The Old Testament - The Middle Books - The New Testament with the Prophets

The 1527 Original Word of God In English


God's Truth To Us

 

 

The First Book of Kings

Third Book of Kings (after the Latin)

 

Chapters 1-6 | 7-11 | 12-18 | 19-end | Next Book


 

The 19th Chapter

       And Ahab told Jezabel, all that Eliah had done, and altogether how he had slain the Prophets with the sword. Then Jezabel sent a messenger unto Eliah saying: so do God to me and so thereto, except I make thy soul like one of theirs, by tomorrow this time: when he saw that, he arose and went for his life, and came to Bersabe in Juda, and left his lad there. And he went a days Journey into the wilderness, and when he was come sat down under a Juniper tree, and desired for his soul, that he might die, and said, it is now enough O' Lord, take my soul, for I am not better than my fathers.
      And as he lay and slept under the Juniper tree: behold, there came an Angel and touched him, and said unto him: up and eat. And he looked about him: and see, there was a loaf of broiled bread and a cruse of water at his head. And he ate and drank and laid him down again to sleep. And the Angel of the Lord came again the second time and touched him, and said: up and eat, for thou hast a long Journey to go. And he arose and did eat and drink and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights, unto Horeb the mount of God, and entered there into a cave and lodged there all night.
      And then the word of the Lord came to him and said what doest thou here, Eliah?And he answered: I have been thorough angry for the Lord God of Hosts sake. For the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, and have broken down thine altars and slain the Prophets with the sword, and I only am left, and they seek my soul to have it too. And he said come out and stand before the Lord. And behold, the Lord went by and a mighty strong wind that rent the mountains and brake the rocks before him. But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, came fire: but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, came a small still voice. And when Eliah heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and went out and stood in the mouth of the cave. And see, there came a voice unto him and said: what doest thou here Eliah? And he answered: I was jealous for the Lord God of Hosts sake: because the children of Israel have forsaken thine appointment and have cast down thine altars and slain thy prophets with the sword, and I only am left, and they seek my soul to have it. Then the Lord said unto him: go and turn thy way to the wilderness of Damasco, and go and anoint Hazael to be king of Siria. And Jehu the son of Namsi, anoint to be king over Israel. And Eliseus the son of Saphat of Abel Mehulah anoint to be Prophet in thy room. And whoso escapeth the sword of Hazael, him shall Jehu slay: and if any man escape the sword of Jehu, him shall Eliseus slay. And thereto I have left me seven thousand in Israel, of which never man bowed his knees unto Baal nor kissed him with his mouth.
      And he departed thence and found Eliseus the son of Saphat ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelve. And Eliah went to him and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Eliah and said: let me I pray thee, kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said to him: go back again, for what have I done to thee? And he went back again from after him, and took a yoke of oxen and slew them, and dressed the flesh with the instruments of the oxen and gave it the people, and they did eat. And then he arose and went after Eliah and ministered unto him.

 

 

 

The 20th Chapter

       And Benhadad king of Siria gathered all his host together, and thirty two kings with him, with horse and chariot: and went up and besieged Samaria and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him: thus saith Benhadad. Thy silver and thy gold is mine, and the best of thy wives, and the best of thy children be mine. And the king of Israel answered and said: my Lord king, according to thy saying, I am thine with all I have.
      And the messengers came again to Ahab and said: thus saith Benhadad. I have therefore sent unto thee, saying: deliver me then thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children. Or else I will send my servants unto thee by tomorrow this time: and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants, which shall take all that is glorious in thine eyes, and bring it away with them. Then the king of Israel sent for the elders of the land and said: take heed I pray you and see, how this fellow goeth about mischief. For he sent unto me, for my wives and my children, and my silver and my gold: and I denied him nothing of it. And all the elders of Israel and all the people said: hearken not to him nor consent.
      Whereupon he said unto the messengers of Benhadad: tell my Lord the king, all that he sent for the first time, that I will do: but this request I may not do. And the messengers departed and brought him word. Then Benhadad sent unto him and said: thus do the Gods to me and so thereto, if the dust of Samaria be enough for all the people that follow me, that every man may have an handful. And the king of Israel answered and said: tell him, let not him that putteth on his harness boast himself, as he putteth it off. And when Benhadad heard that tidings, as he and the kings were drinking in the pavilions, he said unto his servants: put ye in array. And they put themselves in array against the city.
      And behold there came a Prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, and said to him: thus saith the Lord. Seest thou all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver them into thine hand this day, that thou mayest know that I am the Lord. And Ahab said, by whom? And he said thus saith the Lord: even by the men of the governors of the shires. And Ahab said: who shall join battle? And he said, thou. Then he numbered the men of the governors of the shires: and they were two hundred and thirty two. And after them he numbered all the people, and all the children of Israel were seven thousand. And they went out at noon when Benhadad was a drinking strong drink in the pavilions with the thirty two kings that help him. And the men of the sheriffs of the shires went out first.
      And Benhadad sent out, and they showed him saying: there came men out of Samaria. And he said: if they come out for peace, take them alive. And also if they come for war, take them yet alive. And when those men of the sheriffs of the shires were come out of the city and the Host after them, they slew every one of them his man. And the Sirians fled, and Israel followed after them. And Benhadad the king of Siria escaped on a horse with his horsemen. And the king of Israel went out and smote horse and chariot, and slew a great slaughter of the Sirians.
      Then there came a Prophet to the king of Israel, and said to him: go forth and play the man, be wise and take heed what thou doest: for when the year is about, the king of Siria will come against thee again. Then said the servants of the kings of Siria to him: the Gods of the hills are their Gods, and therefore they had the better of us. But let us fight with them in the plain, and for what ye will, we shall have the better of them. And this do: take the kings away every man out of his place, and put dukes in their rooms. And do thou number thee an host, like the host that thou hast lost, and horse for horse and chariot for chariot, and let us fight with them in the plain, and for a wager, we get the better of them. And the king hearkened unto their voice and did even so.
      And as soon as the year was about, Benhadad numbered the Sirians and went up to Aphek to war with Israel. And the children of Israel were numbered and provided of victuals, and went against them, and pitched before them like two little flocks of kids: but the Sirians filled the country. Then there came a man of God and said unto the king of Israel: thus saith the Lord. Because the Sirians say, that the Lord is but a God of the hills, and not God of the valleys too: therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand that ye may know that I am the Lord. And they pitched one over against the other seven days, and the seventh day joined battle. And the children of Israel slew of the Sirians an hundred thousand footmen in one day. And the rest fled to Aphek into the city. And there fell a wall upon twenty seven thousand of them that were left. And Benhadad fled and went into the city, from chamber to chamber.
      Then said his servants unto him: behold, we have heard say, that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sack cloth about our Loins and ropes about our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: haply he will save thy life. And they girded sack cloth about their loins and put ropes about their heads, and went out to the king of Israel and said: thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee let me live. And he said: is he yet alive? what he is my brother. And they took the word for good luck and hastily caught it out of his mouth and said: yea thy brother Benhadad. Then he said: go and bring him. And Benhadad came out to him, and the other took him up into the chariot. And Benhadad said: the cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore again. And thou shalt make streets for thee in Damasco, as my father did in Samaria. And I will make an appointment with thee and send thee away. And so he made an appointment with him and sent him away.
      Then a certain man of the children of the Prophets said unto his fellow with the word of the Lord, smite me I pray thee. And the man would not smite him. And he said, because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord: behold, as soon as thou art departed from me a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a Lion found him and slew him. Then he found another man and said to him: smite me I pray thee. And the man gave him a good stripe and wounded him. And the Prophet went forth and waited for the king by the way and put ashes upon his eyes, and put himself out of knowledge. And when the king came by, he cried unto him and said, thy servant went out in the midst of the battle. And see, there was one began to flee. And there came a man to me and said: keep this man. And if he be missed thy life shall go for his, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant had here and there to do, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him: even so shall thy judgement be as thou hast defined it thyself.
      And he hasted and took the ashes away from his eyes: and the king of Israel knew him, that he was of the Prophets. And he said unto the king, thus saith the Lord: because thou hast let go a man that ought to have died, thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his. And the king of Israel went to his house wayward and heavy, and entered into Samaria.

 

 

 

The 21st Chapter

      After these things were done, it chanced that Naboth the Jezrahelite had a vineyard in Jezrahel hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth saying: let me have thy vineyard, to make me a garden of herbs thereof, because it lieth so nigh my house: and I will give thee a better vineyard for it: or if it please thee I will give thee, the worth of it in silver. But Naboth said to Ahab: the Lord forbid that from me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
      Then went Ahab unto his house wayward and evil apaid, because of the words which Naboth the Jezrahelite had spoken unto him saying: I will not give to thee, the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed and turned away his face, and would eat no meat. And when Jezabel his wife came to him, and said unto him: why art thou so froward, that thou eatest no meat? And he said unto her, I spake unto Naboth the Jazrahelite, and said unto him: give me thy vineyard for silver, or else if thou wilt, I will give thee another vineyard for it. And he said: I will not give thee my vineyard.
      Then said Jezabel his wife unto him: what a goodly kingdom were thou able to make in Israel? up and eat meat and set thine heart at rest, for I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite. And she wrote a letter in Ahabs name and sealed it with his seal, and sent it unto the elders and chief men of his city that dwelt where Naboth dwelt. And she wrote in the letter saying: proclaim fasting and set Naboth on high among the people, and set two unthriftes before him, and let them testify against him saying: thou didst curse both God and the king. And upon that carry him out and stone him to death.
      And the elders and nobles of his city, which dwelt in his city, did as Jezabel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letter which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed fasting, and set Naboth on high among the people, and there came in two unthrifty persons and sat before him. And the two unthrifty persons witnessed against Naboth before the people saying: Naboth did curse God and the king. And upon that they carried him out of the city and stoned him with stones to death. And then they sent to Jezabel saying: Naboth is stoned to death. And when Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned to death: she said to Ahab: up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite, which he denied to give thee for silver, for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead. He stood up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, to take possession of it.
      And the word of the Lord came unto Eliah the Thesbite saying: up and go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth: for he is gone down thither, to take possession of it. And say unto him: thus saith the Lord, thou hast killed and thereto gotten possession. And say moreover unto him, thus saith the Lord: in the place where dogs lapped the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lap even thy blood also. And Ahab said to Eliah: hast thou found me thine enemy at any time? And he said yea, because thou art utterly given to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will make clean riddance of thee, and will destroy unto Ahab all that pisseth against the wall, and if ought be prisoned or forsaken in Israel: and will make thine house, like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahiah, for the angering wherewith thou hast angered and made Israel sin.
      And thereto against Jezabel came the word of the Lord saying: dogs shall eat Jezabel, under the walls of Jezrahel. And he that dieth of Ahab in the town, him shall dogs eat: and he that dieth in the fields, him shall the fowls of the air eat. For there was none at all like Ahab, that was so utterly given to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, and that because Jezabel his wife pricked him forward. And therefore he did exceeding abominably, in following Idols, in all things like as did the Amorites which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
      When Ahab heard those words, he rent his clothes and put sack cloth about his flesh and fasted, and lay in sack and went comfortless. And the word of the Lord came to Eliah the Thesbite saying: seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he so submitteth himself before me, I will not bring that evil in his days: but in his sons days, I will bring evil upon his house.

 

 

 

The 22nd Chapter

      And they continued three year without war between Siria and Israel. And the third year Jehosaphat king of Juda came to the king of Israel. Then said the king of Israel unto his servants, know ye not that Ramoth in Galaad is ours, and we sit still and take it not out of the hands of the king of Siria? And he said unto Jehosaphat: wilt thou go with me to battle, to Ramoth in Galaad? And Jehosaphat said unto the king of Israel: I will be as thou art, and my people shall be as thine, and my horses as thine.
      And Jehosaphat said unto the king of Israel: ask counsel, I pray thee, of the Lord today. And then the king of Israel gathered of the Prophets together, upon a four hundred men, and said unto them: shall I go to Ramoth in Galaad to battle, or be still? And they said, go: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hands of the king. And Jehosaphat said: is there never a Prophet of the Lords here more, that we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel said to Jehosaphat: there is yet one, by whom we may ask counsel of the Lord, one Micheah the son of Jemlah. But I hate him: for he never prophesieth good unto me, but evil. And Jehosaphat said: let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called unto one of his chamberlains and said: fetch Micheah the son of Jemlah hither at once.
      And the king of Israel and Jehosaphat the king of Juda sat either in his seat and their apparel on them, in a void place beside the entering of the gate of Samaria, and all the Prophets prophesying before them. And Zedekiah the son of Canaanah made horns of iron and said, thus saith the Lord: with these horns thou shalt winnow the Sirians until thou have made an end of them. And all the Prophets prophesied even so, saying: go to Ramoth in Galaad and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hands of the king.
      And the messenger that was gone to call Micheah, said unto him: see, the words of the Prophets speak good unto the king with one voice: let thy words I pray thee be like the words of one of them, and speak that is good. And Micheah said: as surely as the Lord liveth, what the Lord putteth in my mouth, that will I speak. And when he was come to the king, the king said to him: Micheah, shall we go to Ramoth in Galaad to battle, or shall we be still? And he said unto him: go and prosper, the Lord deliver it unto the hands of the king. And the king said unto him, how often shall I adjure thee, that thou tell me nothing but truth, in the name of the Lord?
      Then he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have no shepherds. And the Lord said: those have no master, let them return, every man to his house in peace. Then said the king of Israel to Jehosaphat: did I not tell thee, that he would prophesy no good unto me, but evil? And Micheah said: hear therefore the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sit on his seat and all his company of heaven standing about him, on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said: who shall deceive Ahab that he may go and be slain at Ramoth in Galaad? and one said on this manner and another on that. Then came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said: wherewith? And he said: I will go out and be a false spirit in the mouths of all Prophets. And the Lord said, thou shalt deceive him and also prevail, go forth and do even so. Now therefore behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy Prophets: when in very deed the Lord hath spoken evil toward thee.
      Then Zedechiah the son of Canaanah went and smote Micheah on the cheek, and said: how is the spirit of the Lord gone from me, to speak in thee? And Michaeah said: behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go from chamber to chamber to hide thee. And the king of Israel said: take Micheah and carry him back again into Arnon the governor of the city, and unto Joab the kings son, and say: thus saith the king. Put ye this fellow in the prison house and feed him with bread and water straightly, until I return in peace. Then Micheah said, if thou come safe again, the Lord hath not spoken in me. And he said moreover, hearken to the people every one of you.
      And so the king of Israel and Jehosaphat the king of Juda went up to Ramoth in Galaad. And the king of Israel said to Jehosaphat change thee and get thee to war: but put on thine own apparel. And the king of Israel changed himself, and went to battle also. But the king of Siria had commanded the captains of his chariots of which he had thirty two saying: fight neither with small nor great, save with the king of Israel only. And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehosaphat, they thought he had been the king of Israel, and therefore turned to him to fight. But Jehosaphat cried out. And when the captains of the chariots saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from him.
      And a certain man drew a bow ignorantly and smote the king of Israel between the ribs of his harness. Wherefore the king said unto the driver of his chariot, turn thy hand and carry me out of the host, for I am hurt. And the battle increased that day, and the king continued in his chariot before the Sirians, and died at evening. And the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom of the chariot. And there went a proclamation throughout the host after the *son was down, saying: every man to his city and to his own country. And when the king of Israel was dead, they came to Samaria and buried him there. And while they washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked up his blood, and harlots washed him according to the word of the Lord which he spake.
       The rest of the deeds of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and the cities that he built, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. And when Ahab was laid to rest with his fathers, Ohoziah his son reigned in his stead.
      Jehosaphat the son of Asa began to reign upon Juda, the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel, and was thirty five years old when he began to reign and reigned twenty five years in Jerusalem. And his mothers name was Azubah the daughter of Salahi. And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father and bowed not therefrom. But did that was right in the eyes of the Lord. Only he did not put the hillaltars out of the way: for the people offered and burnt their sacrifices yet, in the hillaltars. And he had peace with the king of Israel.
      And the rest of the deeds of Jehosaphat, and the might that he used, and how he warred, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda. And the remnant of the *stews of the males, which remained in the days of his father, he put clean out of the land. There was then no king in Edom, the king was but a *debite. And Jehosaphat made ships in the sea to go to Ophir for gold, but they went not: for the ships brake at Azion Gaber. Then said Ohoziah the son of Ahab unto Jehosaphat: let my servants go with thine in the ships. But Jehosaphat would not. And Jehosaphat laid him to sleep with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son reigned in his room.

 

*son: exactly as in the text; sonne. else where is sun spelled sunne. *stews (brothel) *debite (deputy).

 

Chapters 1-6 | 7-11 | 12-18 | 19-end | Next Book


 

The Old Testament - The Middle Books - The New Testament with the Prophets

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