When he stood up, he pronounced a blessing over the entire assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice:

He said to them, “Go away for three days, then return to me.” So the people went away.

When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying ¹  Ramah and settled down in Tirzah.

When Ahab saw Elijah, he ¹  said to him, “Is it really you, the one who brings disaster ²  on Israel?”

In the spring ¹  Ben Hadad mustered the Syrian army ²  and marched to Aphek to fight Israel. ³ 

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 

So Shimei got up, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to find his servants; Shimei went and brought back his servants from Gath.

Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places, ¹  because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord. ² 

Furthermore, I am giving ¹  you what you did not request – riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation. ² 

The inner sanctuary was 30 feet ¹  long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He plated it with gold, ²  as well as the cedar altar. ³ 

He also made a throne room, called “The Hall of Judgment,” where he made judicial decisions. ¹  It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters. ² 

The Lord told my father David, ‘It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me. ¹ 

besides what he collected from the merchants, ¹  traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land.

There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. ¹ 

He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed ¹  Israel and ruled over Syria.

¹  When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since. ² 

The altar split open and the ashes ¹  fell from the altar to the ground, ²  in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the Lord’s authority. ³ 

For the Lord gave me strict orders, ¹  ‘Do not eat or drink ²  there and do not go home the way you came.’”

For the Lord gave me strict orders, ¹  ‘Do not eat or drink ²  there; do not go back the way you came.’”

There were also male cultic prostitutes ¹  in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations ²  that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.