“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.

(There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed ¹  to doing evil in the sight of ²  the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. ³ 

He was so wicked he worshiped the disgusting idols, ¹  just like the Amorites ²  whom the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.)

“You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me – how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. ¹  During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; ²  when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet. ³ 

This woman’s child suffocated ¹  during the night when she rolled ²  on top of him.

These were his officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.

He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal he had built in Samaria.

“When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, ¹  and they direct their prayers to the Lord ²  toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor, ³ 

“The Lord is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure ¹  just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled! ² 

When the old prophet who had invited him to his house heard the news, ¹  he said, “It is the prophet ²  who rebelled against the Lord. ³  The Lord delivered him over to the lion and it ripped him up ⁴  and killed him, just as the Lord warned him.” ⁵ 

for the prophecy he announced with the Lord’s authority ¹  against the altar in Bethel ²  and against all the temples on the high places in the cities of the north ³  will certainly be fulfilled.”

The rest of the events of Ahab’s reign, including a record of his accomplishments and how he built a luxurious palace and various cities, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. ¹ 

Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, ¹  like the festival celebrated in Judah. ²  On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. ³  In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.

The king swore an oath: “As certainly as the Lord lives (he who has rescued me ¹  from every danger),

All of Adonijah’s guests panicked; ¹  they jumped up and rushed off their separate ways.

Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?” ¹ 

The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy.

The tops of the two pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies and were six feet high. ¹ 

Now, O God of Israel, may the promise you made ¹  to your servant, my father David, be realized. ² 

After all, ¹  they are your people and your special possession ²  whom you brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the iron-smelting furnace. ³