When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden ¹  a voice asked him, “Why are you here, Elijah?”

“Get up, go down and meet King Ahab of Israel who lives in Samaria. He is at the vineyard of Naboth; he has gone down there to take possession of it.

So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

For today he has gone down and sacrificed many cattle, steers, and sheep and has invited all the king’s sons, the army commanders, and Abiathar the priest. At this moment ¹  they are having a feast ²  in his presence, and they have declared, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ ³ 

“Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, ¹  who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim. ²  He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promised ³  him by the Lord, ‘I will not strike you down ⁴  with the sword.’

When King Solomon heard ¹  that Joab had run to the tent of the Lord and was right there beside the altar, he ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, ²  “Go, strike him down.”

Three years later two of Shimei’s servants ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. Shimei was told, “Look, your servants are in Gath.”

Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream. ¹  He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings, ²  and held a feast for all his servants.

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! ¹  Your wisdom and wealth ²  surpass what was reported to me.

After the king had consulted with his advisers, ¹  he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, ²  “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.”

With the authority of the Lord ¹  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.’” ² 

Some men came by ¹  and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it. ²  They went and reported what they had seen ³  in the city where the old prophet lived.

Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise ¹  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. ² 

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. ¹  When she comes, she will be in a disguise.”

“I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made. ¹  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.” ² 

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 ¹  of water, so I can take a drink.”

The seventh time the servant ¹  said, “Look, a small cloud, the size of the palm of a man’s hand, is rising up from the sea.” Elijah ²  then said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up the chariots and go down, so that the rain won’t overtake you.’” ³ 

The Lord ¹  said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Look, the Lord is ready to pass by.” A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, ²  but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

Now a prophet visited King Ahab of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Do you see this huge army? ¹  Look, I am going to hand it over to you this very day. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

His advisers ¹  said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of the Israelite dynasty are kind. ²  Allow us to put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads ³  and surrender ⁴  to the king of Israel. Maybe he will spare our lives.”