“Treat fairly ¹  the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and provide for their needs, ²  because they helped me ³  when I had to flee from your brother Absalom.

The messengers came again and said, “This is what Ben Hadad says, ‘I sent this message to you, “You must give me your silver, gold, wives, and sons.”

So I have decided ¹  to build a temple to honor the Lord ²  my God, as the Lord instructed my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, is the one who will build a temple to honor me.’ ³ 

So he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, “Say this to my master, the king, ‘I will give you everything you demanded at first from your servant, but I am unable to agree to this latest demand.’” ¹  So the messengers went back and gave their report.

When Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come on in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have been commissioned to give you bad news. ¹ 

The Lord has kept the promise he made. ¹  I have taken my father David’s place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor ²  of the Lord God of Israel

“Have you noticed how Ahab shows remorse ¹  before me? Because he shows remorse before me, I will not bring disaster on his dynasty during his lifetime, but during the reign of his son.” ² 

while he went a day’s journey into the desert. He went and sat down under a shrub ¹  and asked the Lord to take his life: ²  “I’ve had enough! Now, O Lord, take my life. After all, I’m no better than my ancestors.” ³ 

Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced. ¹ 

Elijah ¹  replied, “I have not brought disaster ²  on Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the Lord’s commandments and following the Baals.

I am taking the kingdom from him ¹  because they have ²  abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions ³  by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon’s father David did. ⁴ 

But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, ¹  I could not go with you and eat and drink ²  in this place.

But now at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you and they will search through your palace and your servants’ houses. They will carry away all your valuables.” ¹ 

He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

So the king of Israel assembled about four hundred prophets and asked them, “Should I attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” ¹  They said, “Attack! The sovereign one ²  will hand it over to the king.”

Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the Lord told Elijah, ¹  “Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground.”

The prophet ¹  then said to him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Because you released a man I had determined should die, you will pay with your life and your people will suffer instead of his people.’” ² 

When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, ¹  “So, you have found me, my enemy!” Elijah ²  replied, “I have found you, because you are committed ³  to doing evil in the sight of ⁴  the Lord.

Then he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to attack Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I will support you; my army and horses are at your disposal.” ¹ 

“But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, ¹  and decide to serve and worship other gods, ²