3Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. 2He did evil in the eyes of the Lord , but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of
5Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. 2Now bands from Aram h
6The company of the prophets said to Elisha, Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live. And he said, Go. 3Then one of them sai
7Elisha said, Hear the word of the Lord . This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria. 2The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to
8Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years. 2The woman proceeded to do as the man o
9The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead. 2When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go
10Now there were in Samaria seventy sons of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria: to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab's children. He said, 2As soon as this letter reaches you, since you
4And Samuel's word came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 2The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Isr
10Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance? 2When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin
8When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain
7So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord . They took it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord . 2It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriat
6When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, What shall we do with the ark of the Lord ? Tell us how we should send it back to its place. 3They answered, I
5After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. 3When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face
9There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. 2He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites-a head taller than
14Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace for him. 2And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the
18In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its surrounding villages from the control of the Philistines. 2David also defeated the Moabites, and they became subject to him and brought tribute. 3More
19In the course of time, Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as king. 2David thought, I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy t
20In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins. 2David took
28David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of al
6Then Solomon said, The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; 2I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever. 3While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them.