[13:1] Behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of Yahweh to Beth El: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. [13:2] He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh, and said, altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall they burn on you. [13:3] He gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which Yahweh has spoken: Behold, the altar shall be torn, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out. [13:4] It happened, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. His hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to him. [13:5] The altar also was torn, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of Yahweh. [13:6] The king answered the man of God, Entreat now the favor of Yahweh your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. The man of God entreated Yahweh, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. [13:7] The king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward. [13:8] The man of God said to the king, If you will give me half your house, I will not go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place; [13:9] for so was it commanded me by the word of Yahweh, saying, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that you came. [13:10] So he went another way, and didn't return by the way that he came to Bethel. [13:11] Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel; and one of 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 to the king, them also they told to their father. [13:12] Their father said to them, Which way did he go? Now his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah. [13:13] He said to his sons, Saddle me the donkey. So they saddled him the donkey; and he rode thereon. [13:14] He went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, Are you the man of God who came from Judah? He said, I am. [13:15] Then he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread. [13:16] He said, I may not return with you, nor go in with you; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place: [13:17] for it was said to me by the word of Yahweh, You shall eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that you came. [13:18] He said to him, I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Yahweh, saying, Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him. [13:19] So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. [13:20] It happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of Yahweh came to the prophet who brought him back; [13:21] and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have been disobedient to the mouth of Yahweh, and have not kept the commandment which Yahweh your God commanded you, [13:22] but came back, and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, Eat no bread, and drink no water; your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers. [13:23] It happened, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the donkey, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. [13:24] When he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and killed him: and his body was cast in the way, and the donkey stood by it; the lion also stood by the body. [13:25] Behold, men passed by, and saw the body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. [13:26] When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient to the mouth of Yahweh: therefore Yahweh has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him, and slain him, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke to him. [13:27] He spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle me the donkey. They saddled it. [13:28] He went and found his body cast in the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body: the lion had not eaten the body, nor torn the donkey. [13:29] The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet, to mourn, and to bury him. [13:30] He laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! [13:31] It happened, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. [13:32] For the saying which he cried by the word of Yahweh against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely happen. [13:33] After this thing Jeroboam didn't return from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places. [13:34] This thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the surface of the earth.
[14:1] At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. [14:2] Jeroboam said to his wife, Please get up and disguise yourself, that you not be known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get you to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who spoke concerning me that I should be king over this people. [14:3] Take with you ten loaves, and cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him: he will tell you what shall become of the child. [14:4] Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age. [14:5] Yahweh said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam comes to inquire of you concerning her son; for he is sick: thus and thus you shall tell her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will feign herself to be another woman. [14:6] It was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, you wife of Jeroboam; why feign you yourself to be another? for I am sent to you with heavy news. [14:7] Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you prince over my people Israel, [14:8] and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it you; and yet you have 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 my eyes, [14:9] but have done evil above all who were before you, and have gone and made you other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and have cast me behind your back: [14:10] therefore, behold, I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam everyone who [urinates on a wall,] him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweeps away dung, until it be all gone. [14:11] Him who dies of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him who dies in the field shall the birds of the sky eat: for Yahweh has spoken it. [14:12] Arise you therefore, get you to your house: and when your feet enter into the city, the child shall die. [14:13] 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 Yahweh, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. [14:14] Moreover Yahweh will raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. [14:15] For Yahweh will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking Yahweh to anger. [14:16] He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he has sinned, and with which he has made Israel to sin. [14:17] Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. [14:18] All Israel buried him, and mourned for him, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet. [14:19] 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. [14:20] The days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place. [14:21] Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which Yahweh had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. [14:22] Judah did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done. [14:23] For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherim, on every high hill, and under every green tree; [14:24] and there were also sodomites in the land: they did according to all the abominations of the nations which Yahweh drove out before the children of Israel. [14:25] It happened in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; [14:26] and he took away the treasures of the house of Yahweh, 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. [14:27] King Rehoboam made in their place shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. [14:28] It was so, that as often as the king went into the house of Yahweh, the guard bore them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. [14:29] Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? [14:30] There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. [14:31] Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. Abijam his son reigned in his place.
[15:1] Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abijam to reign over Judah. [15:2] Three years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. [15:3] He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; and his heart was not perfect with Yahweh his God, as the heart of David his father. [15:4] Nevertheless for David's sake did Yahweh his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem; [15:5] because David did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and didn't turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. [15:6] Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. [15:7] The rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. [15:8] Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his place. [15:9] In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Asa to reign over Judah. [15:10] Forty-one years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. [15:11] Asa did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, as did David his father. [15:12] He put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. [15:13] Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. [15:14] But the high places were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with Yahweh all his days. [15:15] He brought into the house of Yahweh the things that his father had dedicated, and the things that himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. [15:16] There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. [15:17] Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. [15:18] Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying, [15:19] There is a league between me and you, between my father and your father: behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold; go, break your league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. [15:20] Ben Hadad listened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. [15:21] It happened, when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building Ramah, and lived in Tirzah. [15:22] Then king Asa made a proclamation to all Judah; none was exempted: and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had built; and king Asa built therewith Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. [15:23] Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. [15:24] Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place. [15:25] Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah; and he reigned over Israel two years. [15:26] He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin. [15:27] Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha struck him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. [15:28] Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha kill him, and reigned in his place. [15:29] It happened that, as soon as he was king, he struck all the house of Jeroboam: he didn't leave to Jeroboam any who breathed, until he had destroyed him; according to the saying of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite; [15:30] for the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and with which he made Israel to sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger. [15:31] Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? [15:32] There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. [15:33] In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. [15:34] He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.
[16:1] The word of Yahweh came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, [16:2] Because I exalted you out of the dust, and made you prince over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; [16:3] behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house; and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. [16:4] Him who dies of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him who dies of his in the field shall the birds of the sky eat. [16:5] Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? [16:6] Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his place. [16:7] Moreover by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of Yahweh against Baasha, and against his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he struck him. [16:8] In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and reigned two years. [16:9] His servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah: [16:10] and Zimri went in and struck him, and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. [16:11] It happened, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he struck all the house of Baasha: he didn't leave him a single one [who urinates on a wall,] neither of his relatives, nor of his friends. [16:12] Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, [16:13] for all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned, and with which they made Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities. [16:14] Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? [16:15] In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. Now the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. [16:16] The people who were encamped heard say, Zimri has conspired, and has also struck the king: therefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. [16:17] Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. [16:18] It happened, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the castle of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died, [16:19] for his sins which he sinned in doing that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. [16:20] Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? [16:21] Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri. [16:22] But the people who followed Omri prevailed against the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned. [16:23] In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, and reigned twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. [16:24] He bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill, Samaria. [16:25] Omri did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and dealt wickedly above all who were before him. [16:26] For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins with which he made Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities. [16:27] Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he showed, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? [16:28] So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son reigned in his place. [16:29] In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. [16:30] Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh above all that were before him. [16:31] It happened, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. [16:32] He reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. [16:33] Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did yet more to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. [16:34] In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid its foundation with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
[17:1] Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the foreigners of Gilead, said to Ahab, As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. [17:2] The word of Yahweh came to him, saying, [17:3] Get you hence, and turn you eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan. [17:4] It shall be, that you shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. [17:5] So he went and did according to the word of Yahweh; for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan. [17:6] The ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. [17:7] It happened after a while, that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. [17:8] The word of Yahweh came to him, saying, [17:9] Arise, get you to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you. [17:10] So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, Please get me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. [17:11] As she was going to get it, he called to her, and said, Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. [17:12] She said, As Yahweh your God lives, I don't have a cake, but a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the jar: and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. [17:13] Elijah said to her, Don't be afraid; go and do as you have said; but make me of it a little cake first, and bring it forth to me, and afterward make for you and for your son. [17:14] For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, The jar of meal shall not empty, neither shall the jar of oil fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth. [17:15] She went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, ate many days. [17:16] The jar of meal didn't empty, neither did the jar of oil fail, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by Elijah. [17:17] It happened after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. [17:18] She said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son! [17:19] He said to her, Give me your son. He took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the chamber, where he abode, and laid him on his own bed. [17:20] He cried to Yahweh, and said, Yahweh my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son? [17:21] He stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to Yahweh, and said, Yahweh my God, please let this child's soul come into him again. [17:22] Yahweh listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. [17:23] Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, Behold, your son lives. [17:24] The woman said to Elijah, Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth.
[18:1] It happened after many days, that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain on the earth. [18:2] Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. The famine was sore in Samaria. [18:3] Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Yahweh greatly: [18:4] for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Yahweh, that Obadiah took one hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) [18:5] Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land, to all the springs of water, and to all the brooks: peradventure we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the animals. [18:6] So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. [18:7] As Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it you, my lord Elijah? [18:8] He answered him, It is I: go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah is here. [18:9] He said, Wherein have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? [18:10] As Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom, where my lord has not sent to seek you: and when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they didn't find you. [18:11] Now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah is here. [18:12] It will happen, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you I don't know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can't find you, he will kill me: but I your servant fear Yahweh from my youth. [18:13] Wasn't it told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, how I hid one hundred men of Yahweh's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? [18:14] Now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah is here; and he will kill me. [18:15] Elijah said, As Yahweh of Armies lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today. [18:16] So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. [18:17] It happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel? [18:18] He answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of Yahweh, and you have followed the Baals. [18:19] Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table. [18:20] So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel. [18:21] Elijah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you waver between the two sides? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." The people answered him not a word. [18:22] Then Elijah said to the people, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of Yahweh; but Baal's prophets are four hundred fifty men. [18:23] Let them therefore give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under. [18:24] You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh; and the God who answers by fire, let him be God."
All the people answered, "It is well said." [18:25] Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves, and dress it first; for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it."
[18:26] They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any who answered. They leaped about the altar which was made. [18:27] It happened at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god: either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleeps and must be awakened. [18:28] They cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. [18:29] It was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening offering; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any who regarded. [18:30] Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of Yahweh that was thrown down. [18:31] Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh came, saying, Israel shall be your name. [18:32] With the stones he built an altar in the name of Yahweh; and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. [18:33] He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood. [18:34] He said, Do it the second time; and they did it the second time. He said, Do it the third time; and they did it the third time. [18:35] The water ran around the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. [18:36] It happened at the time of the offering of the evening offering, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. [18:37] Hear me, Yahweh, hear me, that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again. [18:38] Then the fire of Yahweh fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. [18:39] When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, Yahweh, he is God; Yahweh, he is God. [18:40] and Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal; don't let one of them escape. They took them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there. [18:41] Elijah said to Ahab, Get you up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain. [18:42] So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees. [18:43] He said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. He went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. He said, Go again seven times. [18:44] It happened at the seventh time, that he said, "Behold, a small cloud, like a man's hand, is rising out of the sea." He said, Go up, tell Ahab, Make ready your chariot, and get you down, that the rain not stop you. [18:45] It happened in a little while, that the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel: [18:46] and the hand of Yahweh was on Elijah; and he girded up his waist, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
[19:1] Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. [19:2] Then Jezebel send a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don't make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. [19:3] When he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. [19:4] But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough; now, O Yahweh, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. [19:5] He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat. [19:6] He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drink, and laid him down again. [19:7] The angel of Yahweh came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you. [19:8] He arose, and ate and drink, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the Mount of God. [19:9] He came there to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? [19:10] He said, I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. [19:11] He said, Go forth, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh. Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake: [19:12] and after the earthquake a fire; but Yahweh was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. [19:13] It was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. Behold, there came a voice to him, and said, What are you doing here, Elijah? [19:14] He said, I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. [19:15] Yahweh said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when you come, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria; [19:16] and you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi to be king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah to be prophet in your room. [19:17] It shall happen, that he who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha kill. [19:18] Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him. [19:19] So he departed there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed over to him, and cast his mantle on him. [19:20] He left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray you, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you. He said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to you? [19:21] He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.
[20:1] Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it. [20:2] He sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said to him, Thus says Ben Hadad, [20:3] Your silver and your gold is mine; your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine. [20:4] The king of Israel answered, It is according to your saying, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I have. [20:5] The messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Ben Hadad, saying, I sent indeed to you, saying, You shall deliver me your silver, and your gold, and your wives, and your children; [20:6] but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your servants; and it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away. [20:7] Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Please notice how this man seeks mischief: for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I didn't deny him. [20:8] All the elders and all the people said to him, Don't you listen, neither consent. [20:9] Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that you did send for to your servant at the first I will do; but this thing I may not do. The messengers departed, and brought him word again. [20:10] Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me. [20:11] The king of Israel answered, Tell him, Don't let him who girds on his armor boast himself as he who puts it off. [20:12] It happened, when Ben Hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, Set yourselves in array. They set themselves in array against the city. [20:13] Behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel, and said, Thus says Yahweh, Have you seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into your hand this day; and you shall know that I am Yahweh. [20:14] Ahab said, By whom? He said, Thus says Yahweh, By the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? He answered, You. [20:15] Then he mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two: and after them he mustered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. [20:16] They went out at noon. But Ben Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him. [20:17] The young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben Hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out from Samaria. [20:18] He said, Whether they are come out for peace, take them alive, or whether they are come out for war, taken them alive. [20:19] So these went out of the city, the young men of the princes of the provinces, and the army which followed them. [20:20] They killed everyone his man; and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them: and Ben Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen. [20:21] The king of Israel went out, and struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter. [20:22] The prophet came near to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen yourself, and mark, and see what you do; for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you. [20:23] The servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. [20:24] Do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their room; [20:25] and number you an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot; and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. He listened to their voice, and did so. [20:26] It happened at the return of the year, that Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. [20:27] The children of Israel were mustered, and were provisioned, and went against them: and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. [20:28] A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus says Yahweh, Because the Syrians have said, Yahweh is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh. [20:29] They encamped one over against the other seven days. So it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed of the Syrians one hundred thousand footmen in one day. [20:30] But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber. [20:31] His servants said to him, See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, we pray you, put sackcloth on our bodies, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save your life. [20:32] So they girded sackcloth on their bodies, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Your servant Ben Hadad says, please let me live. He said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. [20:33] Now the men observed diligently, and hurried to catch whether it were his mind; and they said, Your brother Ben Hadad. Then he said, Go you, bring him. Then Ben Hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. [20:34] Ben Hadad said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you shall make streets for you in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. I, said Ahab, will let you go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go. [20:35] A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of Yahweh, Please strike me. The man refused to strike him. [20:36] Then said he to him, Because you have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, behold, as soon as you are departed from me, a lion shall kill you. As soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and killed him. [20:37] Then he found another man, and said, Please strike me. The man struck him, smiting and wounding him. [20:38] So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. [20:39] As the king passed by, he cried to the king; and he said, Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver. [20:40] As your servant was busy here and there, he was gone. The king of Israel said to him, So your judgment shall be; yourself have decided it. [20:41] He hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. [20:42] He said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people. [20:43] The king of Israel went to his house sullen and angry, and came to Samaria.