1 Kings

1 Kings 22: Trusting God’s Word Amid Conflict And Deception

1 Kings 22:1 And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.

1 Kings 22:2 And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.

1 Kings 22:3 And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we are still, and take it not out ofthe hand ofthe king of Syria?

1 Kings 22:4 And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.

1 Kings 22:5 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD today.

Read and Learn More 1 Kings: Leadership, Faith, and God’s Sovereign Plan Through History

1 Kings 22:6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.

1 Kings 22:7 And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him?

1 Kings 22:8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

1 Kings 22:9 Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah.

1 Kings 22:10 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

1 Kings 22:12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-Gilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king’s hand.

1 Kings 22:13 And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words ofthe prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.

1 Kings 22:14 And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak,

1 Kings 22:15 So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilesfd to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand ofthe king.

1 Kings 22:16 And the king said unto him, How many times shall 1 adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name ofthe LORD?

1 Kings 22:17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.

1 Kings 22:18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?

1 Kings 22:19 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.

1 Kings 22: 20 Said on this manner, and another said on that manner.

1 Kings 22:22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

1 Kings 22:23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

1 Kings 22:24 But Zedekiah the son ofChenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?

1 Kings 22:25 And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.

1 Kings 22:26 And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and toÿ Joash the king’s son;

1 Kings 22:27 And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with the bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until1 come in peace.

1 Kings 22:28 And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.

1 Kings 22:29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead.

1 Kings 22:30 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle, but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.

1 Kings 22:31 But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.

1 Kings 22:32 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.

1 Kings 22:34 And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.

1 Kings 22:35 And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst ofthe chariot.

1 Kings 22:36 And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.

1 Kings 22:37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.

1 Kings 22:38 And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed his armor; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake.

1 Kings 22:39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles ofthe kings of Israel?

1 Kings 22:40 So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

1 Kings 22:41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.

1 Kings 22:42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when t|e began to reign, and he reigned twenty-and-five-years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

1 Kings 22:43 And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless, the high places were not taken away the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.

1 Kings 22:44 And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.

1 Kings 22:45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

1 Kings 22:46 And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.

1 Kings 22:47 There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king.

1 Kings 22:48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-Geber.

1 Kings 22:50 And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.

1 Kings 22:51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel.

1 Kings 22:52 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin:

1 Kings 22:53 For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

1 Kings 1: Leadership, Loyalty, And Divine Providence

1 Kings 1:1  Now King David was old and stricken in years, and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.

1 Kings 1:2 Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.

1 Kings 1:3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

1 Kings 1:4 And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.

1 Kings 1:5 Then Adonijah the son ofHaggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

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1 Kings 1:6 And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very good man, and his mother bore him after Absalom.

1 Kings 1:7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.

1 Kings 1:8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

1 Kings 1:9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone ofZoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants:

1 Kings 1:10 But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.

1 Kings 1:11 Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?

1 Kings 1:13 Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst, not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon, thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?

1 Kings 1:14 Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.

1 Kings 1:15 And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.

1 Kings 1:16 And Bath-sheba bowed and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?

1 Kings 1:17 And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon, thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.

1 Kings 1:18 And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not:

1 Kings 1:19 And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called.

1 King 1:20 And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

1 Kings 1:21 Otherwise it shall come to pass when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

1 Kings 1:22 And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.

1 Kings 1:23 And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

1 Kings 1:24 And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?

1 Kings 1:25 For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king’s sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah.

1 Kings 1:27 Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not showed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?

1 Kings 1:28 Then King David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king

1 Kings 1:29 And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,

1 Kings 1:30 Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon, thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will 1 certainly do this day.

1 Kings 1:31 Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live forever.

1 Kings 1:32 And King David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.

1 Kings 1:33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:

1 Kings 1:34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him their king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God, save King Solomon.

1 Kings 1:35 Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.

1 Kings 1:37 As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so, be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.

1 Kings 1:38 So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down and caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.

1 Kings 1:39 And Zadok the priest took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save King Solomon.

1 Kings 1:40 And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes and rejoiced with great joy so that the earth rent with the sound of them.

1 Kings 1:41 And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise ofthe city being in an uproar?

1 Kings 1:42 And while he is yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou, art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings.

1 Kings 1:43 And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.

1 Kings 1:44 And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule:

1 Kings 1:45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him, king, in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.

1 Kings 1:46 And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.

1 Kings 1:47 And moreover the king’s servants came to bless our lord king, David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed.

1 Kings 1:48 And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, my eyes even seeing it.

1 Kings 1:49 And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid and rose up, and went every man his way.

1 Kings 1:51 And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns ofthe altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword.

1 Kings 1:52 And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.

1 Kings 1:53 So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to the house

1 Kings 2: Wisdom For Leadership And Faithfulness

1 Kings 2:1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

1 Kings 2:2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;

1 Kings 2:3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:

1 Kings 2:4 That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

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1 Kings 2:5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son together, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

1 Kings 2:7 But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.

1 Kings 2:8 And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

1 Kings 2:9 Now, therefore, hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood

1 Kings 2:8 So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.

1 Kings 2:11 And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

1 Kings 2:12 Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was established greatly.

1 Kings 2:13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

1 Kings 2:14 He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.

1 Kings 2:15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s: for it was his from the LORD.

1 Kings 2:16 And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.

1 Kings 2:18 And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.

1 Kings 2:19 Bath-sheba therefore went unto King Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right hand.

1 Kings 2:20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.

1 Kings 2:21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.

1 Kings 2:22 And King Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.

1 Kings 2:23 Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.

1 Kings 2:24 Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

1 Kings 2:25 And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he fell upon him that he died.

1 Kings 2:26 And unto Abiathar, the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.

1 Kings 2:28 Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

1 Kings 2:29 And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.

1 Kings 2:30 And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.

1 Kings 2:31 And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.

1 Kings 2:32 And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain ofthe host of Judah.

1 Kings 2:33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed forever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace forever from the LORD.

1 Kings 2:34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness

1 Kings 2:35 And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.

1 Kings 2:37 For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.

1 Kings 2:38 And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days

1 Kings 2:39 And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.

1 Kings 2:40 And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.

1 Kings 2:41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.

1 Kings 2:42 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.

1 Kings 2:43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?

1 Kings 2:44 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;

1 Kings 2:46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.