1 Kings 15; 1 Kings 16; 1 Kings 17

1 Kings 15

1 Abijah became king of Judah during the eighteenth year Jeroboam son of Nebat was king of Israel.

2 Abijah ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

3 He did all the same sins his father before him had done. Abijah was not faithful to the Lord his God as David, his great-grandfather, had been.

4 Because the Lord loved David, the Lord gave him a kingdom in Jerusalem and allowed him to have a son to be king after him. The Lord also kept Jerusalem safe.

5 David always did what the Lord said was right and obeyed his commands all his life, except the one time when David sinned against Uriah the Hittite.

6 There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam during Abijah's lifetime.

7 Everything else Abijah did is written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. During the time Abijah ruled, there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

8 Abijah died and was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Asa became king in his place.

9 During the twentieth year Jeroboam was king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah.

10 His grandmother's name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. Asa ruled in Jerusalem for forty-one years.

11 Asa did what the Lord said was right, as his ancestor David had done.

12 He forced the male prostitutes at the worship places to leave the country. He also took away the idols that his ancestors had made.

13 His grandmother Maacah had made a terrible Asherah idol, so Asa removed her from being queen mother. He cut down that idol and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

14 The places of worship to gods were not removed. Even so, Asa was faithful to the Lord all his life.

15 Asa brought into the Temple of the Lord the gifts he and his father had given: gold, silver, and utensils.

16 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all the time they were kings.

17 Baasha attacked Judah, and he made the town of Ramah strong so he could keep people from leaving or entering Judah, Asa's country.

18 Asa took the rest of the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and his own palace and gave it to his officers. Then he sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, who was the son of Hezion. Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram and ruled in the city of Damascus. Asa said,

19 "Let there be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will leave my land."

20 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa, so he sent the commanders of his armies to attack the towns of Israel. They defeated the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, as well as all Galilee and the area of Naphtali.

21 When Baasha heard about these attacks, he stopped building up Ramah and returned to Tirzah.

22 Then King Asa gave an order to all the people of Judah; everyone had to help. They carried away all the stones and wood Baasha had been using in Ramah, and they used them to build up Geba and Mizpah in the land of Benjamin.

23 Everything else Asa did -- his victories and the cities he built -- is written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. When he became old, he got a disease in his feet.

24 After Asa died, he was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, the city of David, his ancestor. Then Jehoshaphat, Asa's son, became king in his place.

25 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel during the second year Asa was king of Judah. Nadab was king of Israel for two years,

26 and he did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Nadab sinned in the same way as his father Jeroboam.

27 Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, made plans to kill Nadab. Nadab and all Israel were attacking the Philistine town of Gibbethon, so Baasha killed Nadab there.

28 This happened during Asa's third year as king of Judah, and Baasha became the next king of Israel.

29 As soon as Baasha became king, he killed all of Jeroboam's family, leaving no one in Jeroboam's family alive. He destroyed them all as the Lord had said would happen through his servant Ahijah from Shiloh.

30 King Jeroboam had sinned very much and had led the people of Israel to sin, so he made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry.

31 Everything else Nadab did is written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

32 There was war between Asa king of Judah and Baasha king of Israel all the time they ruled.

33 Baasha son of Ahijah became king of Israel during Asa's third year as king of Judah. Baasha ruled in Tirzah for twenty-four years,

34 and he did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Baasha sinned in the same way as Jeroboam.

1 Kings 16

1 Jehu son of Hanani spoke the word of the Lord against King Baasha.

2 The Lord said, "You were nothing, but I took you and made you a leader over my people Israel. But you have followed the ways of Jeroboam and have led my people Israel to sin. Their sins have made me angry,

3 so, Baasha, I will soon destroy you and your family. I will do to you what I did to the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat.

4 Anyone from your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone from your family who dies in the fields will be eaten by birds."

5 Everything else Baasha did and all his victories are written down in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

6 So Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah became king in his place.

7 The Lord spoke his word against Baasha and his family through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. Baasha had done many things the Lord said were wrong, which made the Lord very angry. He did the same evil deeds that Jeroboam's family had done before him. The Lord also spoke against Baasha because he killed all of Jeroboam's family.

8 Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel during Asa's twenty-sixth year as king of Judah, and Elah ruled in Tirzah for two years.

9 Zimri, one of Elah's officers, commanded half of Elah's chariots. Zimri made plans against Elah while the king was in Tirzah, getting drunk at Arza's home. (Arza was in charge of the palace at Tirzah.)

10 Zimri went into Arza's house and killed Elah during Asa's twenty-seventh year as king of Judah. Then Zimri became king of Israel in Elah's place.

11 As soon as Zimri became king, he killed all of Baasha's family, not allowing any of Baasha's family or friends to live.

12 So Zimri destroyed all of Baasha's family just as the Lord had said it would happen through the prophet Jehu.

13 Baasha and his son Elah sinned and led the people of Israel to sin, and they made the Lord, the God of Israel, angry because of their worthless idols.

14 Everything else Elah did is written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

15 So during Asa's twenty-seventh year as king of Judah, Zimri became king of Israel and ruled in Tirzah seven days. The army of Israel was camped near Gibbethon, a Philistine town.

16 The men in the camp heard that Zimri had made secret plans against King Elah and had killed him. So that day in the camp they made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.

17 So Omri and all the Israelite army left Gibbethon and attacked Tirzah.

18 When Zimri saw that the city had been captured, he went into the palace and set it on fire, burning the palace and himself with it.

19 So Zimri died because he had sinned by doing what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Zimri sinned in the same way as Jeroboam.

20 Everything else Zimri did and the story of how he turned against King Elah are written down in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

21 The people of Israel were divided into two groups. Half of the people wanted Tibni son of Ginath to be king, while the other half wanted Omri.

22 Omri's followers were stronger than the followers of Tibni son of Ginath, so Tibni died, and Omri became king.

23 Omri became king of Israel during the thirty-first year Asa was king of Judah. Omri ruled Israel for twelve years, six of those years in the city of Tirzah.

24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for about one hundred fifty pounds of silver. Omri built a city on that hill and called it Samaria after the name of its earlier owner, Shemer.

25 But Omri did what the Lord said was wrong; he did more evil than all the kings who came before him.

26 Jeroboam son of Nebat had led the people of Israel to sin, and Omri sinned in the same way as Jeroboam. The Israelites made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry because they worshiped worthless idols.

27 Everything else Omri did and all his successes are written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

28 So Omri died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab became king in his place.

29 Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel during Asa's thirty-eighth year as king of Judah, and Ahab ruled Israel in the city of Samaria for twenty-two years.

30 More than any king before him, Ahab son of Omri did many things the Lord said were wrong.

31 He sinned in the same ways as Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he did even worse things. He married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. Then Ahab began to serve Baal and worship him.

32 He built a temple in Samaria for worshiping Baal and put an altar there for Baal.

33 Ahab also made an idol for worshiping Asherah. He did more things to make the Lord, the God of Israel, angry than all the other kings before him.

34 During the time of Ahab, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt the city of Jericho. It cost Hiel the life of Abiram, his oldest son, to begin work on the city, and it cost the life of Segub, his youngest son, to build the city gates. This happened just as the Lord, speaking through Joshua son of Nun, said it would happen.

1 Kings 17

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite was a prophet from the settlers in Gilead. "I serve the Lord, the God of Israel," Elijah said to Ahab. "As surely as the Lord lives, no rain or dew will fall during the next few years unless I command it."

2 Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah:

3 "Leave this place and go east and hide near Kerith Ravine east of the Jordan River.

4 You may drink from the stream, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there."

5 So Elijah did what the Lord said; he went to Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and lived there.

6 The birds brought Elijah bread and meat every morning and evening, and he drank water from the stream.

7 After a while the stream dried up because there was no rain.

8 Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah,

9 "Go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I have commanded a widow there to take care of you."

10 So Elijah went to Zarephath. When he reached the town gate, he saw a widow gathering wood for a fire. Elijah asked her, "Would you bring me a little water in a cup so I may have a drink."

11 As she was going to get his water, Elijah said, "Please bring me a piece of bread, too."

12 The woman answered, "As surely as the Lord your God lives, I have no bread. I have only a handful of flour in a jar and only a little olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather some wood so I could go home and cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger."

13 "Don't worry," Elijah said to her. "Go home and cook your food as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread from the flour you have, and bring it to me. Then cook something for yourself and your son.

14 The Lord, the God of Israel, says, 'That jar of flour will never be empty, and the jug will always have oil in it, until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.'"

15 So the woman went home and did what Elijah told her to do. And the woman and her son and Elijah had enough food every day.

16 The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty, just as the Lord, through Elijah, had promised.

17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. He grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing.

18 The woman said to Elijah, "Man of God, what have you done to me? Did you come here to remind me of my sin and to kill my son?"

19 Elijah said to her, "Give me your son." Elijah took the boy from her, carried him upstairs, and laid him on the bed in the room where he was staying.

20 Then he prayed to the Lord: "Lord my God, this widow is letting me stay in her house. Why have you done this terrible thing to her and caused her son to die?"

21 Then Elijah lay on top of the boy three times. He prayed to the Lord, "Lord my God, let this boy live again!"

22 The Lord answered Elijah's prayer; the boy began breathing again and was alive.

23 Elijah carried the boy downstairs and gave him to his mother and said, "See! Your son is alive!"

24 "Now I know you really are a man from God," the woman said to Elijah. "I know that the Lord truly speaks through you!"