1 Kings 15 Cross References - MSB

¹ In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah, ² and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. ³ And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather had been. ⁴ Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong. ⁵ For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. ⁶ And there was war between the houses of Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Abijam’s life. ⁷ As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. ⁸ And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place. ⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became king of Judah, ¹⁰ and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. ¹² He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³ He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁴ The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days. ¹⁵ And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and other articles that he and his father had dedicated. ¹⁶ Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days. ¹⁷ Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸ So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus: ¹⁹ “Let there be a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” ²⁰ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth. ²¹ When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah. ²³ Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet. ²⁴ And Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place. ²⁵ In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years. ²⁶ And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit. ²⁷ Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging the city. ²⁸ In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place. ²⁹ As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ³⁰ because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he had provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger. ³¹ As for the rest of the acts of Nadab, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ³² And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days. ³³ In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years. ³⁴ And Baasha did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

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

¹ In the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign, Abijah became king of Judah, ² and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Micaiah daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah went into battle with an army of 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in formation against him with 800,000 chosen and mighty men of valor. ⁴ Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Do you not know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. ⁷ Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them. ⁸ And now you think you can resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army, and you have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods. ⁹ But did you not drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites? And did you not make priests for yourselves as do the peoples of other lands? Now whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of things that are not gods. ¹⁰ But as for us, the LORD is our God. We have not forsaken Him; the priests who minister to the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. ¹¹ Every morning and every evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the rows of showbread on the ceremonially clean table, and every evening they light the lamps of the gold lampstand. We are carrying out the requirements of the LORD our God, while you have forsaken Him. ¹² Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with their trumpets sound the battle call against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.” ¹³ Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to ambush from the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah, the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ When Judah turned and discovered that the battle was both before and behind them, they cried out to the LORD. Then the priests blew the trumpets, ¹⁵ and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. And when they raised the cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. ¹⁷ Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain. ¹⁸ Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers. ¹⁹ Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some cities from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not again recover his power during the days of Abijah, and the LORD struck him down and he died. ²¹ But Abijah grew strong, married fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, along with his ways and his words, are written in the Treatise of the Prophet Iddo.

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

²⁰ After her, he married Maacah daughter of Absalom, and she bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. ²² Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, intending to make him king.

² and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Micaiah daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

¹⁴ So if you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commandments, just as your father David did, I will prolong your days.”

⁴ For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.

³³ For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.

²¹ Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. ²² And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done.

³ “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

² And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly.

²⁰ So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God. ²¹ He was diligent in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law and the commandments, in order to seek his God. And so he prospered.

⁸⁰ May my heart be blameless in Your statutes, that I may not be put to shame.

² I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

²⁹ So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that destroyed the cities where he had lived.

⁵ because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

³⁷ Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power,

¹² And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. ¹⁵ But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I moved out of your way. ¹⁶ Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”

¹⁷ But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel may not be extinguished.”

¹² Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

³² But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

³⁶ I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name.

⁷ Yet the LORD was unwilling to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant He had made with David, and since He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.

²⁸ For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness.

⁵ And it will be said of Zion: “This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High Himself will establish her.”

¹⁷ There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.

⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

³² What answer will be given to the envoys of that nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, where His afflicted people will find refuge.”

³⁵ ‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”

⁷ nor give Him any rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

² “Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it, the LORD is His name:

²⁰ “This is what the LORD says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night cease to occupy their appointed time, ²¹ then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant and with My ministers the Levites who are priests, so that David will not have a son to reign on his throne. ²² As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister before Me.” ²³ Moreover, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ²⁴ “Have you not noticed what these people are saying: ‘The LORD has rejected the two families He had chosen’? So they despise My people and no longer regard them as a nation. ²⁵ This is what the LORD says: If I have not established My covenant with the day and the night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, ²⁶ then I would also reject the descendants of Jacob and of My servant David, so as not to take from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore them from captivity and will have compassion on them.”

¹ In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. ² And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, ⁷⁰ as He spoke through His holy prophets, those of ages past, ⁷¹ salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, ⁷² to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, ⁷³ the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us ⁷⁴ deliverance from the hands of our enemies, that we may serve Him without fear, ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. ⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the presence of the Lord to prepare the way for Him, ⁷⁷ to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn has visited us from on high, ⁷⁹ to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.”

¹² Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

²⁸ Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”

³ So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home.

¹⁵ In the letter he wrote: “Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle; then withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and killed.” ¹⁶ So as Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he saw the strongest enemy soldiers. ¹⁷ And when the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of David’s servants fell, and Uriah the Hittite also died.

⁹ Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

⁴ And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances,

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

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

² And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

² And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.

⁶ Then I would not be ashamed when I consider all Your commandments.

⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.

²² After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’

³⁶ For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.

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

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

¹ At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill,

⁹ These were all the sons of David, besides the sons by his concubines. And Tamar was their sister.

¹ Then Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Asa reigned in his place, and in his days the land was at peace for ten years.

⁷ Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. ⁸ Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.

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

²⁰ After her, he married Maacah daughter of Absalom, and she bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

² And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.

¹¹ Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”

¹⁷ The high places were not removed from Israel, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted all his days.

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and told him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. ⁸ Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand. ⁹ For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.” ¹⁰ Asa was angry with the seer and became so enraged over this matter that he put the man in prison. And at the same time Asa oppressed some of the people.

⁷ At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites. ⁸ He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

²³ They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. ²⁴ There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the abominations of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

⁴⁶ He banished from the land the male shrine prostitutes who remained from the days of his father Asa.

² And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. ³ He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles. ⁴ He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandments. ⁵ He also removed the high places and incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.

¹⁸ In the wilderness I said to their children: ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. ¹⁹ I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them.

² “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. ³ So tell the people that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts.’ ⁴ Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Turn now from your evil ways and deeds.’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me, declares the LORD. ⁵ Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’”

²⁶ For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,

⁷ In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.

²⁰ Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.

³⁰ I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless remains of your idols; and My soul will despise you.

⁵ Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.

²¹ And I took that sinful thing, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust, and I cast it into the stream that came down from the mountain.

⁶ If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known, ⁷ the gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, whether from one end of the earth or the other), ⁸ you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him. ⁹ Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people. ¹⁰ Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ¹¹ Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.

⁹ He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.

²⁴ Then the Israelites burned up the city and everything in it. However, they put the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house.

²³ Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly as all the people passed by. And as the king crossed the Kidron Valley, all the people also passed toward the way of the wilderness.

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

⁴ He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.

⁶ He brought the Asherah pole from the house of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, and there he burned it, ground it to powder, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.

¹² He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. ¹³ The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. ¹⁴ He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones. ¹⁵ He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole.

¹⁵ And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their heart. They had sought Him earnestly, and He was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side. ¹⁶ King Asa also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ The high places were not removed from Israel, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted all his days. ¹⁸ And he brought into the house of God the silver and gold articles that he and his father had dedicated. ¹⁹ And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

⁴ Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

³ And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not remain alive, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD.’ When he prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will pierce him through.

³⁷ Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.” ⁴⁸ But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

¹ After Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley, where they entered a garden.

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

⁵ We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. ⁶ But as for the highly esteemed—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—those leaders added nothing to me.

¹⁴ When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

⁶¹ So let your heart be fully devoted to the LORD our God, as it is this day, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments.”

⁴³ And Jehoshaphat walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them, but did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

³ Nevertheless, the high places were not removed; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.

⁴ Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away, and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

⁴ Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.

³ He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles.

⁵ He also removed the high places and incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.

¹⁷ The high places were not removed from Israel, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted all his days. ¹⁸ And he brought into the house of God the silver and gold articles that he and his father had dedicated.

⁹ For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”

⁵¹ So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed. Then Solomon brought in the items his father David had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

²⁶ This Shelomith and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and by the army commanders. ²⁷ They had dedicated some of the plunder from their battles to the repair of the house of the LORD. ²⁸ Everything that had been dedicated by Samuel the seer, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah, along with everything else that was dedicated, was under the care of Shelomith and his brothers.

¹³ Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great amount of plunder

¹⁸ And he brought into the house of God the silver and gold articles that he and his father had dedicated.

⁶ And there was war between the houses of Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Abijam’s life. ⁷ As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

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

¹ In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. ² So Asa withdrew the silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent it with this message to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus: ³ “Let there be a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” ⁴ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and abandoned his work. ⁶ Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials he built up Geba and Mizpah.

²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.

²⁷ If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, their hearts will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah; then they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

²¹ When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.

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

¹³ Moreover, the priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel stood with Rehoboam. ¹⁴ For the Levites left their pasturelands and their possessions and went to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the LORD. ¹⁵ And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made. ¹⁶ Those from every tribe of Israel who had set their hearts to seek the LORD their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers. ¹⁷ So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

¹⁵ This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

¹⁵ During the night, Abram divided his forces and routed Chedorlaomer’s army, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

² But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

²³ And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah, ²⁴ and had gathered men to himself. When David killed the Zobaites, Rezon captained a band of raiders and went to Damascus, where they settled and gained control.

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

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

¹ Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it. ² Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, ³ saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’” ⁴ And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.” ⁵ The messengers came back and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent to you to demand your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.

³³ Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, and they quickly grasped at this word and replied, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” “Go and get him!” said the king. Then Ben-hadad came out, and Ahab had him come up into his chariot. ³⁴ Ben-hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” “By this treaty I release you,” Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.

⁷ Then Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.” ⁸ So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand, go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’” ⁹ So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’” ¹⁰ Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But the LORD has shown me that in fact he will die.” ¹¹ Elisha fixed his gaze steadily on him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep. ¹² “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little ones to pieces, and rip open their pregnant women.” ¹³ “But how could your servant, a mere dog, do such a monstrous thing?” said Hazael. And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” ¹⁴ So Hazael left Elisha and went to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he replied, “He told me that you would surely recover.” ¹⁵ But the next day Hazael took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king’s face. So Ben-hadad died, and Hazael reigned in his place.

¹⁸ So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. So Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace. ¹⁶ At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold with which he had plated the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.

²⁷ “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-hadad.”

⁴ So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael to consume the citadels of Ben-hadad.

² At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)

³ “Let there be a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and told him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

² Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you.

¹ Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.

¹³ He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land, ¹⁴ so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to lift itself up, surviving only by keeping his covenant. ¹⁵ But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’ ¹⁶ ‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who enthroned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke.

³¹ They are senseless, faithless, heartless, unforgiving, merciless.

⁸ Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!

¹⁴ And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan.

² to the kings of the north in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Chinnereth, in the foothills, and in Naphoth-dor to the west;

³ as well as the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah.

²⁹ They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.

¹⁴ Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacah and through the entire region of the Berites, who gathered together and followed him. ¹⁵ And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it,

²⁹ One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.

²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.

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

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

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines, ¹⁶ and the people in the camp heard that Zimri had not only conspired but had also struck down the king. So there in the camp that very day, all Israel proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel. ¹⁷ Then Omri and all the Israelites marched up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸ When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down upon himself. So he died

⁵ When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and abandoned his work.

⁴ You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners.

²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve cities, along with their villages.

²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,

¹⁷ And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.”

⁶ Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials he built up Geba and Mizpah.

⁶ So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

¹⁰ As for me, I will stay in Mizpah to represent you before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, gather wine grapes, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have taken.”

²⁹ As for the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, along with all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ³⁰ There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days. ³¹ And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David; his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And his son Abijam reigned in his place.

⁷ As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. ⁸ And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.

¹¹ Now the rest of the acts of Asa, from beginning to end, are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady became increasingly severe. Yet even in his illness he did not seek the LORD, but only the physicians. ¹³ So in the forty-first year of his reign, Asa died and rested with his fathers. ¹⁴ And he was buried in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was full of spices and various blended perfumes; then they made a great fire in his honor.

¹⁰ The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

⁴¹ In the fourth year of Ahab’s reign over Israel, Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ⁴³ And Jehoshaphat walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them, but did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

¹ Asa’s son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place, and he strengthened himself against Israel. ² He stationed troops in every fortified city of Judah and put garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured. ³ Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek out the Baals, ⁴ but he sought the God of his father and walked by His commandments rather than the practices of Israel. ⁵ So the LORD established the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah brought him tribute, so that he had an abundance of riches and honor. ⁶ And his heart took delight in the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah. ⁷ In the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat sent his officials Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah, ⁸ accompanied by certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah—along with the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the LORD. They went throughout the towns of Judah and taught the people.

⁸ Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.

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

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

⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”

²¹ “What did this people do to you,” Moses asked Aaron, “that you have led them into so great a sin?”

²⁴ No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people.

²⁸ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” ²⁹ One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. ³⁰ And this thing became a sin; the people walked as far as Dan to worship before one of the calves. ³¹ Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people priests who were not Levites. ³² And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up. ³³ On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.

³³ Even after these events, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil ways, but again he appointed priests for the high places from every class of people. He ordained anyone who desired to be a priest of the high places. ³⁴ And this was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its extermination and destruction from the face of the earth.

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

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

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

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

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

²⁵ But Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD and acted more wickedly than all who were before him. ²⁶ For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.

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

²² I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked My anger and caused Israel to sin.’

⁵² And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin.

³ Nevertheless, he clung to the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.

¹¹ “Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin,

¹⁵ He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole.

³⁵ They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.

¹⁵ If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died.

¹⁰ For if someone with a weak conscience sees you who are well informed eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged to eat food sacrificed to idols? ¹¹ So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. ¹² By sinning against your brothers in this way and wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to stumble.

⁴⁴ Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,

²³ From the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon,

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

¹⁶ Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days. ¹⁷ Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

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

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

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

²⁰ And the servants of Joash rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla.

³⁵ Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”

⁹ You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back. ¹⁰ Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone! ¹¹ Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.’ For the LORD has spoken. ¹² As for you, get up and go home. When your feet enter the city, the child will die. ¹³ All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. For this is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will receive a proper burial, because only in him has the LORD, the God of Israel, found any good in the house of Jeroboam. ¹⁴ Moreover, the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is the day—yes, even today! ¹⁵ For the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that He gave their fathers, and He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking the LORD to anger. ¹⁶ So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

⁷ And you are to strike down the house of your master Ahab, so that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the LORD shed by the hand of Jezebel. ⁸ The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, both slave and free, in Israel. ⁹ I will make the house of Ahab like the houses of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. ¹⁰ And on the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour Jezebel, and there will be no one to bury her.’” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.

³⁶ So they went back and told Jehu, who replied, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke through His servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour the flesh of Jezebel. ³⁷ And Jezebel’s body will lie like dung in the field on the plot of ground at Jezreel, so that no one can say: This is Jezebel.’”

¹⁰ Know, then, that not a word the LORD has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail, for the LORD has done what He promised through His servant Elijah.” ¹¹ So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his great men and close friends and priests, leaving him without a single survivor.

³¹ Yet Jehu was not careful to follow the instruction of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.

²⁵ Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

²⁸ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” ²⁹ One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.

⁴ Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.