When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the Lord’s splendor over the temple, they got on their knees with their faces downward toward the pavement. They worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, ¹  “Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!”

The priests stood in their assigned spots, along with the Levites who had the musical instruments used for praising the Lord. ¹  (These were the ones King David made for giving thanks to the Lord and which were used by David when he offered praise, saying, “Certainly his loyal love endures.”) ²  Opposite the Levites, ³  the priests were blowing the trumpets, while all Israel stood there.

On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon ¹  sent the people home. They left ²  happy and contented ³  because of the good the Lord had done for David, Solomon, and his people Israel.

Others will then answer, ¹  ‘Because they abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors, ²  who led them out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. ³  That is why he brought all this disaster down on them.’”

Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David ¹  to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, for the places where the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

the food in his banquet hall, ¹  his servants and attendants ²  in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple, ³  she was amazed. ⁴ 

May the Lord your God be praised because he favored ¹  you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! ²  Because of your God’s love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, ³  he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions.” ⁴ 

With the timber the king made steps ¹  for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments ²  for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that. ³ )

The king refused to listen to the people, because God was instigating this turn of events ¹  so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made ²  through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

Shemaiah the prophet visited Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were assembled in Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have rejected me, so I have rejected you and will hand you over to Shishak.’” ¹ 

King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.

Now you are declaring that you will resist the Lord’s rule through the Davidic dynasty. ¹  You have a huge army, ²  and bring with you the gold calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

But you banished ¹  the Lord’s priests, Aaron’s descendants, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests just as the surrounding nations do! Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of these fake gods! ² 

They offer burnt sacrifices to the Lord every morning and every evening, along with fragrant incense. They arrange the Bread of the Presence on a ritually clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. Certainly ¹  we are observing the Lord our God’s regulations, but you have rejected him.

Now look, God is with us as our leader. His priests are ready to blow the trumpets to signal the attack against you. ¹  You Israelites, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, ²  for you will not win!”

He said to the people of Judah: ¹  “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates. ²  The land remains ours because we have followed ³  the Lord our God and he has made us secure on all sides.” ⁴  So they built the cities ⁵  and prospered.

and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out; ¹  they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah ²  carried off a huge amount of plunder.

They defeated all the cities surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic. ¹  The men of Judah ²  looted all the cities, for they contained a huge amount of goods. ³ 

He met ¹  Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him. ²  If you seek him, he will respond to you, ³  but if you reject him, he will reject you.

He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers ¹  from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live ²  when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.