1 Raja-raja 8:14-61
Konteks8:14 Then the king turned around 1 and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there. 2 8:15 He said, “The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled 3 what he promised 4 my father David. 8:16 He told David, 5 ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. 6 But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.’ 8:17 Now my father David had a strong desire 7 to build a temple to honor the Lord God of Israel. 8 8:18 The Lord told my father David, ‘It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me. 9 8:19 But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.’ 10 8:20 The Lord has kept the promise he made. 11 I have taken my father David’s place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor 12 of the Lord God of Israel 8:21 and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the Lord made with our ancestors 13 when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
8:22 Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward the sky. 14 8:23 He prayed: 15 “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty 16 to your servants who obey you with sincerity. 17 8:24 You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; 18 this very day you have fulfilled what you promised. 19 8:25 Now, O Lord, God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, ‘You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel, 20 provided that your descendants watch their step and serve me as you have done.’ 21 8:26 Now, O God of Israel, may the promise you made 22 to your servant, my father David, be realized. 23
8:27 “God does not really live on the earth! 24 Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built! 8:28 But respond favorably to 25 your servant’s prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer 26 the desperate prayer 27 your servant is presenting to you 28 today. 8:29 Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live. 29 May you answer your servant’s prayer for this place. 30 8:30 Respond to the request of your servant and your people Israel for this place. 31 Hear from inside your heavenly dwelling place 32 and respond favorably. 33
8:31 “When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple, be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false. 34 8:32 Listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants’ claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve. 35
8:33 “The time will come when 36 your people Israel are defeated by an enemy 37 because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, 38 and pray for your help 39 in this temple, 8:34 then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.
8:35 “The time will come when 40 the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people 41 sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, 42 and turn away from their sin because you punish 43 them, 8:36 then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly 44 you will then teach them the right way to live 45 and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess. 46
8:37 “The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust 47 invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land, 48 or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs. 8:38 When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, 49 as they acknowledge their pain 50 and spread out their hands toward this temple, 8:39 then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, 51 and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives. 52 (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.) 53 8:40 Then they will obey 54 you throughout their lifetimes as 55 they live on the land you gave to our ancestors.
8:41 “Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation. 56 8:42 When they hear about your great reputation 57 and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds, 58 they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple. 8:43 Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. 59 Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, 60 obey 61 you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you. 62
8:44 “When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, 63 and they direct their prayers to the Lord 64 toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor, 65 8:45 then listen from heaven to their prayers for help 66 and vindicate them. 67
8:46 “The time will come when your people 68 will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land, 69 whether far away or close by. 8:47 When your people 70 come to their senses 71 in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, ‘We have sinned and gone astray; 72 we have done evil.’ 8:48 When they return to you with all their heart and being 73 in the land where they are held prisoner, 74 and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor, 75 8:49 then listen from your heavenly dwelling place to their prayers for help 76 and vindicate them. 77 8:50 Forgive all the rebellious acts of your sinful people and cause their captors to have mercy on them. 78 8:51 After all, 79 they are your people and your special possession 80 whom you brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the iron-smelting furnace. 81
8:52 “May you be attentive 82 to your servant’s and your people Israel’s requests for help and may you respond to all their prayers to you. 83 8:53 After all, 84 you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession, 85 just as you, O sovereign Lord, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”
8:54 When Solomon finished presenting all these prayers and requests to the Lord, he got up from before the altar of the Lord where he had kneeled and spread out his hands toward the sky. 86 8:55 When he stood up, he pronounced a blessing over the entire assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice: 8:56 “The Lord is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure 87 just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled! 88 8:57 May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us. 8:58 May he make us submissive, 89 so we can follow all his instructions 90 and obey 91 the commandments, rules, and regulations he commanded our ancestors. 8:59 May the Lord our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him, 92 so that he might vindicate 93 his servant and his people Israel as the need arises. 8:60 Then 94 all the nations of the earth will recognize that the Lord is the only genuine God. 95 8:61 May you demonstrate wholehearted devotion to the Lord our God 96 by following 97 his rules and obeying 98 his commandments, as you are presently doing.” 99
1 Raja-raja 8:19
Konteks8:19 But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.’ 100
1 Raja-raja 9:1--18:46
Konteks9:1 After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned, 101 9:2 the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, in the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 102 9:3 The Lord said to him, “I have answered 103 your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home; 104 I will be constantly present there. 105 9:4 You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations. 106 9:5 Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently, 107 just as I promised your father David, ‘You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ 108
9:6 “But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, 109 and decide to serve and worship other gods, 110 9:7 then I will remove Israel from the land 111 I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, 112 and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed 113 among all the nations. 9:8 This temple will become a heap of ruins; 114 everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn, 115 saying, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?’ 9:9 Others will then answer, 116 ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors 117 out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. 118 That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.’”
9:10 After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and the royal palace, 119 9:11 King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre 120 twenty cities in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted. 9:12 When Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the cities Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 121 9:13 Hiram asked, 122 “Why did you give me these cities, my friend 123 ?” He called that area the region of Cabul, a name which it has retained to this day. 124 9:14 Hiram had sent to the king one hundred twenty talents 125 of gold.
9:15 Here are the details concerning the work crews 126 King Solomon conscripted 127 to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, 128 and the cities of 129 Hazor, 130 Megiddo, 131 and Gezer. 9:16 (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city. He gave it as a wedding present to his daughter, who had married Solomon.) 9:17 Solomon built up Gezer, lower Beth Horon, 9:18 Baalath, Tadmor in the wilderness, 132 9:19 all the storage cities that belonged to him, 133 and the cities where chariots and horses were kept. 134 He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom. 135 9:20 Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 136 9:21 Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out completely). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day. 137 9:22 Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews; 138 the Israelites served as his soldiers, attendants, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces. 139 9:23 These men were also in charge of Solomon’s work projects; there were a total of 550 men who supervised the workers. 140 9:24 Solomon built the terrace as soon as Pharaoh’s daughter moved up from the city of David 141 to the palace Solomon built for her. 142
9:25 Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings 143 on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense along with them before the Lord. He made the temple his official worship place. 144
9:26 King Solomon also built ships 145 in Ezion Geber, which is located near Elat in the land of Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. 9:27 Hiram sent his fleet and some of his sailors, who were well acquainted with the sea, to serve with Solomon’s men. 146 9:28 They sailed 147 to Ophir, took from there four hundred twenty talents 148 of gold, and then brought them to King Solomon.
10:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, 149 she came to challenge 150 him with difficult questions. 151 10:2 She arrived in Jerusalem 152 with a great display of pomp, 153 bringing with her camels carrying spices, 154 a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 10:3 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. 155 10:4 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, 156 the palace 157 he had built, 10:5 the food in his banquet hall, 158 his servants and attendants, 159 their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed. 160 10:6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight 161 was true! 10:7 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! 162 Your wisdom and wealth 163 surpass what was reported to me. 10:8 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! 164 10:9 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored 165 you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions.” 166 10:10 She gave the king 120 talents 167 of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. 168 10:11 (Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems. 10:12 With the timber the king made supports 169 for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments 170 for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day. 171 ) 10:13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her. 172 Then she left and returned 173 to her homeland with her attendants.
10:14 Solomon received 666 talents 174 of gold per year, 175 10:15 besides what he collected from the merchants, 176 traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land. 10:16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures 177 of gold were used for each shield. 10:17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas 178 of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. 179
10:18 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 10:19 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. 180 10:20 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. 181
10:21 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. 182 10:22 Along with Hiram’s fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships 183 that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet 184 came into port with cargoes of 185 gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 186
10:23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. 187 10:24 Everyone 188 in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. 189 10:25 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules. 190
10:26 Solomon accumulated 191 chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem. 192 10:27 The king made silver as plentiful 193 in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was 194 as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands. 195 10:28 Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt 196 and from Que; the king’s traders purchased them from Que. 10:29 They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria. 197
11:1 King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 11:2 They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them! 198 If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.” 199 But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. 200
11:3 He had 700 royal wives 201 and 300 concubines; 202 his wives had a powerful influence over him. 203 11:4 When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to 204 other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. 205 11:5 Solomon worshiped 206 the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. 207 11:6 Solomon did evil in the Lord’s sight; 208 he did not remain loyal to 209 the Lord, like his father David had. 11:7 Furthermore, 210 on the hill east of Jerusalem 211 Solomon built a high place 212 for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh 213 and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. 214 11:8 He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods. 215
11:9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance 216 away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions 217 11:10 and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. 218 But he did not obey 219 the Lord’s command. 11:11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, 220 I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 11:12 However, for your father David’s sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son’s hand instead. 11:13 But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave 221 your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”
11:14 The Lord brought 222 against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. 11:15 During David’s campaign against Edom, 223 Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. 11:16 For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army 224 stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom. 225 11:17 Hadad, 226 who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father’s Edomite servants and headed for Egypt. 227 11:18 They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, supplied him with a house and food and even assigned him some land. 228 11:19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so well 229 he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife. 230 11:20 Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to his son, 231 named Genubath. Tahpenes raised 232 him in Pharaoh’s palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons. 11:21 While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away 233 and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, “Give me permission to leave 234 so I can return to my homeland.” 11:22 Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?” 235 Hadad replied, 236 “Nothing, but please give me permission to leave.” 237
11:23 God also brought against Solomon 238 another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. 11:24 He gathered some men and organized a raiding band. 239 When David tried to kill them, 240 they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. 11:25 He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed 241 Israel and ruled over Syria.
11:26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against 242 the king. He was an Ephraimite 243 from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 11:27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king: 244 Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David. 245 11:28 Jeroboam was a talented man; 246 when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe 247 of Joseph. 11:29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah 248 was wearing a brand new robe, 11:30 and he grabbed the robe 249 and tore it into twelve pieces. 11:31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you. 11:32 He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 11:33 I am taking the kingdom from him 250 because they have 251 abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions 252 by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon’s father David did. 253 11:34 I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. 11:35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you. 254 11:36 I will leave 255 his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me 256 in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. 257 11:37 I will select 258 you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. 11:38 You must obey 259 all I command you to do, follow my instructions, 260 do what I approve, 261 and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David; 262 I will give you Israel. 11:39 I will humiliate David’s descendants because of this, 263 but not forever.” 264 11:40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt. 265 He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.
11:41 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon. 266 11:42 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem 267 for forty years. 11:43 Then Solomon passed away 268 and was buried in the city of his father David. 269 His son Rehoboam replaced him as king. 270
12:1 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in 271 Shechem to make Rehoboam 272 king. 12:2 273 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since. 274 12:3 They sent for him, 275 and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 12:4 “Your father made us work too hard. 276 Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.” 277 12:5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then return to me.” So the people went away.
12:6 King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served 278 his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, 279 “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 12:7 They said to him, “Today if you show a willingness to help these people and grant their request, they will be your servants from this time forward.” 280 12:8 But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up. 281 12:9 He asked them, “How do you advise me 282 to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?” 283 12:10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam 284 had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you, ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.’ 285 Say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father! 286 12:11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. 287 My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’” 288
12:12 Jeroboam and all the people reported 289 to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, “Return to me on the third day.” 12:13 The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men 12:14 and followed 290 the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. 291 My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.” 292 12:15 The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events 293 so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made 294 through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
12:16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, “We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse! 295 Return to your homes, O Israel! 296 Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!” 297 So Israel returned to their homes. 298 12:17 (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) 12:18 King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, 299 the supervisor of the work crews, 300 out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 301 12:19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day. 12:20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty. 302
12:21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from all of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin 303 to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon. 12:22 But God told Shemaiah the prophet, 304 12:23 “Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah, and to all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the rest of the people, 12:24 ‘The Lord says this: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you go home, for I have caused this to happen.”’” 305 They obeyed the Lord and went home as the Lord had ordered them to do. 306
12:25 307 Jeroboam built up Shechem in the Ephraimite hill country and lived there. From there he went out and built up Penuel. 12:26 Jeroboam then thought to himself: 308 “Now the Davidic dynasty could regain the kingdom. 309 12:27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, 310 their loyalty could shift to their former master, 311 King Rehoboam of Judah. They might kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.” 12:28 After the king had consulted with his advisers, 312 he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, 313 “It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 12:29 He put one in Bethel 314 and the other in Dan. 12:30 This caused Israel to sin; 315 the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves. 316
12:31 He built temples 317 on the high places and appointed as priests people who were not Levites. 12:32 Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, 318 like the festival celebrated in Judah. 319 On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. 320 In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.
12:33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen) 321 Jeroboam 322 offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. 323 He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices. 13:1 Just then 324 a prophet 325 from Judah, sent by the Lord, arrived in Bethel, 326 as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice. 13:2 With the authority of the Lord 327 he cried out against the altar, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says, ‘Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’” 328 13:3 That day he also announced 329 a sign, “This is the sign the Lord has predetermined: 330 The altar will be split open and the ashes 331 on it will fall to the ground.” 332 13:4 When the king heard what the prophet 333 cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand 334 and ordered, 335 “Seize him!” The hand he had extended shriveled up 336 and he could not pull it back. 13:5 The altar split open and the ashes 337 fell from the altar to the ground, 338 in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the Lord’s authority. 339 13:6 The king pled with 340 the prophet, 341 “Seek the favor of 342 the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored.” So the prophet sought the Lord’s favor 343 and the king’s hand was restored to its former condition. 344 13:7 The king then said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat. I’d like to give a present.” 13:8 But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, 345 I could not go with you and eat and drink 346 in this place. 13:9 For the Lord gave me strict orders, 347 ‘Do not eat or drink 348 there and do not go home the way you came.’” 13:10 So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel.
13:11 Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. 349 When his sons came home, they told their father 350 everything the prophet 351 had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king. 352 13:12 Their father asked them, “Which road did he take?” His sons showed him 353 the road the prophet 354 from Judah had taken. 13:13 He then told his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” When they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 13:14 and took off after the prophet, 355 whom he found sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, “Are you the prophet 356 from Judah?” He answered, “Yes, I am.” 13:15 He then said to him, “Come home with me and eat something.” 13:16 But he replied, “I can’t go back with you 357 or eat and drink 358 with you in this place. 13:17 For the Lord gave me strict orders, 359 ‘Do not eat or drink 360 there; do not go back the way you came.’” 13:18 The old prophet then said, 361 “I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord’s authority, 362 ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.’” 363 But he was lying to him. 364 13:19 So the prophet went back with him and ate and drank in his house. 365
13:20 While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke through the old prophet 366 13:21 and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You 367 have rebelled against the Lord 368 and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. 13:22 You went back and ate and drank in this place, even though he said to you, “Do not eat or drink there.” 369 Therefore 370 your corpse will not be buried in your ancestral tomb.’” 371
13:23 When the prophet from Judah finished his meal, 372 the old prophet saddled his visitor’s donkey for him. 373 13:24 As the prophet from Judah was traveling, a lion attacked him on the road and killed him. 374 His corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it. 375 13:25 Some men came by 376 and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it. 377 They went and reported what they had seen 378 in the city where the old prophet lived. 13:26 When the old prophet who had invited him to his house heard the news, 379 he said, “It is the prophet 380 who rebelled against the Lord. 381 The Lord delivered him over to the lion and it ripped him up 382 and killed him, just as the Lord warned him.” 383 13:27 He told his sons, “Saddle my donkey,” and they did so. 384 13:28 He went and found the corpse lying in the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it; 385 the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey. 13:29 The old prophet 386 picked up the corpse of the prophet, 387 put it on the donkey, and brought it back. The old prophet then entered the city to mourn him and to bury him. 13:30 He put the corpse into his own tomb, and they 388 mourned over him, saying, “Ah, my brother!” 13:31 After he buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the tomb where the prophet 389 is buried; put my bones right beside his bones, 13:32 for the prophecy he announced with the Lord’s authority 390 against the altar in Bethel 391 and against all the temples on the high places in the cities of the north 392 will certainly be fulfilled.”
13:33 After this happened, Jeroboam still did not change his evil ways; 393 he continued to appoint common people 394 as priests at the high places. Anyone who wanted the job he consecrated as a priest. 395 13:34 This sin caused Jeroboam’s dynasty 396 to come to an end and to be destroyed from the face of the earth.
14:1 397 At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became sick. 14:2 Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise 398 yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam’s wife. Then go to Shiloh; Ahijah the prophet, who told me I would rule over this nation, lives there. 399 14:3 Take 400 ten loaves of bread, some small cakes, and a container of honey and visit him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”
14:4 Jeroboam’s wife did as she was told. She went to Shiloh and visited Ahijah. 401 Now Ahijah could not see; he had lost his eyesight in his old age. 402 14:5 But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Look, Jeroboam’s wife is coming to find out from you what will happen to her son, for he is sick. Tell her so-and-so. 403 When she comes, she will be in a disguise.” 14:6 When Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come on in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have been commissioned to give you bad news. 404 14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: “I raised you up 405 from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel. 14:8 I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only what I approve. 406 14:9 You have sinned more than all who came before you. You went and angered me by making other gods, formed out of metal; you have completely disregarded me. 407 14:10 So I am ready to bring disaster 408 on the dynasty 409 of Jeroboam. I will cut off every last male belonging to Jeroboam in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. 410 I will burn up the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one burns manure until it is completely consumed. 411 14:11 Dogs will eat the members of your family 412 who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”’ Indeed, the Lord has announced it!
14:12 “As for you, get up and go home. When you set foot in the city, the boy will die. 14:13 All Israel will mourn him and bury him. He is the only one in Jeroboam’s family 413 who will receive a decent burial, for he is the only one in whom the Lord God of Israel found anything good. 14:14 The Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will cut off Jeroboam’s dynasty. 414 It is ready to happen! 415 14:15 The Lord will attack Israel, making it like a reed that sways in the water. 416 He will remove Israel from this good land he gave to their ancestors 417 and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, 418 because they angered the Lord by making Asherah poles. 419 14:16 He will hand Israel over to their enemies 420 because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit.”
14:17 So Jeroboam’s wife got up and went back to 421 Tirzah. As she crossed the threshold of the house, the boy died. 14:18 All Israel buried him and mourned for him, just as the Lord had predicted 422 through his servant the prophet Ahijah.
14:19 The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, including the details of his battles and rule, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 423 14:20 Jeroboam ruled for twenty-two years; then he passed away. 424 His son Nadab replaced him as king.
14:21 Now Rehoboam son of Solomon ruled in Judah. He 425 was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, 426 the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home. 427 His mother was an Ammonite woman 428 named Naamah.
14:22 Judah did evil in the sight of 429 the Lord. They made him more jealous by their sins than their ancestors had done. 430 14:23 They even built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 14:24 There were also male cultic prostitutes 431 in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations 432 that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.
14:25 In King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 14:26 He took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including all the golden shields that Solomon had made. 14:27 King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard 433 who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 14:28 Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guard carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom.
14:29 The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the
Kings of Judah. 434 14:30 Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other. 14:31 Rehoboam passed away 435 and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His mother was an Ammonite named Naamah. His son Abijah 436 replaced him as king.
15:1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah 437 became king over Judah. 15:2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. 438 His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. 439 15:3 He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been. 440 15:4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty 441 in Jerusalem by giving him a son 442 to succeed him 443 and by protecting Jerusalem. 444 15:5 He did this 445 because David had done what he approved 446 and had not disregarded any of his commandments 447 his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite. 15:6 Rehoboam 448 and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other throughout Abijah’s 449 lifetime. 15:7 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 450 Abijah and Jeroboam had been at war with each other. 15:8 Abijah passed away 451 and was buried 452 in the city of David. His son Asa replaced him as king.
15:9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became the king of Judah. 15:10 He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. 453 His grandmother 454 was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 15:11 Asa did what the Lord approved 455 like his ancestor 456 David had done. 15:12 He removed the male cultic prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the disgusting idols 457 his ancestors 458 had made. 15:13 He also removed Maacah his grandmother 459 from her position as queen because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her Asherah pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 15:14 The high places were not eliminated, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime. 460 15:15 He brought the holy items that he and his father had made into the Lord’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles. 461
15:16 Now Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other. 462 15:17 King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah and established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah. 463 15:18 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and handed it to his servants. He then told them to deliver it 464 to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: 15:19 “I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made. 465 See, I have sent you silver and gold as a present. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.” 466 15:20 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel. 467 They conquered 468 Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all the territory of Naphtali, including the region of Kinnereth. 469 15:21 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying 470 Ramah and settled down in Tirzah. 15:22 King Asa ordered all the men of Judah (no exemptions were granted) to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah. 471 King Asa used the materials to build up 472 Geba (in Benjamin) and Mizpah.
15:23 The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, including all his successes and accomplishments, as well as a record of the cities he built, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 473 Yet when he was very old he developed a foot disease. 474 15:24 Asa passed away 475 and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoshaphat replaced him as king.
15:25 In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Nadab became the king of Israel; he ruled Israel for two years. 15:26 He did evil in the sight of 476 the Lord. He followed in his father’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to sin. 477
15:27 Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, conspired against Nadab 478 and assassinated him in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory. This happened while Nadab and all the Israelite army were besieging Gibbethon. 15:28 Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah and replaced him as king. 15:29 When he became king, he executed Jeroboam’s entire family. He wiped out everyone who breathed, 479 just as the Lord had predicted 480 through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 15:30 This happened because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit. These sins angered the Lord God of Israel. 481
15:31 The rest of the events of Nadab’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 482 15:32 Asa and King Nadab of Israel were continually at war with each other.
15:33 In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah; he ruled for twenty-four years. 15:34 He did evil in the sight of 483 the Lord; he followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to sin. 484
16:1 Jehu son of Hanani received from the Lord this message predicting Baasha’s downfall: 485 16:2 “I raised you up 486 from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel. Yet you followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps 487 and encouraged my people Israel to sin; their sins have made me angry. 488 16:3 So I am ready to burn up 489 Baasha and his family, and make your family 490 like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 16:4 Dogs will eat the members of Baasha’s family 491 who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”
16:5 The rest of the events of Baasha’s reign, including his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 492 16:6 Baasha passed away 493 and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah replaced him as king. 16:7 The prophet Jehu son of Hanani received from the Lord the message predicting the downfall of Baasha and his family because of all the evil Baasha had done in the sight of the Lord. 494 His actions angered the Lord (including the way he had destroyed Jeroboam’s dynasty), so that his family ended up like Jeroboam’s. 495
16:8 In the twenty-sixth year of King Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha’s son Elah became king over Israel; he ruled in Tirzah for two years. 16:9 His servant Zimri, a commander of half of his chariot force, conspired against him. While Elah was drinking heavily 496 at the house of Arza, who supervised the palace in Tirzah, 16:10 Zimri came in and struck him dead. (This happened in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah.) Zimri replaced Elah as king. 497 16:11 When he became king and occupied the throne, he killed Baasha’s entire family. He did not spare any male belonging to him; he killed his relatives and his friends. 498 16:12 Zimri destroyed Baasha’s entire family, just as the Lord had predicted to Baasha 499 through Jehu the prophet. 16:13 This happened because of all the sins which Baasha and his son Elah committed and which they made Israel commit. They angered the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols. 500
16:14 The rest of the events of Elah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 501
16:15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri became king over Israel; he ruled for seven days in Tirzah. Zimri’s revolt took place while the army was deployed 502 in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory. 16:16 While deployed there, the army received this report: 503 “Zimri has conspired against the king and assassinated him.” 504 So all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day in the camp. 16:17 Omri and all Israel went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. 16:18 When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he went into the fortified area of the royal palace. He set the palace on fire and died in the flames. 505 16:19 This happened because of the sins he committed. He did evil in the sight of 506 the Lord and followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to continue sinning. 507
16:20 The rest of the events of Zimri’s reign, including the details of his revolt, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 508
16:21 At that time the people of Israel were divided in their loyalties. Half the people supported Tibni son of Ginath and wanted to make him king; the other half supported Omri. 16:22 Omri’s supporters were stronger than those who supported Tibni son of Ginath. Tibni died; Omri became king.
16:23 In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king over Israel. He ruled for twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. 16:24 He purchased the hill of Samaria 509 from Shemer for two talents 510 of silver. He launched a construction project there 511 and named the city he built after Shemer, the former owner of the hill of Samaria. 16:25 Omri did more evil in the sight of 512 the Lord than all who were before him. 16:26 He followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat and encouraged Israel to sin; 513 they angered the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols. 514
16:27 The rest of the events of Omri’s reign, including his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 515 16:28 Omri passed away 516 and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab replaced him as king. 517
16:29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri’s son Ahab became king over Israel. Ahab son of Omri ruled over Israel for twenty-two years in Samaria. 518 16:30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the sight of 519 the Lord than all who were before him. 16:31 As if following in the sinful footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not bad enough, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Then he worshiped and bowed to Baal. 520 16:32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal he had built in Samaria. 16:33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole; he 521 did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
16:34 During Ahab’s reign, 522 Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. 523 Abiram, his firstborn son, died when he laid the foundation; 524 Segub, his youngest son, died when he erected its gates, 525 just as the Lord had warned 526 through Joshua son of Nun. 527
17:1 Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), 528 there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.” 529 17:2 The Lord told him: 530 17:3 “Leave here and travel eastward. Hide out in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan. 17:4 Drink from the stream; I have already told 531 the ravens to bring you food 532 there.” 17:5 So he did 533 as the Lord told him; he went and lived in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan. 17:6 The ravens would bring him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he would drink from the stream.
17:7 After a while, 534 the stream dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 17:8 The Lord told him, 535 17:9 “Get up, go to Zarephath in Sidonian territory, and live there. I have already told 536 a widow who lives there to provide for you.” 17:10 So he got up and went to Zarephath. When he went through the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. He called out to her, “Please give me a cup 537 of water, so I can take a drink.” 17:11 As she went to get it, he called out to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread.” 538 17:12 She said, “As certainly as the Lord your God lives, I have no food, except for a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. Right now I am gathering a couple of sticks for a fire. Then I’m going home to make one final meal for my son and myself. After we have eaten that, we will die of starvation.” 539 17:13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you planned. 540 But first make a small cake for me and bring it to me; then make something for yourself and your son. 17:14 For this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The jar of flour will not be empty and the jug of oil will not run out until the day the Lord makes it rain on the surface of the ground.’” 17:15 She went and did as Elijah told her; there was always enough food for Elijah and for her and her family. 541 17:16 The jar of flour was never empty and the jug of oil never ran out, just as the Lord had promised 542 through Elijah.
17:17 After this 543 the son of the woman who owned the house got sick. His illness was so severe he could no longer breathe. 17:18 She asked Elijah, “Why, prophet, have you come 544 to me to confront me with 545 my sin and kill my son?” 17:19 He said to her, “Hand me your son.” He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him down on his bed. 17:20 Then he called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, are you also bringing disaster on this widow I am staying with by killing her son?” 17:21 He stretched out over the boy three times and called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, please let this boy’s breath return to him.” 17:22 The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer; the boy’s breath returned to him and he lived. 17:23 Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upper room to the house, and handed him to his mother. Elijah then said, “See, your son is alive!” 17:24 The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a prophet and that the Lord really does speak through you.” 546
18:1 Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the Lord told Elijah, 547 “Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground.” 18:2 So Elijah went to make an appearance before Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 548 18:3 So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who supervised the palace. (Now Obadiah was a very loyal follower of the Lord. 549 18:4 When Jezebel was killing 550 the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.) 18:5 Ahab told Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grazing areas 551 so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill 552 some of the animals.” 18:6 They divided up the land between them; Ahab went 553 one way and Obadiah went the other.
18:7 As Obadiah was traveling along, Elijah met him. 554 When he recognized him, he fell facedown to the ground and said, “Is it really you, my master, Elijah?” 18:8 He replied, “Yes, 555 go and say to your master, ‘Elijah is back.’” 556 18:9 Obadiah 557 said, “What sin have I committed that you are ready to hand your servant over to Ahab for execution? 558 18:10 As certainly as the Lord your God lives, my master has sent to every nation and kingdom in an effort to find you. When they say, ‘He’s not here,’ he makes them 559 swear an oath that they could not find you. 18:11 Now you say, ‘Go and say to your master, “Elijah is back.”’ 560 18:12 But when I leave you, the Lord’s spirit will carry you away so I can’t find you. 561 If I go tell Ahab I’ve seen you, he won’t be able to find you and he will kill me. 562 That would not be fair, 563 because your servant has been a loyal follower of 564 the Lord from my youth. 18:13 Certainly my master is aware of what I did 565 when Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets. I hid one hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves in two groups of fifty and I brought them food and water. 18:14 Now you say, ‘Go and say to your master, “Elijah is back,”’ 566 but he will kill me.” 18:15 But Elijah said, “As certainly as the Lord who rules over all 567 lives (whom I serve), 568 I will make an appearance before him today.”
18:16 When Obadiah went and informed Ahab, the king went to meet Elijah. 569 18:17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he 570 said to him, “Is it really you, the one who brings disaster 571 on Israel?” 18:18 Elijah 572 replied, “I have not brought disaster 573 on Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the Lord’s commandments and following the Baals. 18:19 Now send out messengers 574 and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports. 575
18:20 Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel. 18:21 Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? 576 If the Lord is the true God, 577 then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word. 18:22 Elijah said to them: 578 “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. 18:23 Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire. 18:24 Then you 579 will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.” 580 All the people responded, “This will be a fair test.” 581
18:25 Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.” 582 18:26 So they took a bull, as he had suggested, 583 and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped 584 around on the altar they had made. 585 18:27 At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” 586 18:28 So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, 587 mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood. 588 18:29 Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, 589 but there was no sound, no answer, and no response. 590
18:30 Elijah then told all the people, “Approach me.” So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. 591 18:31 Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob, to whom the Lord had said, “Israel will be your new 592 name.” 593 18:32 With the stones he constructed an altar for the Lord. 594 Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs 595 of seed. 18:33 He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. 18:34 Then he said, “Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood.” When they had done so, 596 he said, “Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. 18:35 The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench. 18:36 When it was time for the evening offering, 597 Elijah the prophet approached the altar 598 and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove 599 today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 18:37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God 600 and that you are winning back their allegiance.” 601 18:38 Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky. 602 It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. 18:39 When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The Lord is the true God! 603 The Lord is the true God!” 18:40 Elijah told them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let even one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley and executed 604 them there.
18:41 Then Elijah told Ahab, “Go on up and eat and drink, for the sound of a heavy rainstorm can be heard.” 605 18:42 So Ahab went on up to eat and drink, while Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel. He bent down toward the ground and put his face between his knees. 18:43 He told his servant, “Go on up and look in the direction of the sea.” So he went on up, looked, and reported, “There is nothing.” 606 Seven times Elijah sent him to look. 607 18:44 The seventh time the servant 608 said, “Look, a small cloud, the size of the palm of a man’s hand, is rising up from the sea.” Elijah 609 then said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up the chariots and go down, so that the rain won’t overtake you.’” 610 18:45 Meanwhile the sky was covered with dark clouds, the wind blew, and there was a heavy rainstorm. Ahab rode toward 611 Jezreel. 18:46 Now the Lord energized Elijah with power; 612 he tucked his robe into his belt 613 and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
1 Raja-raja 20:1-30
Konteks20:1 Now King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled all his army, along with thirty-two other kings with their horses and chariots. He marched against Samaria 614 and besieged and attacked it. 615 20:2 He sent messengers to King Ahab of Israel, who was in the city. 616 20:3 He said to him, “This is what Ben Hadad says, ‘Your silver and your gold are mine, as well as the best of your wives and sons.’” 20:4 The king of Israel replied, “It is just as you say, my master, O king. I and all I own belong to you.”
20:5 The messengers came again and said, “This is what Ben Hadad says, ‘I sent this message to you, “You must give me your silver, gold, wives, and sons.” 20:6 But now at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you and they will search through your palace and your servants’ houses. They will carry away all your valuables.” 617 20:7 The king of Israel summoned all the leaders 618 of the land and said, “Notice how this man is looking for trouble. 619 Indeed, he demanded my wives, sons, silver, and gold, and I did not resist him.” 20:8 All the leaders and people said to him, “Do not give in or agree to his demands.” 620 20:9 So he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, “Say this to my master, the king, ‘I will give you everything you demanded at first from your servant, but I am unable to agree to this latest demand.’” 621 So the messengers went back and gave their report.
20:10 Ben Hadad sent another message to him, “May the gods judge me severely 622 if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for my soldiers to scoop up in their hands.” 623 20:11 The king of Israel replied, “Tell him the one who puts on his battle gear should not boast like one who is taking it off.” 624 20:12 When Ben Hadad received this reply, 625 he and the other kings were drinking in their quarters. 626 He ordered his servants, “Get ready to attack!” So they got ready to attack the city.
20:13 Now a prophet visited King Ahab of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Do you see this huge army? 627 Look, I am going to hand it over to you this very day. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 20:14 Ahab asked, “By whom will this be accomplished?” 628 He answered, “This is what the Lord says, ‘By the servants of the district governors.’” Ahab 629 asked, “Who will launch the attack?” He answered, “You will.”
20:15 So Ahab 630 assembled the 232 servants of the district governors. After that he assembled all the Israelite army, numbering 7,000. 631 20:16 They marched out at noon, while Ben Hadad and the thirty-two kings allied with him were drinking heavily 632 in their quarters. 633 20:17 The servants of the district governors led the march. When Ben Hadad sent messengers, they reported back to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.” 634 20:18 He ordered, “Whether they come in peace or to do battle, take them alive.” 635 20:19 They marched out of the city with the servants of the district governors in the lead and the army behind them. 20:20 Each one struck down an enemy soldier; 636 the Syrians fled and Israel chased them. King Ben Hadad of Syria escaped on horseback with some horsemen. 20:21 Then the king of Israel marched out and struck down the horses and chariots; he thoroughly defeated 637 Syria.
20:22 The prophet 638 visited the king of Israel and instructed him, “Go, fortify your defenses. 639 Determine 640 what you must do, for in the spring 641 the king of Syria will attack 642 you.” 20:23 Now the advisers 643 of the king of Syria said to him: “Their God is a god of the mountains. That’s why they overpowered us. But if we fight them in the plains, we will certainly overpower them. 20:24 So do this: Dismiss the kings from their command, and replace them with military commanders. 20:25 Muster an army like the one you lost, with the same number of horses and chariots. 644 Then we will fight them in the plains; we will certainly overpower them.” He approved their plan and did as they advised. 645
20:26 In the spring 646 Ben Hadad mustered the Syrian army 647 and marched to Aphek to fight Israel. 648 20:27 When the Israelites had mustered and had received their supplies, they marched out to face them in battle. When the Israelites deployed opposite them, they were like two small flocks 649 of goats, but the Syrians filled the land. 20:28 The prophet 650 visited the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Syrians said, “The Lord is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,” I will hand over to you this entire huge army. 651 Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
20:29 The armies were deployed opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began, and the Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in one day. 20:30 The remaining 27,000 ran to Aphek and went into the city, but the wall fell on them. 652 Now Ben Hadad ran into the city and hid in an inner room. 653
[8:14] 1 tn Heb “turned his face.”
[8:14] 2 tn Heb “and he blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel was standing.”
[8:15] 3 tn The Hebrew text reads, “by his hand.”
[8:15] 4 tn The Hebrew text reads, “by his mouth.”
[8:16] 6 tn Heb “to build a house for my name to be there.”
[8:16] sn To build a temple in which to live (Heb “to build a house for my name to be there”). In the OT, the word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the
[8:17] 7 tn Heb “and it was with the heart of David my father.”
[8:17] 8 tn Heb “to build a house for the name of the
[8:18] 9 tn Heb “Because it was with your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was with your heart.”
[8:19] 10 tn Heb “your son, the one who came out of your body, he will build the temple for my name.”
[8:20] 11 tn Heb “his word that he spoke.”
[8:21] 13 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 34, 40, 48, 53, 57, 58).
[8:23] 16 tn Heb “one who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.
[8:23] 17 tn Heb “who walk before you with all their heart.”
[8:24] 18 tn Heb “[you] who kept to your servant David my father that which you spoke to him.”
[8:24] 19 tn Heb “you spoke by your mouth and by your hand you fulfilled, as this day.”
[8:25] 20 tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from before me sitting on the throne of Israel.”
[8:25] 21 tn Heb “guard their way by walking before me as you have walked before me.”
[8:26] 22 tn Heb “the words that you spoke.”
[8:26] 23 tn Or “prove to be reliable.”
[8:27] 24 tn Heb “Indeed, can God really live on the earth?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not,” the force of which the translation above seeks to reflect.
[8:28] 26 tn Heb “by listening to.”
[8:28] 27 tn Heb “the loud cry and the prayer.”
[8:28] 28 tn Heb “praying before you.”
[8:29] 29 tn Heb “so your eyes might be open toward this house night and day, toward the place about which you said, ‘My name will be there.’”
[8:29] 30 tn Heb “by listening to the prayer which your servant is praying concerning this place.”
[8:30] 31 tn Heb “listen to the request of your servant and your people Israel which they are praying concerning this place.”
[8:30] 32 tn Heb “and you, hear inside your dwelling place, inside heaven.” The precise nuance of the preposition אֶל (’el), used here with the verb “hear,” is unclear. One expects the preposition “from,” which appears in the parallel text in 2 Chr 6:21. The nuance “inside; among” is attested for אֶל (see Gen 23:19; 1 Sam 10:22; Jer 4:3), but in each case a verb of motion is employed with the preposition, unlike 1 Kgs 8:30. The translation above (“from inside”) is based on the demands of the immediate context rather than attested usage elsewhere.
[8:30] 33 tn Heb “hear and forgive.”
[8:31] 34 tn Heb “and forgive the man who sins against his neighbor when one takes up against him a curse to curse him and the curse comes before your altar in this house.” In the Hebrew text the words “and forgive” conclude v. 30, but the accusative sign at the beginning of v. 31 suggests the verb actually goes with what follows in v. 31. The parallel text in 2 Chr 6:22 begins with “and if,” rather than the accusative sign. In this case “forgive” must be taken with what precedes, and v. 31 must be taken as the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, with v. 32 being the apodosis (“then” clause) that completes the sentence.
[8:31] sn Be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false. At first it appears that Solomon is asking God to forgive the guilty party. But in v. 32 Solomon asks the
[8:32] 35 tn Heb “and you, hear [from] heaven and act and judge your servants by declaring the guilty to be guilty, to give his way on his head, and to declare the innocent to be innocent, to give to him according to his innocence.”
[8:33] 36 tn Heb “when.” In the Hebrew text vv. 33-34 actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
[8:33] 37 tn Or “are struck down before an enemy.”
[8:33] 38 tn Heb “confess [or perhaps, “praise”] your name.”
[8:33] 39 tn Heb “and they pray and ask for help.”
[8:35] 40 tn Heb “when.” In the Hebrew text vv. 35-36a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
[8:35] 41 tn Heb “they”; the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:35] 42 tn Heb “confess [or perhaps, “praise”] your name.”
[8:35] 43 tn The Hebrew text has “because you answer them,” as if the verb is from עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”). However, this reference to a divine answer is premature, since the next verse asks for God to intervene in mercy. It is better to revocalize the consonantal text as תְעַנֵּם (tÿ’annem, “you afflict them”), a Piel verb form from the homonym עָנָה (“to afflict”).
[8:36] 44 tn The translation understands כִּי (ki) in an emphatic or asseverative sense.
[8:36] 45 tn Heb “the good way in which they should walk.”
[8:36] 46 tn Or “for an inheritance.”
[8:37] 47 tn Actually two Hebrew terms appear here, both of which are usually taken as referring to locusts. Perhaps different stages of growth or different varieties are in view.
[8:37] 48 tn Heb “in the land, his gates.”
[8:38] 49 tn Heb “every prayer, every request for help which will be to all the people, to all your people Israel.”
[8:38] 50 tn Heb “which they know, each the pain of his heart.”
[8:39] 51 tn The words “their sin” are added for clarification.
[8:39] 52 tn Heb “and act and give to each one according to all his ways because you know his heart.” In the Hebrew text vv. 37-39a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided up for stylistic reasons.
[8:39] 53 tn Heb “Indeed you know, you alone, the heart of all the sons of mankind.”
[8:40] 55 tn Heb “all the days [in] which.”
[8:41] 56 tn Heb “your name.” In the OT the word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the
[8:42] 57 tn Heb “your great name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in the previous verse.
[8:42] 58 tn Heb “and your strong hand and your outstretched arm.”
[8:43] 59 tn Heb “and do all which the foreigner calls to [i.e., “requests of”] you.”
[8:43] 60 tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.
[8:43] 62 tn Heb “that your name is called over this house which I built.” The Hebrew idiom “to call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28.
[8:44] 63 tn Heb “When your people go out for battle against their enemies in the way which you send them.”
[8:44] 64 tn Or perhaps “to you, O
[8:44] 65 tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.
[8:45] 66 tn Heb “their prayer and their request for help.”
[8:45] 67 tn Heb “and accomplish their justice.”
[8:46] 68 tn Heb “they”; the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:46] 69 tn Heb “the land of the enemy.”
[8:47] 70 tn Heb “they”; the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:47] 71 tn Or “stop and reflect”; Heb “bring back to their heart.”
[8:48] 74 tn Heb “in the land of their enemies.”
[8:48] 75 tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.
[8:49] 76 tn Heb “their prayer and their request for help.”
[8:49] 77 tn Heb “and accomplish their justice.”
[8:50] 78 tn Heb “and forgive your people who have sinned against you, [forgive] all their rebellious acts by which they rebelled against you, and grant them mercy before their captors so they will show them mercy.”
[8:51] 80 tn Heb “inheritance.”
[8:51] 81 tn The Hebrew term כּוּר (kur, “furnace,” cf. Akkadian ku„ru) is a metaphor for the intense heat of purification. A כּוּר was not a source of heat but a crucible (“iron-smelting furnace”) in which precious metals were melted down and their impurities burned away (see I. Cornelius, NIDOTTE 2:618-19). Thus Egypt served not as a place of punishment for the Israelites, but as a place of refinement to bring Israel to a place of submission to divine sovereignty.
[8:51] sn From the middle of the iron-smelting furnace. The metaphor of a furnace suggests fire and heat and is an apt image to remind the people of the suffering they endured while slaves in Egypt.
[8:52] 82 tn Heb “May your eyes be open.”
[8:52] 83 tn Heb “to listen to them in all their calling out to you.”
[8:53] 85 tn Heb “your inheritance.”
[8:54] 86 tn Or “toward heaven.”
[8:56] 87 tn Heb “he has given a resting place to his people Israel.”
[8:56] 88 tn Heb “not one word from his entire good word he spoke by Moses his servant has fallen.”
[8:58] 89 tn Heb “to bend our hearts toward him.” The infinitive is subordinate to the initial prayer, “may the
[8:58] 90 tn Heb “to walk in all his ways.”
[8:59] 92 tn Heb “May these words of mine, which I have requested before the
[8:59] 93 tn Heb “accomplish the justice of.”
[8:60] 95 tn Heb “the
[8:61] 96 tn Heb “may your hearts be complete with the
[8:61] 97 tn Heb “walking in.”
[8:61] 99 tn Heb “as this day.”
[8:19] 100 tn Heb “your son, the one who came out of your body, he will build the temple for my name.”
[9:1] 101 tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he wanted to do.”
[9:2] 102 sn In the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon. See 1 Kgs 3:5.
[9:3] 103 tn Heb “I have heard.”
[9:3] 104 tn Heb “by placing my name there perpetually” (or perhaps, “forever”).
[9:3] 105 tn Heb “and my eyes and my heart will be there all the days.”
[9:4] 106 tn Heb “As for you, if you walk before me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, by doing all which I commanded you, [and] you keep my rules and my regulations.” Verse 4 is actually a lengthy protasis (“if” section) of a conditional sentence, the apodosis (“then” section) of which appears in v. 5.
[9:5] 107 tn Heb “I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever.”
[9:5] 108 tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel.”
[9:6] 109 tn Heb “which I placed before you.”
[9:6] 110 tn Heb “and walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
[9:7] 111 tn Heb “I will cut off Israel from upon the surface of the land.”
[9:7] 112 tn Heb “and the temple which I consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face.”
[9:7] sn Instead of “I will send away,” the parallel text in 2 Chr 7:20 has “I will throw away.” The two verbs sound very similar in Hebrew, so the discrepancy is likely due to an oral transmissional error.
[9:7] 113 tn Heb “will become a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.
[9:8] 114 tn Heb “and this house will be high [or elevated].” The statement makes little sense in this context, which predicts the desolation that judgment will bring. Some treat the clause as concessive, “Even though this temple is lofty [now].” Others, following the lead of several ancient versions, emend the text to, “this temple will become a heap of ruins.”
[9:8] 115 tn Heb “hiss,” or perhaps “whistle.” This refers to a derisive sound one would make when taunting an object of ridicule.
[9:9] 116 tn Heb “and they will say.”
[9:9] 118 tn Heb “and they took hold of other gods and bowed down to them and served them.”
[9:10] 119 tn Heb “the two houses, the house of the
[9:11] 120 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[9:12] 121 tn Heb “they were not agreeable in his eyes.”
[9:13] 122 tn Heb “and he said.”
[9:13] 123 tn Heb “my brother.” Kings allied through a parity treaty would sometimes address each other as “my brother.” See 1 Kgs 20:32-33.
[9:13] 124 tn Heb “he called them the land of Cabul to this day.” The significance of the name is unclear, though it appears to be disparaging. The name may be derived from a root, attested in Akkadian and Arabic, meaning “bound” or “restricted.” Some propose a wordplay, pointing out that the name “Cabul” sounds like a Hebrew phrase meaning, “like not,” or “as good as nothing.”
[9:14] 125 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 9,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “five tons”; TEV “4,000 kilogrammes.”
[9:15] 126 sn The work crews. This Hebrew word מַס (mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
[9:15] 127 tn Heb “raised up.”
[9:15] 128 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[9:15] 129 tn The words “the cities of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:15] 130 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.
[9:15] 131 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
[9:18] 132 tn The Hebrew text has “in the wilderness, in the land.”
[9:19] 133 tn Heb “to Solomon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:19] 134 tn Heb “the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses.”
[9:19] 135 tn Heb “and the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom.”
[9:20] 136 tn Heb “all the people who were left from the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not from the sons of Israel.”
[9:21] 137 tn Heb “their sons who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were unable to wipe out, and Solomon raised them up for a crew of labor to this day.”
[9:22] 138 sn These work crews. The work crews referred to here must be different than the temporary crews described in 5:13-16.
[9:22] 139 tn Heb “officers of his chariots and his horses.”
[9:23] 140 tn Heb “these [were] the officials of the governors who were over the work belonging to Solomon, five hundred fifty, the ones ruling over the people, the ones doing the work.”
[9:24] 141 sn The phrase city of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
[9:24] 142 tn Heb “As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David to her house which he built for her, then he built the terrace.”
[9:25] 143 tn Or “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.”
[9:25] 144 tn Heb “and he made complete the house.”
[9:26] 145 tn Or “a fleet” (in which case “ships” would be implied).
[9:27] 146 tn Heb “and Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, men of ships, [who] know the sea, [to be] with the servants of Solomon.”
[9:28] 148 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 31,500 pounds of gold (cf. NCV); CEV, NLT “sixteen tons”; TEV “more than 14,000 kilogrammes.”
[10:1] 149 tn Heb “the report about Solomon.” The Hebrew text also has, “to the name of the
[10:2] 152 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[10:2] 153 tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew term חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or to the great wealth she brought with her.
[10:2] 154 tn Or “balsam oil.”
[10:3] 155 tn Heb “Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.” If riddles are specifically in view (see v. 1), then one might translate, “Solomon explained to her all her riddles; there was no riddle too complex for the king.”
[10:4] 156 tn Heb “all the wisdom of Solomon.”
[10:5] 158 tn Heb “the food on his table.”
[10:5] 159 tn Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”
[10:5] 160 tn Heb “there was no breath still in her.”
[10:6] 161 tn Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”
[10:7] 162 tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”
[10:8] 164 tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
[10:9] 165 tn Or “delighted in.”
[10:9] 166 tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
[10:10] 167 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 9,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “five tons”; TEV “4,000 kilogrammes.”
[10:10] 168 tn Heb “there has not come like those spices yet for quantity which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
[10:12] 169 tn This Hebrew architectural term occurs only here. The meaning is uncertain; some have suggested “banisters” or “parapets”; cf. TEV, NLT “railings.” The parallel passage in 2 Chr 9:11 has a different word, meaning “tracks,” or perhaps “steps.”
[10:12] 170 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither” [?]), and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
[10:12] 171 tn Heb “there has not come thus, the fine timber, and there has not been seen to this day.”
[10:13] 172 tn Heb “besides what he had given her according to the hand of King Solomon.”
[10:13] 173 tn Heb “turned and went.”
[10:14] 174 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 50,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV); CEV, NLT “twenty-five tons”; TEV “almost 23,000 kilogrammes.”
[10:14] 175 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.”
[10:15] 176 tn Heb “traveling men.”
[10:16] 177 tn The Hebrew text has simply “six hundred,” with no unit of measure given.
[10:17] 178 sn Three minas. The mina was a unit of measure for weight.
[10:17] 179 sn The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest.
[10:19] 180 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
[10:20] 181 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for all the kingdoms.”
[10:21] 182 tn Heb “there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
[10:22] 183 tn Heb “a fleet of Tarshish [ships].” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
[10:22] 184 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
[10:22] 185 tn Heb “came carrying.”
[10:22] 186 tn The meaning of this word is unclear. Some suggest “baboons.”
[10:23] 187 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and with respect to wisdom.”
[10:24] 188 tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “all the kings of the earth.” See 2 Chr 9:23.
[10:24] 189 tn Heb “and all the earth was seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
[10:25] 190 tn Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
[10:26] 192 tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”
[10:26] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[10:27] 193 tn The words “as plentiful” are added for clarification.
[10:27] 195 tn Heb “as the sycamore fig trees which are in the Shephelah.”
[10:28] 196 sn From Egypt. Because Que is also mentioned, some prefer to see in vv. 28-29 a reference to Mutsur. Que and Mutsur were located in Cilicia/Cappadocia (in modern southern Turkey). See HALOT 625 s.v. מִצְרַיִם.
[10:29] 197 tn Heb “and a chariot went up and came out of Egypt for six hundred silver [pieces], and a horse for one hundred fifty, and in the same way to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram by their hand they brought out.”
[11:2] 198 tn Heb “you must not go into them, and they must not go into you.”
[11:2] 199 tn Heb “Surely they will bend your heart after their gods.” The words “if you do” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[11:2] 200 tn Heb “Solomon clung to them for love.” The pronominal suffix, translated “them,” is masculine here, even though it appears the foreign women are in view. Perhaps this is due to attraction to the masculine forms used of the nations earlier in the verse.
[11:3] 201 tn Heb “wives, princesses.”
[11:3] 202 sn Concubines were slave women in ancient Near Eastern societies who were the legal property of their master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with their master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. The usage in the present passage suggests that after the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (cf. also 2 Sam 21:10-14).
[11:3] 203 tn Heb “his wives bent his heart.”
[11:4] 204 tn Heb “bent his heart after.”
[11:4] 205 tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the
[11:5] 206 tn Heb “walked after.”
[11:5] 207 tn Heb “Milcom, the detestable thing of the Ammonites.”
[11:6] 208 tn Heb “in the eyes of the
[11:6] 209 tn The idiomatic statement reads in Hebrew, “he did not fill up after.”
[11:7] 211 sn The hill east of Jerusalem refers to the Mount of Olives.
[11:7] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:7] 212 sn A high place. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated (see 1 Kgs 3:2).
[11:7] 213 tn Heb “Chemosh, the detestable thing of Moab.”
[11:7] 214 tc The MT reads “Molech,” but Milcom must be intended (see vv. 5, 33).
[11:8] 215 tn Heb “and the same thing he did for all his foreign wives, [who] were burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.”
[11:9] 216 tn Heb “bent his heart.”
[11:9] 217 sn These two occasions are mentioned in 1 Kgs 3:5 and 9:2.
[11:10] 218 tn Heb “and had commanded him concerning this thing not to walk after other gods.”
[11:11] 220 tn Heb “Because this is with you, and you have not kept my covenant and my rules which I commanded you.”
[11:14] 222 tn Or “raised up.”
[11:15] 223 tn Heb “when David was [fighting (?)] with Edom.”
[11:16] 224 tn Heb “and all Israel.”
[11:16] 225 tn Heb “until he had cut off every male in Edom.”
[11:17] 226 tn The MT reads “Adad,” an alternate form of the name Hadad.
[11:17] 227 tn Heb “and Adad fled, he and Edomite men from the servants of his father, to go to Egypt, and Hadad was a small boy.”
[11:18] 228 tn Heb “and they arose from Midian and went to Paran and they took men with them from Paran and went to Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and he gave to him a house and food and he said to him, and a land he gave to him.” Something seems to be accidentally omitted after “and he said to him.”
[11:19] 229 tn Heb “and Hadad found great favor in the eyes of Pharaoh.”
[11:19] 230 tn Heb “and he gave to him a wife, the sister of his wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.”
[11:20] 231 tn Heb “bore him Genubath his son.”
[11:20] 232 tc The Hebrew text reads וַתִּגְמְלֵהוּ (vattigmÿlehu, “weaned him”) but a slight alteration of the consonantal text yields וַתִּגְדְלֵהוּ (vattigdÿlehu, “raised him”), which seems to make better sense.
[11:21] 233 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[11:21] 234 tn Heb “send me away.”
[11:22] 235 tn Heb “Indeed what do you lack with me, that now you are seeking to go to your land?”
[11:22] 236 tn Heb “and he said.”
[11:22] 237 sn So Hadad asked Pharaoh… This lengthy description of Hadad’s exile in Egypt explains why Hadad wanted to oppose Solomon and supports the author’s thesis that his hostility to Solomon found its ultimate source in divine providence. Though Hadad enjoyed a comfortable life in Egypt, when the
[11:23] 238 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:24] 239 tn Heb “and he was the officer of a raiding band.”
[11:24] 240 tn The Hebrew text reads “when David killed them.” This phrase is traditionally joined with what precedes. The ancient Greek version does not reflect the phrase and some suggest that it has been misplaced from the end of v. 23.
[11:25] 241 tn The construction (Qal of קוּץ + בְּ [quts + bet] preposition) is rare, but not without parallel (see Lev 20:23).
[11:26] 242 tn Heb “raised a hand against.”
[11:26] 243 tn Heb “Ephrathite,” which here refers to an Ephraimite (see HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרַיִם).
[11:27] 244 tn Heb “this is the matter concerning which he raised a hand against the king.”
[11:27] 245 sn The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
[11:28] 246 tn Heb “man of strength.”
[11:29] 248 tn The Hebrew text has simply “he,” making it a bit unclear whether Jeroboam or Ahijah is the subject, but in the Hebrew word order Ahijah is the nearer antecedent, and this is followed by the present translation.
[11:30] 249 tn Heb “and Ahijah grabbed the new robe that was on him.”
[11:33] 250 tn The words “I am taking the kingdom from him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[11:33] 251 tc This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read “he has.”
[11:33] 252 tn Heb “walked in my ways.”
[11:33] 253 tn Heb “by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father.”
[11:35] 254 tn Heb “and I will give it to you, ten tribes.”
[11:36] 256 tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty. Because this imagery is unfamiliar to the modern reader, the translation “so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me” has been used.
[11:36] 257 tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.”
[11:38] 259 tn Heb “If you obey.” In the Hebrew text v. 38 is actually one long conditional sentence, which has been broken into two parts in the translation for stylistic purposes.
[11:38] 260 tn Heb “walk in my ways.”
[11:38] 261 tn Heb “do what is right in my eyes.”
[11:38] 262 tn Heb “I will build for you a permanent house, like I built for David.”
[11:39] 263 sn Because of this. Reference is made to the idolatry mentioned earlier.
[11:39] 264 tn Heb “but not all the days.”
[11:40] 265 tn Heb “but Jeroboam arose and ran away to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt.”
[11:41] 266 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Solomon, and all which he did, and his wisdom, are they not written on the scroll of the events of Solomon?”
[11:42] 267 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:43] 268 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[11:43] 269 sn The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
[11:43] 270 tc Before this sentence the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And it so happened that when Jeroboam son of Nebat heard – now he was in Egypt where he had fled from before Solomon and was residing in Egypt – he came straight to his city in the land of Sarira which is on mount Ephraim. And king Solomon slept with his fathers.”
[12:1] 271 tn Heb “come [to].”
[12:1] 272 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:2] 273 tc Verse 2 is not included in the Old Greek translation. See the note on 11:43.
[12:2] 274 tn Heb “and Jeroboam lived in Egypt.” The parallel text in 2 Chr 10:2 reads, “and Jeroboam returned from Egypt.” In a purely consonantal text the forms “and he lived” and “and he returned” are identical (וישׁב).
[12:3] 275 tn Heb “They sent and called for him.”
[12:4] 276 tn Heb “made our yoke burdensome.”
[12:4] 277 tn Heb “but you, now, lighten the burdensome work of your father and the heavy yoke which he placed on us, and we will serve you.” In the Hebrew text the prefixed verbal form with vav (וְנַעַבְדֶךָ, [vÿna’avdekha] “and we will serve you”) following the imperative (הָקֵל [haqel], “lighten”) indicates purpose (or result). The conditional sentence used in the translation above is an attempt to bring out the logical relationship between these forms.
[12:6] 278 tn Heb “stood before.”
[12:7] 280 tn Heb “If today you are a servant to these people and you serve them and answer them and speak to them good words, they will be your servants all the days.”
[12:8] 281 tn Heb “He rejected the advice of the elders which they advised and he consulted the young men with whom he had grown up, who stood before him.” The referent (Rehoboam) of the initial pronoun (“he”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:9] 282 tn In the Hebrew text the verb “we will respond” is plural, although it can be understood as an editorial “we.” The ancient versions have the singular here.
[12:9] 283 tn Heb “Lighten the yoke which your father placed on us.”
[12:10] 284 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:10] 285 tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
[12:10] 286 tn Heb “My little one is thicker than my father’s hips.” The referent of “my little one” is not clear. The traditional view is that it refers to the little finger. As the following statement makes clear, Rehoboam’s point is that he is more harsh and demanding than his father.
[12:11] 287 tn Heb “and now my father placed upon you a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke.”
[12:11] 288 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” “Scorpions” might allude to some type of torture using poisonous insects, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound. Cf. CEV “whips with pieces of sharp metal.”
[12:14] 290 tn Heb “and spoke to them according to.”
[12:14] 291 tn Heb “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke.”
[12:14] 292 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” See the note on the same phrase in v. 11.
[12:15] 293 tn Heb “because this turn of events was from the
[12:15] 294 tn Heb “so that he might bring to pass his word which the
[12:16] 295 sn We have no portion in David; no share in the son of Jesse. Their point seems to be that they have no familial relationship with David that brings them any benefits or places upon them any obligations. They are being treated like outsiders.
[12:16] 296 tn Heb “to your tents, Israel.” The word “return” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:16] 297 tn Heb “Now see your house, David.”
[12:16] 298 tn Heb “went to their tents.”
[12:18] 299 tc The MT has “Adoram” here, but the Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “Adoniram.” Cf. 1 Kgs 4:6.
[12:18] 300 sn The work crews. See the note on this expression in 4:6.
[12:18] 301 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[12:20] 302 tn Heb “there was no one [following] after the house of David except the tribe of Judah, it alone.”
[12:21] 303 tn Heb “he summoned all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, accomplished in war.”
[12:22] 304 tn Heb “and the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying.”
[12:24] 305 tn Heb “for this thing is from me.”
[12:24] 306 tn Heb “and they heard the word of the
[12:25] 307 tc The Old Greek translation has here a lengthy section consisting of twenty-three verses that are not found in the MT.
[12:26] 308 tn Heb “said in his heart.”
[12:26] 309 tn Heb “Now the kingdom could return to the house of David.” The imperfect verbal form translated “could return” is understood as having a potential force here. Perhaps this is not strong enough; another option is “will return.”
[12:27] 310 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[12:27] 311 tn Heb “the heart of these people could return to their master.”
[12:28] 312 tn The words “with his advisers” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:28] 313 tn Heb “to them,” although this may be a corruption of “to the people.” Cf. the Old Greek translation.
[12:29] 314 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[12:30] 315 tn Heb “and this thing became a sin.”
[12:30] 316 tc The MT reads “and the people went before the one to Dan.” It is likely that some words have been accidentally omitted and that the text originally said, “and the people went before the one at Bethel and before the one at Dan.”
[12:31] 317 tn The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural is preferable here (see 1 Kgs 13:32). The Old Greek translation and the Vulgate have the plural.
[12:32] 318 sn The eighth month would correspond to October-November in modern reckoning.
[12:32] 319 sn The festival he celebrated in Judah probably refers to the Feast of Tabernacles (i.e., Booths or Temporary Shelters), held in the seventh month (September-October). See also 1 Kgs 8:2.
[12:32] 320 tn Heb “and he offered up [sacrifices] on the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made.”
[12:33] 321 tn Heb “which he had chosen by himself.”
[12:33] 322 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jeroboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:33] 323 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:1] 324 tn Heb “Look.” The Hebrew particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) is a rhetorical device by which the author invites the reader to visualize the scene for dramatic effect.
[13:1] 325 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:1] 326 tn Heb “came by the word of the
[13:2] 327 tn Heb “by the word of the
[13:2] 328 sn ‘Look…you.’ For the fulfillment of this prophecy see 2 Kgs 23:15-20.
[13:3] 331 tn Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן.
[13:3] 332 tn Heb “will be poured out.”
[13:4] 333 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:4] 334 tn Heb “Jeroboam extended his hand from the altar.”
[13:4] 336 tn Heb “dried up” or “withered.” TEV and NLT interpret this as “became paralyzed.”
[13:5] 337 tn Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן.
[13:5] 338 tn Heb “were poured out from the altar.”
[13:5] 339 tn Heb “according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the
[13:6] 340 tn Heb “The king answered and said to.”
[13:6] 341 tn Heb “the man of God” (a second time later in this verse, and once in v. 7 and v. 8).
[13:6] 342 tn Heb “appease the face of.”
[13:6] 343 tn Heb “appeased the face of the
[13:6] 344 tn Heb “and it was as in the beginning.”
[13:8] 346 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
[13:9] 347 tn Heb “for this he commanded me by the word of the
[13:9] 348 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
[13:11] 349 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:11] 350 tn Heb “and his son came and told him.” The MT has the singular here, but several other textual witnesses have the plural, which is more consistent with the second half of the verse and with vv. 12-13.
[13:11] 351 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:11] 352 tn Heb “all the actions which the man of God performed that day in Bethel, the words which he spoke to the king, and they told them to their father.”
[13:12] 353 tn The Hebrew text has “and his sons saw” (וַיִּרְאוּ [vayyir’u], Qal from רָאָה [ra’ah]). In this case the verbal construction (vav consecutive + prefixed verbal form) would have to be understood as pluperfect, “his sons had seen.” Such uses of this construction are rare at best. Consequently many, following the lead of the ancient versions, prefer to emend the verbal form to a Hiphil with pronominal suffix (וַיַּרְאֻהוּ [vayyar’uhu], “and they showed him”).
[13:12] 354 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:14] 355 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:14] 356 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:16] 357 tn Heb “I am unable to return with you or to go with you.”
[13:16] 358 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
[13:17] 359 tn Heb “for a word to me by the word of the
[13:17] 360 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
[13:18] 361 tn Heb “and he said to him.”
[13:18] 362 tn Heb “by the word of the
[13:18] 363 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
[13:18] 364 tn Or “deceiving him.”
[13:18] sn He was lying to him. The motives and actions of the old prophet are difficult to understand. The old man’s response to the prophet’s death (see vv. 26-32) suggests he did not trick him with malicious intent. The old prophet probably wanted the honor of entertaining such a celebrity, or perhaps simply desired some social interaction with a fellow prophet.
[13:19] 365 tn Heb “and he returned with him and ate food in his house and drank water.”
[13:20] 366 tn Heb “and the word of the
[13:21] 367 tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 21-22 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 21-22a) and the main clause announcing the punishment (v. 22b). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.
[13:21] 368 tn Heb “the mouth [i.e., command] of the
[13:22] 369 tn Heb “and you returned and ate food and drank water in the place about which he said to you, ‘do not eat food and do not drink water.’”
[13:22] 370 tn “Therefore” is added for stylistic reasons. See the note at 1 Kgs 13:21 pertaining to the grammatical structure of vv. 21-22.
[13:22] 371 tn Heb “will not go to the tomb of your fathers.”
[13:23] 372 tn Heb “and after he had eaten food and after he had drunk.”
[13:23] 373 tn Heb “and he saddled for him the donkey, for the prophet whom he had brought back.”
[13:24] 374 tn Heb “and he went and a lion met him in the road and killed him.”
[13:24] 375 tn Heb “and his corpse fell on the road, and the donkey was standing beside it, and the lion was standing beside the corpse.”
[13:25] 376 tn Heb “Look, men were passing by.”
[13:25] 377 tn Heb “the corpse.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:25] 378 tn The words “what they had seen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[13:26] 379 tn Heb “and the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard.”
[13:26] 380 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:26] 381 tn Heb “the mouth of the
[13:26] 382 tn Heb “broke him,” or “crushed him.”
[13:26] 383 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[13:27] 384 tn Heb “and they saddled [it].”
[13:28] 385 tn Heb “the corpse.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:29] 386 tn Heb “the prophet.” The word “old” has been supplied in the translation to distinguish this individual from the other prophet.
[13:29] 387 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:30] 388 tn “They” is the reading of the Hebrew text here; perhaps this is meant to include not only the old prophet but his sons (cf. v. 31).
[13:31] 389 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:32] 390 tn Heb “for the word which he cried out by the word of the
[13:32] 391 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:32] 392 tn Heb “Samaria.” The name of Israel’s capital city here stands for the northern kingdom as a whole. Actually Samaria was not built and named until several years after this (see 1 Kgs 16:24), so it is likely that the author of Kings, writing at a later time, is here adapting the old prophet’s original statement.
[13:33] 393 tn Heb “did not turn from his evil way.”
[13:33] 394 sn The expression common people refers to people who were not Levites. See 1 Kgs 12:31.
[13:33] 395 tn Heb “and one who had the desire he was filling his hand so that he became [one of] the priests of the high places.”
[14:1] 397 tc Some
[14:2] 398 tn Heb “Get up, change yourself.”
[14:2] 399 tn Heb “look, Ahijah the prophet is there, he told me [I would be] king over this nation.”
[14:3] 400 tn Heb “take in your hand.”
[14:4] 401 tn Heb “and the wife of Jeroboam did so; she arose and went to Shiloh and entered the house of Ahijah.”
[14:4] 402 tn Heb “his eyes were set because of his old age.”
[14:5] 403 sn Tell her so-and-so. Certainly the
[14:6] 404 tn Heb “I am sent to you [with] a hard [message].”
[14:7] 405 tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 7-11 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 7-9) and the main clause announcing the punishment (vv. 10-11). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.
[14:8] 406 tn Heb “what was right in my eyes.”
[14:9] 407 tn Heb “you went and you made for yourself other gods, metal [ones], angering me, and you threw me behind your back.”
[14:10] 408 sn Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated “disaster” (רָעָה, ra’ah) is from the same root as the expression “you have sinned” in v. 9 (וַתָּרַע [vattara’], from רָעַע, [ra’a’]). Jeroboam’s sins would receive an appropriate punishment.
[14:10] 410 tn Heb “and I will cut off from Jeroboam those who urinate against a wall (including both those who are) restrained and let free (or “abandoned”) in Israel.” The precise meaning of the idiomatic phrase עָצוּר וְעָזוּב (’atsur vÿ’azuv) is uncertain. For various options see HALOT 871 s.v. עצר 6 and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 107. The two terms are usually taken as polar opposites (“slaves and freemen” or “minors and adults”), but Cogan and Tadmor, on the basis of contextual considerations (note the usage with אֶפֶס [’efes], “nothing but”) in Deut 32:36 and 2 Kgs 14:26, argue convincingly that the terms are synonyms, meaning “restrained and abandoned,” and refer to incapable or incapacitated individuals.
[14:10] 411 tn The traditional view understands the verb בָּעַר (ba’ar) to mean “burn.” Manure was sometimes used as fuel (see Ezek 4:12, 15). However, an alternate view takes בָּעַר as a homonym meaning “sweep away” (HALOT 146 s.v. II בער). In this case one might translate, “I will sweep away the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away manure it is gone” (cf. ASV, NASB, TEV). Either metaphor emphasizes the thorough and destructive nature of the coming judgment.
[14:11] 412 tn The Hebrew text has “belonging to Jeroboam” here.
[14:14] 415 tn Heb “This is the day. What also now?” The precise meaning of the second half of the statement is uncertain.
[14:15] 416 tn The elliptical Hebrew text reads literally “and the
[14:15] 417 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 22, 31).
[14:15] 418 tn Heb “the River.” In biblical Hebrew this is a typical reference to the Euphrates River. The name “Euphrates” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:15] 419 tn Heb “because they made their Asherah poles that anger the
[14:15] sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
[14:16] 420 tn Heb “and he will give [up] Israel.”
[14:17] 421 tn Heb “went and entered.”
[14:18] 422 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[14:19] 423 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam, how he fought and how he ruled, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[14:20] 424 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[14:21] 425 tn Heb “Rehoboam.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:21] 426 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:21] 427 tn Heb “the city where the
[14:21] 428 tn Heb “an Ammonite”; the word “woman” is implied.
[14:22] 429 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[14:22] 430 tn Heb “and they made him jealous more than all which their fathers had done by their sins which they sinned.”
[14:24] 431 tc The Old Greek translation has “a conspiracy” rather than “male cultic prostitutes.”
[14:24] 432 tn Heb “they did according to all the abominable acts of the nations.”
[14:29] 434 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Rehoboam, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[14:31] 435 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[14:31] 436 tn In the Hebrew text the name is spelled “Abijam” here and in 1 Kgs 15:1-8.
[15:1] 437 tc The Old Greek also has the phrase “the son of Rehoboam.”
[15:2] 438 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:2] 439 sn Abishalom (also in v. 10) is a variant of the name Absalom (cf. 2 Chr 11:20). The more common form is used by TEV, NLT.
[15:3] 440 tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the
[15:4] 441 tn Heb “gave him a lamp.”
[15:4] 442 tc The Old Greek has the plural “his sons.”
[15:4] 443 tn Heb “by raising up his son after him.”
[15:4] 444 tn Heb “and by causing Jerusalem to stand firm.”
[15:5] 445 tn The words “he did this” are added for stylistic reasons.
[15:5] 446 tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the
[15:5] 447 tn Heb “and had not turned aside from all which he commanded him.”
[15:6] 448 tc Most Hebrew
[15:6] 449 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Abijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:7] 450 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Abijah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[15:8] 451 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” The Old Greek also has these words: “in the twenty-eighth year of Jeroboam.”
[15:8] 452 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
[15:10] 453 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:10] 454 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
[15:11] 455 tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the
[15:11] 456 tn Heb “father,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
[15:12] 457 tn The word used here, גִלּוּלִים [gillulim], is always used as a disdainful reference to idols. It is generally thought to have originally referred to “dung pellets” (cf. KBL 183 s.v. גִלּוּלִים). It is only one of several terms used in this way, such as “worthless things” (אֱלִילִים, ’elilim), “vanities” or “empty winds” (הֲבָלִים, havalim).
[15:12] 458 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 24).
[15:13] 459 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
[15:14] 460 tn Heb “yet the heart of Asa was complete with the
[15:15] 461 tn Heb “and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things (into) the house of the
[15:16] 462 tn Heb “There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.”
[15:17] 463 tn Heb “and he built up Ramah so as to not permit going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.”
[15:18] 464 tn Heb “King Asa sent it.”
[15:19] 465 tn Heb “[May there be] a covenant between me and you [as there was] between my father and your father.”
[15:19] 466 tn Heb “so he will go up from upon me.”
[15:20] 467 tn Heb “and Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of the armies which belonged to him against the cities of Israel.”
[15:20] 468 tn Heb “he struck down.”
[15:20] 469 tn Heb “and all Kinnereth together with all the land of Naphtali.”
[15:21] 470 tn Heb “building.”
[15:22] 471 tn Heb “and King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, there was no one exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its wood which Baasha had built.”
[15:22] 472 tn Heb “and King Asa built with them.”
[15:23] 473 tn Heb “As for the rest of all the events of Asa, and all his strength and all which he did and the cities which he built, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[15:23] 474 tn Heb “Yet in the time of his old age he became sick in his feet.”
[15:24] 475 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[15:26] 476 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[15:26] 477 tn Heb “and he walked in the way of his father and in his sin which he made Israel sin.”
[15:27] 478 tn Heb “against him”; the referent (Nadab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:29] 479 tn Heb “and when he became king, he struck down all the house of Jeroboam; he did not leave any breath to Jeroboam until he destroyed him.”
[15:29] 480 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[15:30] 481 tn Heb “because of Jeroboam which he committed and which he made Israel commit, by his provocation by which he made the
[15:31] 482 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Nadab, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[15:34] 483 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[15:34] 484 tn Heb “and he walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin.”
[16:1] 485 tn Heb “and the word of the
[16:2] 486 tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 2-3 are one sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (v. 2) and the main clause announcing the punishment (v. 3). The translation divides this sentence for stylistic reasons.
[16:2] 487 tn Heb “walked in the way of Jeroboam.”
[16:2] 488 tn Heb “angering me by their sins.”
[16:3] 489 tn The traditional view understands the verb בָּעַר (ba’ar) to mean “burn.” However, an alternate view takes בָּעַר (ba’ar) as a homonym meaning “sweep away” (HALOT 146 s.v. II בער). In this case one might translate, “I am ready to sweep away Baasha and his family.” Either metaphor emphasizes the thorough and destructive nature of the coming judgment.
[16:3] 490 tc The Old Greek, Syriac Peshitta, and some
[16:4] 491 tn Heb “the ones belonging to Baasha.”
[16:5] 492 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Baasha, and that which he did and his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[16:6] 493 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[16:7] 494 tn Heb “and also through Jehu son of Hanani the word of the
[16:7] 495 tn Heb “angering him by the work of his hands, so that he was like the house of Jeroboam, and because of how he struck it down.”
[16:9] 496 tn Heb “while he was drinking and drunken.”
[16:10] 497 tn Heb “and he became king in his place.”
[16:11] 498 tn Heb “and he did not spare any belonging to him who urinate against a wall, [including] his kinsmen redeemers and his friends.”
[16:12] 499 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[16:13] 500 tn Heb “angering the
[16:14] 501 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Elah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[16:15] 502 tn Heb “Now the people were encamped.
[16:16] 503 tn Heb “and the people who were encamped heard.”
[16:16] 504 tn Heb “has conspired against and also has struck down the king.”
[16:18] 505 tn Heb “and he burned the house of the king over him with fire and he died.”
[16:19] 506 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[16:19] 507 tn Heb “walking in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he did to make Israel sin.”
[16:20] 508 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Zimri, and his conspiracy which he conspired, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[16:24] 509 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[16:24] 510 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 150 pounds of silver.
[16:24] 511 tn Heb “he built up the hill.”
[16:25] 512 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[16:26] 513 tn Heb “walked in all the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin which he made Israel sin.”
[16:26] 514 tn Heb “angering the
[16:27] 515 tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his strength which he demonstrated, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[16:28] 516 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[16:28] 517 tc The Old Greek has eight additional verses here. Cf. 1 Kgs 22:41-44.
[16:29] 518 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[16:30] 519 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[16:31] 520 tn Heb “and he went and served Baal and bowed down to him.”
[16:31] sn The Canaanites worshiped Baal as a storm and fertility god.
[16:33] 521 tn Heb “Ahab”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:34] 522 tn Heb “in his days.”
[16:34] 523 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[16:34] 524 tn Heb “with Abiram, his firstborn, he founded it.”
[16:34] 525 tn Heb “with Segub, his youngest, he set up its gates.”
[16:34] 526 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[16:34] 527 sn Warned through Joshua son of Nun. For the background to this statement, see Josh 6:26, where Joshua pronounces a curse on the one who dares to rebuild Jericho. Here that curse is viewed as a prophecy spoken by God through Joshua.
[17:1] 528 tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
[17:1] 529 tn Heb “except at the command of my word.”
[17:2] 530 tn Heb “and the word of the
[17:4] 531 tn Heb “commanded.”
[17:4] 532 tn Heb “to provide for you.”
[17:5] 533 tn Heb “So he went and did.”
[17:7] 534 tn Heb “And it came about at the end of days.”
[17:8] 535 tn Heb “And the word of the
[17:9] 536 tn Heb “Look, I have commanded.”
[17:10] 537 tn Heb “a little.”
[17:11] 538 tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “in your hand.”
[17:12] 539 tn Heb “Look, I am gathering two sticks and then I will go and make it for me and my son and we will eat it and we will die.”
[17:13] 540 tn Heb “according to your word.”
[17:15] 541 tn Heb “and she ate, she and he and her house [for] days.”
[17:16] 542 tn Heb “out, according to the word of the
[17:17] 543 tn Heb “after these things.”
[17:18] 544 tn Heb “What to me and to you, man of God, that you have come.”
[17:18] 545 tn Heb “to make me remember.”
[17:24] 546 tn Heb “you are a man of God and the word of the
[17:24] sn This episode is especially significant in light of Ahab’s decision to promote Baal worship in Israel. In Canaanite mythology the drought that swept over the region (v. 1) would signal that Baal, a fertility god responsible for providing food for his subjects, had been defeated by the god of death and was imprisoned in the underworld. While Baal was overcome by death and unable to function like a king, Israel’s God demonstrated his sovereignty and superiority to death by providing food for a widow and restoring life to her son. And he did it all in Sidonian territory, Baal’s back yard, as it were. The episode demonstrates that Israel’s God, not Baal, is the true king who provides food and controls life and death. This polemic against Baalism reaches its climax in the next chapter, when the
[18:1] 547 tn Heb “the word of the
[18:2] 548 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[18:3] 549 tn Heb “now Obadiah greatly feared the
[18:4] 550 tn Heb “cutting off.”
[18:5] 552 tn Heb “to cut off.”
[18:6] 553 tn The Hebrew text has “alone” here and again in reference to Obadiah toward the end of the verse.
[18:7] 554 tn Heb “look, Elijah [came] to meet him.”
[18:8] 555 tn Heb “[It is] I.”
[18:8] 556 tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”
[18:9] 557 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Obadiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:9] 558 tn Heb “to kill me.”
[18:10] 559 tn Heb “he makes the kingdom or the nation swear an oath.”
[18:11] 560 tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”
[18:12] 561 tn Heb “to [a place] which I do not know.”
[18:12] 562 tn Heb “and I will go to inform Ahab and he will not find you and he will kill me.”
[18:12] 563 tn The words “that would not be fair” are added to clarify the logic of Obadiah’s argument.
[18:12] 564 tn Heb “has feared the
[18:13] 565 tn Heb “Has it not been told to my master what I did…?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “Of course it has!”
[18:14] 566 tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”
[18:15] 567 tn Traditionally, “the
[18:15] 568 tn Heb “(before whom I stand).”
[18:16] 569 tn Heb “Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.”
[18:18] 572 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:19] 574 tn The word “messengers” is supplied in the translation both here and in v. 20 for clarification.
[18:19] 575 tn Heb “who eat at the table of Jezebel.”
[18:21] 576 tn Heb “How long are you going to limp around on two crutches?” (see HALOT 762 s.v. סְעִפִּים). In context this idiomatic expression refers to indecision rather than physical disability.
[18:22] 578 tn Heb “to the people.”
[18:24] 579 tn Elijah now directly addresses the prophets.
[18:24] 581 tn Heb “The matter [i.e., proposal] is good [i.e., acceptable].”
[18:25] 582 tc The last sentence of v. 25 is absent in the Syriac Peshitta.
[18:26] 583 tn Heb “and they took the bull which he allowed them.”
[18:26] 584 tn Heb “limped” (the same verb is used in v. 21).
[18:26] 585 tc The MT has “which he made,” but some medieval Hebrew
[18:27] 586 sn Elijah’s sarcastic proposals would have been especially offensive and irritating to Baal’s prophets, for they believed Baal was imprisoned in the underworld as death’s captive during this time of drought. Elijah’s apparent ignorance of their theology is probably designed for dramatic effect; indeed the suggestion that Baal is away on a trip or deep in sleep comes precariously close to the truth as viewed by the prophets.
[18:28] 587 tn Or “as was their custom.”
[18:28] 588 tn Heb “until blood poured out on them.”
[18:28] sn mutilated…covered with blood. This self-mutilation was a mourning rite designed to facilitate Baal’s return from the underworld.
[18:29] 589 tn Heb “when noon passed they prophesied until the offering up of the offering.”
[18:29] 590 tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta include the following words here: “When it was time to offer the sacrifice, Elijah the Tishbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations: ‘Stand aside for the time being, and I will offer my burnt offering.’ So they stood aside and departed.”
[18:29] sn In 2 Kgs 4:31 the words “there was no sound and there was no response” are used to describe a dead boy. Similar words are used here to describe the god Baal as dead and therefore unresponsive.
[18:30] 591 sn Torn down. The condition of the altar symbolizes the spiritual state of the people.
[18:31] 592 tn The word “new” is implied but not actually present in the Hebrew text.
[18:31] 593 sn Israel will be your new name. See Gen 32:28; 35:10.
[18:32] 594 tn Heb “and he built the stones into an altar in the name of the
[18:32] 595 tn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about seven quarts.
[18:34] 596 tn The words “when they had done so” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[18:36] 597 tn Heb “at the offering up of the offering.”
[18:36] 598 tn The words “the altar” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[18:36] 599 tn Heb “let it be known.”
[18:37] 601 tn Heb “that you are turning their heart[s] back.”
[18:38] 602 tn The words “from the sky” are added for stylistic reasons.
[18:39] 603 tn Heb “the God” (the phrase occurs twice in this verse).
[18:40] 604 tn Or “slaughtered.”
[18:41] 605 tn Heb “for [there is] the sound of the roar of the rain.”
[18:43] 606 sn So he went on up, looked, and reported, “There is nothing.” Several times in this chapter those addressed by Elijah obey his orders. In vv. 20 and 42 Ahab does as instructed, in vv. 26 and 28 the prophets follow Elijah’s advice, and in vv. 30, 34, 40 and 43 the people and servants do as they are told. By juxtaposing Elijah’s commands with accounts of those commands being obeyed, the narrator emphasizes the authority of the
[18:43] 607 tn Heb “He said, ‘Return,’ seven times.”
[18:44] 608 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:44] 609 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:44] 610 tn Heb “so that the rain won’t restrain you.”
[18:45] 611 tn Heb “rode and went to.”
[18:46] 612 tn Heb “and the hand of the
[18:46] 613 tn Heb “and girded up his loins.” The idea is that of gathering up the robes and tucking them into the sash or belt so that they do not get in the way of the legs when running (or working or fighting).
[20:1] 614 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[20:1] 615 tn Heb “and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it.”
[20:2] 616 tn Heb “to the city.”
[20:6] 617 tn Heb “all that is desirable to your eyes they will put in their hand and take.”
[20:7] 619 tn Heb “Know and see that this [man] is seeking trouble.”
[20:8] 620 tn Heb “Do not listen and do not be willing.”
[20:9] 621 tn Heb “all which you sent to your servant in the beginning I will do, but this thing I am unable to do.”
[20:10] 622 tn Heb “So may the gods do to me, and so may they add.”
[20:10] 623 tn Heb “if the dirt of Samaria suffices for the handfuls of all the people who are at my feet.”
[20:11] 624 sn The point of the saying is that someone who is still preparing for a battle should not boast as if he has already won the battle. A modern parallel would be, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.”
[20:12] 625 tn Heb “When he heard this word.”
[20:12] 626 tn Heb “in the temporary shelters.” This is probably referring to tents.
[20:13] 627 tn Heb “this great horde.”
[20:14] 628 tn The words “will this be accomplished” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[20:14] 629 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:15] 630 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:15] 631 tn Heb “after them he assembled all the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand.”
[20:16] 632 tn Heb “drinking and drunken.”
[20:16] 633 tn Heb “in the temporary shelters.” This is probably referring to tents.
[20:17] 634 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[20:18] 635 tn Heb “if they come in peace, take them alive; if they come for battle, take them alive.”
[20:20] 636 tn Heb “each struck down his man.”
[20:21] 637 tn Heb “struck down Aram with a great striking down.”
[20:22] 638 tn The definite article indicates previous reference, that is, “the prophet mentioned earlier” (see v. 13).
[20:22] 639 tn Heb “strengthen yourself.”
[20:22] 640 tn Heb “know and see.”
[20:22] 641 tn Heb “at the turning of the year.”
[20:22] 642 tn Heb “go up against.”
[20:25] 644 tn Heb “And you, you muster an army like the one that fell from you, horse like horse and chariot like chariot.”
[20:25] 645 tn Heb “he listened to their voice and did so.”
[20:26] 646 tn Heb “at the turning of the year.”
[20:26] 647 tn Heb “mustered Aram.”
[20:26] 648 tn Heb “and went up to Aphek for battle with Israel.”
[20:27] 649 tn The noun translated “small flocks” occurs only here. The common interpretation derives the word from the verbal root חשׂף, “to strip off; to make bare.” In this case the noun refers to something “stripped off” or “made bare.” HALOT 359 s.v. II חשׂף derives the noun from a proposed homonymic verbal root (which occurs only in Ps 29:9) meaning “cause a premature birth.” In this case the derived noun could refer to goats that are undersized because they are born prematurely.
[20:28] 650 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[20:28] 651 tn Heb “I will place all this great horde in your hand.”
[20:30] 652 tn Heb “and the remaining ones fled to Aphek to the city and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men, the ones who remained.”
[20:30] 653 tn Heb “and Ben Hadad fled and went into the city, [into] an inner room in an inner room.”
