold; three hundredshekelsof gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.

18 And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays.

19 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

20 And all king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: silver was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.

21 For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: once every three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

22 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

24 And they brought very man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

26 And he ruled over all the kings from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.

28 And they brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt, and out of all lands.

29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.

2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, (for he was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon,) that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.

3 And they sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came, and they spake to Rehoboam, saying,

4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.

5 And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed.

6 And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?

7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants forever.

8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him.

9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?

10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.

11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but Iwill chastise youwith scorpions.

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me again the third day.

13 And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,

14 and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but Iwill chastise youwith scorpions.

15 So the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was brought about of God, that theLordmight establish his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So all Israel departed unto their tents.

17 But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

18 Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the levy; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day.

1 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

2 But the word of theLordcame to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

3 Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

4 Thus saith theLord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the words of theLord, and returned from going against Jeroboam.

5 And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.

6 He built even Beth-lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,

7 And Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam,

8 and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,

9 and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,

10 and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fenced cities.

11 And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and oil and wine.

12 And in every several cityhe putshields and spears, and made them exceeding strong. And Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.

13 And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their border.

14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest’s office unto theLord:

15 and he appointed him priests for the high places, and for the he-goats, and for the calves which he had made.

16 And after them, out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek theLord, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice unto theLord, the God of their fathers.

17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.

18 And Rehoboam took him a wife; Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David,and ofAbihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;

19 and she bare him sons; Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.

20 And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.

21 And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines, and begat twenty and eight sons and threescore daughters.)

22 And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief,eventhe prince among his brethren: forhe was mindedto make him king.

23 And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he soughtfor themmany wives.

1 And it came to pass, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was strong, that he forsook the law of theLord, and all Israel with him.

2 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against theLord,

3 with twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians.

4 And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came unto Jerusalem.

5 Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith theLord, Ye have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.

6 Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, TheLordis righteous.

7 And when theLordsaw that they humbled themselves, the word of theLordcame to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them: but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.

9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of theLord, and the treasures of the king’s house; he took all away: he took away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

10 And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, that kept the door of the king’s house.

11 And it was so, that as oft as the king entered into the house of theLord, the guard came and bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.

12 And when he humbled himself, the wrath of theLordturned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and moreover in Judah there were good thingsfound.

13 So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which theLordhad chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

14 And he did that which was evil, because he set not his heart to seek theLord.

15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the manner of genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.

1 In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah.

2 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

3 And Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of valour.

4 And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel;

5 Ought ye not to know that theLord, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up, and rebelled against his lord.

7 And there were gathered unto him vain men, sons of Belial, which strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them.

8 And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of theLordin the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

9 Have ye not driven out the priests of theLord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the peoples ofotherlands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest ofthem that areno gods.

10 But as for us, theLordis our God, and we have not forsaken him; andwe havepriests ministering unto theLord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work:

11 and they burn unto theLordevery morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense: the shewbread alsoset theyin order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of theLordour God; but ye have forsaken him.

12 And, behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against theLord, the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.

13 But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them.

14 And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them: and they cried unto theLord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.

15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand.

17 And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

18 Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon theLord, the God of their fathers.

19 And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephron with the towns thereof.

20 Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and theLordsmote him, and he died.

21 But Abijah waxed mighty, and took unto himself fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.

22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.

1 So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Asa his son reigned in his stead: in his days the land was quiet ten years.

2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of theLordhis God:

3 for he took away the strange altars, and the high places, and brake down the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim;

4 and commanded Judah to seek theLord, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years; because theLordhad given him rest.

7 For he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars; the land is yet before us, because we have sought theLordour God; we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

8 And Asa had an army that bare bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: an these were mighty men of valour.

9 And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and he came unto Mareshah.

10 Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11 And Asa cried unto theLordhis God, and said,Lord, there is none beside thee to help, between the mighty and him that hath no strength: help us, OLordour God; for we rely on thee, and in thy name are we come against this multitude. OLord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee;

12 So theLordsmote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before theLord, and before his host; and they carried away very much booty.

14 And they smote all the cities round shout Gerar; for the fear of theLordcame upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was much spoil in them:

15 They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep in abundance and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.