Say, ‘This is what the king says, “Put this man in prison. Give him only a little bread and water ¹  until I safely return.”’” ² 

Then the king said to Shimei, “You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David. ¹  The Lord will punish you for what you did. ² 

On the top of each pillar, right above the bulge beside the latticework, there were two hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments arranged in rows all the way around. ¹ 

Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and four supports. Under the basin the supports were fashioned on each side with wreaths. ¹ 

The poles were so long their ends were visible from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point. ¹  They have remained there to this very day.

“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 

There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. ¹ 

When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty. ¹ 

That day he also announced ¹  a sign, “This is the sign the Lord has predetermined: ²  The altar will be split open and the ashes ³  on it will fall to the ground.” ⁴ 

Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. ¹  When his sons came home, they told their father ²  everything the prophet ³  had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king. ⁴ 

Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? ¹  If the Lord is the true God, ²  then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word.

He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood.

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 

and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, ¹  ‘If your descendants watch their step ²  and live faithfully in my presence ³  with all their heart and being, ⁴  then,’ he promised, ⁵  ‘you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ ⁶ 

So now order some cedars of Lebanon to be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants. I will pay your servants whatever you say is appropriate, for you know that we have no one among us who knows how to cut down trees like the Sidonians.”

The bottom floor of the extension was seven and a half feet ¹  wide, the middle floor nine feet ²  wide, and the third floor ten and a half ³  feet wide. He made ledges ⁴  on the temple’s outer walls so the beams would not have to be inserted into the walls. ⁵ 

He put the cherubs in the inner sanctuary of the temple. ¹  Their wings were spread out. One of the first cherub’s wings touched one wall and one of the other cherub’s wings touched the opposite wall. The first cherub’s other wing touched the second cherub’s other wing in the middle of the room. ² 

All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. ¹ 

The prophet Jehu son of Hanani received from the Lord the message predicting the downfall of Baasha and his family because of all the evil Baasha had done in the sight of the Lord. ¹  His actions angered the Lord (including the way he had destroyed Jeroboam’s dynasty), so that his family ended up like Jeroboam’s. ² 

The men took this as a good omen and quickly accepted his offer, saying, “Ben Hadad is your brother.” Ahab ¹  then said, “Go, get him.” So Ben Hadad came out to him, and Ahab pulled him up into his chariot.