the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. 27 °And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which 'belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel Iwere laying siege to Gibbethon. 28 Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and 29) reigned in his stead. And it came

to pass that, las soon as he was king', he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him; according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the Shi30 lonite for the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and wherewith he made Israel 'to' sin; 'because of his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD, 'the' God of Israel, 31 to anger. Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 32 And there was war between Asa and

Baasha king of Israel all their days. 33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, and 34 reigned twenty and four years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin where161 with he made Israel to sin. And

the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, say2 ing, Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee 1prince 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; (3 behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house; and I will make thy house like the house of Jero4 boam the son of Nebat. Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. 5 Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 6 And Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah; and Elah 7 his son reigned in his stead. And

1 Or, leader

Imoreover by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, 'both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, 'to provoke him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he 'smotel him.

8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, 9 and reigned two years. And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him: 'nowl he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, 'which was over the household' in Tirzah: 10 and Zimri went in and smote him,

and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, 11 and reigned in his stead. And it

came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he smote all the house of Baasha: he left him not a single man child', neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his 12 friends. Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, (13 for all the sins of Baasha, and the

sins of Elah his son, which they sinned, and wherewith they made Israel to sin, 'to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their 14 vanities. Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

15

In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. Now the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Phi16 listines. And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also 'smitten' the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over 17 Israel that day in the camp. And

Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged 18 Tirzah. And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the castle of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died, 19 °for his sins which he sinned in doing 'that which was evil in the sight of 3 Or, palace

the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he 20 did, to make Israel 'to' sin. Now

21

the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half 22 followed Omri. But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri 23 reigned. In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Ómri to reign over Israel, and reigned twelve years six years reigned he in 24 Tirzah. And he bought the hill 'Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, 'the' 25 owner of the hill, Samaria. "And! Omri 'did that which was evil in the Isight of the LORD, and 'dealt wickedly above all that were before him. 26 °For he walked in all the way of Jero

boam the son of Nebat, and in his Isins wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities. 27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings 28 of Israel? So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria : and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.

29

And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two 30 years. And Ahab the son of Omri

did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were be31 fore him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, 32 and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made the Asherah'; and

1 Heb. Shomeron. Or, fortified the hill Heb. Izebel.

Ahab did yet more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel that were 34 before him. In his days did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof 'with the loss of his youngest son Segub; according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of Joshua the son of Nun.

171

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2 And the word of the LORD came un3 to him, saying, "Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jor4 dan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that 6 is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there Iwas no rain in the land.

8 And the word of the LORD came 9 unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sus*(10 tain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, la widow woman was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a 11 vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, 12 a morsel of bread in thine hand. she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but lan' handful of meal in 'the barrel, and a little oil in the cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we 13 may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it 'forth'

And

unto me, and afterward make for *14 thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon 15 the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat *(16 many days. The barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah. 17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that 18) there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? 1thou art come unto me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to slay my 19 son! And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the chamber', where he abode, and 20 laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, 21 by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. 22 And the LORD hearkened unto the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he re23 vived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, (24 See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth. 181

And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Åhab; and I 2) will send rain upon the earth. °And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And 'the' famine was sore in 3 Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was 'over' the household'. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: 4°for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed

1 Or, art thou &c.

5 them with bread and water.) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go 'through' the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the brooks: peradventure we may find grass 'and' save the horses and mules alive, that 6 we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went an7 other way by himself. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, 'Is it thou, my 8 lord Elijah? And he answered him, It is I go, tell thy lord, Behold, 9 Elijah is here. And he said, 'Where

:

in have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of 10 Ahab, to slay me? As the LORD thy

God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they 11 found thee not. And now thou say

est, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah 12 is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. 13 °Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD'S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and 14 water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: 15 and he shall slay me. And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely 16 shew myself unto him to-day.

So

Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, 'Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel? 18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou 19 hast followed the Baalim. "Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the 'Asherah' four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's

Or, landi lose Inone of

20 table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. *21 And Elijah came near' unto all the

people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered 22 him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, 'am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and 23 fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on 'the' wood, and put no fire under and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under. 24 And call ye on the name of your 'god', and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is 25 well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your god', but put no 26 fire under. And they took the bull

ock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, 1hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped about the altar 27 which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is 'musing', or he is Igone aside', or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must 28 be awaked. And they cried aloud', and cut themselves after their manner

with knives and 'lances', till the blood 29 gushed out upon them. "And it was

sol, when midday was past, 'that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any to 30 answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me; and all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was 31 thrown down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD

1 Or, answer 3 Or, Iswords] Or, limpedi 4 Heb. attention.

came, saying, Israel shall be thy 32 name. And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain "two meas* 33 ures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And 'he' said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt offering!, 34 and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time; and they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time; and they did it the 35 third time. And the water ran round

about the altar; and he filled the 36 trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening loblation', that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, O LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these (37) things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou, LORD, art God, and that thou hast turned their heart back 38 again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water (39 that was in the trench. And when

all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he 40 is God; the LORD, he is God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. 41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is the 42 sound of abundance of rain. °So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he 'bowed' himself down upon the earth, and put his face be43 tween his knees. And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he 44 said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a cloud out of the sea, 'as small as a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, "Make ready' thy chariot, and

get thee down, that the rain stop thee 45 not. And it came to pass in 'a little! while, that the heaven grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and 46 went to Jezreel. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

191 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the 2 sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time. 3 °1And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, 4 and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a 2juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am (5 not better than my fathers. And he lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and', behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 6)°And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baken on the 3coals, and a cruse of water. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down ' again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for 8 thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. 9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou 10 here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD, 'the' God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek 11 my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the

LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the 12 earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire and after the fire a still small 13 voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Eli14 jah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and Í, even I only, am left; and they seek 15 my life, to take it away. And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over 16 Syria: and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to 17 be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth 'from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay and him that escapeth from the 18 sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet

will I leave! me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth 19 which hath not kissed him. So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth and Elijah passed over unto him, and cast his 20 mantle upon him. "And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again; for what have I done to thee? 21 And he returned from 'following' him,

and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him. 201 And Ben-hadad the king of Syria

gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and

Or, by the wilderness tol Or, Iroasted

(then); 14 because; 18 have left; 19 by;