So do this: Dismiss the kings from their command, and replace them with military commanders.

and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. ¹  But he did not obey ²  the Lord’s command.

and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You ¹  have rebelled against the Lord ²  and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you.

You must obey ¹  all I command you to do, follow my instructions, ²  do what I approve, ³  and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David; ⁴  I will give you Israel.

Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), ¹  there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.” ² 

When it was time for the evening offering, ¹  Elijah the prophet approached the altar ²  and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove ³  today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

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

By royal order ¹  they supplied large valuable stones in order to build the temple’s foundation with chiseled stone.

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of ¹  the army. Zadok and Abiathar were priests.

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.”

One of the members of the prophetic guild, speaking with divine authority, ordered his companion, “Wound me!” ¹  But the man refused to wound him.

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

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 

The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada to take his place at the head of ¹  the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest to take Abiathar’s place. ² 

The king then gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went and executed Shimei. ¹  So Solomon took firm control of the kingdom. ² 

Just then ¹  a prophet ²  from Judah, sent by the Lord, arrived in Bethel, ³  as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice.

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

They marched out at noon, while Ben Hadad and the thirty-two kings allied with him were drinking heavily ¹  in their quarters. ² 

“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 

You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations. ¹