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1 Kings
| Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all
the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of
Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark
of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. |
| And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto
king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh
month. |
| And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests
took up the ark. |
| And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the
tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in
the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. |
| And king Solomon, and all the congregation of
Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark,
sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for
multitude. |
| And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant
of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most
holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. |
| For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over
the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves
thereof above. |
| And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the
staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were
not seen without: and there they are unto this day. |
| There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of
stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant
with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. |
| And it came to pass, when the priests were come out
of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, |
| So that the priests could not stand to minister
because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of
the LORD. |
| Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would
dwell in the thick darkness. |
| I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a
settled place for thee to abide in for ever. |
| And the king turned his face about, and blessed all
the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;) |
| And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel,
which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand
fulfilled it, saying, |
| Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel
out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build
an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my
people Israel. |
| And it was in the heart of David my father to build
an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. |
| And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it
was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that
it was in thine heart. |
| Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy
son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house
unto my name. |
| And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake,
and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne
of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of
the LORD God of Israel. |
| And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is
the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he
brought them out of the land of Egypt. |
| And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in
the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his
hands toward heaven: |
| And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God
like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant
and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: |
| Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that
thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast
fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. |
| Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy
servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall
not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that
thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou
hast walked before me. |
| And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee,
be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. |
| But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the
heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this
house that I have builded? |
| Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy
servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry
and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: |
| That thine eyes may be open toward this house night
and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be
there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall
make toward this place. |
| And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant,
and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and
hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive. |
| If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an
oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before
thine altar in this house: |
| Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy
servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and
justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. |
| When thy people Israel be smitten down before the
enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to
thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in
this house: |
| Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy
people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto
their fathers. |
| When 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 afflictest
them: |
| Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy
servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way
wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast
given to thy people for an inheritance. |
| If there be in the land famine, if there be
pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpillar; if
their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague,
whatsoever sickness there be; |
| What prayer and supplication soever be made by any
man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague
of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: |
| Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and
forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose
heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all
the children of men;) |
| That they may fear thee all the days that they live
in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. |
| Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy
people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; |
| (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy
strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray
toward this house; |
| Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do
according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people
of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel;
and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called
by thy name. |
| If thy people go out to battle against their enemy,
whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward
the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built
for thy name: |
| Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their
supplication, and maintain their cause. |
| 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 captives unto the land of the enemy,
far or near; |
| Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land
whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication
unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We
have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; |
| And so return unto thee with all their heart, and
with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away
captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto
their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I
have built for thy name: |
| Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication
in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, |
| And forgive thy people that have sinned against
thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed
against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them
captive, that they may have compassion on them: |
| For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which
thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of
iron: |
| That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of
thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken
unto them in all that they call for unto thee. |
| For thou didst separate them from among all the
people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the
hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of
Egypt, O Lord GOD. |
| And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of
praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from
before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands
spread up to heaven. |
| And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of
Israel with a loud voice, saying, |
| Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his
people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed
one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses
his servant. |
| The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our
fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: |
| That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in
all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his
judgments, which he commanded our fathers. |
| And let these my words, wherewith I have made
supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and
night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his
people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: |
| That all the people of the earth may know that the
LORD is God, and that there is none else. |
| Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD
our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at
this day. |
| And the king, and all Israel with him, offered
sacrifice before the LORD. |
| And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings,
which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an
hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of
Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. |
| The same day did the king hallow the middle of the
court that was before the house of the LORD for there he offered burnt
offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings:
because the brazen altar that was before the LORD was too little to
receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the
peace offerings. |
| And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all
Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath
unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven
days, even fourteen days. |
| On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they
blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for
all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for
Israel his people. |
| And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the
building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all
Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do, |
| That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time,
as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. |
| And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer
and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed
this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and
mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. |
| And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father
walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to
all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my
judgments: |
| Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon
Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall
not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. |
| But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or
your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I
have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: |
| Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I
have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will
I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among
all people: |
| And at this house, which is high, every one that
passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say,
Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? |
| And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD
their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and
have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served
them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil. |
| And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when
Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's
house, |
| (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon
with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his
desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of
Galilee. |
| And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which
Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. |
| And he said, What cities are these which thou hast
given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this
day. |
| And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold. |
| And this is the reason of the levy which king
Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house,
and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. |
| For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken
Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in
the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife. |
| And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether, |
| And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the
land, |
| And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and
cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which
Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the
land of his dominion. |
| And all the people that were left of the Amorites,
Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the
children of Israel, |
| Their children that were left after them in the
land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy,
upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day. |
| But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no
bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes,
and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen. |
| These were the chief of the officers that were over
Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people
that wrought in the work. |
| But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of
David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build
Millo. |
| And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt
offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the
LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So
he finished the house. |
| And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber,
which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. |
| And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen
that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. |
| And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence
gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon. |
| And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of
Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard
questions. |
| And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train,
with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones:
and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was
in her heart. |
| And Solomon told her all her questions: there was
not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. |
| And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's
wisdom, and the house that he had built, |
| And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his
servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and
his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the
LORD; there was no more spirit in her. |
| And she said to the king, It was a true report that
I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. |
| Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and
mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom
and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. |
| Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants,
which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. |
| Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in
thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel
for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. |
| And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents
of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came
no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave
to king Solomon. |
| And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from
Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious
stones. |
| And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the
house of the LORD, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries
for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this
day. |
| And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all
her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of
his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her
servants. |
| Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one
year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, |
| Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the
traffic of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of
the governors of the country. |
| And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten
gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. |
| And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold;
three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the
house of the forest of Lebanon. |
| Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and
overlaid it with the best gold. |
| The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne
was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of
the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. |
| 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. |
| 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; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days
of Solomon. |
| For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the
navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing
gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. |
| So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth
for riches and for wisdom. |
| And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his
wisdom, which God had put in his heart. |
| And they brought every man his present, vessels of
silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices,
horses, and mules, a rate year by year. |
| And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen:
and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand
horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king
at Jerusalem. |
| And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as
stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the
vale, for abundance. |
| And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and
linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. |
| And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six
hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so
for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they
bring them out by their means. |
| But king Solomon loved many strange women, together
with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites,
Zidonians, and Hittites; |
| Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto
the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they
come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their
gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. |
| And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and
three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. |
| For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his
wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not
perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. |
| For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the
Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. |
| And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and
went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. |
| Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh,
the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for
Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. |
| And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which
burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. |
| And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his
heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto
him twice, |
| And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he
should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD
commanded. |
| Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as
this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my
statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom
from thee, and will give it to thy servant. |
| Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for
David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. |
| Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but
will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for
Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen. |
| And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon,
Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom. |
| For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and
Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had
smitten every male in Edom; |
| (For six months did Joab remain there with all
Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:) |
| That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his
father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little
child. |
| And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and
they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto
Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him
victuals, and gave him land. |
| And Hadad found great favour in the sight of
Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the
sister of Tahpenes the queen. |
| And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his
son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in
Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. |
| And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with
his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said
to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country. |
| Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou
lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country?
And he answered, Nothing: howbeit let me go in any wise. |
| And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the
son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: |
| And he gathered men unto him, and became captain
over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus,
and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. |
| And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of
Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and
reigned over Syria. |
| And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of
Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow
woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. |
| And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand
against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the
city of David his father. |
| And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and
Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler
over all the charge of the house of Joseph. |
| And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went
out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the
way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone
in the field: |
| And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him,
and rent it in twelve pieces: |
| And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for
thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom
out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: |
| (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's
sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all
the tribes of Israel:) |
| Because that they have forsaken me, and have
worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of
the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not
walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep
my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. |
| Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his
hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my
servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my
statutes: |
| But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand,
and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. |
| And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David
my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which
I have chosen me to put my name there. |
| And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according
to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. |
| And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that
I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my
sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did;
that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for
David, and will give Israel unto thee. |
| And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but
not for ever. |
| Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And
Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was
in Egypt until the death of Solomon. |
| And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he
did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of
Solomon? |
| And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over
all Israel was forty years. |
| And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried
in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his
stead. |
| And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were
come to Shechem to make him king. |
| And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of
king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) |
| That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all
the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, |
| 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. |
| And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days,
then come again to me. And the people departed. |
| And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that
stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye
advise that I may answer this people? |
| And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a
servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them,
and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. |
| But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which
they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up
with him, and which stood before him: |
| And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we
may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke
which thy father did put upon us lighter? |
| And the young men that were grown up with him spake
unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this 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 shall be
thicker than my father's loins. |
| And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy
yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips,
but I will chastise you with scorpions. |
| So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the
third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third
day. |
| And the king answered the people roughly, and
forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him; |
| And spake to them after the counsel of the young
men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your
yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you
with scorpions. |
| Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people;
for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which
the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat. |
| So 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: to your tents, O
Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their
tents. |
| But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the
cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. |
| Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the
tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore
king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to
Jerusalem. |
| So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto
this day. |
| And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that
Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the
congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that
followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. |
| And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he
assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred
and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against
the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of
Solomon. |
| But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of
God, saying, |
| Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of
Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant
of the people, saying, |
| Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight
against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his
house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word
of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD. |
| Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and
dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. |
| And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the
kingdom return to the house of David: |
| If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of
the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again
unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill
me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. |
| Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves
of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to
Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the
land of Egypt. |
| And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he
in Dan. |
| And this thing became a sin: for the people went to
worship before the one, even unto Dan. |
| And he made an house of high places, and made
priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. |
| And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month,
on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah,
and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the
calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high
places which he had made. |
| So he offered upon the altar which he had made in
Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he
had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of
Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. |
| And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by
the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to
burn incense. |
| And he cried against the altar in the word of the
LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child
shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee
shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon
thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. |
| And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the
sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and
the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. |
| And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the
saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel,
that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And
his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not
pull it in again to him. |
| The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out
from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by
the word of the LORD. |
| And the king answered and said unto the man of God,
Entreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand
may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the
king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. |
| And the king said unto the man of God, Come home
with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. |
| And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt
give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat
bread nor drink water in this place: |
| For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD,
saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way
that thou camest. |
| So he went another way, and returned not by the way
that he came to Bethel. |
| Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his
sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that
day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they
told also to their father. |
| And their father said unto them, What way went he?
For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from
Judah. |
| And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So
they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, |
| And went after the man of God, and found him sitting
under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest
from Judah? And he said, I am. |
| Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat
bread. |
| And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in
with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this
place: |
| For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou
shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the
way that thou camest. |
| He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art;
and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him
back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water.
But he lied unto him. |
| So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his
house, and drank water. |
| And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that
the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: |
| And he cried unto the man of God that came from
Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the
mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy
God commanded thee, |
| But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk
water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread,
and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy
fathers. |
| And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and
after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the
prophet whom he had brought back. |
| And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and
slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it,
the lion also stood by the carcase. |
| And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast
in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told
it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. |
| And when the prophet that brought him back from the
way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient
unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto
the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of
the LORD, which he spake unto him. |
| And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass.
And they saddled him. |
| And he went and found his carcase cast in the way,
and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten
the carcase, nor torn the ass. |
| And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of
God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet
came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. |
| And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they
mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! |
| And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that
he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the
sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his
bones: |
| For the saying which he cried by the word of the
LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high
places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. |
| After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil
way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high
places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the
priests of the high places. |
| And this thing became sin unto the house of
Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the
earth. |
| At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. |
| And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee,
and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam;
and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told
me that I should be king over this people. |
| And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a
cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of
the child. |
| And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to
Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for
his eyes were set by reason of his age. |
| And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of
Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus
and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in,
that she shall feign herself to be another woman. |
| And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her
feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of
Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee
with heavy tidings. |
| Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of
Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee
prince over my people Israel, |
| And rent the kingdom away from the house of David,
and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who
kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that
only which was right in mine eyes; |
| But hast done evil above all that were before thee:
for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to
provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: |
| Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house
of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the
wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the
remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be
all gone. |
| Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the
dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air
eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. |
| Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house:
and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. |
| And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him:
for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is
found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of
Jeroboam. |
| Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over
Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even
now. |
| For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken
in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which
he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river,
because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. |
| And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of
Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. |
| And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to
Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died; |
| And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him,
according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his
servant Ahijah the prophet. |
| And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred,
and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Israel. |
| And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and
twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned
in his stead. |
| And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah.
Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose
out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's
name was Naamah an Ammonitess. |
| And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and
they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed,
above all that their fathers had done. |
| For they also built them high places, and images,
and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. |
| And there were also sodomites in the land: and they
did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast
out before the children of Israel. |
| And it came to pass in the fifth year of king
Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: |
| And he took away the treasures of the house of the
LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and
he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. |
| And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen
shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard,
which kept the door of the king's house. |
| And it was so, when the king went into the house of
the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard
chamber. |
| Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that
he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Judah? |
| And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all
their days. |
| And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried
with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah
an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead. |
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