Chapter 63

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 Kings Chapter 15

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 Kings Chapter 16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 Kings Chapter 17

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

17:19. And Elias said to her: Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

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

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

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

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

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

3 Kings Chapter 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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