Old
Testament Readings
Which are never read in a Roman
Catholic Mass
1st Book of Kings (3 Kings) (*)
Biblical
Verses Omitted From Roman Catholic Mass Readings
(*) In some Bible
Versions, the following four books: [1st
Samuel, 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings, 2nd Kings] are called: [1st Kings, 2nd Kings, 3rd Kings, 4th Kings],
respectively
Chapter 1
- verses 1-53 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Now king David was old, and advanced in years: and when he was
covered with clothes, he was not warm. [2] His servants therefore said
to him:
Let us seek for our lord the king, a young virgin, and let her stand
before the king, and cherish him, and sleep in his bosom, and warm our
lord the king.
[3] So they sought a beautiful young woman in all the coasts of Israel,
and they found Abisag a Sunamitess, and brought her to the king. [4]
And the damsel was exceeding beautiful, and she slept with the king:
and served him, but the king did not know her.
[5] And Adonias the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying: I will be
king. And he made himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run
before him.
[6] Neither did his father rebuke him at any time, saying: Why hast
thou done this? And he also was very beautiful, the next in birth after
Absalom. [7] And he conferred with Joab the son of Sarvia, and with
Abiathar the priest, who furthered Adonias's side. [8] But Sadoc the
priest, and Banaias the son of Joiada, and Nathan the prophet, and
Semei, and Rei, and the strength of David's army was not with Adonias
[9] And Adonias having slain rams and calves, and all fat cattle by the
stone of Zoheleth, which was near the fountain Rogel, invited all his
brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Juda, the king's servants:
[10] But Nathan the prophet, and Banaias, and all the valiant men, and
Solomon his brother, he invited not.
[11] And Nathan said to Bethsabee the mother of Solomon:
Hast thou not heard that Adonias the son of Haggith reigneth, and our
lord David knoweth it not? [12] Now then come, take my counsel and save
thy life, and the life of thy son Solomon. [13] Go, and get thee in to
king David, and say to him: Didst not thou, my lord O king, swear to me
thy handmaid, saying: Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he
shall sit on my throne? why then doth Adonias reign? [14] And while
thou art yet speaking there with the king, I will come in after thee,
and will fill up thy words.
[15] So Bethsabee went in to the king into the chamber: now the king
was very old, and Abisag the Sunamitess ministered to him.
[16] Bethsabee bowed herself, and worshipped the king. And the king
said to her:
What is thy will?
[17] She answered and said:
My lord, thou didst swear to thy handmaid by the Lord thy God, saying:
Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.
[18] And behold now Adonias reigneth, and thou, my lord the king,
knowest nothing of it. [19] He hath killed oxen, and all fat cattle,
and many rams, and invited all the king's sons, and Abiathar the
priest, and Joab the general of the army: but Solomon thy servant he
invited not. [20] And now, my lord O king, the eyes of all Israel are
upon thee, that thou shouldst tell them, who shall sit on thy throne,
my lord the king, after thee. [21] Otherwise it shall come to pass,
when my lord the king sleepeth with his fathers, that I and my son
Solomon shall be counted offenders.
[22] As she was yet speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came.
[23] And they told the king, saying:
Nathan the prophet is here.
And when he was come in before the king, and had worshipped, bowing
down to the ground, [24] Nathan said:
My lord O king, hast thou said: Let Adonias reign after me, and let him
sit upon my throne? [25] Because he is gone down today, and hath killed
oxen, and fatlings, and many rams, and invited all the king's sons, and
the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest: and they are eating
and drinking before him, and saying: God save king Adonias: [26] But me
thy servant, and Sadoc the priest, and Banaias the son of Joiada, and
Solomon thy servant he hath not invited. [27] Is this word come out
from my lord the king, and hast thou not told me thy servant who should
sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
[28] And king David answered and said:
Call to me Bethsabee.
And when she was come in to the king, and stood before him, [29] The
king swore and said:
As the Lord liveth, who hath delivered my soul out of all distress,
[30] Even as I swore to thee by the Lord the God of Israel, saying:
Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne
in my stead, so will I do this day.
[31] And Bethsabee bowing with her face to the earth worshipped the
king, saying:
May my lord David live for ever.
[32] King David also said:
Call me Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Banaias the son
of Joiada.
And when they were come in before the king, [33] He said to them:
Take with you the servants of your lord, and set my son Solomon upon my
mule: and bring him to Gihon. [34] And let Sadoc the priest, and Nathan
the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and you shall sound the
trumpet, and shall say: God save king Solomon. [35] And you shall come
up after him, and he shall come, and shall sit upon my throne, and he
shall reign in my stead: and I will appoint him to be ruler over
Israel, and over Juda.
[36] And Banaias the son of Joiada answered the king, saying:
Amen: so say the Lord the God of my lord the king. [37] As the Lord
hath been with my lord the king, so be he with Solomon, and make his
throne higher than the throne of my lord king David.
[38] So Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet went down, and Banaias
the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and Phelethi: and they set Solomon
upon the mule of king David, and brought him to Gihon. [39] And Sadoc
the priest took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed
Solomon: and they sounded the trumpet, and all the people said: God
save king Solomon. [40] And all the multitude went up after him, and
the people played with pipes, and rejoiced with a great joy, and the
earth rang with the noise of their cry.
[41] And Adonias, and all that were invited by him, heard it, and now
the feast was at an end: Joab also hearing the sound of the trumpet,
said:
What meaneth this noise of the city in an uproar?
[42] While he yet spoke, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came:
and Adonias said to him:
Come in, because thou art a valiant man, and bringest good news.
[43] And Jonathan answered Adonias:
Not so: for our lord king David hath appointed Solomon king. [44] And
hath sent with him Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and
Banaias the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and Phelethi, and they have
set him upon the king's mule. [45] And Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the
prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are gone up from
thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again: this is the noise that
you have heard. [46] Moreover Solomon sitteth upon the throne of the
kingdom, [47] And the king's servants going in have blessed our lord
king David, saying: May God make the name of Solomon greater than thy
name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king adored
in his bed: [48] And he said: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,
who hath given this day one to sit on my throne, my eyes seeing it.
[49] Then all the guests of Adonias were afraid, and they all arose and
every man went his way.
[50] And Adonias fearing Solomon, arose, and went, and took hold on the
horn of the altar. [51] And they told Solomon, saying:
Behold Adonias, fearing king Solomon, hath taken hold of the horn of
the altar, saying: Let king Solomon swear to me this day, that he will
not kill his servant with the sword.
[52] And Solomon said:
If he be a good man, there shall not so much as one hair of his head
fall to the ground: but if evil be found in him, he shall die.
[53] Then king Solomon sent, and brought him out from the altar: and
going in he worshipped king Solomon: and Solomon said to him:
Go to thy house.
Back to Top
Chapter 2
- verses 5-9, 13-46 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[5] Thou knowest also what Joab the son of Sarvia hath done to me, what
he did to the two captains of the army of Israel, to Abner the son of
Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether: whom he slew, and shed the blood
of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his girdle that was about
his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. [6] Do therefore
according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoary head go down to hell in
peace. [7] But shew kindness to the sons of Berzellai the Galaadite,
and let them eat at thy table: for they met me when I fled from the
face of Absalom thy brother. [8] Thou hast also with thee Semei the son
of Gera the son of Jemini of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous
curse, when I went to the camp: but because he came down to meet me
when I passed over the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying:
I will not kill thee with a sword: [9] Do not thou hold him guiltless.
But thou art a wise man, and knowest what to do with him, and thou
shalt bring down his grey hairs with blood to hell.
[13] And Adonias the son of Haggith came to Bethsabee the mother of
Solomon. And she said to him:
Is thy coming peaceable?
he answered:
Peaceable.
[14] And he added:
I have a word to speak with thee.
She said to him:
Speak.
And he said:
[15] Thou knowest that the kingdom was nine, and all Israel had
preferred me to be their king: but the kingdom is transferred, and is
become my brother's: for it was appointed him by the Lord. [16] Now
therefore I ask one petition of thee: turn not away my face.
And she said to him:
Say on.
[17] And he said:
I pray thee speak to king Solomon (for he cannot deny thee any thing)
to give me Abisag the Sunamitess to wife.
[18] And Bethsabee said:
Well, I will speak for thee to the king.
[19] Then Bethsabee came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonias:
and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his
throne: and a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his
right hand.
[20] And she said to him:
I desire one small petition of thee, do not put me to confusion.
And the king said to her:
My mother, ask: for I must not turn away thy face.
[21] And she said:
Let Abisag the Sunamitess be given to Adonias thy brother to wife.
[22] And king Solomon answered, and said to his mother:
Why dost thou ask Abisag the Sunamitess for Adonias? ask for him also
the kingdom: for he is my elder brother, and hath Abiathar the priest,
and Joab the son of Sarvia.
[23] Then king Solomon swore by the Lord, saying:
So and so may God do to me, and add more, if Adonias hath not spoken
this word against his own life. [24] And now as the Lord liveth, who
hath established me, and placed me upon the throne of David my father,
and who hath made me a house, as he promised, Adonias shall be put to
death this day.
[25] And king Solomon sent by the hand of Banaias the son of Joiada,
who slew him, and he died.
[26] And the king said also to Abiathar the priest:
Go to Anathoth to thy lands, for indeed thou art worthy of death: but I
will not at this time put thee to death, because thou didst carry the
ark of the Lord God before David my father, and hast endured trouble in
all the troubles my father endured.
[27] So Solomon cast out Abiathar, from being the priest of the Lord,
that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he spoke concerning
the house of Deli in Silo.
[28] And the news came to Joab, because Joab had turned after Adonias,
and had not turned after Solomon: and Joab fled into the tabernacle of
the Lord and laid hold on the horn of the altar. [29] And it was told
king Solomon, that Joab was fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and
was by the altar:
and Solomon sent Banaias the son of Joiada, saying:
Go, kill him.
[30] And Banaias came to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him:
Thus saith the king: Come forth.
And he said:
I will not come forth, but here I will die.
Banaias brought word back to the king, saying: Thus saith Joab, and
thus he answered me.
[31] And the king said to him: Do as he hath said: and kill him, and
bury him, and thou shalt remove the innocent blood which hath been shed
by Joab, from me, and from the house of my father. [32] And the Lord
shall return his blood upon his own head, because he murdered two men,
just and better than himself: and slew them with the sword, my father
David not knowing it, Abner the son of Ner, general of the army of
Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, general of the army of Juda. [33]
And their blood shall return the head of Joab, and upon the head of his
seed for ever. But to David and his seed and his house, and to his
throne be peace for ever from the Lord.
[34] So Banaias the son of Joiada went up, and setting upon him slew
him, and he was buried in his house in the desert. [35] And the king
appointed Banaias the son of Joiada in his room over the army, and
Sadoc the priest he put in the place of Abiathar.
[36] The king also sent, and called for Semei, and said to him:
Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there: and go not out from
thence any whither. [37] For on what day soever thou shalt go out, and
shalt pass over the brook Cedron, know that thou shalt be put to death:
thy blood shall be upon thy own head:
[38] And Semei said to the king:
The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant
do.
And Semei dwelt in Jerusalem, many days. [39] And it came to pass after
three years, that the servants of Semei ran away to Achis the son of
Maacha the king of Geth: and it was told Semei that his servants were
gone to Geth.
[40] And Semei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Achis to Geth to
seek his servants, and he brought them out of Geth. [41] And it was
told Solomon that Semei had gone from Jerusalem to Geth, and was come
back. [42] And sending he called for him, and said to him:
Did I not protest to thee by the Lord, and tell thee before: On what
day soever thou shalt go out and walk abroad any whither, know that
thou shalt die? And thou answeredst me: The word that I have heard is
good. [43] Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the
commandment that I laid upon thee?
[44] And the king said to Semei:
Thou knowest all the evil, of which thy heart is conscious, which thou
didst to David my father: the Lord hath returned thy wickedness upon
thy own head: [45] And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of
David shall be established before the Lord for ever.
[46] So the king commanded Banaias the son of Joiada: and he went out
and struck him, and he died.
Back to Top
Chapter 3
- verses 1-3, 15-28 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon, and he made
affinity with Pharao the king of Egypt: for he took his daughter, and
brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of
building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of
Jerusalem round about.
[2] But yet the people sacrificed in the high places: far there was no
temple built to the name of the Lord until that day. [3] And Solomon
loved the Lord, walking in the precepts of David his father, only he
sacrificed in the high places: and burnt incense.
[15] And Solomon awaked, and perceived that it was a dream: and when he
was come to Jerusalem, he stood before the ark of the covenant of the
Lord, and offered holocausts, and sacrificed victims of peace
offerings, and made a great feast for all his servants.
[16] Then there came two women that were harlots, to the king, and
stood before him: [17] And one of them said:
I beseech thee, my lord, I and this woman dwelt in one house, and I was
delivered of a child with her in the chamber. [18] And the third day,
after that I was delivered, she also was delivered, and we were
together, and no other person with us in the house, only we two. [19]
And this woman's child died in the night: for in her sleep she overlaid
him. [20] And rising in the dead time of the night, she took my child
from my side, while I thy handmaid was asleep, and laid it in her
bosom: and laid her dead child in my bosom. [21] And when I rose in the
morning to give my child suck, behold it was dead: but considering him
more diligently when it was clear day, I found that it was not mine
which I bore.
[22] And the other woman answered:
It is not so as thou sayest, but thy child is dead, and mine is alive.
On the contrary she said:
Thou liest: for my child liveth, and thy child is dead.
And in this manner they strove before the king.
[23] Then said the king:
The one saith, My child is alive, and thy child is dead. And the other
answereth: Nay, but thy child is dead, and mine liveth.
[24] The king therefore said:
Bring me a sword.
And when they had brought a sword before the king, [25] Divide, said
he, the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the
other.
[26] But the woman whose child was alive, said to the king, (for her
bowels were moved upon her child,)
I beseech thee, my lord, give her the child alive, and do not kill it.
But the other said:
Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
[27] The king answered, and said:
Give the living child to this woman, and let it not be killed, for she
is the mother thereof.
[28] And all Israel heard the judgment which the king had judged, and
they feared the king, seeing that the wisdom of God was in him to do
judgment.
Back to Top
Chapter 4
- verses 1-34 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And king Solomon reigned over all Israel:
[2] And these were the princes which he had: Azarias the son of Sadoc
the priest: [3] Elihoreph, and Ahia, the sons of Sisa, scribes:
Josaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder: [4] Banaias the son of Joiada,
over the army: and Sadoc and Abiathar priests. [5] Azarias the son of
Nathan, over them that were about the king: Zabud, the son of Nathan
the priest, the king's friend: [4] "Abiathar"... By this it appears
that Abiathar was not altogether deposed from the high priesthood; but
only banished to his country house, and by that means excluded from the
exercise of his functions. [6] And Ahisar governor of the house: and
Adoniram the son of Abda over the tribute.
[7] And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided
victuals for the king and for his household: for every one provided
necessaries, each man his month in the year. [8] And these are their
names: Benhur, in mount Ephraim, [9] Bendecar, in Macces, and in
Salebim, and in Bethsames, and in Elon, and in Bethanan. [10] Benhesed
in Aruboth: his was Socho, and all the land of Epher. [11] Benabinadab,
to whom belonged all Nephath-Dor, he had Tapheth the daughter of
Solomon to wife. [12] Bana the son of Ahilud, who governed Thanac and
Mageddo, and all Bethsan, which is by Sarthana beneath Jezrael, from
Bethsan unto Abelmehula over against Jecmaan. [13] Bengaber in Ramoth
Galaad: he had the towns of Jair the son of Manasses in Galaad, he was
chief in all the country of Argob, which is in Basan, threescore great
cities with walls, and brazen bolts. [14] Abinadab the son of Addo was
chief in Manaim. [15] Achimaas in Nephtali: he also had Basemath the
daughter of Solomon to wife. [16] Baana the son of Husi, in Aser and in
Baloth. [17] Josaphat the son of Pharue, in Issachar. [18] Semei the
son of Ela in Benjamin. [19] Gaber the son of Uri, in the land of
Galaad, in the land of Sehon the king of the Amorrhites and of Og the
king of Basan, over all that were in that land. [20] Juda and Israel
were innumerable, as the sand of the sea in multitude: eating and
drinking, and rejoicing.
[21] And Solomon had under him all the kingdoms from the river to the
land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt: and they brought
him presents, and served him, all the days of his life.
[22] And the provision of Solomon for each day was thirty measures of
fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, [23] Ten fat oxen and
twenty out of the pastures, and a hundred rams, besides venison of
harts, roes, and buffles, and fatted fowls. [24] For he had all the
country which was beyond the river, from Thaphsa to Gazan, and all the
kings of those countries: and he had peace on every side round about.
[25] And Juda and Israel dwelt without any fear, every one under his
vine, and under his fig tree, from Dan to Bersabee, all the days of
Solomon.
[26] And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of chariot horses, and
twelve thousand for the saddle. [27] And the foresaid governors of the
king fed them: and they furnished the necessaries also for king
Solomon's table, with great care in their time. [28] They brought
barley also and straw for the horses, and beasts, to the place where
the king was, according as it was appointed them.
[29] And God gave to Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much,
and largeness of heart as the sand that is on the sea shore. [30] And
the wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals, and of
the Egyptians, [31] And he was wiser than all men: wiser than Ethan the
Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Dorda the sons of Mahol, and he
was renowned in all nations round about. [32] Solomon also spoke three
thousand parables: and his poems were a thousand and five. [33] And he
treated about trees from the cedar that is in Libanus, unto the hyssop
that cometh out of the wall: and he discoursed of beasts, and of fowls,
and of creeping things, and of fishes. [34] And they came from all
nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the
earth, who heard of his wisdom.
Back to Top
Chapter 5
- verses 1-18 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon: for he heard
that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram
had always been David's friend. [2] And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:
[3] Thou knowest the will of David my father, and that he could not
build a house to the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars that
were round about him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his
feet. [4] But now the Lord my God hath given me rest round about: and
there is no adversary nor evil occurrence. [5] Wherefore I purpose to
build a temple to the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to
David my father, saying: my son, whom I will set upon the throne in thy
piece, he shall build a house to my name. [6] Give orders therefore
that thy servants cut me down cedar trees out of Libanus, and let my
servants be with thy servants: and I will give thee the hire of thy
servants whatsoever thou wilt ask, for thou knowest how there is not
among my people a man that has skill to hew wood like to the Sidonians.
[7] Now when Hiram had heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced
exceedingly, and said:
Blessed be the Lord God this day, who hath given to David a very wise
son over this numerous people.
[8] And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:
I have heard all thou hast desired of me: and I will do all thy desire
concerning cedar trees, and fir trees. [9] My servants shall bring them
down from Libanus to the sea: and I will put them together in floats in
the sea, and convey them to the place, which thou shalt signify to me;
and will land them there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt
allow me necessaries, to furnish food for my household.
[10] So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees, and fir trees, according to all
his desire. [11] And Solomon allowed Hiram twenty thousand measures of
wheat, for provision for his house, and twenty measures of the purest
oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram every year. [12] And the Lord gave
wisdom to Solomon, as he promised him: and there was peace between
Hiram and Solomon, and they two made a league together.
[13] And king Solomon chose workmen cut of all Israel, and the levy was
of thirty thousand men. [14] And he sent them to Libanus, ten thousand
every month by turns, so that two months they were at home: and
Adoniram was over this levy. [15] And Solomon had seventy thousand to
carry burdens, and eighty thousand to hew stones in the mountain: [16]
Besides the overseers who were over every work, in number three
thousand, and three hundred that ruled over the people, and them that
did the work. [17] And the king commanded, that they should bring great
stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the temple, and should
square them: [18] And the masons of Solomon, and the masons of Hiram
hewed them: and the Giblians prepared timber and stones to build the
house.
Back to Top
Chapter 6
- verses 1-38 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after
the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth
year of the reign of Solomon over Israel, in the month Zio (the same is
the second month), he began to build a house to the Lord.
[2] And the house, which king Solomon built to the Lord, was threescore
cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in
height. [3] And there was a porch before the temple of twenty cubits in
length, according to the measure of the breadth of the temple: and it
was ten cubits in breadth before the face of the temple. [4] And he
made in the temple oblique windows. [5] And upon the wall of the temple
he built floors round about, in the walls of the house round about the
temple and the oracle, and he made sides round about. [6] The floor
that was underneath, was five cubits in breadth, and the middle floor
was six cubits in breadth, and the third door was seven cubits in
breadth. And he put beams in the house round about on the outside, that
they might not be fastened in the walls of the temple. [7] And the
house, when it was in building, was built of stones hewed and made
ready: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron
heard in the house when it was in building. [8] The door for the middle
side was on the right hand of the house: and by winding stairs they
went up to the middle room, and from the middle to the third.
[9] So he built the house, and finished it: and he covered the house
with roofs of cedar. [10] And he built a floor over all the house five
cubits in height, and he covered the house with timber of cedar.
[11] And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying:
[12] This house, which thou buildest, if thou wilt walk in my statutes,
and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments, walking in
them, I will fulfill my word to thee which I spoke to David thy father.
[13] And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will
not forsake my people Israel.
[14] So Solomon built the house and finished it. [15] And he built the
walls of the house on the inside, with boards of cedar, from the floor
of the house to the top of the walls, and to the roots, he covered it
with boards of cedar on the inside: and he covered the floor of the
house with planks of fir. [16] And he built up twenty cubits with
boards of cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the floor to the
top: and made the inner house of the oracle to be the holy of holies.
[17] And the temple itself before the doors of the oracle was forty
cubits long. [18] And all the house was covered within with cedar,
having the turnings, and the joints thereof artfully wrought and
carvings projecting out: all was covered with boards of cedar: and no
stone could be seen in the wall at all. [19] And he made the oracle in
the midst of the house, in the inner part, to set there the ark of the
covenant of the Lord. [20] Now the oracle was twenty cubits in length,
and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in height. And he
covered and overlaid it with most pure gold. And the altar also he
covered with cedar. [21] And the house before the oracle he overlaid
with most pure gold, and fastened on the plates with nails of gold.
[22] And there was nothing in the temple that was not covered with
gold: the whole altar of the oracle he covered also with gold. [23] And
he made in the oracle two cherubims of olive tree, of ten cubits in
height. [24] One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing
of the cherub was five cubits: that is, in all ten cubits, from the
extremity of one wing to the extremity of the other wing. [25] The
second cherub also was ten cubits: and the measure, and the work was
the same in both the cherubims: [26] That is to say, one cherub was ten
cubits high, and in like manner the other cherub.
[27] And he set the cherubims in the midst of the inner temple: and the
cherubims stretched forth their wings, and the wing of the one touched
one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall: and
the other wings in the midst of the temple touched one another. [28]
And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
[29] And all the walls of the temple round about he carved with divers
figures and carvings: and he made in them cherubims and palm trees, and
divers representations, as it were standing out, and coming forth from
the wall. [30] And the floor of the house he also overlaid with gold
within and without. [31] And in the entrance of the oracle he made
little doors of olive tree, and posts of five corners, [32] And two
doors of olive tree: and he carved upon them figures of cherubims, and
figures of palm trees, and carvings very much projecting: and he
overlaid them with gold: and he covered both the cherubims and the palm
trees, and the other things with gold. [33] And he made in the entrance
of the temple posts of olive tree foursquare: [34] And two doors of fir
tree, one of each side: and each door was double, and so opened with
folding leaves. [35] And he carved cherubims, and palm trees, and
carved work standing very much out: and he overlaid all with golden
plates in square work by rule. [36] And he built the inner court with
three rows of polished stones, and one row of beams of cedar.
[37] In the fourth year was the house of the Lord founded in the month
Zio: [38] And in the eleventh year in the month Bul (which is the
eighth month) the house was finished in all the works thereof, and in
all the appurtenances thereof: and he was seven years in building it.
Back to Top
Chapter 7
- verses 1-51 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Solomon built his own house in thirteen years, and brought it
to perfection. [2] He built also the house of the forest of Libanus,
the length of it was a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty cubits,
and the height thirty cubits: and four galleries between pillars of
cedar: for he had cut cedar trees into pillars. [3] And he covered the
whole vault with boards of cedar, and it was held up with five and
forty pillars. And one row had fifteen pillars, [4] Set one against
another, [5] And looking one upon another, with equal space between the
pillars, and over the pillars were square beams in all things equal.
[6] And he made a porch of pillars of fifty cubits in length, and
thirty cubits in breadth: and another porch before the greater porch:
and pillars, and chapiters upon the pillars. [7] He made also the porch
of the throne, wherein is the seat of judgment: and covered it with
cedar wood from the floor to the top. [8] And in the midst of the
porch, was a small house where he sat in judgment, of the like work. He
made also a house for the daughter of Pharao (whom Solomon had taken to
wife) of the same work, as this porch, [9] All of costly stones, which
were sawed by a certain rule and measure both within and without: from
the foundation to the top of the walls, and without unto the great
court. [10] And the foundations were of costly stones, great stones of
ten cubits or eight cubits: [11] And above there were costly stones, or
equal measure, hewed; and, in like manner, planks of cedar: [12] And
the greater court was made round with three rows of hewed stones, and
one row of planks of cedar, moreover also in the inner court of the
house of the Lord, and in the porch of the house.
[13] And king Solomon sent, and brought Hiram from Tyre, [14] The son
of a widow woman of the tribe of Nephtali, whose father was a Tyrian,
an artificer in brass, and full of wisdom, and understanding, and skill
to work all work in brass. And when he was come to king Solomon, he
wrought all his work.
[15] And he cast two pillars in brass, each pillar was eighteen cubits
high: and a line of twelve cubits compassed both the pillars. [16] He
made also two chapiters of molten brass, to be set upon the tops of the
pillars: the height of one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of
the other chapiter was five cubits: [17] And a kind of network, and
chain work wreathed together with wonderful art. Both the chapiters of
the pillars were cast: seven rows of nets were on one chapiter, and
seven nets on the other chapiter. [18] And he made the pillars, and two
rows round about each network to cover the chapiters, that were upon
the top, with pomegranates: and in like manner did he to the other
chapiter. [19] And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars,
were of lily work in the porch, of four cubits. [20] And again other
chapiters in the top of the pillars above, according to the measure of
the pillar over against the network: and of pomegranates there were two
hundred in rows round about the other chapiter. [21] And he set up the
two pillars in the porch of the temple: and when he had set up the
pillar on the right hand, he called the name thereof Jachin: in like
manner he set up the second pillar, and called the name thereof Booz.
[22] And upon the tops of the pillars he made lily work: so the work of
the pillars was finished.
[23] He made also a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round
all about; the height of it was five cubits, and a line of thirty
cubits compassed it round about. [24] And a graven work under the brim
of it compassed it, for ten cubits going about the sea: there were two
rows cast of chamfered sculptures. [25] And it stood upon twelve oxen,
of which three looked towards the north, and three towards the west,
and three towards the south, and three towards the east, and the sea
was above upon them, and their hinder parts were all hid within. [26]
And the laver was a handbreadth thick: and the brim thereof was like
the brim of a cup, or the leaf of a crisped lily: it contained two
thousand bates.
[27] And he made ten bases of brass, every base was four cubits in
length, and four cubits in breadth, and three cubits high. [28] And the
work itself of the bases, was intergraven: and there were gravings
between the joinings. [29] And between the little crowns and the ledges
were lions, and oxen, and cherubims: and in the joinings likewise
above: and under the lions and oxen, as it were bands of brass hanging
down. [30] And every base had four wheels, and axletrees of brass: and
at the four sides were undersetters under the laver molten, looking one
against another. [31] The mouth also of the laver within, was in the
top of the chapiter: and that which appeared without, was of one cubit
all round, and together it was one cubit and a half: and in the corners
of the pillars were divers engravings: and the spaces between the
pillars were square, not round. [32] And the four wheels, which were at
the four corners of the base, were joined one to another under the
base: the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. [33] And they were
such wheels as are used to be made in a chariot: and their axletrees,
and spokes, and strakes, and naves, were all east. [34] And the four
undersetters that were at every corner of each base, were of the base
itself cast and joined together. [35] And in the top of the base there
was a round compass of half a cubit, so wrought that the laver might be
set thereon, having its gravings, and divers sculptures of itself. [36]
He engraved also in those plates, which were of brass. and in the
corners, cherubims, and lions, and palm trees, in likeness of a man
standing, so that they seemed not to be engraven, but added round
about. [37] After this manner he made ten bases, of one casting and
measure, and the like graving. [38] He made also ten lavers of brass:
one laver contained four bases, and was of four cubits: and upon every
base, in all ten, he put as many lavers. [39] And he set the ten bases,
five on the right side of the temple, and five on the left: and the sea
he put on the right side of the temple over against the east southward.
[40] And Hiram made caldrons, and shovels, and basins, and finished all
the work of king Solomon in the temple of the Lord. [41] The two
pillars and the two cords of the chapiters, upon the chapiters of the
pillars: and the two networks, to cover the two cords, that were upon
the top of the pillars. [42] And four hundred pomegranates for the two
networks: two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the cords
of the chapiters, which were upon the tops of the pillars. [43] And the
ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases. [44] And one sea, and
twelve oxen under the sea. [45] And the caldrons, and the shovels, and
the basins. All the vessels that Hiram made for king Solomon for the
house of the Lord, were of fine brass. [46] In the plains of the Jordan
did the king cast them in a clay ground, between Socoth and Sartham.
[47] And Solomon placed all the vessels: but for exceeding great
multitude the brass could not be weighed.
[48] And Solomon made all the vessels for the house of the Lord: the
altar of gold, and the table of gold, upon which the leaves of
proposition should be set: [49] And the golden candlesticks, five on
the right hand, and five on the left, over against the oracle, of pure
gold: and the flowers like lilies, and the lamps over them of gold: and
golden snuffers, [50] And pots, and fleshhooks, and bowls, and mortars,
and censers, of most pure gold: and the hinges for the doors of the
inner house of the holy of holies, and for the doors of the house of
the temple were of gold.
[51] And Solomon finished all the work that he made in the house of the
Lord, and brought in the things that David his father had dedicated,
the silver and the gold, and the vessels, and laid them up in the
treasures of the house of the Lord.
Back to Top
Chapter 8
- verses 8, 14-21, 24-26, 30-40, 44-66 have been omitted from the Mass
readings.
[8] And whereas the staves stood out, the ends of them were seen
without in the sanctuary before the oracle, but were not seen farther
out, and there they have been unto this day.
[14] And the king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of
Israel: for all the assembly of Israel stood. [15] And Solomon said:
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to
David my father, and with his own hands hath accomplished it, saying:
[16] Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I
chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built,
that my name might be there: but I chose David to be over my people
Israel. [17] And David my father would have built a house to the name
of the Lord the God of Israel: [18] And the Lord said to David my
father: Whereas thou hast thought in thy heart to build a house to my
name, thou hast done well in having this same thing in thy mind. [19]
Nevertheless thou shalt not build me a house, but thy son, that shall
come forth out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name. [20]
The Lord hath performed his word which he spoke: and I stand in the
room of David my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord
promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord the God of
Israel. [21] And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the
covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when they came
out of the land of Egypt.
[24] Who hast kept with thy servant David my father what thou hast
promised him: with thy mouth thou didst speak, and with thy hands thou
hast performed, as this day proveth. [25] Now therefore, O Lord God of
Israel, keep with thy servant David my father what thou hast spoken to
him, saying: There shall not be taken away of thee a man in my sight,
to sit on the throne of Israel: yet so that thy children take heed to
their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked in my sight.
[26] And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy words be established, which
thou hast spoken to thy servant David my father.
[30] That thou mayest hearken to the supplication of thy servant and of
thy people Israel, whatsoever they shall pray for in this place, and
hear them in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou
hearest, shew them mercy.
[31] If any man trespass against his neighbour, and have an oath upon
him, wherewith he is bound: and come because of the oath before thy
altar to thy house, [32] Then hear thou in heaven: and do, and judge
thy servants, condemning the wicked, and bringing his way upon his own
head, and justifying the just, and rewarding him according to his
justice.
[33] If thy people Israel shall fly before their enemies, (because they
will sin against thee,) and doing penance, and confessing to thy name,
shall come, and pray, and make supplications to thee in this house:
[34] Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people
Israel, and bring them back to the land which thou gavest to their
fathers.
[35] If heaven shall be shut up, and there shall be no rain, because of
their sins, and they praying in this place, shall do penance to thy
name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their
afflictions: [36] Then hear thou them in heaven, and forgive the sins
of thy servants, and of thy people Israel: and shew them the good way
wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast
given to thy people in possession.
[37] If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or corrupt air, or
blasting, or locust, or mildew, if their enemy afflict them besieging
the gates, whatsoever plague, whatsoever infirmity, [38] Whatsoever
curse or imprecation shall happen to any man of thy people Israel: when
a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his
hands in this house, [39] Then hear thou in heaven, in the place of thy
dwelling, and forgive, and do so as to give to every one according to
his ways, as thou shalt see his heart (for thou only knowest the heart
of all the children of men) [40] That they may fear thee all the days
that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our
fathers.
[44] If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by what way
soever thou shalt send them, they shall pray to thee towards the way of
the city, which thou hast chosen, and towards the house, which I have
built to thy name: [45] And then hear thou in heaven their prayers, and
their supplications, and do judgment for them.
[46] But if they sin against thee (for there is no man who sinneth not)
and thou being angry deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be
led away captives into the land of their enemies far or near; [47] Then
if they do penance in their heart in the place of captivity, and being
converted make supplication to thee in their captivity, saying: We have
sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wickedness: [48] And
return to thee with all their heart, and all their soul, in the land of
their enemies, to which they had been led captives: and pray to thee
towards the way of their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, and
of the city which thou hast chosen, and of the temple which I have
built to thy name: [49] Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of
thy throne, their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for
them: [50] And forgive thy people, that have sinned against thee, and
all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against thee: and
give them mercy before them that have made them captives, that they may
have compassion on them. [51] For they are thy people, and thy
inheritance, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, from the
midst of the furnace of iron.
[52] That thy eyes may be open to the supplication of thy servant, and
of thy people Israel, to hear them in all things for which they shall
call upon thee. [53] For thou hast separated them to thyself for an
inheritance from among all the people of the earth, as thou hast spoken
by Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O
Lord God.
[54] And it came to pass, when Solomon had made an end of praying all
this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he rose from before the
altar of the Lord: for he had fixed both knees on the ground, and had
spread his hands towards heaven. [55] And he stood and blessed all the
assembly of Israel with a, loud voice, saying:
[56] Blessed be the Lord, who hath given rest to his people Israel,
according to all that he promised: there hath not failed so much as one
word of all the good things that he promised by his servant Moses. [57]
The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, and not leave
us, nor cast us off: [58] But may he incline our hearts to himself,
that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his
ceremonies, and all his judgments which he commanded our fathers. [59]
And let these my words, wherewith I have prayed before the Lord, he
nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he may do judgment for
his servant, and for his people Israel day by day: [60] That all the
people of the earth may know, that the Lord he is God, and there is no
other besides him. [61] Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord
our God, that we may walk in his statutes, and keep his commandments,
as at this day.
[62] And the king, and all Israel him, offered victims before the Lord.
[63] And Solomon slew victims of peace offerings, which he sacrificed
to the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and hundred and twenty
thousand sheep: so the king, and the children of Israel dedicated the
temple of the Lord. [64] In that day the king sanctified the middle of
the court that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered
the holocaust, and sacrifice, and fat of the peace offerings: because
the brazen altar that was before the Lord, was too little to receive
the holocaust, and sacrifice, and fat of the peace offerings.
[65] And Solomon made at the same time a solemn feast, and all Israel
with him, a great multitude from the entrance of Emath to the river of
Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, that is,
fourteen days.
[66] And on the eighth day he sent away the people: and they blessed
the king, and went to their dwellings rejoicing, and glad in heart for
all the good things that the Lord had done for David his servant, and
for Israel his people.
Back to Top
Chapter 9
- verses 1-28 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And it came to pass when Solomon had finished the building of the
house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all that he desired, and
was pleased to do, [2] That the Lord appeared to him the second time,
as he had appeared to him in Gabaon. [3] And the Lord said to him:
I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, which thou hast made
before me: I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put
my name there for ever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there always.
[4] And if thou wilt walk before me, as thy father walked, in
simplicity of heart, and in uprightness: and wilt do all that I have
commanded thee, and wilt keep my ordinances and my judgments, [5] I
will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, as I
promised David thy father, saying: There shall not fail a man of thy
race upon the throne of Israel. [6] But if you and your children
revolting shall turn away from following me, and will not keep my
commandments, and my ceremonies, which I have set before you, but will
go and worship strange gods, and adore them: [7] I will take away
Israel from the face of the land which I have given them; and the
temple which I have sanctified to my name, I will cast out of my sight;
and Israel shall be a proverb, and a byword among all people. [8] And
this house shall be made an example of: every one that shall pass by
it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss, and say: Why hath the Lord
done thus to this land, and to this house: [9] And they shall answer:
Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out
of the land of Egypt, and followed strange gods, and adored them, and
worshipped them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this
evil.
[10] And when twenty years were ended after Solomon had built the two
houses, that is, the house of the Lord, and the house of the king, [11]
(Hiram the king of Tyre furnishing Solomon with cedar trees and fir
trees, and gold according to all he had need of.) then Solomon gave
Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. [12] And Hiram came out of
Tyre, to see the towns which Solomon had given him, and they pleased
him not, [13] And he said:
Are these the cities which thou hast given me, brother?
And he called them the land of Chabul, unto this day. [14] And Hiram
sent to king Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold.
[15] This is the sum of the expenses, which king Solomon offered to
build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Mello, and the wall
of Jerusalem, and Heser, and Mageddo, and Gazer. [16] Pharao the king
of Egypt came up and took Gazer, and burnt it with fire: and slew the
Chanaanite that dwelt in the city, and gave it for a dowry to his
daughter, Solomon's wife. [17] So Solomon built: Gazer, and Beth-horon
the nether, [18] And Baalath, and Palmira in the land of the
wilderness. [19] And all the towns that belonged to himself, and were
not walled, he fortified, the cities also of the chariots, and the
cities of the horsemen, and whatsoever he had a mind to build in
Jerusalem, and in Libanus, and in all the land of his dominion.
[20] All the people that were left of the Amorrhites, and Hethites, and
Pherezites, and Hevites, and Jebusites, that are not of the children of
Israel: [21] Their children, that were left in the land, to wit, such
as the children of Israel had not been able to destroy, Solomon made
tributary unto this day. [22] But of the children of Israel Solomon
made not any to be bondmen, but they were men of war, and his servants,
and his princes, and captains, and overseers of the chariots and
horses. [23] And there were five hundred and fifty chief officers set
over all the works of Solomon, and they had people under them, and had
charge over the appointed works.
[24] And the daughter of Pharao came up out of the city of David to her
house, which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Mello.
[25] Solomon also offered three times every year holocausts, and
victims of peace offerings upon the altar which he had built to the
Lord, and he burnt incense before the Lord: and the temple was finished.
[26] And king Solomon made a fleet in Asiongaber, which is by Ailath on
the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. [27] And Hiram sent his
servants in the fleet, sailors that had knowledge of the sea, with the
servants of Solomon. [28] And they came to Ophir, and they brought from
thence to king Solomon four hundred and twenty talents of gold.
Back to Top
Chapter 10
- verses 11-29 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[11] (The navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought
from Ophir great plenty of thyine trees, and precious stones. [12] And
the king made of the thyine trees the rails of the house of the Lord,
and of the king's house, and citterns and harps for singers: there were
no such thyine trees as these brought, nor seen unto this day.) [13]
And king Solomon gave the queen of Saba all that she desired, and asked
of him: besides what he offered he himself of his royal bounty. And she
returned, and went to her own country with her servants. [14] And the
weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year, was six
hundred and sixty-six talents of gold: [15] Besides that which the men
brought him that were over the tributes, and the merchants, and they
that sold by retail, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of
the country.
[16] And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he
allowed six hundred sides of gold for the plates of one shield.[17] And
three hundred targets of fine gold: three hundred pounds of gold
covered one target: and the king put them in the house of the forest of
Libanus. [18] King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and
overlaid it with the finest gold. [19] It had six steps: and the top of
the throne was round behind: and there were two hands on either side
holding the seat: and two lions stood, one at each hand. [20] And
twelve little lions stood upon the six steps on the one side and on the
other: there was no such work made in any kingdom. [21] Moreover all
the vessels, out of which king Solomon drank, were of gold: and all the
furniture of the house of the forest of Libanus was of most pure gold:
there was no silver, nor was any account made of it in the days of
Solomon: [22] For the king's navy, once in three years, went with the
navy of Hiram by sea to Tharsis, and brought from thence gold, and
silver, and elephants' teeth, and apes, and peacocks.
[23] And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches,
and wisdom. [24] And all the earth desired to see Solomon's face, to
hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart. [25] And every one
brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, garments and
armour, and spices, and horses and mules every year. [26] And Solomon
gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four
hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horseman: and he bestowed them in
fenced cities, and with the king in Jerusalem.
[27] And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and
cedars to be as common as sycamores which grow in the plains. [28] And
horses were brought for Solomon out of Egypt, and Coa: for the king's
merchants brought them out of Coa, and bought them at a set price. [29]
And a chariot of four horses came out of Egypt, for six hundred sides
of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And after this manner
did all the kings of the Hethites, and of Syria, sell horses.
Back to Top
Chapter 11
- verses 1-3, 14-28, 33-43 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And king Solomon loved many strange women besides the daughter of
Pharao, and women of Moab, and of Ammon, and of Edom, and of Sidon, and
of the Hethites: [2] Of the nations concerning which the Lord said to
the children of Israel: You shall not go in unto them, neither shall
any of them come in to yours: for they will most certainly turn away
your heart to follow their gods. And to these was Solomon joined with a
most ardent love. [3] And he had seven hundred wives as queens, and
three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart.
[14] And the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Adad the Edomite
of the king's seed, in Edom.
[15] For when David was in Edom, and Joab the general of the army was
gone up to bury them that were slain, and had killed every male in
Edom, [16] (For Joab remained there six months with all Israel, till he
had slain every male in Edom,) [17] Then Adad fled, he and certain
Edomites, of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt: and Adad
was then a little boy. [18] And they arose out of Madian, and came into
Pharan, and they took men with them from Pharan, and went into Egypt to
Pharao the king of Egypt: who gave him a house, and appointed him
victuals, and assigned him land. [19] And Adad found great favour
before Pharao, insomuch that he gave him to wife, the own sister of his
wife Taphnes the queen. [20] And the sister of Taphnes bore him his son
Genubath, and Taphnes brought him up in the house of Pharao: and
Genubath dwelt with Pharao among his children.
[21] And when Adad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers,
and that Joab the general of the army was dead, he said to Pharao:
Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.
[22] And Pharao said to him:
Why, what is wanting to thee with me, that thou seekest to go to thy
own country?
But he answered:
Nothing: yet I beseech thee to let me go.
[23] God also raised up against him an adversary, Razon the son of
Eliada, who had fled from his master Adarezer the king of Soba: [24]
And he gathered men against him, and he became a captain of robbers,
when David slew them of Soba: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt
there, and they made him king in Damascus. [25] And he was an adversary
to Israel, all the days of Solomon: and this is the evil of Adad, and
his hatred against Israel, and he reigned in Syria.
[26] Jeroboam also the son of Nabat an Ephrathite of Sareda, a servant
of Solomon, whose mother was named Sarua, a widow woman, lifted up his
hand against the king. [27] And this is the cause of his rebellion
against him, for Solomon built Mello, and filled up the breach of the
city of David his father. [28] And Jeroboam was a valiant and mighty
man: and Solomon seeing him a young man ingenious and industrious, made
him chief over the tributes of all the house of Joseph.
[33] Because he hath forsaken me, and hath adored Astarthe the goddess
of the Sidonians, and Chamos the god of Moab, and Moloch the god of the
children of Ammon: and hath not walked in my ways, to do justice before
me, and to keep my precepts, and judgments as did David his father.
[34] Yet I will not take away all the kingdom out of his hand, but I
will make him prince all the days of his life, for David my servant's
sake, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my precepts. [35] But
I will take away the kingdom out of his son's hand and will give thee
ten tribes: [36] And to his son I will give one tribe, that there may
remain a lamp for my servant David before me always in Jerusalem the
city which I have chosen, that my name might be there. [37] And I will
take thee, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul desireth, and
thou shalt be king over Israel. [38] If then thou wilt hearken to all
that I shall command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do what is
right before me, keeping my commandments and my precepts, as David my
servant did: I will be with thee, and will build thee up a faithful
house, as I built a house for David, and I will deliver Israel to thee:
[39] And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but yet not for
ever.
[40] Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam: but he arose, and fled
into Egypt to Sesac the king of Egypt, and was in Egypt till the death
of Solomon.
[41] And the rest of the words of Solomon, and all that he did, and his
wisdom: behold they are all written in the book of the words of the
days of Solomon.
[42] And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel,
were forty years. [43] And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was
buried in the city of David his father, and Roboam his son reigned in
his stead.
Back to Top
Chapter 12
- verses 1-18, 20-25, 33 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Roboam went to Sichem: for thither were all Israel come
together to make him king. [2] But Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who was
yet in Egypt, a fugitive from the face of king Solomon, hearing of his
death, returned out of Egypt. [3] And they sent and called him: and
Jeroboam came, and all the multitude of Israel, and they spoke to
Roboam, saying:
[4] Thy father laid a grievous yoke upon us: now therefore do thou take
off a little of the grievous service of thy father, and of his most
heavy yoke, which he put upon us, and we will serve thee. [5] And he
said to them:
Go till the third day, and come to me again.
And when the people was gone, [6] King Roboam took counsel with the old
men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and he
said:
What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people?
[7] They said to him:
If thou wilt yield to this people today, and condescend to them, and
grant their petition, and wilt speak gentle words to them, they will be
thy servants always.
[8] But he left the counsel of the old men, which they had given him,
and consulted with the young men, that had been brought up with him,
and stood before him. [9] And he said to them:
What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people, who have
said to me: Make the yoke which thy father put upon us lighter?
[10] And the young men that had been brought up with him, said: Thus
shalt thou speak to this people, who have spoken to thee, saying: Thy
father made our yoke heavy, do thou ease us. Thou shalt say to them: My
little finger is thicker than the back of my father. [11] And now my
father put a, heavy yoke upon you, but I will add to your yoke: my
father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.
[12] So Jeroboam and all the people came to Roboam the third day, as
the king had appointed, saying: Come to me again the third day. [13]
And the king answered the people roughly, leaving the counsel of the
old men, which they had given him, [14] And he spoke to them according
to the counsel of the young men, saying:
My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father
beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.
[15] And the king condescended not to the people: for the Lord was
turned away from him, to make good his word, which he had spoken in the
hand of Ahias the Silonite, to Jeroboam the son of Nabat.
[16] Then the people seeing that the king would not hearken to them,
answered him, saying:
What portion have we in David?
or what inheritance in the son of Isai?
Go home to thy dwellings, O Israel, now David look to thy own house.
So Israel departed to their dwellings. [17] But as for all the children
of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Juda, Roboam reigned over them.
[18] Then king Roboam sent Aduram, who was over the tribute: and all
Israel stoned him, and he died. Wherefore king Roboam made haste to get
him up into his chariot, and he fled to Jerusalem:
[20] And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come
again, that they gathered an assembly, and sent and called him, and
made him king over all Israel, and there was none that followed the
house of David but the tribe of Juda only. [21] And Roboam came to
Jerusalem, and gathered together all the house of Juda, and the tribe
of Benjamin, a hundred four-score thousand chosen men for war, to fight
against the house of Israel and to bring the kingdom again under Roboam
the son of Solomon. [22] But the word of the Lord came to Semeias the
man of God, saying:
[23] Speak to Roboam the son of Solomon, the king of Juda, and to all
the house of Juda, and Benjamin, and the rest of the people, saying:
[24] Thus saith the Lord: You shall not go up nor fight against your
brethren the children of Israel: let every man return to his house, for
this thing is from me.
They hearkened to the word of the Lord, and returned from their
journey, as the Lord had commanded them. [25] And Jeroboam built Sichem
in mount Ephraim, and dwelt there, and going out from thence he built
Phanuel.
[33] And he went up to the altar, which he had built in Bethel, on the
fifteenth day of the eighth month, which he had devised of his own
heart: and he ordained a feast to the children of Israel, and went upon
the altar to burn incense.
Back to Top
Chapter 13
- verses 1-32 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And behold there came a man of God out of Juda, by the word of the
Lord to Bethel, when Jeroboam was standing upon the altar, and burning
incense. [2] And he cried out against the altar in the word of the
Lord, and said:
O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold a child shall be born to
the house of David, Josias by name, and he shall immolate upon thee the
priests of the high places, who now burn incense upon thee, and he
shall burn men's bones upon thee.
[3] And he gave a sign the same day, saying:
This shall be the sign, that the Lord hath spoken: Behold the altar
shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
[4] And when the king had heard the word of the man of God, which he
had cried out against the altar in Bethel, he stretched forth his hand
from the altar, saying:
Lay hold on him.
And his hand which he stretched forth against him withered: and he was
not able to draw it back again to him. [5] The altar also was rent, and
the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which
the man of God had given before in the word of the Lord. [6] And the
king said to the man of God:
Entreat the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may
be restored to me.
And the man of God besought the face of the Lord, and the king's hand
was restored to him, and it became as it was before. [7] And the king
said to the man of God:
Come home with me to dine, and I will make thee presents.
[8] And the man of God answered the king: If thou wouldst give me half
thy house I will not go with thee, nor eat bread, nor drink water in
this place: [9] For so it was enjoined me by the word of the Lord
commanding me: Thou shalt not eat bread nor drink water, nor return by
the same way that thou camest.
[10] So he departed by another way, and returned not by the way that he
came into Bethel.
[11] Now a certain old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came to
him and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in
Bethel: and they told their father the words which he had spoken to the
king. [12] And their father said to them:
What way went he?
His sons shewed him the way by which the man of God went, who came out
of Juda. [13] And he said to his sons:
Saddle me the ass.
And when they had saddled him, he got up, [14] And went after the man
of God, and found him sitting under a turpentine tree: and he said to
him:
Art thou the man of God that camest from Juda?
He answered:
I am.
[15] And he said to him:
Come home with me, to eat bread.
[16] But he said:
I must not return, nor go with thee, neither will I eat bread, nor
drink water in this place: [17] Because the Lord spoke to me in the
word of the Lord, saying: Thou shalt not eat bread, and thou shalt not
drink water there, nor return by the way thou wentest.
[18] He said to him:
I also am a prophet like unto thee: and an angel spoke to me in the
word of the Lord, saying: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that
he may eat bread, and drink water. He deceived him, [19] And brought
him back with him: so he ate bread and drank water in his house. [20]
And as they sat at table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet that
brought him back:
[21] And he cried out to the man of God who came out of Juda, saying:
Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast not been obedient to the Lord,
and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded
thee, [22] And hast returned and eaten bread, and drunk water in the
place wherein he commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat bread, nor
drink water, thy dead body shall not be brought into the sepulchre of
thy fathers.
[23] And when he had eaten and drunk, he saddled his ass for the
prophet, whom he had brought back. [24] And when he was gone, a lion
found him in the way, and killed him, and his body was cast in the way:
and the ass stood by him, and the lion stood by the dead body. [25] And
behold, men passing by saw the dead body cast in the way, and the lion
standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city, wherein
that old prophet dwelt. [26] And when that prophet, who had brought him
back out of the way, heard of it, he said:
It is the man of God, that was disobedient to the mouth of the Lord,
and the Lord hath delivered him to the lion, and he hath torn him, and
killed him according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to him.
[27] And he said to his sons:
Saddle me an ass.
And when they had saddled it, [28] And he was gone, he found the dead
body cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass:
the lion had not eaten of the dead body, nor hurt the ass. [29] And the
prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass,
and going back brought it into the city of the old prophet, to mourn
for him. [30] And he laid his dead body in his own sepulchre: and they
mourned over him, saying: Alas! alas! my brother. [31] And when they
had mourned over him, he said to his sons:
When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is
buried: lay my bones beside his bones. [32] For assuredly the word
shall come to pass which he hath foretold in the word of the Lord
against the altar that is in Bethel: and against all the temples of the
high places, that are in the cities of Samaria.
Back to Top
Chapter 14
- verses 1-31 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] At that time Abia the son of Jeroboam fell sick. [2] And Jeroboam
said to his wife:
Arise, and change thy dress, that thou be not known to be the wife of
Jeroboam, and go to Silo, where Ahias the prophet is, who told me, that
I should reign over this people. [3] Take also with thee ten leaves,
and cracknels, and a pot of honey, and go to him: for he will tell thee
what shall become of this child.
[4] Jeroboam's wife did as he told her: and rising up went to Silo, and
came to the house of Ahias: but he could not see, for his eyes were dim
by reason of his age. [5] And the Lord said to Ahias: Behold the wife
of Jeroboam cometh in, to consult thee concerning her son that is sick:
thus and thus shalt thou speak to her. So when she was coming in, and
made as if she were another woman, [6] Ahias heard the sound of her
feet coming in at the door, and said:
Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam: why dost thou feign thyself to be
another? But I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. [7] Go, and tell
Jeroboam: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted
thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel:
[8] And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to
thee, and thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my
commandments, and followed me with all his heart, doing that which was
well pleasing in my sight: [9] But hast done evil above all that were
before thee, and hast made thee strange gods and molten gods, to
provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: [10] Therefore
behold I will bring evils upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut of
from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut
up, and the last in Israel: and I will sweep away the remnant of the
house of Jeroboam, as dung is swept away till all be clean. [11] Them
that shall die of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs shall eat: and them
that shall die in the field, the birds of the air shall devour: for the
Lord hath spoken it. [12] Arise thou therefore, and go to thy house:
and when thy feet shall be entering into the city, the child shall die,
[13] And all Israel shall mourn for him, and shall bury him: for he
only of Jeroboam shall be laid in a sepulchre, because in his regard
there is found a good word from the Lord the God of Israel, in the
house of Jeroboam. [14] And the Lord hath appointed himself a king over
Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam in this day, and in
this time: [15] And the Lord God shall strike Israel as a reed is
shaken in the water: and he shall root up Israel out of this good land,
which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the
river: because they have made to themselves groves, to provoke the
Lord. [16] And the Lord shall give up Israel for the sins of Jeroboam,
who hath sinned, and made Israel to sin.
[17] And the wife of Jeroboam arose, and departed, and came to Thersa:
and when she was coming in to the threshold of the house, the child
died; [18] And they buried him. And all Israel mourned for him
according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of his
servant Ahias the prophet.
[19] And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he fought, and how he
reigned, behold they are written in the book of the words of the days
of the kings of Israel.
[20] And the days that Jeroboam reigned, were two and twenty years: and
he slept with his fathers: and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
[21] And Roboam the son of Solomon reigned in Juda: Roboam was one and
forty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned seventeen years
in Jerusalem the city, which the Lord chose out of all the tribes of
Israel to put his name there. And his mother's name wee Naama an
Ammonitess.
[22] And Juda did evil in the sight of the Lord, and provoked him above
all that their fathers had done, in their sins which they committed.
[23] For they also built them altars, and statues, and groves upon
every high hill and under every green tree: [24] There were also the
effeminate in the land, and they did according to all the abominations
of the people whom the Lord had destroyed before the face of the
children of Israel.
[25] And in the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Sesac king of Egypt
came up against Jerusalem.
[26] And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the
king's treasures, and carried all off: as also the shields of gold
which Solomon had made. [27] And Roboam made shields of brass instead
of them, and delivered them into the. hand of the captains of the
shieldbearers, and of them that kept watch before the gate of the
king's house. [28] And when the king went into the house of the Lord,
they whose office it was to go before him, carried them: and afterwards
they brought them back to the armoury of the shieldbearers.
[29] Now the rest of the sets of Roboam, and all that he did, behold
they are written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of
Juda. [30] And there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam always.
[31] And Roboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the
city of David: and his mother's name was Naama an Ammonitess: and Abiam
his son reigned in his stead.
Back to Top
Chapter 15
- verses 1-34 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Now in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam the son of
Nabat, Abiam reigned over Juda. [2] He reigned three years in
Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Maacha the daughter of Abessalom.
[3] And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done
before him: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was
the heart of David his father. [4] But for David's sake the Lord his
God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to
establish Jerusalem: [5] Because David had done that which was right in
the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from any thing that he
commanded him, all the days of his life, except the matter of Urias the
Hethite.
[6] But there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam all the time of his
life.
[7] And the rest of the words of Abiam, and all that he did, are they
not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?
And there was war between Abiam and Jeroboam.
[8] And Abiam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city
of David, and Asa his son reigned in his stead
[9] So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, reigned Asa
king of Juda, [10] And he reigned one and forty years in Jerusalem. His
mother's name was Maacha, the daughter of Abessalom. [11] And Asa did
that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as did David his father:
[12] And he took away the effeminate out of the land, and he removed
all the filth of the idols, which his fathers had made. [13] Moreover
he also removed his mother Maacha, from being the princess in the
sacrifices of Priapus, and in the grove which she had consecrated to
him: and he destroyed her den, and broke in pieces the filthy idol, and
burnt it by the torrent Cedron: [14] But the high places he did not
take away. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all
his days: [15] And he brought in the things which his father had
dedicated, and he had vowed, into the house of the Lord, silver and
gold, and vessels.
[16] And there was war between Asa, and Baasa king of Israel all their
days. [17] And Baasa king of Israel went up against Juda, and built
Rama, that no man might go out or come in, of the side of Asa king of
Juda. [18] Then Asa took all the silver and gold that remained in the
treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's
house, and delivered it into the hands of his servants: and sent them
to Benadad son of Tabremon the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt
in Damascus, saying: [19] There is a league between me and thee, and
between my father and thy father: therefore I have sent thee presents
of silver and gold: and I desire thee to come, and break thy league
with Baasa king of Israel, that he may depart from me. [20] Benadad
hearkening to king Asa, sent the captains of his army against the
cities of Israel, and they smote Ahion, and Dan, and Abeldomum Maacha,
and all Cenneroth, that is all the land of Nephtali. [21] And when
Baasa had heard this, he left off building Rama, and returned into
Thersa. [22] But king Asa sent word into all Juda, saying: Let no man
be excused: and they took away the stones from Rama, and the timber
thereof wherewith Baasa had been building, and with them Asa built
Gabaa of Benjamin, and Maspha.
[23] But the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his strength, and all
that he did and the cities that he built, are they not written in the
book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? But in the time of
his old age he was diseased in his feet.
[24] And he slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the
city of David his father. And Josaphat his son reigned in his place.
[25] But Nadab the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel the second year
of Asa king of Juda: and he reigned over Israel two years. [26] And he
did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his
father, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
[27] And Baasa the son of Ahias of the house of Issachar, conspired
against him, and slew him in Gebbethon, which is a city of the
Philistines: for Nadab and all Israel besieged Gebbethon. [28] So Baasa
slew him in the third year of Asa king of Juda, and reigned in his
place. [29] And when he was king he cut off all the house of Jeroboam:
he left not so much as one soul of his seed, till he had utterly
destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken
in the hand of Ahias the Silonite: [30] Because of the sin of Jeroboam,
which he had sinned, and wherewith he had made Israel to sin, and for
the offence, wherewith he provoked the Lord the God of Israel.
[31] But the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they
not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?
[32] And there was war between Asa and Baasa the king of Israel all
their days.
[33] In the third year of Asa king of Juda, Baasa the son of Ahias
reigned over all Israel, in Thersa, four and twenty years. [34] And he
did evil before the Lord, and walked in the ways of Jeroboam, and in
his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
Back to Top
Chapter 16
- verses 1-34 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani against
Baasa, saying:
[2] Forasmuch as I have exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee
prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of
Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger
with their sins: [3] Behold, I will cut down the posterity of Baasa,
and the posterity of his house, and I will make thy house as the house
of Jeroboam the son of Nabat. [4] Him that dieth of Baasa in the city,
the dogs shall eat: and him that dieth of his in the country, the fowls
of the air shall devour.
[5] But the rest of the acts of Baasa and all that he did, and his
battles, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of
the kings of Israel?
[6] So Baasa slept with his fathers, and was buried in Thersa: and Ela
his son reigned in his stead.
[7] And when the word of the Lord came in the hand of Jehu the son of
Hanani the prophet, against Baasa, and against his house, and against
all the evil that he had done before the Lord, to provoke him to anger
by the works of his hands, to become as the house of Jeroboam: for this
cause he slew him, that is to say, Jehu the son of Hanani, the prophet.
[8] In the six and twentieth year of Asa king of Juda, Ela the son of
Baasa reigned over Israel in Thersa two years.
[9] And his servant Zambri, who was captain of half the horsemen,
rebelled against him: now Ela was drinking in Thersa, and drunk in the
house of Arsa the governor of Thersa. [10] And Zambri rushing in,
struck him and slew him in the seven and twentieth year of Asa king of
Juda, and he reigned in his stead. [11] And when he was king and sat
upon his throne, he slew all the house of Baasa, and he left not one
thereof to piss against a wall, and all his kinsfolks and friends. [12]
And Zambri destroyed all the house of Baasa, according to the word of
the Lord, that he had spoken to Baasa in the hand of Jehu the prophet,
[13] For all the sins of Baasa, and the sins of Ela his son, who
sinned, and made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord the God of Israel
with their vanities.
[14] But the rest of the acts of Ela, and all that he did, are they not
written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?
[15] In the seven and twentieth year of Asa king of Juda, Zambri
reigned seven days in Thersa: now the army was besieging Gebbethon a
city of the Philistines. [16] And when they heard that Zambri had
rebelled, and slain the king, all Israel made Amri their king, who was
general over Israel in the camp that day. [17] And Amri went up, and
all Israel with him from Gebbethon, and they besieged Thersa. [18] And
Zambri seeing that the city was about to be taken, went into the palace
and burnt himself with the king's house: and he died [19] In his sins,
which he had sinned, doing evil before the Lord, and walking in the way
of Jeroboam, and in his sin, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
[20] But the rest of the acts of Zambri, and of his conspiracy and
tyranny, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of
the kings of Israel?
[21] Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: one half of
the people followed Thebni the son of Gineth, to make him king: and one
half followed Amri. [22] But the people that were with Amri, prevailed
over the people that followed Thebni the son of Gineth: and Thebni
died, and Amri reigned.
[23] In the one and thirtieth year of Asa king of Juda, Amri reigned
over Israel twelve years: in Thersa he reigned six years. [24] And he
bought the hill of Samaria of Semer for two talents of silver: and he
built upon it, and he called the city which he built Samaria, after the
name of Semer the owner of the hill.
[25] And Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and acted wickedly
above all that were before him. [26] And he walked in all the way of
Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and in his sins wherewith he made Israel to
sin: to provoke the Lord the God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
[27] Now the rest of the acts of Amri, and the battles he fought, are
they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of
Israel? [28] And Amri slept with his fathers, and was buried in
Samaria, and Achab his son reigned in his stead.
[29] Now Achab the son of Amri reigned over Israel in the eight and
thirtieth year of Asa king of Juda. And Achab the son of Amri reigned
over Israel in Samaria two and twenty years.
[30] And Achab the son of Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord above
all that were before him. [31] Nor was it enough for him to walk in the
sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat: but he also took to wife Jezabel
daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians. And he went, and served
Baal, and adored him. [32] And he set up an altar for Baal in the
temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria, [33] And he planted a
grove: and Achab did more to provoke the Lord the God of Israel, than
all the kings of Israel that were before him.
[34] In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho: in Abiram his firstborn
he laid its foundations: and in his youngest son Segub he set up the
gates thereof: according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the
hand of Josue the son of Nun.
Back to Top
Chapter 17
- is covered in full in the Mass Readings sometime at least every three
years.
Back to Top
Chapter 18
- verses 1-19, 40 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] After many days the word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third
year, saying:
Go and shew thyself to Achab, that I may give rain upon the face of the
earth.
[2] And Elias went to shew himself to Achab,
and there was a grievous famine in Samaria. [3] And Achab called Abdias
the governor of his house: now Abdias feared the Lord very much. [4]
For when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he took a hundred
prophets and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with
bread and water. [5] And Achab said to Abdias:
Go into the land unto all fountains of waters, and into all valleys, to
see if we can find grass, and save the horses and mules, that the
beasts may not utterly perish.
[6] And they divided the countries between them, that they might go
round about them: Achab went one way, and Abdias another way by
himself. [7] And as Abdias was in the way, Elias met him: and he knew
him, and fell on his face, and said:
Art thou my lord Elias?
[8] And he answered:
I am. Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here.
[9] And he said:
What have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver me thy servant into the
hand of Achab, that he should kill me? [10] As the Lord thy God liveth,
there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek
thee: and when all answered: He is not here: he took an oath of every
kingdom and nation, because thou wast not found. [11] And now thou
sayest to me: Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here. [12] And when I
am gone from thee, the spirit of the Lord will carry thee into a place
that I know not: and I shall go in and tell Achab, and he not finding
thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy.
[13] Hath it not been told thee, my lord, what I did when Jezabel
killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the
prophets of the Lord, by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with
bread and water? [14] And now thou sayest: Go, and tell thy master:
Elias is here: that he may kill me.
[15] And Elias said:
As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whose face I stand, this day I will
shew myself unto him.
[16] Abdias therefore went to meet Achab, and told him: and Achab came
to meet Elias. [17] And when he had seen him, he said:
Art thou he that troublest Israel?
[18] And he said:
I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, who have
forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baalim. [19]
Nevertheless send now, and gather unto me all Israel, unto mount
Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the
prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezabel's table.
[40] And Elias said to them:
Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape.
And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent
Cison, and killed them there.
Back to Top
Chapter 19
- verses 1-3, 17-18 have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Achab told Jezabel all that Elias had done, and how he had
slain all the prophets with the sword. [2] And Jezabel sent a messenger
to Elias, saying:
Such and such things may the gods do to me, and add still more, if by
this hour tomorrow I make not thy life as the life of one of them.
[3] Then Elias was afraid, and rising up he went whithersoever he had a
mind: and he came to Bersabee of Juda, and left his servant there,
[17] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall escape the sword
of Hazael, shall be slain by Jehu: and whosoever shall escape the sword
of Jehu, shall be slain by Eliseus. [18] And I will leave me seven
thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not been bowed before Baal,
and every mouth that hath not worshipped him kissing the hands.
Back to Top
Chapter 20
- verses 1-43, have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his host, and
there were two and thirty kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and
going up, he fought against Samaria, and besieged it. [2] And, sending
messengers to Achab king of Israel into the city, [3] He said: Thus
saith Benadad:
Thy silver, and thy gold is mine: and thy wives, and thy goodliest
children are mine.
[4] And the king of Israel answered:
According to thy word, my lord O king, I am thine, and all that I have.
[5] And the messengers came again, and said:
Thus saith Benadad, who sent us unto thee: Thy silver, and thy gold,
and thy wives, and thy children thou shalt deliver up to me. [6]
Tomorrow therefore at this same hour I will send my servants to thee,
and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants: and
all that pleaseth them, they shall put in their hands, and take away.
[7] And the king of Israel called all the ancients of the land, and
said:
Mark, and see that he layeth snares for us. For he sent to me for my
wives, and for my children, and for my silver and gold: and I said not
nay.
[8] And all the ancients, and all the people said to him:
Hearken not to him, nor consent to him.
[9] Wherefore he answered the messengers of Benadad:
Tell my lord the king: All that thou didst send for to me thy servant
at first, I will do: but this thing I cannot do. [10] And the
messengers returning brought him word. And he sent again and said:
Such and such things may the gods do to me, and more may they add, if
the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that
follow me.
[11] And the king of Israel answering, said:
Tell him: Let not the girded boast himself as the ungirded.
[12] And it came to pass, when Benadad heard this word, that he and the
kings were drinking in pavilions, and he said to his servants:
Beset the city. And they beset it.
[13] And behold a prophet coming to Achab king of Israel, said to him:
Thus saith the Lord: Hast thou seen all this exceeding great multitude,
behold I will deliver them into thy hand this day: that thou mayest
know that I am the Lord.
[14] And Achab said:
By whom?
And he said to him:
Thus saith the Lord:
By the servants of the princes of the provinces.
And he said:
Who shall begin to fight?
And he said:
Thou.
[15] So he mustered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and
he found the number of two hundred and thirty-two: and he mustered
after them the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand: [16]
And they went out at noon. But Benadad was drinking himself drunk in
his pavilion, and the two and thirty kings with him, who were come to
help him. [17] And the servants of the princes of the provinces went
out first. And Benadad sent. And they told him, saying:
There are men come out of Samaria.
[18] And he said:
Whether they come for peace, take them alive: or whether they come to
fight, take them alive.
[19] So the servants of the princes of the provinces went out, and the
rest of the army followed: [20] And every one slew the man that came
against him: and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued after them. And
Benadad king of Syria fled away on horseback with his horsemen. [21]
But the king of Israel going out overthrew the horses and chariots, and
slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
[22] (And a prophet coming to the king of Israel, said to him:
Go, and strengthen thyself, and know, and see what thou dost: for the
next year the king of Syria will come up against thee.)
[23] But the servants of the king of Syria said to him:
Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but
it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we
shall overcome them. [24] Do thou therefore this thing: Remove all the
kings from thy army, and put captains in their stead: [25] And make up
the number of soldiers that have been slain of thine, and horses
according to the former horses, and chariots according to the chariots
which thou hadst before: and we will fight against them in the plains,
and thou shalt see that we shall overcome them.
He believed their counsel and did so. [26] Wherefore at the return of
the year, Benadad mustered the Syrians, ancient up to Aphec, to fight
against Israel. [27] And the children of Israel were mustered, and
taking victuals went out on the other side, and camped over against
them, like two little flocks of goats: but the Syrians filled the land.
[28] (And a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel:
Thus saith the Lord: Because the Syrians have said: The Lord is God of
the hills, but is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this great
multitude into thy hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.)
[29] And both sides set their armies in array one against the other
seven days, and on the seventh day the battle was fought: and the
children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in
one day. [30] And they that remained fled to Aphec, into the city: and
the wall fell upon seven and twenty thousand men, that were left.
And Benadad fleeing went into the city, into a chamber that was within
a chamber. [31] And his servants said to him:
Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are
merciful: so let us put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads,
and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save our lives.
[32] So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their
heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said to him:
Thy servant Benadad saith: I beseech thee let me have my life.
And he said:
If he be yet alive he is my brother.
[33] The men took this for a sign: and in haste caught the word out of
his mouth, and said:
Thy brother Benadad.
And he said to them:
Go, and bring him to me.
Then Benadad came out to him, and he lifted him up into his chariot.
[34] And he said to him:
The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore: and do
thou make thee streets in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, and
having made a league I will depart from thee.
So he made a league with him, and let him go.
[35] Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his
companion in the word of the Lord:
Strike me.
But he would not strike. [36] Then he said to him:
Because thou wouldst not hearken to the word of the Lord, behold then
shalt depart from me, and a lion shall slay thee. And when he was gone
a little from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
[37] Then he found another man, and said to him:
Strike me.
And he struck him, and wounded him.
[38] So the prophet went, and met the king in the way, and disguised
himself by sprinkling dust on his face and his eyes. [39] And as the
king passed by, he cried to the king, and said:
Thy servant went out to fight hand to hand: and when a certain man was
run away, one brought him to me, and said: Keep this man: and if he
shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life, or thou shalt pay a
talent of silver. [40] And whilst I in a hurry turned this way and
that, on a sudden he was not to be seen.
And the king of Israel said to him:
This is thy judgment, which thyself hast decreed.
[41] But he forthwith wiped off the dust from his face, and the king of
Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets. [42] And he said to
him:
Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man
worthy of death, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his
people.
[43] And the king of Israel returned to his house, slighting to hear,
and raging came into Samaria.
Back to Top
Chapter 21
- is covered in full in the Mass Readings sometime at least every three
years.
Back to Top
Chapter 22
- verses 1-54, have been omitted from the Mass readings.
[1] And there passed three years without war between Syria and Israel.
[2] And in the third year, Josaphat king of Juda came down to the king
of Israel. [3] (And the king of Israel said to his servants:
Know ye not-that Ramoth Galaad is ours, and we neglect to take it out
of the hand of the king of Syria?)
[4] And he said to Josaphat:
Wilt thou come with me to battle to Ramoth Galaad?
[5] And Josaphat said to the king of Israel:
As I am, so art thou: my people and thy people are one: and my
horsemen, thy horsemen.
And Josaphat said to the king of Israel:
Inquire, I beseech thee, this day, the word of the Lord.
[6] Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred
men, and he said to them:
Shall I go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall I forbear?
They answered:
Go up, and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.
[7] And Josaphat said:
Is there not here some prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire by him?
[8] And the king of Israel said to Josaphat:
There is one man left, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: Micheas the
son of Jemla; but I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good to me, but
evil.
And Josaphat said:
Speak not so, O king.
[9] Then the king of Israel called an eunuch, and said to him:
Make haste, and bring hither Micheas the son of Jemla.
[10] Then the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, sat each on
his throne clothed with royal robes, in a court by the entrance of the
gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.
[11] And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made himself horns of iron, and
said:
Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou
destroy it.
[12] And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, saying:
Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into
the king's hands.
[13] And the messenger, that went to call Micheas, spoke to him, saying:
Behold the words of the prophets with one mouth declare good things to
the king: let thy word therefore be like to theirs, and speak that
which is good.
[14] But Micheas said to him:
As the Lord liveth, whatsoever the Lord shall say to me, that will I
speak.
[15] So he came to the king, and the king said to him:
Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to battle, or shall we forbear?
He answered him:
Go up, and prosper, and the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hands.
[16] But the king said to him:
I adjure thee again and again, that thou tell me nothing but that which
is true in the name of the Lord.
[17] And he said:
I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no
shepherd: and the Lord said: These have no master: let every man of
them return to his house in peace.
[18] (Then the king of Israel said to Josaphat:
Did I not tell thee, that he prophesieth no good to me, but always
evil?)
[19] And he added and said:
Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his
throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand
and on the left: [20] And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab king
of Israel, that he may go up, and fall at Ramoth Galaad? And one spoke
words of this manner, and another otherwise. [21] And there came forth
a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And
the Lord said to him: By what means? [22] And he said: I will go forth,
and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord
said: Thou shalt deceive him, and shalt prevail: a go forth, and do so.
[23] Now therefore behold the Lord hath given a lying spirit in the
mouth of all thy prophets that are here, and the Lord hath spoken evil
against thee.
[24] And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas on the
cheek, and said:
Hath then the spirit of the Lord left me, and spoken to thee?
[25] And Micheas said:
Thou shalt see in the day when thou shalt go into a chamber within a
chamber to hide thyself.
[26] And the king of Israel said:
Take Micheas, and let him abide with Ammon the governor of the city,
and with Joas the son of Amalech. [27] And tell them: Thus saith the
king: Put this man in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction,
and water of distress, till I return in peace.
[28] And Micheas said:
If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said:
Hear, all ye people.
[29] So the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda went up to Ramoth
Galaad. [30] And the king of Israel said to Josaphat:
Take armour, and go into the battle, and put on thy own garments.
But the king of Israel changed his dress, and went into the battle.
[31] And the king of Syria had commanded the two and thirty captains of
the chariots, saying: You shall not fight against any, small or great,
but against the king of Israel only. [32] So when the captains of the
chariots saw Josaphat, they suspected that he was the king of Israel,
and making a violent assault they fought against him: and Josaphat
cried out. [33] And the captains of the chariots perceived that he was
not the king of and they turned away from him. [34] And a certain man
bent his bow, shooting at a venture, and chanced to strike the king of
Israel between the lungs and the stomach. But he said to the driver of
his chariot:
Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army, for I am grievously
wounded.
[35] And the battle was fought that day, and the king of Israel stood
in his chariot against the Syrians, and he died in the evening: and the
blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. [36] And the
herald proclaimed through all the army before the sun set, saying:
Let every man return to his own city, and to his own country. [37] And
the king died,
and was carried into Samaria: and they buried the king in Samaria. [38]
And they washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked
up his blood, and they washed the reins, according to the word of the
Lord which he had spoken.
[39] But the rest of the acts of Achab, and all that he did, and the
house of ivory that he made, and all the cities that he built, are they
not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of
Israel? [40] So Achab slept with his fathers, and Ochozias his son
reigned in his stead.
[41] But Josaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Juda in the fourth
year of Achab king of Israel. [42] He was five and thirty years old
when he began to reign, and he reigned five and twenty years in
Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Azuba the daughter of Salai. [43]
And he walked in all the way of Asa his father, and he declined not
from it: and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. [44]
Nevertheless he took not away the high places: for as Set the people
offered sacrifices and burnt incense in the high places. [45] And
Josaphat had peace with the king of Israel.
[46] But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, and his works which he did,
and his batties, are they not written in the book of the words of the
days of the kings of Juda? [47] And the remnant also of the effeminate,
who remained in the days of Asa his father, he took out of the land.
[48] And there was then no king appointed in Edom. [49] But king
Josaphat made navies on the sea, to sail into Ophir for gold: but they
could not go, for the ships were broken in Asiongaber. [50] Then
Ochozias the ton of Achab said to Josaphat:
Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships.
And Josaphat would not.
[51] And Josaphat slept with his fathers. and was buried with them in
the city of David his father: and Joram his son reigned in his stead.
[52] And Ochozias the son of Achab began to reign over Israel in
Samaria, in the seventeenth year of Josaphat king of Juda, and he
reigned over Israel two years, [53] And he did evil in the sight of the
Lord, and walked in the way of his father and his mother, and in the
way of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin. [54] He
served also Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked the Lord the God of
Israel, according to all that his father had done.
Back to Top
Texts Researched and Digitally
Processed by
Mrs. R.M., Puerto Rico
Published on May 2015
Format improved in July 2022
© Copyright 2015 - 2022 by The M+G+R Foundation.
All rights reserved. However, you may
freely reproduce and distribute this document as long as: (1)
Appropriate credit is given as to its source; (2) No changes are made
in the text without prior written consent; and (3) No charge is made
for it.
The M+G+R Foundation
Please Note: If the above dated image does not appear
on this document, it means that you are not viewing the original
document from our servers. Should you have reason to doubt the
authenticity of the document, we recommend that you access our server
again and click on the "Refresh" or "Reload" button of your Browser to
view the original document.