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# Book 11 3 Kings

THE THIRD BOOK OF KINGS

This and the following Book are called by the holy fathers the third and fourth book of Kings; but by the Hebrews, the first and second. They contain the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Juda, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon, to the captivity. As to the writer of these books, it seems most probable they were not written by one man; nor at one time; but as there was all along a succession of prophets in Israel, who recorded, by divine inspiration, the most remarkable things that happened in their days, these books seem to have been written by these prophets. See 2 Paralip. alias 2 Chron. 9.29; 12.15; 13.22; 20.34; 26.22; 32.32.

3 Kings Chapter 1

King David growing old, Abisag a Sunamitess is brought to him. Adonias pretending to reign, Nathan and Bethsabee obtain that Solomon should be declared and anointed king.

1:1. Now king David was old, and advanced in years: and when he was covered with clothes he was not warm.

1:2. His servants therefore, said to him: Let us seek for our Lord the king, a young virgin, and let her stand before the king, and cherish him, and sleep in his bosom and warm our lord the king.

1:3. So they sought a beautiful young woman, in all the coasts of Israel and they found Abisag, a Sunamitess, and brought her to the king.

1:4. And the damsel was exceedingly beautiful, and she slept with the king, and served him, but the king did not know her.

1:5. And Adonias, the son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying: I will be king. And he made himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

1:6. Neither did his father rebuke him at any time, saying: Why hast thou done this? And he also was very beautiful, the next in birth after Absalom.

1:7. And he conferred with Joab, the son of Sarvia, and with Abiathar, the priest, who furthered Adonias's side.

1:8. But Sadoc, the priest, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and Nathan, the prophet, and Semei, and Rei, and the strength of David's army, was not with Adonias.

1:9. And Adonias having slain rams and calves, and all fat cattle, by the stone of Zoheleth, which was near the fountain Rogel, invited all his brethren, the king's sons, and all the men of Juda, the king's servants:

1:10. But Nathan, the prophet, and Banaias, and all the valiant men, and Solomon, his brother, he invited not.

1:11. And Nathan said to Bethsabee, the mother of Solomon: Hast thou not heard that Adonias, the son of Haggith, reigneth, and our lord David knoweth it not?

1:12. Now then, come, take my counsel, and save thy life, and the life of thy son Solomon.

1:13. Go, and get thee in to king David, and say to him: Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear to me, thy handmaid, saying: Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then doth Adonias reign?

1:14. And while thou art yet speaking there with the king, I will come in after thee, and will fill up thy words.

1:15. So Bethsabee went in to the king into the chamber. Now the king was very old, and Abisag, the Sunamitess, ministered to him.

1:16. Bethsabee bowed herself, and worshipped the king. And the king said to her: What is thy will?

1:17. She answered, and said: My lord, thou didst swear to thy handmaid, by the Lord thy God, saying: Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.

1:18. And behold, now Adonias reigneth, and thou, my lord the king, knowest nothing of it.

1:19. He hath killed oxen, and all fat cattle, and many rams, and invited all the king's sons, and Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the general of the army: but Solomon, thy servant, he invited not.

1:20. And now, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldst tell them, who shall sit on thy throne, my lord the king, after thee.

1:21. Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king sleepeth with his fathers, that I, and my son, Solomon, shall be accounted offenders.

1:22. As she was yet speaking with the king, Nathan, the prophet, came.

1:23. And they told the king, saying: Nathan, the prophet, is here. And when he was come in before the king, and had worshipped, bowing down to the ground,

1:24. Nathan said: My lord, O king, hast thou said: Let Adonias reign after me, and let him sit upon my throne?

1:25. Because he is gone down to day, and hath killed oxen, and fatlings, and many rams, and invited all the king's sons, and the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest: and they are eating and drinking before him, and saying: God save king Adonias:

1:26. But me, thy servant, and Sadoc, the priest, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and Solomon, thy servant, he hath not invited.

1:27. Is this word come out from my lord the king, and hast thou not told me, thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?

1:28. And king David answered, and said: Call to me Bethsabee. And when she was come in to the king, and stood before him,

1:29. The king swore, and said: As the Lord liveth, who hath delivered my soul out of all distress,

1:30. Even as I swore to thee, by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: Solomon thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead, so will I do this day.

1:31. And Bethsabee, bowing with her face to the earth, worshipped the king, saying: May my lord David live for ever.

1:32. King David also said: Call me Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Banaias, the son of Joiada. And when they were come in before the king,

1:33. He said to them: Take with you the servants of your lord, and set my son Solomon upon my mule: and bring him to Gihon:

1:34. And let Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, anoint him there king over Israel: and you shall sound the trumpet, and shall say: God save king Solomon.

1:35. And you shall come up after him, and he shall come, and shall sit upon my throne, and he shall reign in my stead: and I will appoint him to be ruler over Israel, and over Juda.

1:36. And Banaias, the son of Joiada, answered the king, saying: Amen: so say the Lord, the God of my lord the king.

1:37. As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, so be he with Solomon, and make his throne higher than the throne of my lord king David.

1:38. So Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, went down, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and Phelethi: and they set Solomon upon the mule of king David, and brought him to Gihon.

1:39. And Sadoc, the priest, took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon: and they sounded the trumpet, and all the people said: God save king Solomon.

1:40. And all the multitude went up after him, and the people played with pipes, and rejoiced with a great joy, and the earth rang with the noise of their cry.

1:41. And Adonias, and all that were invited by him, heard it, and now the feast was at an end. Joab also, hearing the sound of the trumpet, said: What meaneth this noise of the city in an uproar?

1:42. While he yet spoke, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, the priest, came: and Adonias said to him: Come in, because thou art a valiant man, and bringest good news.

1:43. And Jonathan answered Adonias: Not so: for our lord, king David, hath appointed Solomon king;

1:44. And hath sent with him Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and the Phelethi, and they have set him upon the king's mule:

1:45. And Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, have anointed him king, in Gihon: and they are gone up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again: this is the noise that you have heard.

1:46. Moreover, Solomon sitteth upon the throne of the kingdom.

1:47. And the king's servants going in, have blessed ouur lord king David, saying: May God make the name of Solomon greater than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king adored in his bed:

1:48. And he said: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who hath given this day one to sit on my throne, my eyes seeing it.

1:49. Then all the guests of Adonias were afraid, and they all arose, and every man went his way.

1:50. And Adonias fearing Solomon, arose and went, and took hold of the horn of the altar.

1:51. And they told Solomon, saying: Behold Adonias fearing king Solomon, hath taken hold of the horn of the altar, saying: Let king Solomon swear to me this day, that he will not kill his servant with the sword.

1:52. And Solomon said: If he be a good man, there shall not so much as one hair of his head fall to the ground: but if evil be found in him, he shall die.

1:53. Then king Solomon sent, and brought him out from the altar: and going in, he worshipped king Solomon: and Solomon said to him: Go to thy house.

3 Kings Chapter 2

David, after giving his last charge to Solomon, dieth. Adonias is put to death: Abiathar is banished: Joab and Semei are slain.

1:1. And the days of David drew nigh that he should die, and he charged his son Solomon, saying:

2:2. I am going the way of all flesh: take thou courage and shew thyself a man.

2:3. And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and observe his ceremonies, and his precepts, and judgments, and testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses: that thou mayst understand all thou dost, and whithersoever thou shalt turn thyself:

2:4. That the Lord may confirm his words, which he hath spoken of me, saying: If thy children shall take heed to their ways, and shall walk before me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul, there shall not be taken away from thee a man on the throne of Israel.

2:5. Thou knowest also what Joab, the son of Sarvia, hath done to me, what he did to the two captains of the army of Israel, to Abner, the son of Ner, and to Amasa, the son of Jether: whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

Joab... These instructions given by David to his son, with relation to Joab and Semei, proceeded not from any rancour of heart, or private pique; but from a zeal for justice, that crimes so public and heinous might not pass unpunished.

2:6. Do, therefore, according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoary head go down to hell in peace.

To hell... This word hell doth not here signify the place or state of damnation; but the place and state of the dead.

2:7. But shew kindness to the sons of Berzellai, the Galaadite, and let them eat at thy table: for they met me when I fled from the face of Absalom, thy brother.

2:8. Thou hast also with thee Semei, the son of Gera, the son of Jemini, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse, when I went to the camp: but because he came down to meet me when I passed over the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying: I will not kill thee with the sword:

2:9. Do not thou hold him guiltless. But thou art a wise man, and knowest what to do with him, and thou shalt bring down his grey hairs with blood to the grave.

2:10. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

2:11. And the days that David reigned in Israel, were forty years: in Hebron he reigned seven years, in Jerusalem thirty-three.

2:12. And Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was strengthened exceedingly.

2:13. And Adonias, the son of Haggith, came to Bethsabee the mother of Solomon. And she said to him: Is thy coming peaceable? He answered: It is peaceable.

2:14. And he added: I have a word to speak with thee. She said to him: Speak. And he said:

2:15. Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had preferred me to be their king: but the kingdom is transferred, and is become my brother's: for it was appointed him by the Lord.

2:16. Now therefore, I ask one petition of thee; turn not away my face. And she said to him: Say on.

2:17. And he said I pray thee speak to king Solomon (for he cannot deny thee any thing) to give me Abisag, the Sunamitess, to wife.

2:18. And Bethsabee said: Well, I will speak for thee to the king.

2:19. Then Bethsabee came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonias: and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand.

2:20. And she said to him: I desire one small petition of thee; do not put me to confusion. And the king said to her: My mother ask, for I must not turn away thy face.

2:21. And she said: Let Abisag, the Sunamitess, be given to Adonias, thy brother, to wife.

2:22. And king Solomon answered, and said to his mother: Why dost thou ask Abisag, the Sunamitess, for Adonias? ask for him also the kingdom; for he is my elder brother, and hath Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the son of Sarvia.

2:23. Then king Solomon swore by the Lord, saying: So and so may God do to me, and add more, if Adonias hath not spoken this word against his own life.

2:24. And now, as the Lord liveth, who hath established me, and placed me upon the throne of David, my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, Adonias shall be put to death this day.

2:25. And king Solomon sent by the hand of Banaias, the son of Joiada, who slew him, and he died.

2:26. And the king said also to Abiathar, the priest: Go to Anathoth, to thy lands, for indeed thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou didst carry the ark of the Lord God before David, my father, and hast endured trouble in all the troubles my father endured.

2:27. So Solomon cast out Abiathar from being the priest of the Lord, that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he spoke concerning the house of Heli in Silo.

2:28. And the news came to Joab, because Joab had turned after Adonias, and had not turned after Solomon: and Joab fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and took hold on the horn of the altar.

2:29. And it was told king Solomon, that Joab was fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and was by the altar: and Solomon sent Banaias, the son of Joiada, saying. Go, kill him.

2:30. And Banaias came to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him: Thus saith the king: Come forth. And he said: I will not come forth, but here I will die. Banaias brought word back to the king, saying: Thus saith Joab, and thus he answered me.

2:31. And the king said to him: Do as he hath said; and kill him, and bury him, and thou shalt remove the innocent blood which hath been shed by Joab, from me, and from the house of my father:

2:32. And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head; because he murdered two men, just and better than himself: and slew them with the sword, my father, David, not knowing it; Abner, the son of Ner, general of the army of Israel, and Amasa, the son of Jether general of the army of Juda;

2:33. And their blood shall return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever. But to David and his seed, and his house, and to his throne, be peace for ever from the Lord.

2:34. So Banaias, the son of Joiada, went up, and setting upon him slew him, and he was buried in his house in the desert.

2:35. And the king appointed Banaias, the son of Joiada in his room over the army; and Sadoc, the priest, he put in the place of Abiathar.

2:36. The king also sent, and called for Semei, and said to him: Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there: and go not out from thence any where.

2:37. For on what day soever thou shalt go out, and shalt pass over the brook Cedron, know that thou shalt be put to death: thy blood shall be upon thy own head.

2:38. And Semei said to the king: The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Semei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

2:39. And it came to pass after three years, that the servants of Semei ran away to Achis, the son of Maacha, the king of Geth: and it was told Semei that his servants were gone to Geth.

2:40. And Semei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Achis, to Geth, to seek his servants, and he brought them out of Geth.

2:41. And it was told Solomon, that Semei had gone from Jerusalem to Geth, and was come back.

2:42. And sending he called for him, and said to him: Did I not protest to thee by the Lord, and tell thee before: On what day soever thou shalt go out and walk abroad any where, know that thou shalt die? And thou answeredst me: The word that I have heard is good.

2:43. Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment that I laid upon thee?

2:44. And the king said to Semei: Thou knowest all the evil, of which thy heart is conscious, which thou didst to David, my father: the Lord hath returned thy wickedness upon thy own head.

2:45. And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever.

2:46. So the king commanded Banaias, the son of Joiada: and he went out and struck him; and he died.

3 Kings Chapter 3

Solomon marrieth Pharao's daughter. He sacrificeth in Gabaon: in the choice which God gave him he preferreth wisdom. His wise judgment between the two harlots.

3:1. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon, and he made affinity with Pharao, the king of Egypt: for he took his daughter, and brought her into the city of David: until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

3:2. But yet the people sacrificed in the high places: for there was no temple built to the name of the Lord until that day.

High places... That is, altars where they worshipped the Lord, but not according to the ordinance of the law; which allowed of no other places for sacrifice but the temple of God. Among these high places that of Gabaon was the chiefest, because there was the tabernacle of the testimony, which had been removed from Silo to Nobe and from Nobe to Gabaon.

3:3. And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the precepts of David, his father; only he sacrificed in the high places, and burnt incense.

3:4. He went therefore to Gabaon, to sacrifice there: for that was the great high place: a thousand victims for holocausts, did Solomon offer upon that altar, in Gabaon.

3:5. And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, saying: Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee.

3:6. And Solomon said: Thou hast shewed great mercy to thy servant David, my father, even as he walked before thee in truth, and justice, and an upright heart with thee: and thou hast kept thy great mercy for him, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

3:7. And now, O Lord God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David, my father: and I am but a child, and know not how to go out and come in;

3:8. And thy servant is in the midst of the people which thou hast chosen, an immense people, which cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

3:9. Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people, and discern between good and evil. For who shall be able to judge this people, thy people, which is so numerous?

3:10. And the word was pleasing to the Lord, that Solomon had asked such a thing.

3:11. And the Lord said to Solomon: Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life nor riches, nor the lives of thy enemies, but hast asked for thyself wisdom to discern jndgment;

3:12. Behold I have done for thee according to thy words, and have given thee a wise and understanding heart, in so much that there hath been no one like thee before thee, nor shall arise after thee.

3:13. Yea, and the things also which thou didst not ask, I have given thee; to wit, riches and glory: so that no one hath been like thee among the kings in all days heretofore.

3:14. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, and keep my precepts and my commandments, as thy father walked, I will lengthen thy days.

3:15. And Solomon awaked, and perceived that it was a dream: and when he was come to Jerusalem, he stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered holocausts, and sacrificed victims of peace offerings, and made a great feast for all his servants.

3:16. Then there came two women that were harlots, to the king, and stood before him.

3:17. And one of them said: I beseech thee, my lord, I and this woman dwelt in one house, and I was delivered of a child with her in the chamber.

3:18. And the third day after I was delivered, she also was delivered; and we were together, and no other person with us in the house; only we two.

3:19. And this woman's child died in the night: for in her sleep she overlaid him.

3:20. And rising in the dead time of the night, she took my child from my side, while I, thy handmaid, was asleep, and laid it in her bosom: and laid her dead child in my bosom.

3:21. And when I arose in the morning, to give my child suck, behold it was dead: but considering him more diligently, when it was clear day, I found that it was not mine which I bore.

3:22. And the other woman answered: It is not so as thou sayst, but thy child is dead, and mine is alive. On the contrary, she said; Thou liest: for my child liveth, and thy child is dead. And in this manner they strove before the king.

3:23. Then said the king: The one saith, My child is alive, and thy child is dead. And the other answereth: Nay; but thy child is dead, and mine liveth.

3:24. The king therefore said: Bring me a sword. And when they had brought a sword before the king,

3:25. Divide, said he, the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.

3:26. But the woman, whose child was alive, said to the king; (for her bowels were moved upon her child) I beseech thee, my lord, give her the child alive, and do not kill it. But the other said: Let it be neither mine nor thine; but divide it.

3:27. The king answered, and said: Give the living child to this woman, and let it not be killed; for she is the mother thereof.

3:28. And all Israel heard the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, seeing that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.

3 Kings Chapter 4

Solomon's chief officers. His riches and wisdom.

4:1. And king Solomon reigned over all Israel:

4:2. And these were the princes which he had: Azarias, the son of Sadoc, the priest:

4:3. Elihoreph, and Ahia, the sons of Sisa, scribes: Josaphat, the son of Ahilud, recorder:

4:4. Banaias, the son of Joiada, over the army: and Sadoc, and Abiathar, priests.

Abiathar... By this it appears that Abiathar was not altogether deposed from the high priesthood; but only banished to his country house, and by that means excluded from the exercise of his functions.

4:5. Azarias, the son of Nathan, over them that were about the king: Zabud, the son of Nathan, the priest, the king's friend:

4:6. And Ahisar, governor of the house: and Adoniram, the son of Abda, over the tribute.

4:7. And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided victuals for the king and for his house hold: for every one provided necessaries, each man his month in the year.

4:8. And these are their names: Benhur, in mount Ephraim.

4:9. Bendecar, in Macces, and in Salebim, and in Bethsames, and in Elon, and in Bethanan.

4:10. Benhesed, in Aruboth: his was Socho, and all the land of Epher.

4:11. Benabinadab, to whom belonged all Nephath-Dor: he had Tapheth, the daughter of Solomon, to wife.

4:12. Bana, the son of Ahilud, who governed Thanac, and Mageddo, and all Bethsan, which is by Sarthana, beneath Jezrael, from Bethsan unto Abelmehula, over against Jecmaan.

4:13. Bengaber, in Ramoth Galaad: he had the town of Jair, the son of Manasses, in Galaad: he was chief in all the country of Argob, which is in Basan, threescore great cities with walls, and brazen bolts.

4:14. Ahinadab, the son of Addo, was chief in Manaim.

4:15. Achimaas, in Nephthali: he also had Basemath, the daughter of Solomon, to wife.

4:16. Baana, the son of Husi, in Aser, and in Baloth.

4:17. Josaphat, the son of Pharue, in Issachar.

4:18. Semei, the son of Ela, in Benjamin.

4:19. Gaber, the son of Uri, in the land of Galaad, in the land of Sehon, the king of the Amorrhites, and of Og, the king of Basan, over all that were in that land.

4:20. Juda and Israel were innumerable, as the sand of the sea in multitude; eating and drinking, and rejoicing.

4:21. And Solomon had under him all the kingdoms, from the river to the land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt: and they brought him presents, and served him all the days of his life.

The river... Euphrates.

4:22. And the provision of Solomon, for each day, was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal;

4:23. Ten fat oxen, and twenty out of the pastures, and a hundred rams; besides venison of harts, roes, and buffles, and fatted fowls.

4:24. For he had all the country which was beyond the river, from Thaphsa to Gazan, and all the kings of those countries: and he had peace on every side round about.

4:25. And Juda, and Israel, dwelt without any fear, every one under his vine, and under his fig tree, from Dan to Bersabee, all the days of Solomon.

4:26. And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of chariot horses, and twelve thousand for the saddle.

4:27. And the foresaid governors of the king fed them; and they furnished the necessaries also for king Solomon's table, with great care, in their time.

4:28. They brought barley also, and straw for the horses and beasts, to the place where the king was, according as it was appointed them.

4:29. And God gave to Solomon wisdom, and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, as the sand that is on the sea shore.

4:30. And the wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals, and of the Egyptians;

4:31. And he was wiser than all men: wiser than Ethan, the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Dorda, the sons of Mahol, and he was renowned in all nations round about.

4:32. Solomon also spoke three thousand parables: and his poems were a thousand and five.

Three thousand parables, etc... These works are all lost, excepting some part of the parables extant in the book of Proverbs; and his chief poem called the Canticle of Canticles.

4:33. And he treated about trees, from the cedar that is in Libanus, unto the hyssop that cometh out of the wall: and he discoursed of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes.

4:34. And they came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who heard of his wisdom.

3 Kings Chapter 5

Hiram king of Tyre agreeth to furnish timber and workmen for building the temple: the number of workmen and overseers.

5:1. And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent his servants to Solomon: for he heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram had always been David's friend.

5:2. Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:

5:3. Thou knowest the will of David, my father, and that he could not build a house to the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars that were round about him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.

5:4. But now the Lord my God hath given me rest round about; and there is no adversary nor evil occurrence.

5:5. Wherefore I purpose to build a temple to the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying: Thy son, whom I will set upon the throne, in thy place, he shall build a house to my name.

5:6. Give orders, therefore, that thy servants cut me down cedar trees, out of Libanus, and let my servants be with thy servants: and I will give thee the hire of thy servants whatsoever thou wilt ask: for thou knowest how there is not among my people a man that has skill to hew wood like to the Sidonians.

5:7. Now when Hiram had heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced exceedingly, and said: Blessed be the Lord God this day, who hath given to David a very wise son over this numerous people.

5:8. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying: I have heard all thou hast desired of me; and I will do all thy desire concerning cedar trees, and fir trees.

5:9. My servants shall bring them down from Libanus to the sea: and I will put them together in floats, on the sea, and convey them to the place, which thou shalt signify to me, and will land them there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt allow me necessaries to furnish food for my household.

5:10. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees, and fir trees, according to all his desire.

5:11. And Solomon allowed Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat, for provision for his house, and twenty measures of the purest oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram every year.

5:12. And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they two made a league together.

5:13. And king Solomon chose workmen out of all Israel, and the levy was of thirty thousand men.

5:14. And he sent them to Libanus, ten thousand every month, by turns, so that two months they were at home: and Adoniram was over this levy.

5:15. And Solomon had seventy thousand to carry burdens, and eighty thousand to hew stones in the mountain:

5:16. Besides the overseers who were over every work, in number three thousand and three hundred, that ruled over the people, and them that did the work.

5:17. And the king commanded that they should bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the temple, and should square them:

5:18. And the masons of Solomon, and the masons of Hiram, hewed them: and the Giblians prepared timber and stones to build the house.

3 Kings Chapter 6

The building of Solomon's temple.

6:1. And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon over Israel, in the month Zio, (the same is the second month) he began to build a house to the Lord.

6:2. And the house, which king Solomon built to the Lord, was threescore cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in height.

6:3. And there was a porch before the temple, of twenty cubits in length, according to the measure of the breadth of the temple: and it was ten cubits in breadth, before the face of the temple.

6:4. And he made in the temple oblique windows.

6:5. And upon the wall of the temple, he built floors round about, in the walls of the house, round about the temple and the oracle, and he made chambers in the sides round about.

Upon the wall, i. e., joining to the wall.-Ibid. He built floors round about... Chambers or cells adjoining to the temple, for the use of the temple and of the priests, so contrived as to be between the inward and outward wall of the temple, in three stories, one above another.-Ibid. The oracle... The inner temple or holy of holies, where God gave his oracles.

6:6. The floor that was underneath was five cubits in breadth, and the middle floor was six cubits in breadth, and the third floor was seven cubits in breadth. And he put beams in the house round about on the outside, that they might not be fastened in the walls of the temple.

6:7. And the house, when it was in building, was built of stones, hewed and made ready: so that there was neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house when it was in building.

Made ready, etc... So the stones for the building of God's eternal temple in the heavenly Jerusalem, (who are the faithful,) must first be hewn and polished here by many trials and sufferings, before they can be admitted to have a place in that celestial structure.

6:8. The door, for the middle side, was on the right hand of the house: and by winding stairs they went up to the middle room, and from the middle to the third.

6:9. So he built the house, and finished it: and he covered the house with roofs of cedar.

6:10. And he built a floor over all the house, five cubits in height, and he covered the house with timber of cedar.

6:11. And the word of the Lord came to Solomon,

6:12. As for this house, which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments, walking in them, I will fulfil my word to thee, which I spoke to David thy father.

6:13. And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and I will not forsake my people Israel.

6:14. So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

6:15. And he built the walls of the house on the inside, with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the top of the walls, and to the roofs, he covered it with boards of cedar on the inside: and he covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.

6:16. And he built up twenty cubits with boards of cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the floor to the top: and made the inner house of the oracle to be the holy of holies.

6:17. And the temple itself, before the doors of the oracle, was forty cubits long.

6:18. And all the house was covered within with cedar, having the turnings, and the joints thereof artfully wrought, and carvings projecting out: all was covered with boards of cedar: and no stone could be seen in the wall at all.

6:19. And he made the oracle in the midst of the house, in the inner part, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

6:20. Now the oracle was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in height. And he covered it, and overlaid it with most pure gold. And the altar also he covered with cedar.

6:21. And the house before the oracle he overlaid with most pure gold, and fastened on the plates with nails of gold.

6:22. And there was nothing in the temple that was not covered with gold: the whole altar of the oracle he covered also with gold.

6:23. And he made in the oracle two cherubims of olive tree, of ten cubits in height.

6:24. One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub was five cubits: that is, in all ten cubits, from the extremity of one wing to the extremity of the other wing.

6:25. The second cherub also was ten cubits: and the measure, and the work was the same in both the cherubims:

6:26. That is to say, one cherub was ten cubits high, and in like manner the other cherub.

6:27. And he set the cherubims in the midst of the inner temple: and the cherubims stretched forth their wings, and the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall: and the other wings in the midst of the temple touched one another.

6:28. And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.

6:29. And all the walls of the temple round about he carved with divers figures and carvings: and he made in them cherubims and palm trees, and divers representations, as it were standing out, and coming forth from the wall.

6:30. And the floor of the house he also overlaid with gold within and without.

6:31. And in the entrance of the oracle, he made little doors of olive tree, and posts of five corners,

6:32. And two doors of olive tree: and he carved upon them figures of cherubims, and figures of palm trees, and carvings very much projecting; and he overlaid them with gold: and he covered both the cherubims and the palm trees, and the other things, with gold.

6:33. And he made in the entrance of the temple posts of olive tree foursquare:

6:34. And two doors of fir tree, one of each side: and each door was double, and so opened with folding leaves.

6:35. And he carved cherubims, and palm trees, and carved work standing very much out: and he overlaid all with golden plates in square work by rule.

6:36. And he built the inner court with three rows of polished stones, and one row of beams of cedar.

6:37. In the fourth year was the house of the Lord founded, in the month Zio:

6:38. And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul. (which is the eighth month) the house was finished in all the works thereof, and in all the appurtenances thereof: and he was seven years in building it.

3 Kings Chapter 7

Solomons palace, his house in the forest, and the queen's house: the work of the two pillars: the sea (or laver) and other vessels.

7:1. And Solomon built his own house in thirteen years, and brought it to perfection.

7:2. He built also the house of the forest of Libanus; the length of it was a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty cubits, and the height thirty cubits: and four galleries between pillars of cedar: for he had cut cedar trees into pillars.

7:3. And he covered the whole vault with boards of cedar, and it was held up with five and forty pillars. And one row had fifteen pillars,

7:4. Set one against another,

7:5. And looking one upon another, with equal space between the pillars, and over the pillars were square beams in all things equal.

7:6. And he made a porch of pillars of fifty cubits in length, and thirty cubits in breadth: and another porch before the greater porch, and pillars, and chapiters upon the pillars.

7:7. He made also the porch of the throne wherein is the seat of judgment; and covered it with cedar wood from the floor to the top.

7:8. And in the midst of the porch, was a small house, where he sat in judgment of the like work. He made also a house for the daughter of Pharao (whom Solomon had taken to wife) of the same work, as this porch;

7:9. All of costly stones, which were sawed by a certain rule and measure, both within and without: from the foundation to the top of the walls, and without, unto the great court.

7:10. And the foundations were of costly stones, great stones of ten cubits or eight cubits.

7:11. And above there were costly stones of equal measure hewed, and in like manner planks of cedar.

7:12. And the great court was made round with three rows of hewed stones, and one row of planks of cedar, which also was observed in the inner court of the house of the Lord, and in the porch of the house.

7:13. And king Solomon sent, and brought Hiram from Tyre,

7:14. The son of a widow woman, of the tribe of Nephthali, whose father was a Tyrian, an artificer in brass, and full of wisdom, and understanding, and skill to work all work in brass. And when he was come to king Solomon, he wrought all his work.

7:15. And he cast two pillars in brass, each pillar was eighteen cubits high: and a line of twelve cubits compassed both the pillars.

7:16. He made also two chapiters of molten brass, to be set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:

7:17. And a kind of network, and chain work wreathed together with wonderful art. Both the chapiters of the pillars were cast: seven rows of nets were on one chapiter, and seven nets on the other chapiter.

7:18. And he made the pillars, and two rows round about each network to cover the chapiters, that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and in like manner did he to the other chapiter.

7:19. And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars, were of lily work, in the porch of four cubits.

7:20. And again there were other chapiters on the top of the pillars above, according to the measure of the pillar over against the network: and of pomegranates there were two hundred, in rows round about the other chapiter.

7:21. And he set up the two pillars in the porch of the temple: and when he had set up the pillar on the right hand, he called the name thereof Jachin: in like manner he set up the second pillar, and called the name thereof Booz.

Jachin... That is, firmly established.-Ibid. Booz... That is, in its strength. By recording these names in holy writ, the spirit of God would have us understand the invincible firmness and strength of the pillars on which the true temple of God, which is the church, is established.

7:22. And upon the tops of the pillars he made lily work: so the work of the pillars was finished.

7:23. He made also a molten sea, of ten cubits, from brim to brim, round all about; the height of it was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.

7:24. And a graven work, under the brim of it, compassed it for ten cubits going about the sea: there were two rows cast of chamfered sculptures.

7:25. And it stood upon twelve oxen, of which three looked towards the north, and three towards the west, and three towards the south, and three towards the east: and the sea was above upon them, and their hinder parts were all hid within.

7:26. And the laver was a hand breadth thick: and the brim thereof was like the brim of a cup, or the leaf of a crisped lily: it contained two thousand bates.

Two thousand bates... That is, about ten thousand gallons. This was the quantity of water which was usually put into it: but it was capable, if brimful, of holding three thousand. See 2 Par. 4.5.

7:27. And he made ten bases of brass, every base was four cubits in length, and four cubits in breadth, and three cubits high.

7:28. And the work itself of the bases, was intergraven: and there were gravings between the joinings.

7:29. And between the little crowns and the ledges, were lions, and oxen, and cherubims; and in the joinings likewise above: and under the lions and oxen, as it were bands of brass hanging down.

7:30. And every base had four wheels, and axletrees of brass: and at the four sides were undersetters, under the laver molten, looking one against another.

7:31. The mouth also of the laver within, was in the top of the chapiter: and that which appeared without, was of one cubit all round, and together it was one cubit and a half: and in the corners of the pillars were divers engravings: and the spaces between the pillars were square, not round.

7:32. And the four wheels, which were at the four corners of the base, were joined one to another under the base: the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.

7:33. And they were such wheels as are used to be made in a chariot: and their axletrees, and spokes, and strakes, and naves, were all cast.

7:34. And the four undersetters, that were at every corner of each base, were of the base itself, cast and joined together.

7:35. And on the top of the base, there was a round compass of half a cubit, so wrought that the laver might be set thereon, having its gravings, and divers sculptures of itself.

7:36. He engraved also in those plates, which were of brass, and in the corners, cherubims, and lions, and palm trees, in likeness of a man standing, so that they seemed not to be engraven, but added round about.

7:37. After this manner, he made ten bases, of one casting and measure, and the like graving.

7:38. He made also ten lavers of brass: one laver contained four bates, and was of four cubits: and upon every base, in all ten, he put as many lavers.

7:39. And he set the ten bases, five on the right side of the temple, and five on the left: and the sea he put on the right side of the temple, over against the east southward.

7:40. And Hiram made cauldrons, and shovels, and basins, and finished all the work of king Solomon in the temple of the Lord.

7:41. The two pillars and the two cords of the chapiters, upon the chapiters of the pillars: and the two networks, to cover the two cords, that were upon the top of the pillars.

7:42. And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks: two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the cords of the chapiters, which were upon the tops of the pillars.

7:43. And the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases.

7:44. And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea.

7:45. And the cauldrons, and the shovels, and the basins. All the vessels that Hiram made for king Solomon, for the house of the Lord, were of fine brass.

7:46. In the plains of the Jordan, did the king cast them in a clay ground, between Socoth and Sartham.

7:47. And Solomon placed all the vessels: but for its exceeding great multitude the brass could not be weighed.

7:48. And Solomon made all the vessels for the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, upon which the loaves of proposition should be set:

7:49. And the golden candlesticks, five on the right hand, and five on the left, over against the oracle, of pure gold: and the flowers like lilies, and the lamps over them of gold: and golden snuffers,

7:50. And pots, and fleshhooks, and bowls, and mortars, and censers, of most pure gold: and the hinges for the doors of the inner house of the holy of holies, and for the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.

7:51. And Solomon finished all the work that he made in the house of the Lord, and brought in the things that David, his father, had dedicated, the silver and the gold, and the vessels, and laid them up in the treasures of the house of the Lord.

3 Kings Chapter 8

The dedication of the temple: Solomon's prayer and sacrifices.

8:1. Then all the ancients of Israel, with the princes of the tribes, and the heads of the families of the children of Israel, were assembled to king Solomon, in Jerusalem: that they might carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, out of the city of David, that is, out of Sion.

8:2. And all Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon, on the festival day, in the month of Ethanim, the same is the seventh month.

8:3. And all the ancients of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark,

8:4. And carried the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the covenant, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, that were in the tabernacle: and the priests and the Levites carried them.

8:5. And king Solomon, and all the multitude of Israel, that were assembled unto him, went with him before the ark, and they sacrificed sheep and oxen, that could not be counted or numbered.

8:6. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord into its place, into the oracle of the temple, into the holy of holies, under the wings of the cherubims.

8:7. For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and covered the ark, and the staves thereof above.

8:8. And whereas the staves stood out, the ends of them were seen without, in the sanctuary before the oracle, but were not seen farther out, and there they have been unto this day.

8:9. Now in the ark there was nothing else but the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

Nothing else, etc... There was nothing else but the tables of the law within the ark: but on the outside of the ark, or near the ark were also the rod of Aaron, and a golden urn with manna, Heb. 9.4.

8:10. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the sanctuary, that a cloud filled the house of the Lord,

8:11. And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

8:12. Then Solomon said: The Lord said that he would dwell in a cloud.

8:13. Building, I have built a house for thy dwelling, to be thy most firm throne for ever.

8:14. And the king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: for all the assembly of Israel stood.

8:15. And Solomon said: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David, my father, and with his own hands hath accomplished it, saying:

8:16. Since the day that I brought my people Israel, out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built, that my name might be there: but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

8:17. And David, my father, would have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel:

8:18. And the Lord said to David, my father: Whereas, thou hast thought in thy heart to build a house to my name, thou hast done well in having this same thing in thy mind.

8:19. Nevertheless, thou shalt not build me a house, but thy son, that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name.

8:20. The Lord hath performed his word which he spoke. And I stand in the room of David, my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

8:21. And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

8:22. And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, in the sight of the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven,

8:23. And said: Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on the earth beneath: who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, that have walked before thee with all their heart:

8:24. Who hast kept with thy servant David, my father, what thou hast promised him: with thy mouth thou didst speak, and with thy hands thou hast performed, as this day proveth.

8:25. Now, therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David, my father, what thou hast spoken to him, saying: There shall not be taken away of thee a man in my sight, to sit on the throne of Israel: yet so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked in my sight.

8:26. And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy words be established, which thou hast spoken to thy servant David, my father.

8:27. Is it then to be thought that God should indeed dwell upon earth? for if heaven, and the heavens of heavens, cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?

8:28. But have regard to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, O Lord, my God: hear the hymn and the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee this day:

8:29. That thy eyes may be open upon this house, night and day: upon the house of which thou hast said: My name shall be there: that thou mayst hearken to the prayer which thy servant prayeth, in this place to thee:

8:30. That thou mayst hearken to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whatsoever they shall pray for in this place, and hear them in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou hearest, shew them mercy.

8:31. If any man trespass against his neighbour, and have an oath upon him, wherewith he is bound, and come, because of the oath, before thy altar, to thy house,

8:32. Then hear thou in heaven: and do and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, and bringing his way upon his own head, and justifying the just, and rewarding him according to his justice.

8:33. If thy people Israel shall fly before their enemies (because they will sin against thee) and doing penance, and confessing to thy name, shall come and pray, and make supplications to thee in this house:

8:34. Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back to the land which thou gavest to their fathers.

8:35. If heaven shall be shut up, and there shall be no rain, because of their sins, and they, praying in this place, shall do penance to thy name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their afflictions:

8:36. Then hear thou them in heaven, and forgive the sins of thy servants, and of thy people Israel: and shew them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people in possession.

8:37. If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or corrupt air, or blasting, or locust, or mildew; if their enemy afflict them, besieging the gates, whatsoever plague, whatsoever infirmity,

8:38. Whatsoever curse or imprecation shall happen to any man of thy people Israel: when a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house;

8:39. Then hear thou in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do so as to give to every one according to his ways, as thou shalt see his heart (for thou only knowest the heart of all the children of men)

8:40. That they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers.

8:41. Moreover also the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far conntry for thy name's sake, (for they shall hear every where of thy great name, and thy mighty hand,

8:42. And thy stretched out arm) so when he shall come, and shall pray in this place,

8:43. Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy dwelling place, and do all those things, for which that stranger shall call upon thee: that all the people of the earth may learn to fear thy name, as do thy people Israel, and may prove that thy name is called upon on this house, which I have built.

8:44. If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by what way soever thou shalt send them, they shall pray to thee towards the way of the city, which thou hast chosen, and towards the house, which I have built to thy name:

8:45. And then hear thou in heaven their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them.

8:46. But if they sin against thee, (for there is no man who sinneth not) and thou being angry, deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be led away captives into the land of their enemies, far or near;

8:47. Then if they do penance in their heart, in the place of captivity, and being converted, make supplication to thee in their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wickedness:

8:48. And return to thee with all their heart, and all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they have been led captives: and pray to thee towards the way of their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, and of the city which thou hast chosen, and of the temple which I have built to thy name:

8:49. Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy throne, their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them:

8:50. And forgive thy people, that have sinned against thee, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against thee: and give them mercy before them that have made them captives, that they may have compassion on them.

8:51. For they are thy people, and thy inheritance, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron.

8:52. That thy eyes may be open to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, to hear them in all things for which they shall call upon thee.

8:53. For thou hast separated them to thyself for an inheritance, from amongst all the people of the earth, as thou hast spoken by Moses, thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.

8:54. And it came to pass, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he rose from before the altar of the Lord: for he had fixed both knees on the ground, and had spread his hands towards heaven.

8:55. And he stood, and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

8:56. Blessed be the Lord, who hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed so much as one word of all the good things that he promised by his servant Moses.

8:57. The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, and not leave us, nor cast us off:

8:58. But may he incline our hearts to himself, that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his ceremonies, and all his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.

8:59. And let these my words, wherewith I have prayed before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he may do judgment for his servant, and for his people Israel, day by day:

8:60. That all the people of the earth may know, that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him.

8:61. Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, that we may walk in his statutes, and keep his commandments, as at this day.

8:62. And the king, and all Israel with him, offered victims before the Lord.

8:63. And Solomon slew victims of peace offerings, which he sacrificed to the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep so the king, and all the children of Israel, dedicated the temple of the Lord.

8:64. In that day the king sanctified the middle of the court, that was before the house of the Lord for there he offered the holocaust, and sacrifice, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the Lord, was too little to receive the holocaust, and sacrifice, and the fat of the peace offerings.

8:65. And Solomon made at the same time a solemn feast, and all Israel with him, a great multitude, from the entrance of Emath to the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, that is, fourteen days.

8:66. And on the eighth day, he sent away the people: and they blessed the king, and went to their dwellings, rejoicing, and glad in heart, for all the good things that the Lord had done for David, his servant, and for Israel, his people.

3 Kings Chapter 9

The Lord appeareth again to Solomon: he buildeth cities: he sendeth a fleet to Ophir.

9:1. And it came to pass when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all that he desired and was pleased to do,

9:2. That the Lord appeared to him the second time, as he had appeared to him in Gabaon.

9:3. And the Lord said to him: I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, which thou hast made before me: I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and my eyes, and my heart, shall be there always.

9:4. And if thou wilt walk before me, as thy father walked, in simplicity of heart, and in uprightness: and wilt do all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my ordinances, and my judgments,

As thy father walked, in simplicity of heart... That is, in the sincerity and integrity of a single heart, as opposite to all double dealing and deceit.

9:5. I will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, as I promised David, thy father, saying: There shall not fail a man of thy race upon the throne of Israel.

9:6. But if you and your children, revolting, shall turn away from following me, and will not keep my commandments, and my ceremonies, which I have set before you, but will go and worship strange gods, and adore them:

9:7. I will take away Israel from the face of the land which I have given them; and the temple which I have sanctified to my name, I will cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb, and a byword among all people.

9:8. And this house shall be made an example of: every one that shall pass by it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss, and say: Why hath the Lord done thus to this land, and to this house?

9:9. And they shall answer: Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and followed strange gods, and adored them, and worshipped them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.

9:10. And when twenty years were ended, after Solomon had built the two houses; that is, the house of the Lord, and the house of the king,

9:11. (Hiram, the king of Tyre, furnishing Solomon with cedar trees, and fir trees, and gold, according to all he had need of) then Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

9:12. And Hiram came out of Tyre, to see the towns which Solomon had given him, and they pleased him not;

9:13. And he said: Are these the cities which thou hast given me, brother? And he called them the land of Chabul, unto this day.

Chabul... That is, dirty or displeasing.

9:14. And Hiram sent to king Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold.

9:15. This is the sum of the expenses, which king Solomon offered to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Mello, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Heser, and Mageddo, and Gazer.

9:16. Pharao, the king of Egypt, came up and took Gazer, and burnt it with fire: and slew the Chanaanite that dwelt in the city, and gave it for a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife.

9:17. So Solomon built Gazer, and Bethhoron the nether,

9:18. And Baalath, and Palmira, in the land of the wilderness.

9:19. And all the towns that belonged to himself, and were not walled, he fortified; the cities also of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen, and whatsoever he had a mind to build in Jerusalem, and in Libanus, and in all the land of his dominion.

9:20. All the people that were left of the Amorrhites, and Hethites, and Pherezites, and Hevites, and Jebusites, that are not of the children of Israel:

9:21. Their children, that were left in the land; to wit, such as the children of Israel had not been able to destroy, Solomon made tributary unto this day.

9:22. But of the children of Israel, Solomon made not any to be bondmen, but they were warriors, and his servants, and his princes, and captains, and overseers of the chariots and horses.

9:23. And there were five hundred and fifty chief officers set over all the works of Solomon, and they had people under them, and had charge over the appointed works.

9:24. And the daughter of Pharao came up out of the city of David to her house, which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Mello.

9:25. Solomon also offered three times every year holocausts, and victims of peace offerings, upon the altar which he had built to the Lord, and he burnt incense before the Lord: and the temple was finished.

9:26. And king Solomon made a fleet in Asiongaber, which is by Ailath, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

9:27. And Hiram sent his servants in the fleet, sailors that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

9:28. And they came to Ophir; and they brought from thence to king Solomon four hundred and twenty talents of gold.

3 Kings Chapter 10

The queen of Saba cometh to king Solomon: his riches and glory.

10:1. And the queen of Saba having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions.

10:2. And entering into Jerusalem with a great train, and riches, and camels that carried spices, and an immense quantity of gold, and precious stones, she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she had in her heart.

10:3. And Solomon informed her of all the things she proposed to him: there was not any word the king was ignorant of, and which he could not answer her.

10:4. And when the queen of Saba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,

10:5. And the meat of his table, and the apartments of his servants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and the holocausts, which he offered in the house of the Lord, she had no longer any spirit in her;

10:6. And she said to the king: The report is true, which I heard in my own country,

10:7. Concerning thy words, and concerning thy wisdom. And I did not believe them that told me, till I came myself, and saw with my own eyes, and have found that the half hath not been told me: thy wisdom and thy works exceed the fame which I heard.

10:8. Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy servants, who stand before thee always, and hear thy wisdom.

10:9. Blessed be the Lord thy God, whom thou hast pleased, and who hath set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord hath loved Israel for ever, and hath appointed thee king, to do judgment and justice.

10:10. And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great store, and precious stones: there was brought no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon.

10:11. (The navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir great plenty of thyine trees, and precious stones.

10:12. And the king made of the thyine trees the rails of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house: and citterns and harps for singers: there were no such thyine trees as these brought nor seen unto this day.)

10:13. And king Solomon gave the queen of Saba all that she desired, and asked of him: besides what he offered her of himself of his royal bounty. And she returned, and went to her own country, with her servants.

10:14. And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold:

10:15. Besides that which the men brought him that were over the tributes, and the merchants, and they that sold by retail, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the country.

10:16. And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred sicles of gold for the plates of one shield.

10:17. And three hundred targets of fine gold: three hundred pounds of gold covered one target: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Libanus.

10:18. King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest gold.

10:19. It had six steps: and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were two hands on either side holding the seat: and two lions stood, one at each hand,

10:20. And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps, on the one side and on the other: there was no such work made in any kingdom.

10:21. Moreover, all the vessels out of which king Solomon drank, were of gold: and all the furniture of the house of the forest of Libanus was of most pure gold: there was no silver, nor was any account made of it in the days of Solomon:

10:22. For the king's navy, once in three years, went with the navy of Hiram by sea to Tharsis, and brought from thence gold, and silver, and elephants' teeth, and apes, and peacocks.

10:23. And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

10:24. And all the earth desired to see Solomon's face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart.

10:25. And every one brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, garments, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules, every year.

10:26. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he bestowed them in fenced cities, and with the king in Jerusalem.

10:27. And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars to be as common as sycamores which grow in the plains.

10:28. And horses were brought for Solomon out of Egypt, and Coa: for the king's merchants bought them out of Coa, and brought them at a set price.

10:29. And a chariot of four horses came out of Egypt, for six hundred sicles of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And after this manner did all the kings of the Hethites, and of Syria, sell horses.

3 Kings Chapter 11

Solomon by means of his wives falleth into idolatry: God raiseth him adversaries, Adad, Razon, and Jeroboam: Solomon dieth.

11:1. And king Solomon loved many strange women, besides the daughter of Pharao, and women of Moab, and of Ammon, and of Edom, and of Sidon, and of the Hethites:

11:2. Of the nations concerning which the Lord said to the children of Israel: You shall not go in unto them, neither shall any of them come into yours: for they will most certainly turn away your hearts to follow their gods. And to these was Solomon joined with a most ardent love.

11:3. And he had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart.

11:4. And when he was now old, his heart was turned away by women to follow strange gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David, his father.

11:5. But Solomon worshipped Astarthe, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch, the idol of the Ammonites.

11:6. And Solomon did that which was not pleasing before the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as David, his father.

11:7. Then Solomon built a temple for Chamos, the idol of Moab, on the hill that is over against Jerusalem, and for Moloch, the idol of the children of Ammon.

11:8. And he did in this manner for all his wives that were strangers, who burnt incense, and offered sacrifice to their gods.

11:9. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his mind was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice;

11:10. And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not follow strange gods: but he kept not the things which the Lord commanded him.

11:11. The Lord therefore said to Solomon: Because thou hast done this, and hast not kept my covenant, and my precepts, which I have commanded thee, I will divide and rend thy kingdom, and will give it to thy servant.

11:12. Nevertheless, in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.

11:13. Neither will I take away the whole kingdom; but I will give one tribe to thy son, for the sake of David, my servant, and Jerusalem, which I have chosen.

One tribe... Besides that of Juda, his own native tribe.

11:14. And the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Adad, the Edomite, of the king's seed, in Edom.

11:15. For when David was in Edom, and Joab, the general of the army, was gone up to bury them that were slain, and had killed every male in Edom,

11:16. (For Joab remained there six months with all Israel, till he had slain every male in Edom,)

11:17. Then Adad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants, with him, to go into Egypt: and Adad was then a little boy.

11:18. And they arose out of Madian, and came into Pharan, and they took men with them from Pharan, and went into Egypt, to Pharao, the king of Egypt: who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and assigned him land.

11:19. And Adad found great favour before Pharao, insomuch that he gave him to wife the own sister of his wife, Taphnes, the queen.

11:20. And the sister of Taphnes bore him his son, Genubath; and Taphnes brought him up in the house of Pharao: and Genubath dwelt with Pharao among his children.

11:21. And when Adad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab, the general of the army, was dead, he said to Pharao: Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.

11:22. And Pharao said to him: Why, what is wanting to thee with me, that thou seekest to go to thy own country? But he answered: Nothing; yet I beseech thee to let me go.

11:23. God also raised up against him an adversary, Razon, the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Adarezer, the king of Soba.

11:24. And he gathered men against him, and he became a captain of robbers, when David slew them of Soba: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there, and they made him king in Damascus.

11:25. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon: and this is the evil of Adad, and his hatred against Israel; and he reigned in Syria.

11:26. Jeroboam also, the son of Nabat, an Ephrathite, of Sareda, a servant of Solomon, whose mother was named Sarua, a widow woman, lifted up his hand against the king.

11:27. And this is the cause of his rebellion against him; for Solomon built Mello, and filled up the breach of the city of David, his father.

11:28. And Jeroboam was a valiant and mighty man: and Solomon seeing him a young man ingenious and industrious, made him chief over the tributes of all the house of Joseph.

11:29. So it came to pass at that time, that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahias, the Silonite, clad with a new garment, found him in the way: and they two were alone in the field.

11:30. And Ahias taking his new garment, wherewith he was clad, divided it into twelve parts:

11:31. And he said to Jeroboam: Take to thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give thee ten tribes.

11:32. But one tribe shall remain to him for the sake of my servant, David, and Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:

11:33. Because he hath forsaken me, and hath adored Astarthe, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Chamos, the god of Moab, and Moloch, the god of the children of Ammon: and hath not walked in my ways, to do justice before me, and to keep my precepts, and judgments, as did David, his father.

11:34. Yet I will not take away all the kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him prince all the days of his life, for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, who kept my commandments, and my precepts.

11:35. But I will take away the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give thee ten tribes:

11:36. And to his son I will give one tribe, that there may remain a lamp for my servant, David, before me always in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen, that my name might be there.

11:37. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul desireth, and thou shalt be king over Israel.

11:38. If then thou wilt hearken to all that I shall command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do what is right before me, keeping my commandments and my precepts, as David, my servant, did: I will be with thee, and will build thee up a faithful house, as I built a house for David, and I will deliver Israel to thee:

11:39. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but yet not for ever.

11:40. Solomon, therefore, sought to kill Jeroboam: but he arose, and fled into Egypt, to Sesac, the king of Egypt, and was in Egypt till the death of Solomon.

11:41. And the rest of the words of Solomon, and all that he did and his wisdom: behold they are all written in the book of the words of the days of Solomon.

The book of the words, etc... This book is lost, with divers others mentioned in holy writ.

11:42. And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all Israel, were forty years.

11:43. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David, his father; and Roboam, his son, reigned in his stead.

Solomon slept, etc... That is, died. He was then about fifty-eight years of age, having reigned forty years.

3 Kings Chapter 12

Roboam, following the counsel of young men alienateth from him the minds of the people. They make Jeroboam king over ten tribes: he setteth up idolatry.

12:1. And Roboam went to Sichem: for thither were all Israel come together to make him king.

12:2. But Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who was yet in Egypt, a fugitive from the face of king Solomon, hearing of his death, returned out of Egypt.

12:3. And they sent and called him: and Jeroboam came, and all the multitude of Israel, and they spoke to Roboam, saying:

12:4. Thy father laid a grievous yoke upon us: now, therefore, do thou take off a little of the grievous service of thy father, and of his most heavy yoke, which he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

12:5. And he said to them: Go till the third day, and come to me again. And when the people was gone,

12:6. King Roboam took counsel with the old men, that stood before Solomon, his father, while he yet lived, and he said: What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people?

12:7. They said to him: If thou wilt yield to this people to day, and condescend to them, and grant their petition, and wilt speak gentle words to them, they will be thy servants always.

12:8. But he left the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that had been brought up with him, and stood before him.

12:9. And he said to them: What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people, who have said to me: Make the yoke, which thy father put upon us, lighter?

12:10. And the young men that had been brought up with him, said: Thus shalt thou speak to this people, who have spoken to thee, saying: Thy father made our yoke heavy, do thou ease us. Thou shalt say to them: My little finger is thicker than the back of my father.

12:11. And now my father put a heavy yoke upon you, but I will add to your yoke: my father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.

12:12. So Jeroboam, and all the people, came to Roboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying: Come to me again the third day.

12:13. And the king answered the people roughly, leaving the counsel of the old men, which they had given him,

12:14. And he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying: My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.

12:15. And the king condescended not to the people: for the Lord was turned away from him, to make good his word, which he had spoken in the hand of Ahias, the Silonite, to Jeroboam, the son of Nabat.

12:16. Then the people, seeing that the king would not hearken to them, answered him, saying: What portion have we in David? or what inheritance in the son of Isai? Go home to thy dwellings, O Israel: now, David, look to thy own house. So Israel departed to their dwellings.

12:17. But as for all the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Juda, Roboam reigned over them.

12:18. Then king Roboam sent Aduram, who was over the tribute: and all Israel stoned him, and he died. Wherefore king Roboam made haste to get him up into his chariot, and he fled to Jerusalem:

12:19. And Israel revolted from the house of David, unto this day.

12:20. And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they gathered an assembly, and sent and called him, and made him king over all Israel, and there was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Juda only.

Juda only... Benjamin was a small tribe, and so intermixed with the tribe of Juda, (the very city of Jerusalem being partly in Juda, partly in Benjamin,) that they are here counted but as one tribe.

12:21. And Roboam came to Jerusalem, and gathered together all the house of Juda, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred fourscore thousand chosen men for war, to fight against the house of Israel, and to bring the kingdom again under Roboam, the son of Solomon.

12:22. But the word of the Lord came to Semeias, the man of God, saying:

12:23. Speak to Roboam, the son of Solomon, the king of Juda, and to all the house of Juda, and Benjamin, and the rest of the people, saying:

12:24. Thus saith the Lord: You shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren, the children of Israel: let every man return to his house, for this thing is from me. They hearkened to the word of the Lord, and returned from their journey, as the Lord had commanded them.

12:25. And Jeroboam built Sichem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt there, and going out from thence, he built Phanuel.

12:26. And Jeroboam said in his heart: Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David,

12:27. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem: and the heart of this people will turn to their lord Roboam, the king of Juda, and they will kill me, and return to him.

12:28. And finding out a device, he made two golden calves, and said to them: Go ye up no more to Jerusalem: Behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

Golden calves... It is likely, by making his gods in this form, he mimicked the Egyptians, among whom he had sojourned, who worshipped their Apis and their Osiris under the form of a bullock.

12:29. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other in Dan:

Bethel and Dan... Bethel was a city of the tribe of Ephraim in the southern part of the dominions of Jeroboam, about six leagues from Jerusalem; Dan was in the extremity of his dominions to the north in the confines of Syria.

12:30. And this thing became an occasion of sin: for the people went to adore the calf as far as Dan.

12:31. And he made temples in the high places, and priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

12:32. And he appointed a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, after the manner of the feast that was celebrated in Juda. And going up to the altar, he did in like manner in Bethel, to sacrifice to the calves, which he had made: and he placed in Bethel priests of the high places, which he had made.

12:33. And he went up to the altar, which he had built in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast to the children of Israel, and went up on the altar to burn incense.

3 Kings Chapter 13

A prophet sent from Juda to Bethel foretelleth the birth of Josias, and the destruction of Jeroboam's altar. Jeroboam's hand offering violence to the prophet withereth, but is restored by the prophet's prayer: the same prophet is deceived by another prophet, and slain by a lion.

13:1. And behold there came a man of God out of Juda, by the word of the Lord, to Bethel, when Jeroboam was standing upon the altar, and burning incense.

13:2. And he cried out against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said: O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold a child shall be born to the house of David, Josias by name, and he shall immolate upon thee the priests of the high places, who now burn incense upon thee, and he shall burn men's bones upon thee.

13:3. And he gave a sign the same day, saying: This shall be the sign, that the Lord hath spoken: Behold the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it, shall be poured out.

13:4. And when the king had heard the word of the man of God, which he had cried out against the altar in Bethel, he stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying: Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched forth against him, withered: and he was not able to draw it back again to him.

13:5. The altar also was rent, and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given before in the word of the Lord.

13:6. And the king said to the man of God: Entreat the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me. And the man of God besought the face of the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before.

13:7. And the king said to the man of God: Come home with me to dine, and I will make thee presents.

13:8. And the man of God answered the king: If thou wouldst give me half thy house, I will not go with thee, nor eat bread, nor drink water in this place:

13:9. For so it was enjoined me by the word of the Lord commanding me: Thou shalt not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way that thou camest.

13:10. So he departed by another way, and returned not by the way that he came into Bethel.

13:11. Now a certain old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came to him, and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: and they told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

13:12. And their father said to them: What way went he? His sons shewed him the way by which the man of God went, who came out of Juda.

13:13. And he said to his sons: Saddle me the ass. And when they had saddled it, he got up,

13:14. And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a turpentine tree: and he said to him: Art thou the man of God who camest from Juda? He answered: I am.

13:15. And he said to him: Come home with me to eat bread.

13:16. But he said: I must not return, nor go with thee, neither will I eat bread, or drink water in this place:

13:17. Because the Lord spoke to me, in the word of the Lord, saying: Thou shalt not eat bread, and thou shalt not drink water there, nor return by the way thou wentest.

13:18. He said to him: I also am a prophet like unto thee: and an angel spoke to me, in the word of the Lord, saying: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread, and drink water. He deceived him,

An angel spoke to me, etc... This old man of Bethel was indeed a prophet, but he sinned in thus deceiving the man of God; the more because he pretended a revelation for what he did.

13:19. And brought him back with him: so he ate bread, and drank water in his house.

13:20. And as they sat at table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet that brought him back:

13:21. And he cried out to the man of God who came out of Juda, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast not been obedient to the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee,

13:22. And hast returned, and eaten bread, and drunk water in the place wherein he commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat bread, nor drink water, thy dead body shall not be brought into the sepulchre of thy fathers.

13:23. And when he had eaten and drunk, he saddled his ass for the prophet, whom he had brought back.

13:24. And when he was gone, a lion found him in the way, and killed him, and his body was cast in the way: and the ass stood by him, and the lion stood by the dead body.

Killed him... Thus the Lord often punishes his servants here, that he may spare them hereafter. For the generality of divines are of opinion, that the sin of this prophet, considered with all its circumstances, was not mortal.

13:25. And behold, men passing by, saw the dead body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city, wherein that old prophet dwelt.

13:26. And when that prophet, who had brought him back out of the way, heard of it, he said: It is the man of God, that was disobedient to the mouth of the Lord, and the Lord hath delivered him to the lion, and he hath torn him, and killed him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to him.

13:27. And he said to his sons: Saddle me an ass. And when they had saddled it,

13:28. And he was gone, he found the dead body cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten of the dead body, nor hurt the ass.

13:29. And the prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and going back brought it into the city of the old prophet, to mourn for him.

13:30. And he laid his dead body in his own sepulchre: and they mourned over him, saying: Alas! alas, my brother.

13:31. And when they had mourned over him, he said to his sons: When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried: lay my bones beside his bones.

13:32. For assuredly the word shall come to pass which he hath foretold in the word of the Lord, against the altar that is in Bethel: and against all the temples of the high places, that are in the cities of Samaria.

13:33. After these words, Jeroboam came not back from his wicked way: but on the contrary, he made of the meanest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he filled his hand, and he was made a priest of the high places.

13:34. And for this cause did the house of Jeroboam sin, and was cut off, and destroyed from the face of the earth.

3 Kings Chapter 14

Ahias prophesieth the destruction of the family of Jeroboam. He dieth, and is succeeded by his son Nadab. The king of Egypt taketh and pillageth Jerusalem. Roboam dieth and his son Abiam succeedeth.

14:1. At that time Abia, the son of Jeroboam, fell sick.

14:2. And Jeroboam said to his wife: Arise, and change thy dress, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Silo, where Ahias, the prophet is, who told me that I should reign over this people.

14:3. Take also with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a pot of honey, and go to him: for he will tell thee what will become of this child.

14:4. Jeroboam's wife did as he told her: and rising up, went to Silo, and came to the house of Ahias; but he could not see, for his eyes were dim by reason of his age.

14:5. And the Lord said to Ahias: Behold the wife of Jeroboam cometh in, to consult thee concerning her son, that is sick: thus and thus shalt thou speak to her. So when she was coming in, and made as if she were another woman,

14:6. Ahias heard the sound of her feet, coming in at the door, and said: Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam: why dost thou feign thyself to be another? But I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.

14:7. Go, and tell Jeroboam: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: For as much as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel;

14:8. And rent the kingdom away from thc house of David, and gave it to thee, and thou hast not been as my servant, David, who kept my commandments, and followed me with all his heart, doing that which was well pleasing in my sight:

14:9. But hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast made thee strange gods, and molten gods, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:

14:10. Therefore, behold I will bring evils upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel: and I will sweep away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as dung is swept away till all be clean.

14:11. Them that shall die of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs shall eat: and them that shall die in the field, the birds of the air shall devour: for the Lord hath spoken it.

14:12. Arise thou, therefore, and go to thy house: and when thy feet shall be entering into the city, the child shall die,

14:13. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and shall bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall be laid in a sepulchre, because in his regard there is found a good word from the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.

14:14. And the Lord hath appointed himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam in this day, and in this time:

14:15. And the Lord God shall strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water: and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river: because they have made to themselves groves, to provoke the Lord.

14:16. And the Lord shall give up Israel for the sins of Jeroboam, who hath sinned, and made Israel to sin.

14:17. And the wife of Jeroboam arose, and departed, and came to Thersa: and when she was coming in to the threshold of the house, the child died,

14:18. And they buried him. And all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Ahias, the prophet.

14:19. And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he fought, and how he reigned, behold they are written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel.

The book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel... This book, which is often mentioned in the Book of Kings, is long since lost. For as to the books of Paralipomenon, or Chronicles, (which the Hebrews call the words of the days,) they were certainly written after the Book of Kings, since they frequently refer to them.

14:20. And the days that Jeroboam reigned, were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers: and Nadab, his son, reigned in his stead.

14:21. And Roboam, the son of Solomon, reigned in Juda: Roboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord chose out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naama, an Ammonitess.

14:22. And Juda did evil in the sight of the Lord, and provoked him above all that their fathers had done, in their sins which they committed.

14:23. For they also built them altars, and statues, and groves, upon every high hill, and under every green tree:

14:24. There were also the effeminate in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the people, whom the Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of Israel.

The effeminate... Catamites, or men addicted to unnatural lust.

14:25. And in the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Sesac, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem.

14:26. And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the king's treasures, and carried all off: as also the shields of gold which Solomon had made:

14:27. And Roboam made shields of brass instead of them, and delivered them into the hand of the captains of the shieldbearers, and of them that kept watch before the gate of the king's house.

14:28. And when the king went into the house of the Lord, they whose office it was to go before him, carried them: and afterwards they brought them back to the armoury of the shieldbearers.

14:29. Now the rest of the acts of Roboam, and all that he did, behold they are written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda.

14:30. And there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam always.

14:31. And Roboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with them, in the city of David: and his mother's name was Naama, an Ammonitess: and Abiam, his son, reigned in his stead.

3 Kings Chapter 15

The acts of Abiam and of Asa kings of Juda. And of Nadab and Baasa kings of Israel.

15:1. Now in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, Abiam reigned over Juda.

15:2. He reigned three years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Maacha, the daughter of Abessalom.

Maacha, etc... She is called elsewhere Michaia, daughter of Uriel; but it was common in those days for the same person to have two names.

15:3. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David, his father.

15:4. But for David's sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem:

15:5. Because David had done that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from any thing that he commanded him, all the days of his life, except the matter of Urias, the Hethite.

15:6. But there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam all the time of his life.

15:7. And the rest of the words of Abiam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? And there was war between Abiam and Jeroboam.

15:8. And Abiam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa, his son, reigned in his stead.

15:9. So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, reigned Asa, king of Juda,

15:10. And he reigned one and forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacha, the daughter of Abessalom.

His mother, etc... That is, his grandmother; unless we suppose, which is not improbable, that the Maacha here named is different from the Maacha mentioned, ver. 2.

15:11. And Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as did David, his father:

15:12. And he took away the effeminate out of the land, and removed all the filth of the idols, which his fathers had made.

15:13. Moreover, he also removed his mother, Maacha, from being the princess in the sacrifices of Priapus, and in the grove which she had consecrated to him: and he destroyed her den, and broke in pieces the filthy idol, and burnt it by the torrent Cedron:

15:14. But the high places he did not take away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all his days:

The high places... There were excelsa or high places of two different kinds. Some were set up, and dedicated to the worship of idols, or strange gods; and these Asa removed, 2 Par. 14.2; others were only altars of the true God, but were erected contrary to the law, which allowed of no sacrifices but in the temple; and these were not removed by Asa.-Ibid. Perfect with the Lord... Asa had his faults; but never forsook the worship of the Lord.

15:15. And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and he had vowed, into the house of the Lord, silver and gold, and vessels.

15:16. And there was war between Asa, and Baasa, king of Israel, all their days.

15:17. And Baasa, king of Israel, went up against Juda, and built Rama, that no man might go out or come in of the side of Asa, king of Juda.

15:18. Then Asa took all the silver and gold that remained in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and delivered it into the hands of his servants: and sent them to Benadad, son of Tabremon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying:

15:19. There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: therefore I have sent thee presents of silver and gold: and I desire thee to come, and break thy league with Baasa, king of Israel, that he may depart from me.

15:20. Benadad, hearkening to king Asa, sent the captains of his army against the cities of Israel, and they smote Ahion, and Dan, and Abeldomum Maacha, and all Cenneroth; that is all the land of Nephthali.

15:21. And when Baasa had heard this, he left off building Rama, and returned into Thersa.

15:22. But king Asa sent word into all Juda, saying: Let no man be excused: and they took away the stones from Rama, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasa had been building, and with them king Asa built Gabaa of Benjamin, and Maspha.

15:23. But the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his strength, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.

15:24. And he slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, his father. And Josaphat, his son, reigned in his place.

15:25. But Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, reigned over Israel the second year of Asa, king of Juda: and he reigned over Israel two years.

15:26. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin.

15:27. And Baasa, the son of Ahias, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him, and slew him in Gebbethon, which is a city of the Philistines: for Nadab and all Israel besieged Gebbethon.

15:28. So Baasa slew him in the third year of Asa, king of Juda, and reigned in his place.

15:29. And when he was king, he cut off all the house of Jeroboam: he left not so much as one soul of his seed, till he had utterly destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken in the hand of Ahias, the Silonite:

15:30. Because of the sin of Jeroboam, which he had sinned, and wherewith he had made Israel to sin, and for the offence wherewith he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.

15:31. But the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

15:32. And there was war between Asa and Baasa, the king of Israel, all their days.

15:33. In the third year of Asa, king of Juda, Baasa, the son of Ahias, reigned over all Israel, in Thersa, four and twenty years.

15:34. And he did evil before the Lord, and walked in the ways of Jeroboam, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin.

3 Kings Chapter 16

Jehu prophesieth against Baasa: his son Ela is slain and all his family destroyed by Zambri. Of the reign of Amri father of Achab.

16:1. Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Baasa, saying:

16:2. For as much as I have exalted thee out of the dust and made thee prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins:

16:3. Behold I will cut down the posterity of Baasa, and the posterity of his house, and I will make thy house as the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat.

16:4. Him that dieth of Baasa, in the city, the dogs shall eat: and him that dieth of his in the country, the fowls of the air shall devour.

16:5. But the rest of the acts of Baasa, and all that he did, and his battles, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

16:6. So Baasa slept with his fathers, and was buried in Thersa: and Ela, his son, reigned in his stead.

16:7. And when the word of the Lord came in the hand of Jehu, the son of Hanani, the prophet, against Baasa, and against his house, and against all the evil that he had done before the Lord, to provoke him to anger by the works of his hands, to become as the house of Jeroboam: for this cause he slew him; that is to say, Jehu, the son of Hanani, the prophet.

16:8. In the six and twentieth year of Asa, king of Juda, Ela, the son of Baasa, reigned over Israel, in Thersa, two years.

16:9. And his servant Zambri, who was captain of half the horsemen, rebelled against him: now Ela was drinking in Thersa, and drunk in the house of Arsa, the governor of Thersa.

16:10. And Zambri rushing in, struck him, and slew him, in the seven and twentieth year of Asa, king of Juda and he reigned in his stead.

16:11. And when he was king, and sat upon his throne, he slew all the house of Baasa, and he left not one thereof to piss against a wall and all his kinsfolks and friends.

16:12. And Zambri destroyed all the house of Baasa, according to the word of the Lord, that he had spoken to Baasa, in the hand of Jehu, the prophet,

16:13. For all the sins of Baasa, and the sins of Ela, his son, who sinned, and made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, with their vanities.

16:14. But the rest of the acts of Ela, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

16:15. In the seven and twentieth year of Asa, king of Juda, Zambri reigned seven days in Thersa: now the army was besieging Gebbethon, a city of the Philistines.

16:16. And when they heard that Zambri had rebelled, and slain the king, all Israel made Amri their king, who was general over Israel in the camp that day.

16:17. And Amri went up, and all Israel with him, from Gebbethon, and they besieged Thersa.

16:18. And Zambri, seeing that the city was about to be taken, went into the palace, and burnt himself with the king's house: and he died

16:19. In his sins, which he had sinned, doing evil before the Lord, and walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin, wherewith he made Israel to sin.

16:20. But the rest of the acts of Zambri, and of his conspiracy and tyranny, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

16:21. Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: one half of the people followed Thebni, the son of Gineth, to make him king: and one half followed Amri.

16:22. But the people that were with Amri, prevailed over the people that followed Thebni, the son of Gineth: and Thebni died, and Amri reigned.

16:23. In the one and thirtieth year of Asa, king of Juda, Amri reigned over Israel twelve years: in Thersa he reigned six years.

In the one and thirtieth year, etc... Amri began to reign in the seven and twentieth year of Asa; but had not quiet possession of the kingdom till the death of his competitor Thebni, which was in the one and thirtieth year of Asa's reign.

16:24. And he bought the hill of Samaria of Semer, for two talents of silver: and he built upon it, and he called the city which he built Samaria, after the name of Semer, the owner of the hill.

16:25. And Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and acted wickedly above all that were before him.

16:26. And he walked in all the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin: to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities.

With their vanities... That is, their idols their golden calves, vain, false, deceitful things.

16:27. Now the rest of the acts of Amri, and the battles he fought, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

16:28. And Amri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, and Achab, his son, reigned in his stead.

16:29. Now Achab, the son of Amri, reigned over Israel in the eight and thirtieth year of Asa, king of Juda. And Achab, the son of Amri, reigned over Israel in Samaria two and twenty years.

16:30. And Achab, the son of Amri, did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.

16:31. Nor was it enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat: but he also took to wife Jezabel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. And he went, and served Baal, and adored him.

16:32. And he set up an altar for Baal, in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria;

16:33. And he planted a grove: and Achab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

16:34. In his days Hiel, of Bethel, built Jericho: in Abiram, his firstborn, he laid its foundations: and in his youngest son, Segub, he set up the gates thereof: according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Josue, the son of Nun.

3 Kings Chapter 17

Elias shutteth up the heaven from raining. He is fed by ravens, and afterwards by a widow of Sarephta. He raiseth the window's son to life.

17:1. And Elias the Thesbite, of the inhabitants of Galaad, said to Achab: As the Lord liveth, the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to the words of my mouth.

17:2. And the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

17:3. Get thee hence, and go towards the east, and hide thyself by the torrent of Carith, which is over against the Jordan;

17:4. And there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

17:5. So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord: and going, he dwelt by the torrent Carith, which is over against the Jordan.

17:6. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent.

17:7. But after some time the torrent was dried up: for it had not rained upon the earth.

17:8. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

17:9. Arise, and go to Sarephta of the Sidonians, and dwell there: for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed thee.

Sarephta of the Sidonians... That is, a city of the Sidonians.

17:10. He arose, and went to Sarephta. And when he was come to the gate of the city, he saw the widow woman gathering sticks, and he called her, and said to her: Give me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

17:11. And when she was going to fetch it, he called after her, saying: Bring me also, I beseech thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.

17:12. And she answered: As the Lord thy God liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of meal in a pot, and a little oil in a cruise: behold I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it, for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.

17:13. And Elias said to her: Fear not; but go, and do as thou hast said but first make for me of the same meal a little hearth cake, and bring it to me, and after make for thyself and thy son.

17:14. For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruise of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth.

17:15. She went, and did according to the word of Elias: and he ate, and she, and her house: and from that day

17:16. The pot of meal wasted not, and the cruise of oil was not diminished according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Elias.

17:17. And it came to pass after this, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him.

17:18. And she said to Elias: What have I to do with thee, thou man of God? art thou come to me, that my iniquities should be remembered, and that thou shouldst kill my son?

17:11. And Elias said to her: Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

17:20. And he cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord, my God, hast thou afflicted also the widow, with whom I am after a sort maintained, so as to kill her son?

17:21. And he stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord, my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body.

17:22. And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived.

17:23. And Elias took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber to the house below, and delivered him to his mother, and said to her: Behold thy son liveth.

17:24. And the woman said to Elias: Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.

3 Kings Chapter 18

Elias cometh before Achab. He convinceth the false prophets by bringing fire from heaven: he obtaineth rain by his prayer.

18:1. After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying: Go, and shew thyself to Achab, that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.

18:2. And Elias went to shew himself to Achab, and there was a grievous famine in Samaria.

18:3. And Achab called Abdias the governor of his house: now Abdias feared the Lord very much.

18:4. For when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water.

18:5. And Achab said to Abdias: Go into the land unto all fountains of waters, and into all valleys, to see if we can find grass, and save the horses and mules, that the beasts may not utterly perish.

18:6. And they divided the countries between them, that they might go round about them: Achab went one way, and Abdias another way by himself.

18:7. And as Abdias was in the way, Elias met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said: Art thou my lord Elias?

18:8. And he answered: I am. Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here.

18:9. And he said: What have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver me, thy servant, into the hand of Achab, that he should kill me?

18:10. As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when all answered: He is not here: he took an oath of every kingdom and nation, because thou wast not found.

18:11. And now thou sayest to me: Go and tell thy master: Elias is here.

18:12. And when I am gone from thee, the Spirit of the Lord will carry thee into a place that I know not: and I shall go in and tell Achab; and he, not finding thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy.

18:13. Hath it not been told thee, my lord, what I did when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord; how I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water?

18:14. And now thou sayest: Go and tell thy master: Elias is here: that he may kill me.

18:15. And Elias said: As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whose face I stand, this day I will shew myself unto him.

18:16. Abdias therefore went to meet Achab, and told him: and Achab came to meet Elias.

18:17. And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that troublest Israel?

18:18. And he said: I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baalim.

18:19. Nevertheless send now, and gather unto me all Israel, unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezabel's table.

18:20. Achab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered together the prophets unto mount Carmel.

18:21. And Elias coming to all the people, said: How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.

18:22. And Elias said again to the people: I only remain a prophet of the Lord: but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.

18:23. Let two bullocks be given us, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it upon wood, but put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it.

18:24. Call ye on the names of your gods, and I will call on the name of my Lord: and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God. And all the people answering, said: A very good proposal.

18:25. Then Elias said to the prophets of Baal: Choose you one bullock and dress it first, because you are many: and call on the names of your gods; but put no fire under.

18:26. And they took the bullock, which he gave them, and dressed it: and they called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying: O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered: and they leaped over the altar that they had made.

18:27. And when it was now noon, Elias jested at them, saying: Cry with a louder voice: for he is a god; and perhaps he is talking, or is in an inn, or on a journey; or perhaps he is asleep, and must be awaked.

18:28. So they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood.

18:29. And after midday was past, and while they were prophesying, the time was come of offering sacrifice, and there was no voice heard, nor did any one answer, nor regard them as they prayed.

18:30. Elias said to all the people: Come ye unto me. And the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was broken down:

18:31. And he took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob to whom the word of the Lord came, saying: Israel shall be thy name.

18:32. And he built with the stones an altar to the name of the Lord: and he made a trench for water, of the breadth of two furrows, round about the altar.

18:33. And he laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it upon the wood.

18:34. And he said: Fill four buckets with water, and pour it upon the burnt offering, and upon the wood. And again he said: Do the same the second time. And when they had done it the second time, he said: Do the same also the third time. And they did so the third time.

18:35. And the water run round about the altar, and the trench was filled with water.

18:36. And when it was now time to offer the holocaust, Elias, the prophet, came near and said: O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, shew this day that thou art the God of Israel, and I thy servant, and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things.

18:37. Dear me, O Lord, hear me: that this people may learn that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again.

18:38. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

18:39. And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and they said: The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.

18:40. And Elias said to them: Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape. And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent Cison, and killed them there.

18:41. And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat and drink: for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

18:42. Achab went up to eat and drink: and Elias went up to the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth, put his face between his knees,

18:43. And he said to his servant: Go up, and look towards the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times.

18:44. And at the seventh time: Behold a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man's foot. And he said: Go up, and say to Achab: Prepare thy chariot, and go down, lest the rain prevent thee.

18:45. And while he turned himself this way and that way, behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds and wind, and there fell a great rain. And Achab getting up, went away to Jezrahel:

18:46. And the hand of the Lord was upon Elias, and he girded up his loins, and ran before Achab, till he came to Jezrahel.

3 Kings Chapter 19

Elias, fleeing from Jezabel, is fed by an angel in the desert; and by the strength of that food walketh forty days, till he cometh to Horeb, where he hath a vision of God.

19:1. And Achab told Jezabel all that Elias had done, and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

19:2. And Jezabel sent a messenger to Elias, saying: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and add still more, if by this hour to morrow I make not thy life as the life of one of them.

19:3. Then Elias was afraid, and rising up, he went whithersoever he had a mind: and he came to Bersabee of Juda, and left his servant there,

19:4. And he went forward, one day's journey into the desert. And when he was there, and sat under a juniper tree, he requested for his soul that he might die, and said: It is enough for me, Lord; take away my soul: for I am no better than my fathers.

That he might die... Elias requested to die, not out of impatience or pusillanimity, but out of zeal against sin; and that he might no longer be witness of the miseries of his people; and the war they were waging against God and his servants. See ver. 10.

19:5. And he cast himself down, and slept in the shadow of the juniper tree: and behold an angel of the Lord touched him, and said to him: Arise and eat.

19:6. He looked, and behold there was at his head a hearth cake, and a vessel of water: and he ate and drank, and he fell asleep again.

19:7. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said to him: Arise, eat: for thou hast yet a great way to go.

19:8. And he arose, and ate and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb.

In the strength of that food, etc... This bread, with which Elias was fed in the wilderness, was a figure of the bread of life which we receive in the blessed sacrament; by the strength of which we are to be supported in our journey through the wilderness of this world till we come to the true mountain of God, and his vision in a happy eternity.

19:9. And when he was come thither, he abode in a cave and behold the word of the Lord came unto him, and he said to him: What dost thou here, Elias?

19:10. And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have thrown down thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.

I alone am left... Viz., of the prophets in the kingdom of Israel, or of the ten tribes; for in the kingdom of Juda religion was at that time in a very flourishing condition under the kings Asa and Josaphat. And even in Israel there remained several prophets, though not then known to Elias. See chap. 20.13, 28, 35.

19:11. And he said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind before the Lord, overthrowing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: but the Lord is not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake: but the Lord is not in the earthquake.

19:12. And after the earthquake, a fire: but the Lord is not in the fire. And after the fire, a whistling of a gentle air.

19:13. And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and coming forth, stood in the entering in of the cave, and behold a voice unto him, saying: What dost thou here, Elias? And he answered:

19:14. With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have destroyed thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword; and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.

19:15. And the Lord said to him: Go, and return on thy way, through the desert, to Damascus: and when thou art come thither, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;

19:16. And thou shalt anoint Jehu, the son of Namsi, to be king over Israel: and Eliseus, the son of Saphat, of Abelmeula, thou shalt anoint to be prophet in thy room.

19:17. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall escape the sword of Hazael, shall be slain by Jehu: and whosoever shall escape the sword of Jehu, shall be slain by Eliseus.

Shall be slain by Eliseus... Eliseus did not kill any of the idolaters with the material sword: but he is here joined with Hazael and Jehu, the great instruments of God in punishing the idolatry of Israel, because he foretold to the former his exaltation to the kingdom of Syria, and the vengeance he would execute against Israel, and anointed the latter by one of his disciples to be king of Israel, with commission to extirpate the house of Achab.

19:18. And I will leave me seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not been bowed before Baal, and every mouth that hath not worshipped him, kissing the hands.

19:19. And Elias departing from thence, found Eliseus, the son of Saphat, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen: and he was one of them that were ploughing with, twelve yoke of oxen: and when Elias came up to him, he cast his mantle upon him.

19:20. And he forthwith left the oxen, and run after Elias, and said: Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said to him: Go, and return back: for that which was my part, I have done to thee.

19:21. And returning back from him, he took a yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled the flesh with the plough of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate: and rising up, he went away, and followed Elias, and ministered to him.

3 Kings Chapter 20

The Syrians besiege Samaria: they are twice defeated by Achab: who is reprehended by a prophet for letting Benadad go.

20:1. And Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his host, and there were two and thirty kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and going up, he fought against Samaria, and besieged it.

20:2. And sending messengers to Achab, king of Israel, into the city,

20:3. He said: Thus saith Benadad: Thy silver and thy gold is mine: and thy wives and thy goodliest children are mine.

20:4. And the king of Israel answered: According to thy word, my lord, O king, I am thine, and all that I have.

20:5. And the messengers came again, and said: Thus saith Benadad, who sent us unto thee: Thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives and thy children, thou shalt deliver up to me.

20:6. To morrow, therefore, at this same hour, I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants: and all that pleaseth them, they shall put in their hands, and take away.

20:7. And the king of Israel called all the ancients of the land, and said: Mark, and see that he layeth snares for us. For he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver and gold: and I said not nay.

20:8. And all the ancients, and all the people said to him: Hearken not to him, nor consent to him.

20:9. Wherefore he answered the messengers of Benadad: Tell my lord, the king: All that thou didst send for to me, thy servant at first, I will do: but this thing I cannot do.

20:10. And the messengers returning brought him word. And he sent again, and said: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and more may they add, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

20:11. And the king of Israel answering, said: Tell him: Let not the girded boast himself as the ungirded.

Let not the girded, etc... Let him not boast before the victory: it will then be time to glory when he putteth off his armour, having overcome his adversary.

20:12. And it came to pass, when Benadad heard this word, that he and the kings were drinking in pavilions, and he said to his servants: Beset the city. And they beset it.

20:13. And behold a prophet coming to Achab, king of Israel, said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Hast thou seen all this exceeding great multitude? behold I will deliver them into thy hand this day: that thou mayst know that I am the Lord.

20:14. And Achab said: By whom? And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: By the servants of the princes of the provinces. And he said: Who shall begin to fight? And he said: Thou.

20:15. So he mustered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and he found the number of two hundred and thirty-two: and he mustered after them the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand:

20:16. And they went out at noon. But Benadad was drinking himself drunk in his pavilion, and the two and thirty kings with him, who were come to help him.

20:17. And the servants of the princes of the provinces went out first. And Benadad sent. And they told him, saying: There are men come out of Samaria.

20:18. And he said: Whether they come for peace, take them alive: or whether they come to fight, take them alive.

20:19. So the servants of the princes of the provinces went out, and the rest of the army followed:

20:20. And every one slew the man that came against him: and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued after them. And Benadad, king of Syria, fled away on horseback with his horsemen.

20:21. But the king of Israel going out overthrew the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.

20:22. (And a prophet coming to the king of Israel, said to him: Go, and strengthen thyself, and know, and see what thou dost: for the next year the king of Syria will come up against thee.)

20:23. But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them.

20:24. Do thou, therefore, this thing: Remove all the kings from thy army, and put captains in their stead:

20:25. And make up the number of soldiers that have been slain of thine, and horses, according to the former horses, and chariots, according to the chariots which thou hadst before: and we will fight against them in the plains, and thou shalt see that we shall overcome them. He believed their counsel, and did so.

20:26. Wherefore, at the return of the year, Benadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphec, to fight against Israel.

20:27. And the children of Israel were mustered, and taking victuals, went out on the other side, and encamped over against them, like two little flocks of goats: but the Syrians filled the land.

20:28. (And a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel: Thus saith the Lord: Because the Syrians have said: The Lord is God of the hills, but is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.)

20:29. And both sides set their armies in array one against the other seven days, and on the seventh day the battle was fought: and the children of Israel slew, of the Syrians, a hundred thousand footmen in one day.

20:30. And they that remained fled to Aphec, into the city: and the wall fell upon seven and twenty thousand men, that were left. And Benadad fleeing, went into the city, into a chamber that was within a chamber.

20:31. And his servants said to him: Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful; so let us put sackcloths on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save our lives.

20:32. So they girded sackcloths on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said to him: Thy servant, Benadad, saith: I beseech thee let me have my life. And he said: If he be yet alive, he is my brother.

20:33. The men took this for good luck: and in haste caught the word out of his mouth, and said: Thy brother Benadad. And he said to them: Go, and bring him to me. Then Benadad came out to him, and he lifted him up into his chariot.

20:34. And he said to him: The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore: and do thou make thee streets in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria and having made a league, I will depart from thee. So he made a league with him, and let him go.

20:35. Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets, said to his companion, in the word of the Lord: Strike me. But he would not strike.

20:36. Then he said to him: Because thou wouldst not hearken to the word of the Lord, behold thou shalt depart from me, and a lion shall slay thee. And when he was gone a little from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

20:37. Then he found another man, and said to him: Strike me. And he struck him and wounded him.

20:38. So the prophet went, and met the king in the way, and disguised himself by sprinkling dust on his face and his eyes.

20:39. And as the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said: Thy servant went out to fight hand to hand: and when a certain man was run away, one brought him to me, and said: Keep this man: and if he shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

20:40. And whilst I, in the hurry, turned this way and that, on a sudden he was not to be seen. And the king of Israel said to him: This is thy judgment, which thyself hast decreed.

20:41. But he forthwith wiped off the dust from his face, and the king of Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets.

20:42. And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord. Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man worthy of death, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his people.

20:43. And the king of Israel returned to his house, slighting to hear, and raging came into Samaria.

3 Kings Chapter 21

Naboth, for denying his vineyard to king Achab, is by Jezabel's commandment, falsely accused and stoned to death. For which crime Elias denounceth to Achab the judgments of God: upon his humbling himself the sentence is mitigated.

21:1. And after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in Jezrahel, had at that time a vineyard, near the palace of Achab, king of Samaria.

21:2. And Achab spoke to Naboth, saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may make me a garden of herbs, because it is nigh, and adjoining to my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard: or if thou think it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

21:3. Naboth answered him: The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers.

21:4. And Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the word that Naboth, the Jezrahelite, had spoken to him, saying: I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting himself upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread.

21:5. And Jezabel, his wife, went in to him, and said to him: What is the matter that thy soul is so grieved? and why eatest thou no bread?

21:6. And he answered her: I spoke to Naboth, the Jezrahelite, and said to him: Give me thy vineyard, and take money for it: or if it please thee, I will give thee a better vineyard for it. And he said: I will not give thee my vineyard.

21:7. Then Jezabel, his wife, said to him. Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread, and be of good cheer; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite.

21:8. So she wrote letters in Achab's name, and sealed them with his ring, and sent them to the ancients, and the chief men that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.

21:9. And this was the tenor of the letters: Proclaim a fast, and make Naboth sit among the chief of the people;

21:10. And suborn two men, sons of Belial, against him and let them bear false witness; that he hath blasphemed God and the king: and then carry him out, and stone him, and so let him die.

21:11. And the men of his city, the ancients and nobles, that dwelt with him in the city, did as Jezabel had commanded them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them;

21:12. They proclaimed a fast, and made Naboth sit among the chief of the people.

21:13. And bringing two men, sons of the devil, they made them sit against him: and they, like men of the devil, bore witness against him before the people: saying: Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king. Wherefore they brought him forth without the city, and stoned him to death.

21:14. And they sent to Jezabel, saying: Naboth is stoned, and is dead.

21:15. And it came to pass, when Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned, and dead, that she said to Achab: Arise, and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite, who would not agree with thee, and give it thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

21:16. And when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he arose, and went down into the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite, to take possession of it.

21:17. And the word of the Lord came to Elias, the Thesbite, saying:

21:18. Arise, and go down to meet Achab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth, to take possession of it:

21:19. And thou shalt speak to him, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast slain: moreover also thou hast taken possession. And after these words thou shalt add: Thus saith the Lord: In this place, wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also.

21:20. And Achab said to Elias: Hast thou found me thy enemy? He said: I have found thee because thou art sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

Sold, to do evil in the sight, etc... That is, so addicted to evil, as if thou hadst sold thyself to the devil, to be his slave to work all kinds of evil.

21:21. Behold I will bring evil upon thee, and I will cut down thy posterity, and I will kill of Achab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel.

21:22. And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias: for what thou hast done to provoke me to anger, and for making Israel to sin.

21:23. And of Jezabel also, the Lord spoke, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel.

21:24. If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall eat him: but if he die in the field, the birds of the air shall eat him.

21:25. Now, there was not such another as Achab, who was sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord: for his wife, Jezabel, set him on,

21:26. And he became abominable, insomuch that he followed the idols which the Amorrhites had made, whom the Lord destroyed before the face of the children of Israel.

21:27. And when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and put haircloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and slept in sackcloth, and walked with his head cast down.

21:28. And the word of the Lord came to Elias, the Thesbite, saying:

21:29. Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before me? therefore, because he hath humbled himself, for my sake, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

3 Kings Chapter 22

Achab believing his false prophets, rather than Micheas, is slain in Ramoth Galaad. Ochozias succeedeth him. Good king Josaphat dieth, and his son Joram succeedeth him.

22:1. And there passed three years without war between Syria and Israel.

22:2. And in the third year, Josaphat, king of Juda, came down to the king of Israel.

22:3. (And the king of Israel said to his servants: Know ye not that Ramoth Galaad is ours, and we neglect to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?)

22:4. And he said to Josaphat: Wilt thou come with me to battle to Ramoth Galaad?

22:5. And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: As I am, so art thou: my people and thy people are one: and my horsemen are thy horsemen. And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, this day the word of the Lord.

22:6. Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and he said to them: Shall I go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall I forbear? They answered: Go up, and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.

22:7. And Josaphat said: Is there not here some prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire by him?

22:8. And the king of Israel said to Josaphat. There is one man left, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; Micheas, the son of Jemla: but I hate him, for he doth not prophecy good to me, but evil. And Josaphat said: Speak not so, O king.

22:9. Then the king of Israel called an eunuch, and said to him: Make haste, and bring hither Micheas, the son of Jemla.

22:10. And the king of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, sat each on his throne, clothed with royal robes, in a court, by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.

22:11. And Sedecias, thc son of Chanaana, made himself horns of iron, and said: Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou destroy it.

22:12. And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, saying: Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king's hands.

22:13. And the messenger that went to call Micheas, spoke to him, saying: Behold the words of the prophets with one mouth declare good things to the king: let thy word, therefore, be like to theirs, and speak that which is good.

22:14. But Micheas said to him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever the Lord shall say to me, that will I speak.

22:15. So he came to the king, and the king said to him: Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to battle, or shall we forbear? He answered him: Go up, and prosper, and the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hands.

Go up, etc... This was spoken ironically, and by way of jesting at the flattering speeches of the false prophets: and so the king understood it, as appears by his adjuring Micheas, in the following verse, to tell him the truth in the name of the Lord.

22:16. But the king said to him: I adjure thee again and again, that thou tell me nothing but that which is true, in the name of the Lord.

22:17. And he said: I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said: These have no master: let every man of them return to his house in peace.

22:18. (Then the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee, that he prophesieth no good to me, but always evil?)

22:19. And he added and said: Hear thou, therefore, the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left:

22:20. And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab, king of Israel, that he may go up, and fall at Ramoth Galaad? And one spoke words of this manner, and another otherwise.

The Lord said, etc... God standeth not in need of any counsellor; nor are we to suppose that things pass in heaven in the manner here described: but this representation was made to the prophet, to be delivered by him in a manner adapted to the common ways and notions of men.

22:21. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means?

22:22. And he said: I will go forth, and be a lying spirit, in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive him, and shalt prevail: go forth, and do so.

Go forth, and do so... This was not a command, but a permission: for God never ordaineth lies; though he often permitteth the lying spirit to deceive those who love not the truth. 2 Thess. 2.10. And in this sense it is said in the following verse, The Lord hath given a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets.

22:23. Now, therefore, behold the Lord hath given a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets that are here, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee.

22:24. And Sedecias, the son of Chanaana, came, and struck Micheas on the cheek, and said: Hath then the spirit of the Lord left me, and spoken to thee?

22:25. And Micheas said: Thou shalt see in the day when thou shalt go into a chamber within a chamber to hide thyself.

Go into a chamber, etc... This happened when he heard the king was slain, and justly apprehended that he should be punished for his false prophecy.

22:26. And the king of Israel said: Take Micheas and let him abide with Amon, the governor of the city, and with Joas, the son of Amalech;

22:27. And tell them: Thus saith the king: Put this man in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction, and water of distress till I return in peace.

22:28. And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all ye people.

22:29. So the king of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, went up to Ramoth-Galaad.

22:30. And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Take thy armour, and go into the battle, and put on thy own garments. But the king of Israel changed his dress, and went into the battle.

22:31. And the king of Syria had commanded the two and thirty captains of the chariots, saying: You shall not fight against any, small or great, but against the king of Israel only.

22:32. So when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat, they suspected that he was the king of Israel, and making a violent assault, they fought against him: and Josaphat cried out.

22:33. And the captains of the chariots perceived that he was not the king of Israel, and they turned away from him.

22:34. And a certain man bent his bow, shooting at a venture, and chanced to strike the king of Israel, between the lungs and the stomach. But he said to the driver of his chariot: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army, for I am grievously wounded.

22:35. And the battle was fought that day, and the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Syrians, and he died in the evening: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.

22:36. And the herald proclaimed through all the army, before the sun set, saying: Let every man return to his own city, and to his own country.

22:37. And the king died, and was carried into Samaria: and they buried the king in Samaria.

22:38. And they washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed the reins according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken.

22:39. But the rest of the acts of Achab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

22:40. So Achab slept with his fathers; and Ochozias, his son, reigned in his stead.

22:41. But Josaphat, the son of Asa, began to reign over Juda, in the fourth year of Acbab, king of Israel.

22:42. He was five and thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Azuba, the daughter of Salai.

22:43. And he walked in all the way of Asa, his father, and he declined not from it: and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.

22:44. Nevertheless, he took not away the high places for as yet the people offered sacrifice, and burnt incense in the high places.

He took not away, etc... He left some of the high places, viz., those in which they worshipped the true God: but took away all others, 2 Par. 17.6, and note ver. 14 of chap. 15. 3 Kings.

22:45. And Josaphat had peace with the king of Israel.

22:46. But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, and his works which he did, and his battles, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?

22:47. And the remnant also of the effeminate, who remained in the days of Asa, his father, he took out of the land.

22:48. And there was then no king appointed in Edom.

22:49. But king Josaphat made navies on the sea, to sail into Ophir for gold: but they could not go, for the ships were broken in Asiongaber.

22:50. Then Ochozias, the son of Achab, said to Josaphat: Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. And Josaphat would not.

Would not... He had been reprehended before for admitting such a partner: and therefore would have no more to do with him.

22:51. And Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, his father: and Joram, his son, reigned in his stead.

22:52. And Ochozias, the son of Achab, began to reign over Israel, in Samaria, in the seventeenth year of Josaphat, king of Juda, and he reigned over Israel two years.

22:53. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.

22:54. He served also Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

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