# verses

book: Judg
contenido:
But this time the man was adamant, so they left, getting as far as Jerusalem (also called Jebus) before dark.


book: Judg
contenido:
“No,” his master said, “we can’t stay in this heathen city where there are no Israelites—we will go on to Gibeah, or possibly Ramah.”


book: Judg
contenido:
So they went on. The sun was setting just as they came to Gibeah, a village of the tribe of Benjamin,


book: Judg
contenido:
Just then an old man came by on his way home from his work in the fields. (He was originally from the hill country of Ephraim, but was living now in Gibeah, even though it was in the territory of Benjamin.)


book: Judg
contenido:
When he saw the travelers camped in the square, he asked them where they were from and where they were going.


book: Judg
contenido:
“We’re on the way home from Bethlehem, in Judah,” the man replied. “I live on the far edge of the Ephraim hill country, near Shiloh. But no one has taken us in for the night,


book: Judg
contenido:
“Don’t worry,” the old man said, “be my guests; for you mustn’t stay here in the square. It’s too dangerous.”


book: Judg
contenido:
So he took them home with him. He fed their donkeys while they rested, and afterward they had supper together.


book: Judg
contenido:
Just as they were beginning to warm to the occasion, a gang of sex perverts gathered around the house and began beating at the door and yelling at the old man to bring out the man who was staying with him, so they could rape him.


book: Judg
contenido:
The old man stepped outside to talk to them.
“No, my brothers, don’t do such a dastardly act,” he begged, “for he is my guest.


book: Judg
contenido:
Here, take my virgin daughter and this man’s wife. I’ll bring them out and you can do whatever you like to them—but don’t do such a thing to this man.”


book: Judg
contenido:
But they wouldn’t listen to him. Then the girl’s husband pushed her out to them, and they abused her all night, taking turns raping her until morning. Finally, just at dawn, they let her go.


book: Judg
contenido:
When her husband opened the door to be on his way, he found her there, fallen down in front of the door with her hands digging into the threshold.


book: Judg
contenido:
“Well, come on,” he said. “Let’s get going.”
But there was no answer, for she was dead; so he threw her across the donkey’s back and took her home.


book: Judg
contenido:
When he got there he took a knife and cut her body into twelve parts and sent one piece to each tribe of Israel.


book: Judg
contenido:
Then the entire nation was roused to action against the men of Benjamin because of this awful deed.
“There hasn’t been such a horrible crime since Israel left Egypt,” everyone said. “We’ve got to do something about it.”


book: Judg
contenido:
Then the entire nation of Israel sent their leaders and 450,000 troops to assemble with one mind before the Lord at Mizpah. They came from as far away as Dan and Beersheba, and everywhere between, and from across the Jordan in the land of Gilead.


book: Judg
contenido:
(Word of the mobilization of the Israeli forces at Mizpah soon reached the land of Benjamin.) The chiefs of Israel now called for the murdered woman’s husband and asked him just what had happened.


book: Judg
contenido:
“That night the men of Gibeah surrounded the house, planning to kill me, and they raped my wife until she was dead.


book: Judg
contenido:
So I cut her body into twelve pieces and sent the pieces throughout the land of Israel, for these men have committed a terrible crime.


book: Judg
contenido:
And as one man they replied, “Not one of us will return home until we have punished the village of Gibeah. A tenth of the army will be selected by lot as a supply line to bring us food, and the rest of us will destroy Gibeah for this horrible deed.”


book: Judg
contenido:
Then messengers were sent to the tribe of Benjamin, asking, “Did you know about the terrible thing that was done among you?


book: Judg
contenido:
Give up these evil men from the city of Gibeah so that we can execute them and purge Israel of her evil.” But the people of Benjamin wouldn’t listen.


book: Judg
contenido:
Instead, 26,000 of them arrived in Gibeah to join the 700 local men in their defense against the rest of Israel.


book: Judg
contenido:
(Among all these there were 700 men who were left-handed sharpshooters. They could hit a target within a hair’s breadth, never missing!)


book: Judg
contenido:
Before the battle the Israeli army went to Bethel first to ask counsel from God. “Which tribe shall lead us against the people of Benjamin?” they asked.
And the Lord replied, “Judah shall go first.”


book: Judg
contenido:
Then the Israeli army wept before the Lord until evening and asked him, “Shall we fight further against our brother Benjamin?”
And the Lord said, “Yes.” So the men of Israel took courage and went out again the next day to fight at the same place.


book: Judg
contenido:
Then the entire army went up to Bethel and wept before the Lord and fasted until evening, offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings.


book: Judg
contenido:
(The Ark of God was in Bethel in those days. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, was the priest.)
The men of Israel asked the Lord, “Shall we go out again and fight against our brother Benjamin, or shall we stop?”
And the Lord said, “Go, for tomorrow I will see to it that you defeat the men of Benjamin.”


book: Judg
contenido:
When the army of Benjamin came out of the town to attack, the Israeli forces retreated and Benjamin was drawn away from the town as they chased after Israel. And as they had done previously, Benjamin began to kill the men of Israel along the roadway running between Bethel and Gibeah, so that about thirty of them died.


book: Judg
contenido:
Then the army of Benjamin shouted, “We’re defeating them again!” But the armies of Israel had agreed in advance to run away so that the army of Benjamin would chase them and be drawn away from the town.


book: Judg
contenido:
But when the main army of Israel reached Baal-tamar, it turned and attacked, and the 10,000 men in ambush west of Geba jumped up from where they were


book: Judg
contenido:
and advanced against the rear of the army of Benjamin, who still didn’t realize the impending disaster.


book: Judg
contenido:
So the Lord helped Israel defeat Benjamin, and the Israeli army killed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, leaving but a tiny remnant of their forces.
Summary of the Battle: The army of Israel retreated from the men of Benjamin in order to give the ambush more room for maneuvering. When the men of Benjamin had killed about thirty of the Israelis, they were confident of a massive slaughter just as on the previous days. But then the men in ambush rushed into the village and slaughtered everyone in it, and set it on fire. The great cloud of smoke pouring into the sky was the signal for the Israeli army to turn around and attack the army of Benjamin,


book: Judg
contenido:
who now looked behind them and were terrified to discover that their city was on fire, and that they were in serious trouble.


book: Judg
contenido:
So they ran toward the wilderness, but the Israelis chased after them, and the men who had set the ambush came out and joined the slaughter from the rear.


book: Judg
contenido:
The rest of the army fled into the wilderness toward the rock of Rimmon, but 5,000 were killed along the way, and 2,000 more near Gidom.


book: Judg
contenido:
So the tribe of Benjamin lost 25,000 brave warriors that day, leaving only 600 men who escaped to the rock of Rimmon, where they lived for four months.


book: Judg
contenido:
Then the Israeli army returned and slaughtered the entire population of the tribe of Benjamin—men, women, children, and cattle—and burned down every city and village in the entire land.


book: Judg
contenido:
The leaders of Israel had vowed at Mizpah never to let their daughters marry a man from the tribe of Benjamin.


book: Judg
contenido:
“O Lord God of Israel,” they cried out, “why has this happened, that now one of our tribes is missing?”


book: Judg
contenido:
The next morning they were up early and built an altar, and offered sacrifices and peace offerings on it.


book: Judg
contenido:
And they said among themselves, “Was any tribe of Israel not represented when we held our council before the Lord at Mizpah?” For at that time it was agreed by solemn oath that anyone who refused to come must die.


book: Judg
contenido:
There was deep sadness throughout all Israel for the loss of their brother tribe, Benjamin.
“Gone,” they kept saying to themselves, “gone—an entire tribe of Israel has been cut off and is gone.


book: Judg
contenido:
And how shall we get wives for the few who remain, since we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters?”


book: Judg
contenido:
Then they thought again of their oath to kill anyone who refused to come to Mizpah and discovered that no one had attended from Jabesh-gilead.


book: Judg
contenido:
So they sent 12,000 of their best soldiers to destroy the people of Jabesh-gilead. All the men, married women, and children were slain, but the young virgins of marriageable age were saved. There were 400 of these, and they were brought to the camp at Shiloh.


book: Judg
contenido:
The 400 girls were given to them as wives, and they returned to their homes; but there were not enough of these girls for all of them.


book: Judg
contenido:
(What a sad time it was in Israel in those days because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.)


book: Judg
contenido:
“What shall we do for wives for the others, since all the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead?” the leaders of Israel asked.


book: Judg
contenido:
“There must be some way to get wives for them, so that an entire tribe of Israel will not be lost forever.


book: Judg
contenido:
But we can’t give them our own daughters. We have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this shall be cursed of God.”


book: Judg
contenido:
Suddenly someone thought of the annual religious festival held in the fields of Shiloh, between Lebonah and Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem.


book: Judg
contenido:
and when the girls of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out and catch them and take them home with you to be your wives!


book: Judg
contenido:
And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, ‘Please be understanding and let them have your daughters, for we didn’t find enough wives for them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead, and you couldn’t have given your daughters to them without being guilty.’”


book: Judg
contenido:
So the men of Benjamin did as they were told and kidnapped the girls who took part in the celebration, and carried them off to their own land. Then they rebuilt their cities and lived in them.


book: Ruth
contenido:
Long ago when judges ruled in Israel, a man named Elimelech, from Bethlehem, left the country because of a famine and moved to the land of Moab. With him were his wife, Naomi, and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion.


book: Ruth
contenido:
These young men, Mahlon and Chilion, married girls of Moab, Orpah and Ruth. But later, both men died, so that Naomi was left alone, without her husband or sons.


book: Ruth
contenido:
She decided to return to Israel with her daughters-in-law, for she had heard that the Lord had blessed his people by giving them good crops again.


book: Ruth
contenido:
But after they had begun their homeward journey, she changed her mind and said to her two daughters-in-law, “Why don’t you return to your parents’ homes instead of coming with me? And may the Lord reward you for your faithfulness to your husbands and to me.


book: Ruth
contenido:
And may he bless you with another happy marriage.” Then she kissed them, and they all broke down and cried.


book: Ruth
contenido:
But Naomi replied, “It is better for you to return to your own people. Do I have younger sons who could grow up to be your husbands?


book: Ruth
contenido:
No, my daughters, return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to have a husband. And even if that were possible, and I became pregnant tonight, and bore sons


book: Ruth
contenido:
would you wait for them to grow up? No, of course not, my daughters; oh, how I grieve for you that the Lord has punished me in a way that injures you.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
And again they cried together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, and returned to her childhood home; but Ruth insisted on staying with Naomi.


book: Ruth
contenido:
“See,” Naomi said to her, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; you should do the same.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
But Ruth replied, “Don’t make me leave you, for I want to go wherever you go and to live wherever you live; your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my God;


book: Ruth
contenido:
I want to die where you die and be buried there. May the Lord do terrible things to me if I allow anything but death to separate us.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
And when Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind and could not be persuaded otherwise, she stopped urging her.


book: Ruth
contenido:
So they both came to Bethlehem, and the entire village was stirred by their arrival.
“Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.


book: Ruth
contenido:
But she told them, “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” (Naomi means “pleasant”; Mara means “bitter”) “for Almighty God has dealt me bitter blows.


book: Ruth
contenido:
I went out full and the Lord has brought me home empty; why should you call me Naomi when the Lord has turned his back on me and sent such calamity!”


book: Ruth
contenido:
One day Ruth said to Naomi, “Perhaps I can go out into the fields of some kind man to glean the free grain behind his reapers.”
And Naomi said, “All right, dear daughter. Go ahead.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
So she did. And as it happened, the field where she found herself belonged to Boaz, this relative of Naomi’s husband.


book: Ruth
contenido:
Boaz arrived from the city while she was there. After exchanging greetings with the reapers he said to his foreman, “Hey, who’s that girl over there?”


book: Ruth
contenido:
She asked me this morning if she could pick up the grains dropped by the reapers, and she has been at it ever since except for a few minutes’ rest over there in the shade.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
Boaz went over and talked to her. “Listen, my child,” he said to her. “Stay right here with us to glean; don’t think of going to any other fields. Stay right behind my women workers; I have warned the young men not to bother you; when you are thirsty, go and help yourself to the water.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
She thanked him warmly. “How can you be so kind to me?” she asked. “You must know I am only a foreigner.”
“Yes, I know,” Boaz replied, “and I also know about all the love and kindness you have shown your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you left your father and mother in your own land and have come here to live among strangers.


book: Ruth
contenido:
At lunchtime Boaz called to her, “Come and eat with us.”
So she sat with his reapers and he gave her food, more than she could eat.


book: Ruth
contenido:
And when she went back to work again, Boaz told his young men to let her glean right among the sheaves without stopping her,


book: Ruth
contenido:
and to snap off some heads of barley and drop them on purpose for her to glean, and not to make any remarks.


book: Ruth
contenido:
So she worked there all day, and in the evening when she had beaten out the barley she had gleaned, it came to a whole bushel!


book: Ruth
contenido:
She carried it back into the city and gave it to her mother-in-law, with what was left of her lunch.


book: Ruth
contenido:
“So much!” Naomi exclaimed. “Where in the world did you glean today? Praise the Lord for whoever was so kind to you.” So Ruth told her mother-in-law all about it and mentioned that the owner of the field was Boaz.


book: Ruth
contenido:
“Praise the Lord for a man like that! God has continued his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband!” Naomi cried excitedly. “Why, that man is one of our closest relatives!”


book: Ruth
contenido:
“Well,” Ruth told her, “he said to come back and stay close behind his reapers until the entire field is harvested.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
“This is wonderful!” Naomi exclaimed. “Do as he has said. Stay with his girls right through the whole harvest; you will be safer there than in any other field!”


book: Ruth
contenido:
So Ruth did and gleaned with them until the end of the barley harvest, and then the wheat harvest too.


book: Ruth
contenido:
One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My dear, isn’t it time that I try to find a husband for you and get you happily married again?


book: Ruth
contenido:
The man I’m thinking of is Boaz! He has been so kind to us and is a close relative. I happen to know that he will be winnowing barley tonight out on the threshing floor.


book: Ruth
contenido:
Now do what I tell you—bathe and put on some perfume and some nice clothes and go on down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him see you until he has finished his supper.


book: Ruth
contenido:
Notice where he lies down to sleep; then go and lift the cover off his feet and lie down there, and he will tell you what to do concerning marriage.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed her mother-in-law’s instructions. After Boaz had finished a good meal, he lay down very contentedly beside a heap of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly and lifted the covering off his feet and lay there.


book: Ruth
contenido:
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“It’s I, sir—Ruth,” she replied. “Make me your wife according to God’s law, for you are my close relative.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
“Thank God for a girl like you!” he exclaimed. “For you are being even kinder to Naomi now than before. Naturally you’d prefer a younger man, even though poor. But you have put aside your personal desires.


book: Ruth
contenido:
Now don’t worry about a thing, my child; I’ll handle all the details, for everyone knows what a wonderful person you are.


book: Ruth
contenido:
But there is one problem. It’s true that I am a close relative, but there is someone else who is more closely related to you than I am.


book: Ruth
contenido:
Stay here tonight, and in the morning I’ll talk to him, and if he will marry you, fine; let him do his duty; but if he won’t, then I will, I swear by Jehovah; lie down until the morning.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
So she lay at his feet until the morning and was up early, before daybreak, for he had said to her, “Don’t let it be known that a woman was here at the threshing floor.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
“Bring your shawl,” he told her. Then he tied up a bushel and a half of barley in it as a present for her mother-in-law and laid it on her back. Then she returned to the city.
“Well, what happened, dear?” Naomi asked her when she arrived home. She told Naomi everything and gave her the barley from Boaz, and mentioned his remark that she mustn’t go home without a present.
Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient until we hear what happens, for Boaz won’t rest until he has followed through on this. He’ll settle it today.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
So Boaz went down to the marketplace and found the relative he had mentioned.
“Say, come over here,” he called to him. “I want to talk to you a minute.”
So they sat down together.


book: Ruth
contenido:
Boaz said to his relative, “You know Naomi, who came back to us from Moab. She is selling our brother Elimelech’s property.


book: Ruth
contenido:
I felt that I should speak to you about it so that you can buy it if you wish, with these respected men as witnesses. If you want it, let me know right away, for if you don’t take it, I will. You have the first right to purchase it and I am next.”
The man replied, “All right, I’ll buy it.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
Then Boaz told him, “Your purchase of the land from Naomi requires your marriage to Ruth so that she can have children to carry on her husband’s name and to inherit the land.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
“Then I can’t do it,” the man replied. “For her son would become an heir to my property too; you buy it.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
In those days it was the custom in Israel for a man transferring a right of purchase to pull off his sandal and hand it to the other party; this publicly validated the transaction.


book: Ruth
contenido:
Then Boaz said to the witnesses and to the crowd standing around, “You have seen that today I have bought all the property of Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon, from Naomi,


book: Ruth
contenido:
and that with it I have purchased Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife, so that she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
And all the people standing there and the witnesses replied, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make this woman, who has now come into your home, as fertile as Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you be a great and successful man in Bethlehem,


book: Ruth
contenido:
and may the descendants the Lord will give you from this young woman be as numerous and honorable as those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”


book: Ruth
contenido:
And the women of the city said to Naomi, “Bless the Lord who has given you this little grandson; may he be famous in Israel.


book: Ruth
contenido:
May he restore your youth and take care of you in your old age; for he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you so much, and who has been kinder to you than seven sons!”


book: Ruth
contenido:
Naomi took care of the baby, and the neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!”
And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse and grandfather of King David.


book: Ruth
contenido:
This is the family tree of Boaz, beginning with his ancestor Perez: Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nashon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
This is the story of Elkanah, a man of the tribe of Ephraim who lived in Ramathaim-zophim, in the hills of Ephraim.
His father’s name was Jeroham,
His grandfather was Elihu,
His great-grandfather was Tohu,
His great-great-grandfather was Zuph.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Each year Elkanah and his families journeyed to the Tabernacle at Shiloh to worship the Lord of the heavens and to sacrifice to him. (The priests on duty at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas.)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
On the day he presented his sacrifice, Elkanah would celebrate the happy occasion by giving presents to Peninnah and her children;


book: 1Sam
contenido:
but although he loved Hannah very much, he could give her only one present, for the Lord had sealed her womb; so she had no children to give presents to.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Every year it was the same—Peninnah scoffing and laughing at her as they went to Shiloh, making her cry so much she couldn’t eat.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“What’s the matter, Hannah?” Elkanah would exclaim. “Why aren’t you eating? Why make such a fuss over having no children? Isn’t having me better than having ten sons?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
One evening after supper, when they were at Shiloh, Hannah went over to the Tabernacle. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And she made this vow: “O Lord of heaven, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you, and he’ll be yours for his entire lifetime, and his hair shall never be cut.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Eli noticed her mouth moving as she was praying silently and, hearing no sound, thought she had been drinking.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Oh no, sir!” she replied, “I’m not drunk! But I am very sad and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Please don’t think that I am just some drunken bum!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“In that case,” Eli said, “cheer up! May the Lord of Israel grant you your petition, whatever it is!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The entire family was up early the next morning and went to the Tabernacle to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah, and when Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her petition; in the process of time, a baby boy was born to her. She named him Samuel (meaning “asked of God”) because, as she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The next year Elkanah and Peninnah and her children went on the annual trip to the Tabernacle without Hannah, for she told her husband, “Wait until the baby is weaned, and then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Well, whatever you think best,” Elkanah agreed. “May the Lord’s will be done.”
So she stayed home until the baby was weaned.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then, though he was still so small, they took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh, along with a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice, and a bushel of flour and some wine.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked him. “I am the woman who stood here that time praying to the Lord!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
and now I am giving him to the Lord for as long as he lives.” So she left him there at the Tabernacle for the Lord to use.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
This was Hannah’s prayer:
“How I rejoice in the Lord!
How he has blessed me!
Now I have an answer for my enemies,
For the Lord has solved my problem.
How I rejoice!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Those who were well are now starving;
Those who were starving are fed.
The barren woman now has seven children;
She with many children has no more!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He lifts the poor from the dust—
Yes, from a pile of ashes—
And treats them as princes
Sitting in the seats of honor.
For all the earth is the Lord’s
And he has set the world in order.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He will protect his godly ones,
But the wicked shall be silenced in darkness.
No one shall succeed by strength alone.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Those who fight against the Lord shall be broken;
He thunders against them from heaven.
He judges throughout the earth.
He gives mighty strength to his king,
And gives great glory to his anointed one.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they returned home to Ramah without Samuel; and the child became the Lord’s helper, for he assisted Eli the priest.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
It was their regular practice to send out a servant whenever anyone was offering a sacrifice, and while the flesh of the sacrificed animal was boiling, the servant would put a three-pronged flesh hook into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. They treated all of the Israelites in this way when they came to Shiloh to worship.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Sometimes the servant would come even before the rite of burning the fat on the altar had been performed, and he would demand raw meat before it was boiled, so that it could be used for roasting.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
If the man offering the sacrifice replied, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must first be burned as the law requires,” then the servant would say, “No, give it to me now or I’ll take it by force.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So the sin of these young men was very great in the eyes of the Lord; for they treated the people’s offerings to the Lord with contempt.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Samuel, though only a child, was the Lord’s helper and wore a little linen robe just like the priest’s.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Each year his mother made a little coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Before they returned home Eli would bless Elkanah and Hannah and ask God to give them other children to take the place of this one they had given to the Lord.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And the Lord gave Hannah three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile Samuel grew up in the service of the Lord.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Eli was now very old, but he was aware of what was going on around him. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“I have been hearing terrible reports from the Lord’s people about what you are doing,” Eli told his sons. “It is an awful thing to make the Lord’s people sin. Ordinary sin receives heavy punishment, but how much more this sin of yours that has been committed against the Lord!” But they wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to kill them.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Little Samuel was growing in two ways—he was getting taller, and he was becoming everyone’s favorite (and he was a favorite of the Lord’s, too!).


book: 1Sam
contenido:
One day a prophet came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: “Didn’t I demonstrate my power when the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt?


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Didn’t I choose your ancestor Levi from among all his brothers to be my priest, and to sacrifice upon my altar, and to burn incense, and to wear a priestly robe as he served me? And didn’t I assign the sacrificial offerings to you priests?


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then why are you so greedy for all the other offerings which are brought to me? Why have you honored your sons more than me—for you and they have become fat from the best of the offerings of my people!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Therefore, I, the Lord God of Israel, declare that although I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi could always be my priests, it is ridiculous to think that what you are doing can continue. I will honor only those who honor me, and I will despise those who despise me.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
I will put an end to your family, so that it will no longer serve as priests. Every member will die before his time. None shall live to be old.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
You will envy the prosperity I will give my people, but you and your family will be in distress and need. Not one of them will live out his days.


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contenido:
And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!


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contenido:
“Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do whatever I tell him to do. I will bless his descendants, and his family shall be priests to my kings forever.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then all of your descendants shall bow before him, begging for money and food. ‘Please,’ they will say, ‘give me a job among the priests so that I will have enough to eat.’”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Meanwhile little Samuel was helping the Lord by assisting Eli. Messages from the Lord were very rare in those days,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
but one night after Eli had gone to bed (he was almost blind with age by now), and Samuel was sleeping in the Temple near the Ark,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
the Lord called out, “Samuel! Samuel!”
“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” He jumped up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. What do you want?” he asked.
“I didn’t call you,” Eli said. “Go on back to bed.” So he did.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then the Lord called again, “Samuel!” And again Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli.
“Yes?” he asked. “What do you need?”
“No, I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go on back to bed.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So now the Lord called the third time, and once more Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli.
“Yes?” he asked. “What do you need?”
Then Eli realized it was the Lord who had spoken to the child.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if he calls again, say, ‘Yes, Lord, I’m listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
I have continually threatened him and his entire family with punishment because his sons are blaspheming God, and he doesn’t stop them.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and of his sons shall never be forgiven by sacrifices and offerings.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then opened the doors of the Temple as usual, for he was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But Eli called him.
“My son,” he said, “what did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God punish you if you hide anything from me!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So Samuel told him what the Lord had said.
“It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied; “let him do what he thinks best.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And all Israel from one end of the land to the other knew that Samuel was going to be a prophet of the Lord.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
4 and he passed them on to the people of Israel.
At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israeli army was camped near Ebenezer, the Philistines at Aphek.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
After the battle was over, the army of Israel returned to their camp and their leaders discussed why the Lord had let them be defeated.
“Let’s bring the Ark here from Shiloh,” they said. “If we carry it into battle with us, the Lord will be among us and he will surely save us from our enemies.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they sent for the Ark of the Lord of heaven who is enthroned above the angels. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, accompanied it into the battle.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When the Israelis saw the Ark coming, their shout of joy was so loud that it almost made the ground shake!


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contenido:
“What’s going on?” the Philistines asked. “What’s all the shouting about over in the camp of the Hebrews?”
When they were told it was because the Ark of the Lord had arrived,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
they panicked.
“God has come into their camp!” they cried out. “Woe upon us, for we have never had to face anything like this before!


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contenido:
Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness.


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contenido:
Fight as you never have before, O Philistines, or we will become their slaves just as they have been ours.”


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contenido:
So the Philistines fought desperately and Israel was defeated again. Thirty thousand men of Israel died that day, and the remainder fled to their tents.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle and arrived at Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. As the messenger from the battlefront arrived and told what had happened, a great cry arose throughout the city.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“What is all the noise about?” Eli asked. And the messenger rushed over to Eli and told him what had happened.


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contenido:
“and Israel has been defeated and thousands of the Israeli troops are dead on the battlefield. Hophni and Phinehas were killed too, and the Ark has been captured.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate and his neck was broken by the fall, and he died (for he was old and fat). He had judged Israel for forty years.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When Eli’s daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, who was pregnant, heard that the Ark had been captured and that her husband and father-in-law were dead, her labor pains suddenly began.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Just before she died, the women who were attending her told her that everything was all right and that the baby was a boy. But she did not reply or respond in any way.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then she murmured, “Name the child ‘Ichabod,’ for Israel’s glory is gone.” (Ichabod means “there is no glory.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her husband and her father-in-law were dead.)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The Philistines took the captured Ark of God from the battleground at Ebenezer to the temple of their idol Dagon in the city of Ashdod.


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contenido:
But when the local citizens went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground before the Ark of Jehovah! They set him up again,


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contenido:
but the next morning the same thing had happened—the idol had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had been cut off and were lying in the doorway; only the trunk of his body was left intact.


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contenido:
(That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor his worshipers will walk on the threshold of the temple of Dagon in Ashdod.)


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contenido:
When the people realized what was happening, they exclaimed, “We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer. We will all perish along with our god Dagon.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they called a conference of the mayors of the five cities of the Philistines to decide how to dispose of the Ark. The decision was to take it to Gath.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the Lord began destroying its people, young and old, with the plague, and there was a great panic.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they sent the Ark to Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, “They are bringing the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us too!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they summoned the mayors again and begged them to send the Ark back to its own country, lest the entire city die. For the plague had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the city.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then the Philistines called for their priests and diviners and asked them, “What shall we do about the Ark of God? What sort of gift shall we send with it when we return it to its own land?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Yes, send it back with a gift,” they were told. “Send a guilt offering so that the plague will stop. Then, if it doesn’t, you will know God didn’t send the plague upon you after all.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“What guilt offering shall we send?” they asked.
And they were told, “Send five gold models of the tumor caused by the plague, and five gold models of the rats that have ravaged the whole land—the capital cities and villages alike. If you send these gifts and then praise the God of Israel, perhaps he will stop persecuting you and your god.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Don’t be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. They wouldn’t let Israel go until God had destroyed them with dreadful plagues.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Now build a new cart and hitch to it two cows that have just had calves—cows that never before have been yoked—and shut their calves away from them in the barn.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Place the Ark of God on the cart beside a chest containing the gold models of the rats and tumors, and let the cows go wherever they want to.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
If they cross the border of our land and go into Beth-shemesh, then you will know that it was God who brought this great evil upon us; if they don’t but return to their calves, then we will know that the plague was simply a coincidence and was not sent by God at all.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So these instructions were carried out. Two cows with newborn calves were hitched to the cart and their calves were shut up in the barn.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then the Ark of the Lord and the chest containing the gold rats and tumors were placed upon the cart.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And sure enough, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went; and the Philistine mayors followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The people of Beth-shemesh were reaping wheat in the valley, and when they saw the Ark, they went wild with joy!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The cart came into the field of a man named Joshua and stopped beside a large rock. So the people broke up the wood of the cart for a fire and killed the cows and sacrificed them to the Lord as a burnt offering.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Several men of the tribe of Levi lifted the Ark and the chest containing the gold rats and tumors from the cart and laid them on the rock. And many burnt offerings and sacrifices were offered to the Lord that day by the men of Beth-shemesh.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The five gold models of tumors which had been sent by the Philistines as a guilt offering to the Lord were gifts from the mayors of the capital cities, Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The gold rats were to placate God for the other Philistine cities, both the fortified cities and the country villages controlled by the five capitals. (By the way, that large rock at Beth-shemesh can still be seen in the field of Joshua.)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But the Lord killed seventy of the men of Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark. And the people mourned because of the many people whom the Lord had killed.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God?” they cried out. “Where can we send the Ark from here?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they sent messengers to the people at Kiriath-jearim and told them that the Philistines had brought back the Ark of the Lord.
“Come and get it!” they begged.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the Ark to the hillside home of Abinadab and installed his son Eleazar to be in charge of it.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The Ark remained there for twenty years, and during that time all Israel was in sorrow because the Lord had seemingly abandoned them.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
At that time Samuel said to them, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your Ashtaroth idols. Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they gathered there and, in a great ceremony, drew water from the well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day as a sign of sorrow for their sins. So it was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When the Philistine leaders heard about the great crowds at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelis were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering and pleaded with him to help Israel. And the Lord responded.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived for battle, but the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven, and they were thrown into confusion, and the Israelis routed them


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Samuel then took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Jeshanah and named it Ebenezer (meaning, “the Stone of Help”), for he said, “The Lord has certainly helped us!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again at that time because the Lord was against them throughout the remainder of Samuel’s lifetime.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The Israeli cities between Ekron and Gath, which had been conquered by the Philistines, were now returned to Israel, for the Israeli army rescued them from their Philistine captors. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He rode circuit annually, setting up his court first at Bethel, then Gilgal, and then Mizpah, and cases of dispute were brought to him in each of those three cities from all the surrounding territory.


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contenido:
Then he would come back to Ramah, for his home was there, and he would hear cases there too. And he built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.


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contenido:
but they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and were very corrupt in the administration of justice.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
They told him that since his retirement things hadn’t been the same, for his sons were not good men.
“Give us a king like all the other nations have,” they pleaded.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Do as they say,” the Lord replied, “for I am the one they are rejecting, not you—they don’t want me to be their king any longer.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually forsaken me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.


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contenido:
some will be made to lead his troops into battle, while others will be slave laborers; they will be forced to plow in the royal fields and harvest his crops without pay, and make his weapons and chariot equipment.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his friends.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He will demand your slaves and the finest of your youth and will use your animals for his personal gain.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
and the Lord replied again, “Then do as they say and give them a king.”
So Samuel agreed and sent the men home again.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Kish was a rich, influential man from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, great-grandson of Becorath, and great-great-grandson of Aphiah.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel. And he was head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
They traveled all through the hill country of Ephraim, the land of Shalisha, the Shaalim area, and the entire land of Benjamin, but couldn’t find them anywhere.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Finally, after searching in the land of Zuph, Saul said to the servant, “Let’s go home; by now my father will be more worried about us than about the donkeys!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But the servant said, “I’ve just thought of something! There is a prophet who lives here in this city; he is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true; let’s go and find him, and perhaps he can tell us where the donkeys are.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“But we don’t have anything to pay him with,” Saul replied. “Even our food is gone, and we don’t have a thing to give him.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“All right,” Saul agreed, “let’s try it!”
So they started into the city where the prophet lived. As they were climbing a hill toward the city, they saw some young girls going out to draw water and asked them if they knew whether the seer was in town. (In those days prophets were called seers. “Let’s go and ask the seer,” people would say, rather than, “Let’s go and ask the prophet,” as we would say now.)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Yes,” they replied, “stay right on this road. He lives just inside the city gates. He has just arrived back from a trip to take part in a public sacrifice up on the hill. So hurry, because he’ll probably be leaving about the time you get there; the guests can’t eat until he arrives and blesses the food.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they went into the city, and as they were entering the gates they saw Samuel coming out toward them to go up the hill.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. You are to anoint him as the leader of my people. He will save them from the Philistines, for I have looked down on them in mercy and have heard their cry.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“I am the seer!” Samuel replied. “Go on up the hill ahead of me and we’ll eat together; in the morning I will tell you what you want to know and send you on your way.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And don’t worry about those donkeys that were lost three days ago, for they have been found. And anyway, you own all the wealth of Israel now!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Pardon me, sir,” Saul replied. “I’m from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of the tribe! You must have the wrong man!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Samuel took Saul and his servant into the great hall and placed them at the head of the table, honoring them above the thirty special guests.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Samuel then instructed the chef to bring Saul the choicest cut of meat, the piece that had been set aside for the guest of honor.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So the chef brought it in and placed it before Saul.
“Go ahead and eat it,” Samuel said, “for I was saving it for you, even before I invited these others!”
So Saul ate with Samuel.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
After the feast, when they had returned to the city, Samuel took Saul up to the porch on the roof and talked with him there.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
At daybreak the next morning, Samuel called up to him, “Get up; it’s time you were on your way!”
So Saul got up, and Samuel accompanied him to the edge of the city. When they reached the city walls, Samuel told Saul to send the servant on ahead. Then he told him, “I have received a special message for you from the Lord.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head, and kissed him on the cheek and said,
“I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the king of his people, Israel!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When you leave me, you will see two men beside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, in the land of Benjamin; they will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father is worried about you and is asking, ‘How am I to find my son?’


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And when you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at the altar at Bethel; one will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will have a bottle of wine.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
After that you will come to Gibeath-elohim, also known as “God’s Hill,” where the garrison of the Philistines is. As you arrive there you will meet a band of prophets coming down the hill playing a psaltery, a timbrel, a flute, and a harp, and prophesying as they come.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come mightily upon you and you will prophesy with them, and you will feel and act like a different person.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
From that time on your decisions should be based on whatever seems best under the circumstances, for the Lord will guide you.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Go to Gilgal and wait there seven days for me, for I will be coming to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. I will give you further instructions when I arrive.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
As Saul said good-bye and started to go, God gave him a new attitude, and all of Samuel’s prophecies came true that day.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When Saul and the servant arrived at the Hill of God, they saw the prophets coming toward them, and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he too began to prophesy.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And one of the neighbors added, “With a father like his?” So that is the origin of the proverb, “Is Saul a prophet too?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Where in the world did you go?” Saul’s uncle asked him.
And Saul replied, “We went to look for the donkeys, but we couldn’t find them; so we went to the prophet Samuel to ask him where they were.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“He said the donkeys had been found!” Saul replied. (But he didn’t tell him that he had been anointed as king!)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
and gave them this message from the Lord God: “I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were torturing you. But although I have done so much for you, you have rejected me and have said, ‘We want a king instead!’ All right, then, present yourselves before the Lord by tribes and clans.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So Samuel called the tribal leaders together before the Lord, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by sacred lot.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the Lord, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally the sacred lot selected Saul, the son of Kish. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they asked the Lord, “Where is he? Is he here among us?”
And the Lord replied, “He is hiding in the baggage.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the Lord has chosen as your king. There isn’t his equal in all of Israel!”
And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Samuel told the people again what the rights and duties of a king were; he wrote them in a book and put it in a special place before the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people home again.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a band of men whose hearts the Lord had touched became his constant companions.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
There were, however, some bums and loafers who exclaimed, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and refused to bring him presents, but he took no notice.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
At this time Nahash led the army of the Ammonites against the Israeli city of Jabesh-gilead. But the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace. “Leave us alone and we will be your servants,” they pleaded.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“All right,” Nahash said, “but only on one condition: I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace upon all Israel!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Give us seven days to see if we can get some help!” replied the elders of Jabesh. “If none of our brothers will come and save us, we will agree to your terms.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When a messenger came to Gibeah, Saul’s hometown, and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul was plowing in the field, and when he returned to town he asked, “What’s the matter? Why is everyone crying?”
So they told him about the message from Jabesh.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent messengers to carry them throughout all Israel.
“This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel to battle!” he announced. And God caused the people to be afraid of Saul’s anger, and they came to him as one man.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He counted them in Bezek and found that there were three hundred thousand of them in addition to thirty thousand from Judah.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So he sent the messengers back to Jabesh-gilead to say, “We will rescue you before tomorrow noon!” What joy there was throughout the city when that message arrived!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The men of Jabesh then told their enemies, “We surrender. Tomorrow we will come out to you and you can do to us as you wish.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But early the next morning Saul arrived, having divided his army into three detachments, and launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites and slaughtered them all morning. The remnant of their army was so badly scattered that no two of them were left together.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then the people exclaimed to Samuel, “Where are those men who said that Saul shouldn’t be our king? Bring them here and we will kill them!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they went to Gilgal and in a solemn ceremony before the Lord they crowned him king. Then they offered peace offerings to the Lord, and Saul and all Israel were very happy.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Samuel addressed the people again:
“Look,” he said, “I have done as you asked. I have given you a king.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
I have selected him ahead of my own sons and now I stand here, an old, gray-haired man who has been in public service from the time he was a lad.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Now tell me as I stand before the Lord and before his anointed king—whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever defrauded you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“No,” they replied, “you have never defrauded or oppressed us in any way and you have never taken even one single bribe.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“The Lord and his anointed king are my witnesses,” Samuel declared, “that you can never accuse me of robbing you.”
“Yes, it is true,” they replied.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“It was the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron,” Samuel continued. “He brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Now stand here quietly before the Lord as I remind you of all the good things he has done for you and for your ancestors:


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“When the Israelites were in Egypt and cried out to the Lord, he sent Moses and Aaron to bring them into this land.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But they soon forgot about the Lord their God, so he let them be conquered by Sisera, the general of King Hazor’s army, and by the Philistines and the king of Moab.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Then they cried to the Lord again and confessed that they had sinned by turning away from him and worshiping the Baal and Ashtaroth idols. And they pleaded, ‘We will worship you and you alone if you will only rescue us from our enemies.’


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“But when you were afraid of Nahash, the king of Ammon, you came to me and said that you wanted a king to reign over you. But the Lord your God was already your King, for he has always been your King.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
All right, here is the king you have chosen. Look him over. You have asked for him, and the Lord has answered your request.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Now if you will fear and worship the Lord, and listen to his commandments and not rebel against the Lord, and if both you and your king follow the Lord your God, then all will be well.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But if you rebel against the Lord’s commandments and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
You know that it does not rain at this time of the year, during the wheat harvest; I will pray for the Lord to send thunder and rain today, so that you will realize the extent of your wickedness in asking for a king!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain; and all the people were very much afraid of the Lord and of Samuel.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Pray for us lest we die!” they cried out to Samuel. “For now we have added to all our other sins by asking for a king.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Don’t be frightened,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with true enthusiasm, and that you don’t turn your back on him in any way.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The Lord will not abandon his chosen people, for that would dishonor his great name. He made you a special nation for himself—just because he wanted to!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you; and I will continue to teach you those things which are good and right.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
he selected three thousand special troops and took two thousand of them with him to Michmash and Mount Bethel while the other thousand remained with Jonathan, Saul’s son, in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. The rest of the army was sent home.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Jonathan attacked and destroyed the garrison of the Philistines at Geba. The news spread quickly throughout the land of the Philistines, and Saul sounded the call to arms throughout Israel. He announced that he had destroyed the Philistine garrison and warned his men that the army of Israel stank to high heaven as far as the Philistines were concerned. So the entire Israeli army mobilized again and joined at Gilgal.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The Philistines recruited a mighty army of three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and so many soldiers that they were as thick as sand along the seashore; and they camped at Michmash east of Beth-aven.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When the men of Israel saw the vast mass of enemy troops, they lost their nerve entirely and tried to hide in caves, thickets, coverts, among the rocks, and even in tombs and cisterns.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped to the land of Gad and Gilead. Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and those who were with him trembled with fear at what awaited them.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Samuel had told Saul earlier to wait seven days for his arrival, but when he still didn’t come, and Saul’s troops were rapidly slipping away,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But just as he was finishing, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and to receive his blessing,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?”
“Well,” Saul replied, “when I saw that my men were scattering from me, and that you hadn’t arrived by the time you said you would, and that the Philistines were at Michmash, ready for battle,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I reluctantly offered the burnt offering without waiting for you to arrive.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“You fool!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have disobeyed the commandment of the Lord your God. He was planning to make you and your descendants kings of Israel forever,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
but now your dynasty must end; for the Lord wants a man who will obey him. And he has discovered the man he wants and has already appointed him as king over his people; for you have not obeyed the Lord’s commandment.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Samuel then left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.
When Saul counted the soldiers who were still with him, he found only six hundred left!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul and Jonathan and these six hundred men set up their camp in Geba in the land of Benjamin; but the Philistines stayed at Michmash.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Three companies of raiders soon left the camp of the Philistines; one went toward Ophrah in the land of Shual,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
another went to Beth-horon, and the third moved toward the border above the valley of Zeboim near the desert.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
There were no blacksmiths at all in the land of Israel in those days, for the Philistines wouldn’t allow them for fear of their making swords and spears for the Hebrews.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen their plowshares, discs, axes, or sickles, they had to take them to a Philistine blacksmith.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The schedule of charges was as follows:
For sharpening a plow point, 60¢
For sharpening a disc, 60¢
For sharpening an ax, 30¢
For sharpening a sickle, 30¢
For sharpening an ox goad, 30¢


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So there was not a single sword or spear in the entire “army” of Israel that day, except for Saul’s and Jonathan’s.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
A day or so later, Prince Jonathan said to his young bodyguard, “Come on, let’s cross the valley to the garrison of the Philistines.” But he didn’t tell his father that he was leaving.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul and his six hundred men were camped at the edge of Gibeah, around the pomegranate tree at Migron.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Among his men was Ahijah the priest (the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother; Ahitub was the son of Phinehas and the grandson of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh).
No one realized that Jonathan had gone.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
To reach the Philistine garrison, Jonathan had to go over a narrow pass between two rocky crags which had been named Bozez and Seneh.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Yes, let’s go across to those heathen,” Jonathan had said to his bodyguard. “Perhaps the Lord will do a miracle for us. For it makes no difference to him how many enemy troops there are!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Fine!” the youth replied. “Do as you think best; I’m with you heart and soul, whatever you decide.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“When they see us, if they say, ‘Stay where you are or we’ll kill you!’ then we will stop and wait for them.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But if they say, ‘Come on up and fight!’ then we will do just that; for it will be God’s signal that he will help us defeat them!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When the Philistines saw them coming they shouted, “Look! The Israelis are crawling out of their holes!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then they shouted to Jonathan, “Come on up here and we’ll show you how to fight!”
“Come on, climb right behind me,” Jonathan exclaimed to his bodyguard, “for the Lord will help us defeat them!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So they clambered up on their hands and knees, and the Philistines fell back as Jonathan and the lad killed them right and left,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Suddenly panic broke out throughout the entire Philistine army, and even among the raiders. And just then there was a great earthquake, increasing the terror.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul’s lookouts in Gibeah saw a strange sight—the vast army of the Philistines began to melt away in all directions.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Find out who isn’t here,” Saul ordered. And when they had checked, they found that Jonathan and his bodyguard were gone.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Bring the Ark of God,” Saul shouted to Ahijah. (For the Ark was among the people of Israel at that time.)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But while Saul was talking to the priest, the shouting and the tumult in the camp of the Philistines grew louder and louder. “Quick! What does God say?” Saul demanded.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Saul and his six hundred men rushed out to the battle and found the Philistines killing each other, and there was terrible confusion everywhere.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And now the Hebrews who had been drafted into the Philistine army revolted and joined with the Israelis.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Finally even the men hiding in the hills joined the chase when they saw that the Philistines were running away.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul had declared, “A curse upon anyone who eats anything before evening—before I have full revenge on my enemies.” So no one ate anything all day, even though they found honeycomb on the ground in the forest,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Jonathan, however, had not heard his father’s command; so he dipped a stick into a honeycomb, and when he had eaten the honey he felt much better.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then someone told him that his father had laid a curse upon anyone who ate food that day, and everyone was weary and faint as a result.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“That’s ridiculous!” Jonathan exclaimed. “A command like that only hurts us. See how much better I feel now that I have eaten this little bit of honey.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
If the people had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more we could have slaughtered!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But hungry as they were, they chased and killed the Philistines all day from Michmash to Aijalon, growing more and more faint.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
That evening they flew upon the battle loot and butchered the sheep, oxen, and calves, and ate the raw, bloody meat.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Someone reported to Saul what was happening, that the people were sinning against the Lord by eating blood.
“That is very wrong,” Saul said. “Roll a great stone over here,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
and go out among the troops and tell them to bring the oxen and sheep here to kill and drain them, and not to sin against the Lord by eating the blood.” So that is what they did.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Afterwards Saul said, “Let’s chase the Philistines all night and destroy every last one of them.”
“Fine!” his men replied. “Do as you think best.”
But the priest said, “Let’s ask God first.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So Saul asked God, “Shall we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?” But the Lord made no reply all night.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
I vow by the name of the God who saved Israel that though the sinner be my own son Jonathan, he shall surely die!” But no one would tell him what the trouble was.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Saul proposed, “Jonathan and I will stand over here, and all of you stand over there.” And the people agreed.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why haven’t you answered my question? What is wrong? Are Jonathan and I guilty, or is the sin among the others? O Lord God, show us who is guilty.” And Jonathan and Saul were chosen by sacred lot as the guilty ones, and the people were declared innocent.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Tell me what you’ve done,” Saul demanded of Jonathan.
“I tasted a little honey,” Jonathan admitted. “It was only a little bit on the end of a stick; but now I must die.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Yes, Jonathan,” Saul said, “you must die; may God strike me dead if you are not executed for this.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But the troops retorted, “Jonathan, who saved Israel today, shall die? Far from it! We vow by the life of God that not one hair on his head will be touched, for he has been used of God to do a mighty miracle today.” So the people rescued Jonathan.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And now, since he was securely in the saddle as king of Israel, Saul sent the Israeli army out in every direction against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he was successful.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He did great deeds and conquered the Amalekites and saved Israel from all those who had been their conquerors.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the general-in-chief of his army was his cousin Abner, his uncle Ner’s son. (Abner’s father, Ner, and Saul’s father, Kish, were brothers; both were the sons of Abiel.)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The Israelis fought constantly with the Philistines throughout Saul’s lifetime. And whenever Saul saw any brave, strong young man, he conscripted him into his army.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
One day Samuel said to Saul, “I crowned you king of Israel because God told me to. Now be sure that you obey him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Here is his commandment to you: ‘I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for refusing to allow my people to cross their territory when Israel came from Egypt.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalek nation—men, women, babies, little children, oxen, sheep, camels, and donkeys.’”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So Saul mobilized his army at Telaim. There were two hundred thousand troops in addition to ten thousand men from Judah.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul sent a message to the Kenites, telling them to get out from among the Amalekites or else die with them. “For you were kind to the people of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt,” he explained. So the Kenites packed up and left.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
However, Saul and his men kept the best of the sheep and oxen and the fattest of the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has again refused to obey me.”
Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard what God was saying, that he cried to the Lord all night.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Early the next morning he went out to find Saul. Someone said that he had gone to Mount Carmel to erect a monument to himself and had then gone on to Gilgal.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully.
“Hello there,” he said. “Well, I have carried out the Lord’s command!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep and oxen,” Saul admitted, “but they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God; and we have destroyed everything else.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!”
“What was it?” Saul asked.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And he sent you on an errand and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you rush for the loot and do exactly what God said not to?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“But I have obeyed the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I did what he told me to; and I brought King Agag but killed everyone else.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And it was only when my troops demanded it that I let them keep the best of the sheep and oxen and loot to sacrifice to the Lord.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Samuel replied, “Has the Lord as much pleasure in your burnt offerings and sacrifices as in your obedience? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. He is much more interested in your listening to him than in your offering the fat of rams to him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
For rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. And now because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, he has rejected you from being king.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“I have sinned,” Saul finally admitted. “Yes, I have disobeyed your instructions and the command of the Lord, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But Samuel replied, “It’s no use! Since you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And Samuel said to him, “See? The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to a countryman of yours who is better than you are.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Saul pleaded again, “I have sinned; but oh, at least honor me before the leaders and before my people by going with me to worship the Lord your God.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” Agag arrived all full of smiles, for he thought, “Surely the worst is over and I have been spared!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother shall be childless.” And Samuel chopped him in pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Samuel never saw Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him; and the Lord was sorry that he had ever made Saul king of Israel.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Finally the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul, for I have rejected him as king of Israel. Now take a vial of olive oil and go to Bethlehem and find a man named Jesse, for I have selected one of his sons to be the new king.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So Samuel did as the Lord had told him to. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the city came trembling to meet him.
“What is wrong?” they asked. “Why have you come?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But he replied, “All is well. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.”
And he performed the purification rite on Jesse and his sons, and invited them too.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the man the Lord has chosen!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by a man’s face or height, for this is not the one. I don’t make decisions the way you do! Men judge by outward appearance, but I look at a man’s thoughts and intentions.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But the Lord said, “This is not the right man either.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Next Jesse summoned Shammah, but the Lord said, “No, this is not the one.” In the same way all seven of his sons presented themselves to Samuel and were rejected.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“The Lord has not chosen any of them,” Samuel told Jesse. “Are these all there are?”
“Well, there is the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep.”
“Send for him at once,” Samuel said, “for we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So Jesse sent for him. He was a fine looking boy, ruddy-faced, and with pleasant eyes. And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it upon David’s head; and the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him and gave him great power from that day onward. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and instead, the Lord had sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Some of Saul’s aides suggested a cure.
“We’ll find a good harpist to play for you whenever the tormenting spirit is bothering you,” they said. “The harp music will quiet you and you’ll soon be well again.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
One of them said he knew a young fellow in Bethlehem, the son of a man named Jesse, who was not only a talented harp player, but was handsome, brave, and strong, and had good, solid judgment. “What’s more,” he added, “the Lord is with him.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Jesse responded by sending not only David but a young goat and a donkey carrying a load of food and wine.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp and Saul would feel better, and the evil spirit would go away.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet, a two-hundred-pound coat of mail, bronze leggings, and carried a bronze javelin several inches thick, tipped with a twenty-five-pound iron spearhead, and his armor bearer walked ahead of him with a huge shield.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He stood and shouted across to the Israelis, “Do you need a whole army to settle this? I will represent the Philistines, and you choose someone to represent you, and we will settle this in single combat!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
If your man is able to kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, then you must be our slaves!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David (the son of aging Jesse, a member of the tribe of Judah who lived in Bethlehem) had seven older brothers.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The three oldest—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah—had already volunteered for Saul’s army to fight the Philistines.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David was the youngest son and was on Saul’s staff on a part-time basis. He went back and forth to Bethlehem to help his father with the sheep.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
For forty days, twice a day, morning and evening the Philistine giant strutted before the armies of Israel.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
One day Jesse said to David, “Take this bushel of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Give this cheese to their captain and see how the boys are getting along; and bring us back a letter from them!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So David left the sheep with another shepherd and took off early the next morning with the gifts. He arrived at the outskirts of the camp just as the Israeli army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
As he was talking with them, he saw Goliath the giant step out from the Philistine troops and shout his challenge to the army of Israel.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Have you seen the giant?” the soldiers were asking. “He has insulted the entire army of Israel. And have you heard about the huge reward the king has offered to anyone who kills him? And the king will give him one of his daughters for a wife, and his whole family will be exempted from paying taxes!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David talked to some others standing there to verify the report. “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his insults to Israel?” he asked them. “Who is this heathen Philistine, anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking like that, he was angry. “What are you doing around here, anyway?” he demanded. “What about the sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know what a cocky brat you are; you just want to see the battle!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “How can a kid like you fight with a man like him? You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But David persisted. “When I am taking care of my father’s sheep,” he said, “and a lion or a bear comes and grabs a lamb from the flock,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If it turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this heathen Philistine too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The Lord who saved me from the claws and teeth of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!”
Saul finally consented, “All right, go ahead,” he said, “and may the Lord be with you!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can hardly move!” he exclaimed, and took them off again.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then he picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in his shepherd’s bag and, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, started across to Goliath.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Goliath walked out toward David with his shield-bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this nice little red-cheeked boy!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David shouted in reply, “You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of the armies of heaven and of Israel—the very God whom you have defied.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head; and then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And Israel will learn that the Lord does not depend on weapons to fulfill his plans—he works without regard to human means! He will give you to us!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
As Goliath approached, David ran out to meet him and, reaching into his shepherd’s bag, took out a stone, hurled it from his sling, and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and the man fell on his face to the ground.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So David conquered the Philistine giant with a sling and a stone. Since he had no sword, he ran over and pulled Goliath’s from its sheath and killed him with it, and then cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then the Israelis gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road to Shaaraim.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
As Saul was watching David go out to fight Goliath, he asked Abner, the general of his army, “Abner, what sort of family does this young fellow come from?”
“I really don’t know,” Abner said.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
After David had killed Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Tell me about your father, my boy,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse and we live in Bethlehem.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
After King Saul had finished his conversation with David, David met Jonathan, the king’s son, and there was an immediate bond of love between them. Jonathan swore to be his blood brother,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
and sealed the pact by giving him his robe, sword, bow, and belt.
King Saul now kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home anymore.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He was Saul’s special assistant, and he always carried out his assignments successfully. So Saul made him commander of his troops, an appointment that was applauded by the army and general public alike.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But something had happened when the victorious Israeli army was returning home after David had killed Goliath. Women came out from all the towns along the way to celebrate and to cheer for King Saul, and were singing and dancing for joy with tambourines and cymbals.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Of course Saul was very angry. “What’s this?” he said to himself. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The very next day, in fact, a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave like a madman. David began to soothe him by playing the harp, as he did whenever this happened. But Saul, who was fiddling with his spear,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David jumped aside and escaped. This happened another time, too, for Saul was afraid of him and jealous because the Lord had left him and was now with David.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Finally Saul banned him from his presence and demoted him to the rank of captain. But the controversy put David more than ever in the public eye.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When King Saul saw this, he became even more afraid of him; but all Israel and Judah loved him, for he was as one of them.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my oldest daughter Merab as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real soldier by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought to himself, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Who am I that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But when the time arrived for the wedding, Saul married her to Adriel, a man from Meholath, instead.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
In the meantime Saul’s daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Here’s another opportunity to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “You can be my son-in-law after all, for I will give you my youngest daughter.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Saul instructed his men to say confidentially to David that the king really liked him a lot, and that they all loved him and thought he should accept the king’s proposition and become his son-in-law.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But David replied, “How can a poor man like me from an unknown family find enough dowry to marry the daughter of a king?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
he told them, “Tell David that the only dowry I need is one hundred dead Philistines! Vengeance on my enemies is all I want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
he and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines and presented their foreskins to King Saul. So Saul gave Michal to him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When the king realized how much the Lord was with David and how immensely popular he was with all the people,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Whenever the Philistine army attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul’s officers. So David’s name became very famous throughout the land.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul now urged his aides and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his close friendship with David,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you; then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The next morning as Jonathan and his father were talking together, he spoke well of David and begged him not to be against David.
“He’s never done anything to harm you,” Jonathan pleaded. “He has always helped you in any way he could.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill Goliath, and how the Lord brought a great victory to Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you now murder an innocent man? There is no reason for it at all!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Afterwards Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he took David to Saul and everything was as it had been before.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
War broke out shortly after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines and slaughtered many of them, and put to flight their entire army.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But one day as Saul was sitting at home, listening to David playing the harp, suddenly the tormenting spirit from the Lord attacked him. He had his spear in his hand and hurled it at David in an attempt to kill him. But David dodged out of the way and fled into the night, leaving the spear imbedded in the timber of the wall.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul sent troops to watch David’s house and kill him when he came out in the morning.
“If you don’t get away tonight,” Michal warned him, “you’ll be dead by morning.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then she took an idol and put it in his bed, and covered it with blankets, with its head on a pillow of goat’s hair.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When the soldiers came to arrest David and take him to Saul, she told them he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Why have you deceived me and let my enemy escape?” Saul demanded of Michal.
“I had to,” Michal replied. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
In that way David got away and went to Ramah to see Samuel, and told him all that Saul had done to him. So Samuel took David with him to live at Naioth.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
he sent soldiers to capture him; but when they arrived and saw Samuel and the other prophets prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon them and they also began to prophesy.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When Saul heard what had happened, he sent other soldiers, but they too prophesied! The same thing happened a third time!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Saul himself went to Ramah and arrived at the great well in Secu.
“Where are Samuel and David?” he demanded.
Someone told him they were at Naioth.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He tore off his clothes and lay naked all day and all night, prophesying with Samuel’s prophets. Saul’s men were incredulous!
“What!” they exclaimed. “Is Saul a prophet too?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan.
“What have I done?” he exclaimed. “Why is your father so determined to kill me?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“That’s not true!” Jonathan protested. “I’m sure he’s not planning any such thing, for he always tells me everything he’s going to do, even little things, and I know he wouldn’t hide something like this from me. It just isn’t so.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Of course you don’t know about it!” David fumed. “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I’ll not tell Jonathan—why should I hurt him?’ But the truth is that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the Lord and by your own soul!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And David replied, “Tomorrow is the beginning of the celebration of the new moon. Always before, I’ve been with your father for this occasion, but tomorrow I’ll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
If your father asks where I am, tell him that I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family reunion.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
If he says, ‘Fine!’ then I’ll know that all is well. But if he is angry, then I’ll know that he is planning to kill me.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Do this for me as my sworn brother. Or else kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father, but don’t betray me to him!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Of course not!” Jonathan exclaimed. “Look, wouldn’t I say so if I knew that my father was planning to kill you?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Jonathan told David, “I promise by the Lord God of Israel that about this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father about you and let you know at once how he feels about you.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
If he is angry and wants you killed, then may the Lord kill me if I don’t tell you, so you can escape and live. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And remember, you must demonstrate the love and kindness of the Lord not only to me during my own lifetime,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So Jonathan made a covenant with the family of David, and David swore to it with a terrible curse against himself and his descendants, should he be unfaithful to his promise.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But Jonathan made David swear to it again, this time by his love for him, for he loved him as much as he loved himself.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
By the day after tomorrow, everyone will be asking about you, so be at the hideout where you were before, over by the stone pile.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then I’ll send a lad to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know that all is well and that there is no trouble.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But if I tell him, ‘Go farther—the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So David hid himself in the field.
When the new moon celebration began, the king sat down to eat at his usual place against the wall. Jonathan sat opposite him and Abner was sitting beside Saul, but David’s place was empty.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul didn’t say anything about it that day, for he supposed that something had happened so that David was ceremonially impure. Yes, surely that must be it!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But when his place was still empty the next day, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why hasn’t David been here for dinner either yesterday or today?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“He asked me if he could go to Bethlehem to take part in a family celebration,” Jonathan replied. “His brother demanded that he be there, so I told him to go ahead.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul boiled with rage. “You fool!” he yelled at him. “Do you think I don’t know that you want this son of a nobody* to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother?


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him; so at last Jonathan realized that his father really meant it when he said David must die.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Jonathan left the table in fierce anger and refused to eat all that day, for he was crushed by his father’s shameful behavior toward David.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The next morning, as agreed, Jonathan went out into the field and took a young boy with him to gather his arrows.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Start running,” he told the boy, “so that you can find the arrows as I shoot them.” So the boy ran and Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
As soon as he was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the south edge of the field. Both of them were crying as they said good-bye, especially David.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
At last Jonathan said to David, “Cheer up, for we have entrusted each other and each other’s children into God’s hands forever.” So they parted, David going away and Jonathan returning to the city.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David went to the city of Nob to see Ahimelech, the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him.
“Why are you alone?” he asked. “Why is no one with you?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“The king has sent me on a private matter,” David lied. “He told me not to tell anybody why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“We don’t have any regular bread,” the priest replied, “but there is the holy bread, which I guess you can have if only your young men have not slept with any women for a while.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Rest assured,” David replied. “I never let my men run wild when they are on an expedition, and since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more so on this one!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So, since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread—the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the Lord in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
(Incidentally, Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief herdsman, was there at that time for ceremonial purification.)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David asked Ahimelech if he had a spear or sword he could use. “The king’s business required such haste, and I left in such a rush that I came away without a weapon!” David explained.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Well,” the priest replied, “I have the sword of Goliath, the Philistine—the fellow you killed in the valley of Elah. It is wrapped in a cloth in the clothes closet. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here.”
“Just the thing!” David replied. “Give it to me!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But Achish’s officers weren’t happy about his being there. “Isn’t he the top leader of Israel?” they asked.
“Isn’t he the one the people honor at their dances, singing, ‘Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands’?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
until finally King Achish said to his men, “Must you bring me a madman? We already have enough of them around here! Should such a fellow as this be my guest?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam, where his brothers and other relatives soon joined him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then others began coming—those who were in any kind of trouble, such as being in debt, or merely discontented—until David was the leader of about four hundred men.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
(Later David went to Mizpeh in Moab to ask permission of the king for his father and mother to live there under royal protection until David knew what God was going to do for him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
One day the prophet Gad told David to leave the cave and return to the land of Judah. So David went to the forest of Hereth.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The news of his arrival in Judah soon reached Saul. He was in Gibeah at the time, sitting beneath an oak tree playing with his spear, surrounded by his officers.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Listen here, you men of Benjamin!” Saul exclaimed when he heard the news. “Has David promised you fields and vineyards and commissions in his army?


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Is that why you are against me? For not one of you has ever told me that my own son is on David’s side. You’re not even sorry for me. Think of it! My own son—encouraging David to come and kill me!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul’s men, spoke up. “When I was at Nob,” he said, “I saw David talking to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech consulted the Lord to find out what David should do, and then gave him food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
King Saul immediately summoned Ahimelech and all his family and all the other priests at Nob. When they arrived Saul shouted at him, “Listen to me, you son of Ahitub!”
“What is it?” quavered Ahimelech.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Why have you and David conspired against me?” Saul demanded. “Why did you give him food and a sword and talk to God for him? Why did you encourage him to revolt against me and to come here and attack me?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“But sir,” Ahimelech replied, “is there anyone among all your servants who is as faithful as David your son-in-law? Why, he is the captain of your bodyguard and a highly honored member of your own household!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
This was certainly not the first time I had consulted God for him! It’s unfair for you to accuse me and my family in this matter, for we knew nothing of any plot against you.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He ordered his bodyguards, “Kill these priests, for they are allies and conspirators with David; they knew he was running away from me, but they didn’t tell me!”
But the soldiers refused to harm the clergy.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then the king said to Doeg, “You do it.”
So Doeg turned on them and killed them, eighty-five priests in all, all wearing their priestly robes.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then he went to Nob, the city of the priests, and killed the priests’ families—men, women, children, and babies, and also all the oxen, donkeys, and sheep.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David exclaimed, “I knew it! When I saw Doeg there, I knew he would tell Saul. Now I have caused the death of all of your father’s family.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Stay here with me, and I’ll protect you with my own life. Any harm to you will be over my dead body.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But David’s men said, “We’re afraid even here in Judah; we certainly don’t want to go to Keilah to fight the whole Philistine army!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David asked the Lord again, and the Lord again replied, “Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
They went to Keilah and slaughtered the Philistines and confiscated their cattle, and so the people of Keilah were saved.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
(Abiathar the priest went to Keilah with David, taking his ephod with him to get answers for David from the Lord.)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah.
“Good!” he exclaimed. “We’ve got him now! God has delivered him to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled city!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But David learned of Saul’s plan and told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and to ask the Lord what he should do.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“O Lord God of Israel,” David said, “I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Will the men of Keilah surrender me to him? And will Saul actually come, as I have heard? O Lord God of Israel, please tell me.”
And the Lord said, “He will come.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“And will these men of Keilah betray me to Saul?” David persisted.
And the Lord replied, “Yes, they will betray you.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So David and his men—about six hundred of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go there after all.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David now lived in the wilderness caves in the hill country of Ziph. One day near Horesh he received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. Saul hunted him day after day, but the Lord didn’t let him find him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
(Prince Jonathan now went to find David; he met him at Horesh and encouraged him in his faith in God.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Don’t be afraid,” Jonathan reassured him. “My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel and I will be next to you, as my father is well aware.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So the two of them renewed their pact of friendship; and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan returned home.)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But now the men of Ziph went to Saul in Gibeah and betrayed David to him.
“We know where he is hiding,” they said. “He is in the caves of Horesh on Hachilah Hill, down in the southern part of the wilderness.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Go and check again to be sure of where he is staying and who has seen him there, for I know that he is very crafty.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Discover his hiding places and then come back and give me a more definite report. Then I’ll go with you. And if he is in the area at all, I’ll find him if I have to search every inch of the entire land!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So the men of Ziph returned home. But when David heard that Saul was on his way to Ziph, he and his men went even further into the wilderness of Maon in the south of the desert. But Saul followed them there.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. As Saul and his men began to close in, David tried his best to escape, but it was no use.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
so Saul quit the chase and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time the place where David was camped has been called, “The Rock of Escape.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
After Saul’s return from his battle with the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of Engedi;


book: 1Sam
contenido:
so he took three thousand special troops and went to search for him among the rocks and wild goats of the desert.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to go to the bathroom, but as it happened, David and his men were hiding in the cave!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Now’s your time!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today is the day the Lord was talking about when he said, ‘I will certainly put Saul into your power, to do with as you wish’!” Then David crept forward and quietly slit off the bottom of Saul’s robe!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“I shouldn’t have done it,” he said to his men. “It is a serious sin to attack God’s chosen king in any way.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
These words of David persuaded his men not to kill Saul.
After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, David came out and shouted after him, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? This very day you have seen it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave, and some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ‘I will never harm him—he is the Lord’s chosen king.’


book: 1Sam
contenido:
See what I have in my hand? It is the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you! Doesn’t this convince you that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for my life?


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“The Lord will decide between us. Perhaps he will kill you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
As that old proverb says, ‘Wicked is as wicked does,’ but despite your wickedness, I’ll not touch you.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And who is the king of Israel trying to catch, anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a flea?


book: 1Sam
contenido:
May the Lord judge as to which of us is right and punish whichever one of us is guilty. He is my lawyer and defender, and he will rescue me from your power!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Yes, you have been wonderfully kind to me today, for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you didn’t kill me.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Who else in all the world would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Oh, swear to me by the Lord that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Shortly afterwards Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral and buried him in his family plot at Ramah.
Meanwhile David went down to the wilderness of Paran.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
A wealthy man from Maon owned a sheep ranch there, near the village of Carmel. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and was at his ranch at this time for the sheepshearing.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
His name was Nabal and his wife, a beautiful and very intelligent woman, was named Abigail. But the man, who was a descendant of Caleb, was uncouth, churlish, stubborn, and ill-mannered.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
I am told that you are shearing your sheep and goats. While your shepherds have lived among us, we have never harmed them, nor stolen anything from them the whole time they have been in Carmel.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Ask your young men and they will tell you whether or not this is true. Now I have sent my men to ask for a little contribution from you, for we have come at a happy time of holiday. Please give us a present of whatever is at hand.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Who is this fellow David?” he sneered. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a gang who comes from God knows where?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own. Four hundred of them started off with David and two hundred remained behind to guard their gear.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s men went and told Abigail, “David sent men from the wilderness to talk to our master, but he insulted them and railed at them.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But David’s men were very good to us and we never suffered any harm from them; in fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep, and nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
You’d better think fast, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family—he’s such a stubborn lout that no one can even talk to him!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Abigail hurriedly took two hundred loaves of bread, two barrels of wine, five dressed sheep, two bushels of roasted grain, one hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and packed them onto donkeys.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Go on ahead,” she said to her young men, “and I will follow.” But she didn’t tell her husband what she was doing.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David had been saying to himself, “A lot of good it did us to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness so that not one thing was lost or stolen, but he has repaid me bad for good. All that I get for my trouble is insults.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Nabal is a bad-tempered boor, but please don’t pay any attention to what he said. He is a fool—just like his name means. But I didn’t see the messengers you sent.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Sir, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, I pray by the life of God, and by your own life too, that all your enemies shall be as cursed as Nabal is.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Forgive me for my boldness in coming out here. The Lord will surely reward you with eternal royalty for your descendants, for you are fighting his battles; and you will never do wrong throughout your entire life.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Even when you are chased by those who seek your life, you are safe in the care of the Lord your God, just as though you were safe inside his purse! But the lives of your enemies shall disappear like stones from a sling!


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When the Lord has done all the good things he promised you and has made you king of Israel, you won’t want the conscience of a murderer who took the law into his own hands! And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murdering the man and carrying out vengeance with my own hands.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
For I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not come out to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would be alive tomorrow morning.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then David accepted her gifts and told her to return home without fear, for he would not kill her husband.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When she arrived home she found that Nabal had thrown a big party. He was roaring drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything about her meeting with David until the next morning.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
By that time he was sober, and when his wife told him what had happened, he had a stroke and lay paralyzed for about ten days, then died, for the Lord killed him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord! God has paid back Nabal and kept me from doing it myself; he has received his punishment for his sin.”
Then David wasted no time in sending messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her serving girls as attendants, mounted her donkey, and followed the men back to David. So she became his wife.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
King Saul, meanwhile, had forced David’s wife Michal, Saul’s daughter, to marry a man from Gallim named Palti (the son of Laish).


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Now the men from Ziph came back to Saul at Gibeah to tell him that David had returned to the wilderness and was hiding on Hachilah Hill.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul camped along the road at the edge of the wilderness where David was hiding, but David knew of Saul’s arrival and sent out spies to watch his movements.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David slipped over to Saul’s camp one night to look around. King Saul and General Abner were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering soldiers.
“Any volunteers to go down there with me?” David asked Ahimelech (the Hittite) and Abishai (Joab’s brother and the son of Zeruiah).
“I’ll go with you,” Abishai replied. So David and Abishai went to Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear in the ground beside his head.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“God has put your enemy within your power this time for sure,” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me go and put that spear through him. I’ll pin him to the earth with it—I’ll not need to strike a second time!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“No,” David said. “Don’t kill him, for who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s chosen king?


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But God forbid that I should kill the man he has chosen to be king! But I’ll tell you what—we’ll take his spear and his jug of water and then get out of here!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So David took the spear and jug of water, and they got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the Lord had put them sound asleep.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Well, Abner, you’re a great fellow, aren’t you?” David taunted. “Where in all Israel is there anyone as wonderful? So why haven’t you guarded your master the king when someone came to kill him?


book: 1Sam
contenido:
This isn’t good at all! I swear by the Lord that you ought to die for your carelessness. Where is the king’s spear and the jug of water that was beside his head? Look and see!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is that you, my son David?”
And David replied, “Yes, sir, it is. Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime?


book: 1Sam
contenido:
If the Lord has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my peace offering. But if this is simply the scheme of a man, then may he be cursed by God. For you have driven me out of my home so that I can’t be with the Lord’s people, and you have sent me away to worship heathen gods.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of Jehovah? Why should the king of Israel come out to hunt my life like a partridge on the mountains?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then Saul confessed, “I have done wrong. Come back home, my son, and I’ll no longer try to harm you; for you saved my life today. I have been a fool, and very, very wrong.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The Lord gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the Lord placed you in my power.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Now may the Lord save my life, even as I have saved yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
And Saul said to David, “Blessings on you, my son David. You shall do heroic deeds and be a great conqueror.”
Then David went away and Saul returned home.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But David kept thinking to himself, “Someday Saul is going to get me. I’ll try my luck among the Philistines until Saul gives up and quits hunting for me; then I will finally be safe again.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So David took his six hundred men and their families to live at Gath under the protection of King Achish. He had his two wives with him—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
One day David said to Achish, “My lord, if it is all right with you, we would rather live in one of the country towns instead of here in the royal city.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He and his men spent their time raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites—people who had lived near Shur along the road to Egypt ever since ancient times.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
They didn’t leave one person alive in the villages they hit and took for themselves the sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, and clothing before returning to their homes.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Where did you make your raid today?” Achish would ask.
And David would reply, “Against the south of Judah and the people of Jerahmeel and the Kenites.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
No one was left alive to come to Gath and tell where he had really been. This happened again and again while he was living among the Philistines.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Achish believed David and thought that the people of Israel must hate him bitterly by now. “Now he will have to stay here and serve me forever!” the king thought.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
About that time the Philistines mustered their armies for another war with Israel.
“Come and help us fight,” King Achish said to David and his men.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Good,” David agreed. “You will soon see what a help we can be to you.”
“If you are, you shall be my personal bodyguard for life,” Achish told him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
(Meanwhile, Samuel had died and all Israel had mourned for him. He was buried in Ramah, his hometown. King Saul had banned all mediums and wizards from the land of Israel.)


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When Saul saw the vast army of the Philistines, he was frantic with fear and asked the Lord what he should do. But the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by the prophets.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul then instructed his aides to try to find a medium so that he could ask her what to do, and they found one at Endor. Saul disguised himself by wearing ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes. He went to the woman’s home at night, accompanied by two of his men.
“I’ve got to talk to a dead man,” he pleaded. “Will you bring his spirit up?”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Are you trying to get me killed?” the woman demanded. “You know that Saul has had all of the mediums and fortune-tellers executed. You are spying on me.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Don’t be frightened!” the king told her. “What do you see?”
“I see a specter coming up out of the earth,” she said.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“What does he look like?”
“He is an old man wrapped in a robe.”
Saul realized that it was Samuel and bowed low before him.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Why have you disturbed me by bringing me back?” Samuel asked Saul.
“Because I am in deep trouble,” he replied. “The Philistines are at war with us, and God has left me and won’t reply by prophets or dreams; so I have called for you to ask you what to do.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
He has done just as he said he would and has taken the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
All this has come upon you because you did not obey the Lord’s instructions when he was so angry with Amalek.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
What’s more, the entire Israeli army will be routed and destroyed by the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Saul now fell full length upon the ground, paralyzed with fright because of Samuel’s words. He was also faint with hunger, for he had eaten nothing all day.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When the woman saw how distraught he was, she said, “Sir, I obeyed your command at the risk of my life.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Now do what I say, and let me give you something to eat so you’ll regain your strength for the trip back.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But he refused. The men who were with him added their pleas to that of the woman until he finally yielded and got up and sat on the bed.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The woman had been fattening a calf, so she hurried out and killed it and kneaded dough and baked unleavened bread.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
As the Philistine captains were leading out their troops by battalions and companies, David and his men marched at the rear with King Achish.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But the Philistine commanders demanded, “What are these Israelis doing here?”
And King Achish told them, “This is David, the runaway servant of King Saul of Israel. He’s been with me for years, and I’ve never found one fault in him since he arrived.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But the Philistine leaders were angry. “Send them back!” they demanded. “They aren’t going into the battle with us—they’ll turn against us. Is there any better way for him to reconcile himself with his master than by turning against us in the battle?


book: 1Sam
contenido:
This is the same man the women of Israel sang about in their dances: ‘Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands!’”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So Achish finally summoned David and his men.
“I swear by the Lord,” he told them, “you are some of the finest men I’ve ever met, and I think you should go with us, but my commanders say no.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But Achish insisted, “As far as I’m concerned, you’re as perfect as an angel of God. But my commanders are afraid to have you with them in the battle.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their city of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had raided the city and burned it to the ground,


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David was seriously worried, for in their bitter grief for their children, his men began talking of killing him. But David took strength from the Lord.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David asked the Lord, “Shall I chase them? Will I catch them?”
And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them; you will recover everything that was taken from you!”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So David and his six hundred men set out after the Amalekites. When they reached Besor Brook, two hundred of the men were too exhausted to cross, but the other four hundred kept going.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Along the way they found an Egyptian youth in a field and brought him to David. He had not had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights, so they gave him part of a fig cake, two clusters of raisins, and some water, and his strength soon returned.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Who are you and where do you come from?” David asked him.
“I am an Egyptian—the servant of an Amalekite,” he replied. “My master left me behind three days ago because I was sick.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
We were on our way back from raiding the Cherethites in the Negeb, and had raided the south of Judah and the land of Caleb, and had burned Ziklag.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
“Can you tell me where they went?” David asked.
The young man replied, “If you swear by God’s name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
So he led them to the Amalekite encampment. They were spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of loot they had taken from the Philistines and from the men of Judah.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them all that night and the entire next day until evening. No one escaped except four hundred young men who fled on camels.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
David got back everything they had taken. The men recovered their families and all of their belongings, and David rescued his two wives.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
His troops rounded up all the flocks and herds and drove them on ahead of them. “These are all yours personally, as your reward!” they told David.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When they reached Besor Brook and the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go on, David greeted them joyfully.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
But some of the ruffians among David’s men declared, “They didn’t go with us, so they can’t have any of the loot. Give them their wives and their children and tell them to be gone.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Do you think that anyone will listen to you when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.”


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When he arrived at Ziklag, he sent part of the loot to the elders of Judah. “Here is a present for you, taken from the Lord’s enemies,” he wrote them.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The gifts were sent to the elders in the following cities where David and his men had been: Bethel, South Ramoth, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Racal, the cities of the Jerahmeelites, the cities of the Kenites, Hormah, Borashan, Athach, Hebron.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Meanwhile the Philistines had begun the battle against Israel, and the Israelis fled from them and were slaughtered wholesale on Mount Gilboa.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
Then the archers overtook Saul and wounded him badly. He groaned to his armor bearer, “Kill me with your sword before these heathen Philistines capture me and torture me.” But his armor bearer was afraid to, so Saul took his own sword and fell upon the point of the blade, and it pierced him through.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
When the Israelis on the other side of the valley and beyond the Jordan heard that their comrades had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities; and the Philistines lived in them.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
The next day when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
They cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his armor and sent the wonderful news of Saul’s death to their idols and to the people throughout their land.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
His armor was placed in the temple of Ashtaroth, and his body was fastened to the wall of Beth-shan.


book: 1Sam
contenido:
warriors from that town traveled all night to Beth-shan and took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall and brought them to Jabesh, where they cremated them.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Saul was dead and David had returned to Ziklag after slaughtering the Amalekites. Three days later a man arrived from the Israeli army with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. He fell to the ground before David in deep respect.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“What happened?” David demanded. “Tell me how the battle went.”
And the man replied, “Our entire army fled. Thousands of men are dead and wounded on the field, and Saul and his son Jonathan have been killed.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Because I was on Mount Gilboa and saw Saul leaning against his spear with the enemy chariots closing in upon him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“So I killed him, for I knew he couldn’t live. Then I took his crown and one of his bracelets to bring to you, my lord.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s people, and for the men of Israel who had died that day.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, “Where are you from?”
And he replied, “I am an Amalekite.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“You die self-condemned,” David said, “for you yourself confessed that you killed God’s appointed king.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David composed a dirge for Saul and Jonathan and afterward commanded that it be sung throughout Israel. It is quoted here from the book Heroic Ballads.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Don’t tell the Philistines, lest they rejoice.
Hide it from the cities of Gath and Ashkelon,
Lest the heathen nations laugh in triumph.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
O Mount Gilboa,
Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,
Let no crops of grain grow on your slopes.
For there the mighty Saul has died;
He is God’s appointed king no more.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
How much they were loved, how wonderful they were—
Both Saul and Jonathan!
They were together in life and in death.
They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan;
How much I loved you!
And your love for me was deeper
Than the love of women!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David then asked the Lord, “Shall I move back to Judah?”
And the Lord replied, “Yes.”
“Which city shall I go to?”
And the Lord replied, “Hebron.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then the leaders of Judah came to David and crowned him king of the Judean confederacy.
When David heard that the men of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul,


book: 2Sam
contenido:
he sent them this message: “May the Lord bless you for being so loyal to your king and giving him a decent burial.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
May the Lord be loyal to you in return and reward you with many demonstrations of his love! And I too will be kind to you because of what you have done.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And now I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects, now that Saul is dead. Be like the tribe of Judah who have appointed me as their new king.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
His territory included Gilead, Ashuri, Jezreel, Ephraim, the tribe of Benjamin, and all the rest of Israel.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Ish-bosheth was forty years old at the time. He reigned in Mahanaim for two years; meanwhile, David was reigning in Hebron and was king of the Judean confederacy for seven and a half years.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and General Joab (the son of Zeruiah) led David’s troops out to meet them. They met at the pool of Gibeon, where they sat facing each other on opposite sides of the pool.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Each one grabbed his opponent by the hair and thrust his sword into the other’s side, so that all of them died. The place has been known ever since as Sword Field.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The two armies then began to fight each other, and by the end of the day Abner and the men of Israel had been defeated by Joab and the forces of David.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and he began chasing Abner. He wouldn’t stop for anything, but kept on, single-minded, after Abner alone.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When Abner looked behind and saw him coming, he called out to him, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“Yes,” he called back, “it is.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Again Abner shouted to him, “Get away from here. I could never face your brother Joab if I have to kill you!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But he refused to turn away, so Abner pierced him through the belly with the butt end of his spear. It went right through his body and came out his back. He stumbled to the ground and died there, and everyone stopped when they came to the place where he lay.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Now Joab and Abishai set out after Abner. The sun was just going down as they arrived at Ammah Hill near Giah, along the road into the Gibeon Desert.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and Abner shouted down to Joab, “Must our swords continue to kill each other forever? How long will it be before you call off your people from chasing their brothers?”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Joab shouted back, “I swear by God that even if you hadn’t spoken, we would all have gone home tomorrow morning.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
That night Abner and his men retreated across the Jordan Valley, crossed the river, and traveled all the next morning until they arrived at Mahanaim.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Joab and the men who were with him returned home, too, and when he counted his casualties, he learned that only nineteen men were missing, in addition to Asahel.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Joab and his men took Asahel’s body to Bethlehem and buried him beside his father; then they traveled all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
That was the beginning of a long war between the followers of Saul and of David. David’s position now became stronger and stronger, while Saul’s dynasty became weaker and weaker.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Several sons were born to David while he was at Hebron. The oldest was Amnon, born to his wife Ahinoam.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
His second son, Chileab, was born to Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. The third was Absalom, born to Maacah, the daughter of King Talmai of Geshur.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He took advantage of his position by sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines, a girl named Rizpah. But when Ish-bosheth accused Abner of this,


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Abner was furious.
“Am I a Judean dog to be kicked around like this?” he shouted. “After all I have done for you and for your father by not betraying you to David, is this my reward—to find fault with me about some woman?


book: 2Sam
contenido:
May God curse me if I don’t do everything I can to take away the entire kingdom from you, all the way from Dan to Beersheba, and give it to David, just as the Lord predicted.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Abner sent messengers to David to discuss a deal—to surrender the kingdom of Israel to him in exchange for becoming commander-in-chief of the combined armies of Israel and Judah.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“All right,” David replied, “but I will not negotiate with you unless you bring me my wife Michal, Saul’s daughter.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David then sent this message to Ish-bosheth: “Give me back my wife Michal, for I bought her with the lives of one hundred Philistines.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He followed along behind her as far as Behurim, weeping as he went. Then Abner told him, “Go on home now.” So he returned.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Meanwhile, Abner consulted with the leaders of Israel and reminded them that for a long time they had wanted David as their king.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Now is the time!” he told them. “For the Lord has said, ‘It is David by whom I will save my people from the Philistines and from all their other enemies.’”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Abner also talked to the leaders of the tribe of Benjamin; then he went to Hebron and reported to David his progress with the people of Israel and Benjamin.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
As Abner left, he promised David, “When I get back I will call a convention of all the people of Israel, and they will elect you as their king, as you’ve so long desired.” So David let Abner return in safety.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But just after Abner left, Joab and some of David’s troops returned from a raid, bringing much loot with them.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When Joab was told that Abner had just been there visiting the king and had been sent away in peace,


book: 2Sam
contenido:
he rushed to the king, demanding, “What have you done? What do you mean by letting him get away? You know perfectly well that he came to spy on us and that he plans to return and attack us!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Joab sent messengers to catch up with Abner and tell him to come back. They found him at the well of Sirah and he returned with them; but David knew nothing about it.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When Abner arrived at Hebron, Joab took him aside at the city gate as if to speak with him privately; but then he pulled out a dagger and killed him in revenge for the death of his brother Asahel.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When David heard about it he declared, “I vow by the Lord that I and my people are innocent of this crime against Abner.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Joab and his family are the guilty ones. May each of his children be victims of cancer, or be lepers, or be sterile, or die of starvation, or be killed by the sword!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So Joab and his brother, Abishai, killed Abner because of the death of their brother, Asahel, at the battle of Gibeon.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David said to Joab and to all those who were with him, “Go into deep mourning for Abner.” And King David accompanied the bier to the cemetery.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Should Abner have died like a fool?” the king lamented.
“Your hands were not bound,
Your feet were not tied—
You were murdered—
The victim of a wicked plot.”
And all the people wept again for him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David had refused to eat anything the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to take a bite of supper. But David vowed that he would eat nothing until sundown. This pleased his people, just as everything else he did pleased them!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Thus the whole nation, both Judah and Israel, understood from David’s actions that he was in no way responsible for Abner’s death.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and even though I am God’s chosen king, I can do nothing with these two sons of Zeruiah. May the Lord repay wicked men for their wicked deeds.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When King Ish-bosheth heard about Abner’s death at Hebron, he was paralyzed with fear, and his people too were badly frightened.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The command of the Israeli troops then fell to two brothers, Baanah and Rechab, who were captains of King Ish-bosheth’s raiding bands. They were the sons of Rimmon, who was from Beeroth in Benjamin. (People from Beeroth are counted as Benjaminites even though they fled to Gittaim, where they now live.)


book: 2Sam
contenido:
(There was a little lame grandson of King Saul’s named Mephibosheth, who was the son of Prince Jonathan. He was five years old at the time Saul and Jonathan were killed at the battle of Jezreel. When the news of the outcome of the battle reached the capital, the child’s nurse grabbed him and fled, but she fell and dropped him as she was running, and he became lame.)


book: 2Sam
contenido:
They walked into the kitchen as though to get a sack of wheat, but then sneaked into his bedroom and murdered him and cut off his head. Taking his head with them, they fled across the desert that night and escaped.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
They presented the head to David at Hebron.
“Look!” they exclaimed. “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the Lord has given you revenge upon Saul and upon his entire family!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
that when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ thinking he was bringing me good news, I killed him; that is how I rewarded him for his ‘glad tidings.’


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And how much more shall I do to wicked men who kill a good man in his own house and on his bed! Shall I not demand your lives?”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So David ordered his young men to kill them, and they did. They cut off their hands and feet and hanged their bodies beside the pool in Hebron. And they took Ish-bosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Representatives of all the tribes of Israel now came to David at Hebron and gave him their pledge of loyalty.
“We are your blood brothers,” they said.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“And even when Saul was our king you were our real leader. The Lord has said that you should be the shepherd and leader of his people.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So David made a contract before the Lord with the leaders of Israel there at Hebron, and they crowned him king of Israel.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
(He had already been the king of Judah for seven years, since the age of thirty. He then ruled thirty-three years in Jerusalem as king of both Israel and Judah; so he reigned for forty years altogether.)


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David now led his troops to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites who lived there.
“You’ll never come in here,” they told him. “Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For they thought they were safe.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But David and his troops defeated them and captured the stronghold of Zion, now called the City of David.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When the insulting message from the defenders of the city reached David, he told his troops, “Go up through the water tunnel into the city and destroy those ‘lame’ and ‘blind’ Jebusites. How I hate them.” (That is the origin of the saying, “Even the blind and the lame could conquer you!”)


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So David made the stronghold of Zion (also called the City of David) his headquarters. Then, beginning at the old Millo section of the city, he built northward toward the present city center.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David now realized why the Lord had made him the king and blessed his kingdom so greatly—it was because God wanted to pour out his kindness on Israel, his chosen people.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married additional wives and concubines, and had many sons and daughters.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
These are his children who were born at Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, Eliphelet.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When the Philistines heard that David had been crowned king of Israel, they tried to capture him; but David was told that they were coming and went into the stronghold.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David asked the Lord, “Shall I go out and fight against them? Will you defeat them for me?”
And the Lord replied, “Yes, go ahead, for I will give them to you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So David went out and fought with them at Baal-perazim and defeated them. “The Lord did it!” he exclaimed. “He burst through my enemies like a raging flood.” So he named the place “Bursting.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
At that time David and his troops confiscated many idols that had been abandoned by the Philistines.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When David asked the Lord what to do, he replied, “Don’t make a frontal attack. Go behind them and come out by the balsam trees.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the balsam trees, attack! For it will signify that the Lord has prepared the way for you and will destroy them.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So David did as the Lord had instructed him and destroyed the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David mobilized thirty thousand special troops and led them to Baal-judah to bring home the Ark of the Lord of heaven who is enthroned above the Guardian Angels.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The Ark was placed upon a new cart and taken from the hillside home of Abinadab. It was driven by Abinadab’s sons, Uzzah and Ahio.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and was followed by David and the other leaders of Israel, who were joyously waving branches of juniper trees and playing every sort of musical instrument before the Lord—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then the anger of the Lord flared out against Uzzah and he killed him for doing this, so he died there beside the Ark.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David was angry at what the Lord had done, and named the spot “The Place of Wrath upon Uzzah” (which it is still called to this day).


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So he decided against taking it into the City of David, but carried it instead to the home of Obed-edom, who had come from Gath.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
After the men who were carrying it had gone six paces, they stopped and waited so that he could sacrifice an ox and a fat lamb.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
(But as the procession came into the city, Michal, Saul’s daughter, watched from a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she was filled with contempt for him.)


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The Ark was placed inside the tent that David had prepared for it; and he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and gave a present to everyone—men and women alike—of a loaf of bread, some wine, and a cake of raisins. When it was all over, and everyone had gone home,


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David returned to bless his family.
But Michal came out to meet him and exclaimed in disgust, “How glorious the king of Israel looked today! He exposed himself to the girls along the street like a common pervert!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David retorted, “I was dancing before the Lord who chose me above your father and his family and who appointed me as leader of Israel, the people of the Lord! So I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the Lord.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, but I will be respected by the girls of whom you spoke!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When the Lord finally sent peace upon the land, and Israel was no longer at war with the surrounding nations,


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! Here I am living in this beautiful cedar palace while the Ark of God is out in a tent!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
For I have never lived in a temple. My home has been a tent ever since the time I brought Israel out of Egypt.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And I have never once complained to Israel’s leaders, the shepherds of my people. Have I ever asked them, ‘Why haven’t you built me a beautiful cedar temple?’


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Now go and give this message to David from the Lord of heaven: ‘I chose you to be the leader of my people Israel when you were a mere shepherd, tending your sheep in the pastureland.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
I have been with you wherever you have gone and have destroyed your enemies. And I will make your name greater yet, so that you will be one of the most famous men in the world!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
I have selected a homeland for my people from which they will never have to move. It will be their own land where the heathen nations won’t bother them as they did when the judges ruled my people. There will be no more wars against you; and your descendants shall rule this land for generations to come!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David went into the Tabernacle and sat before the Lord and prayed, “O Lord God, why have you showered your blessings on such an insignificant person as I am?


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And now, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving me an eternal dynasty! Such generosity is far beyond any human standard! O Lord God!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
How great you are, Lord God! We have never heard of any other God like you. And there is no other God.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
What other nation in all the earth has received such blessings as Israel, your people? For you have rescued your chosen nation in order to bring glory to your name. You have done great miracles to destroy Egypt and its gods.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And may you be eternally honored when you have established Israel as your people and have established my dynasty before you.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
For you have revealed to me, O Lord of heaven, God of Israel, that I am the first of a dynasty which will rule your people forever; that is why I have been bold enough to pray this prayer of acceptance.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
so do as you have promised! Bless me and my family forever! May our dynasty continue on and on before you; for you, Lord God, have promised it.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He also devastated the land of Moab. He divided his victims by making them lie down side by side in rows. Two-thirds of each row, as measured with a tape, were butchered, and one-third were spared to become David’s servants—they paid him tribute each year.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He also destroyed the forces of King Hadadezer (son of Rehob) of Zobah in a battle at the Euphrates River, for Hadadezer had attempted to regain his power.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David captured seventeen hundred cavalry and twenty thousand infantry; then he lamed all of the chariot horses except for one hundred teams.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David placed several army garrisons in Damascus, and the Syrians became David’s subjects and brought him annual tribute money. So the Lord gave him victories wherever he turned.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He also carried back to Jerusalem a very large amount of bronze from Hadadezer’s cities of Betah and Berothai.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
he sent his son Joram to congratulate him, for Hadadezer and Toi were enemies. He gave David presents made from silver, gold, and bronze.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David dedicated all of these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had taken from Syria, Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and King Hadadezer.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So David became very famous. After his return he destroyed eighteen thousand Edomites in Salt Valley,


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and then placed garrisons throughout Edom, so that the entire nation was forced to pay tribute to Israel—another example of the way the Lord made him victorious wherever he went.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The general of his army was Joab (son of Zeruiah), and his secretary of state was Jehoshaphat (son of Ahilud).


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Zadok (son of Ahitub) and Ahimelech (son of Abiathar) were the High Priests, and Seraiah was the king’s private secretary.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
One day David began wondering if any of Saul’s family was still living, for he wanted to be kind to them, as he had promised Prince Jonathan.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He heard about a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul’s servants, and summoned him.
“Are you Ziba?” the king asked.
“Yes, sir, I am,” he replied.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The king then asked him, “Is anyone left from Saul’s family? If so, I want to fulfill a sacred vow by being kind to him.”
“Yes,” Ziba replied, “Jonathan’s lame son is still alive.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So King David sent for Mephibosheth—Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. Mephibosheth arrived in great fear and greeted the king in deep humility, bowing low before him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But David said, “Don’t be afraid! I’ve asked you to come so that I can be kind to you because of my vow to your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you shall live here at the palace!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Mephibosheth fell to the ground before the king. “Should the king show kindness to a dead dog like me?” he exclaimed.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba. “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family,” he said.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him, to produce food for his family; but he will live here with me.”
Ziba, who had fifteen sons and twenty servants, replied, “Sir, I will do all you have commanded.”
And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly with King David, as though he were one of his own sons.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“I am going to show special respect for him,” David said, “because his father, Nahash, was always so loyal and kind to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express regrets to Hanun about his father’s death.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But Hanun’s officers told him, “These men aren’t here to honor your father! David has sent them to spy out the city before attacking it!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So Hanun took David’s men and shaved off half their beards and cut their robes off at the buttocks and sent them home half naked.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When David heard what had happened he told them to stay at Jericho until their beards grew out; for the men were very embarrassed over their appearance.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Now the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, so they hired twenty thousand Syrian mercenaries from the lands of Rehob and Zobah, one thousand from the king of Maacah, and ten thousand from the land of Tob.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When David heard about this, he sent Joab and the entire Israeli army to attack them. The Ammonites defended the gates of their city while the Syrians from Zobah, Rehob, Tob, and Maacah fought in the fields.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When Joab realized that he would have to fight on two fronts, he selected the best fighters in his army, placed them under his personal command, and took them out to fight the Syrians in the fields.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“If I need assistance against the Syrians, come out and help me,” Joab instructed him. “And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Courage! We must really act like men today if we are going to save our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then, when the Ammonites saw the Syrians running, they ran too, and retreated into the city. Afterwards Joab returned to Jerusalem.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The Syrians now realized that they were no match for Israel. So when they regrouped, they were joined by additional Syrian troops summoned by Hadadezer from the other side of the Euphrates River. These troops arrived at Helam under the command of Shobach, the commander-in-chief of all of Hadadezer’s forces.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When David heard what was happening, he personally led the Israeli army to Helam, where the Syrians attacked him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But again the Syrians fled from the Israelis, this time leaving seven hundred charioteers dead on the field, also forty thousand cavalrymen, including General Shobach.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When Hadadezer’s allies saw that the Syrians had been defeated, they surrendered to David and became his servants. And the Syrians were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore after that.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
In the spring of the following year, at the time when wars begin, David sent Joab and the Israeli army to destroy the Ammonites. They began by laying siege to the city of Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
One night he couldn’t get to sleep and went for a stroll on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking her evening bath.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He sent to find out who she was and was told that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David sent for her and when she came he slept with her. (She had just completed the purification rites after menstruation.) Then she returned home.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When he arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was prospering.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But Uriah didn’t go there. He stayed that night at the gateway of the palace with the other servants of the king.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When David heard what Uriah had done, he summoned him and asked him, “What’s the matter with you? Why didn’t you go home to your wife last night after being away for so long?”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies and the general and his officers are camping out in open fields, and should I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I will never be guilty of acting like that.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Well, stay here tonight,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.”
So Uriah stayed around the palace.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David invited him to dinner and got him drunk; but even so he didn’t go home that night, but again he slept at the entry to the palace.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The letter instructed Joab to put Uriah at the front of the hottest part of the battle—and then pull back and leave him there to die!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the besieged city where he knew that the enemies’ best men were fighting;


book: 2Sam
contenido:
he told his messenger, “If the king is angry and asks, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? Wasn’t Abimelech killed at Thebez by a woman who threw down a millstone on him?’—then tell him, ‘Uriah was killed too.’”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
the men on the wall attacked us; and some of our men were killed, and Uriah the Hittite is dead too.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said. “The sword kills one as well as another! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city; tell him he is doing well.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
then, when the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace and she became one of his wives; and she gave birth to his son. But the Lord was very displeased with what David had done.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to tell David this story:
“There were two men in a certain city, one very rich, owning many flocks of sheep and herds of goats;


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and the other very poor, owning nothing but a little lamb he had managed to buy. It was his children’s pet, and he fed it from his own plate and let it drink from his own cup; he cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Recently a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing a lamb from his own flocks for food for the traveler, he took the poor man’s lamb and roasted it and served it.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David was furious. “I swear by the living God,” he vowed, “any man who would do a thing like that should be put to death;


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Nathan said to David, “You are that rich man! The Lord God of Israel says, ‘I made you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
I gave you his palace and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah; and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Why, then, have you despised the laws of God and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah and stolen his wife.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Therefore murder shall be a constant threat in your family from this time on because you have insulted me by taking Uriah’s wife.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
I vow that because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man, and he will go to bed with them in public view.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“I have sinned against the Lord,” David confessed to Nathan.
Then Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But you have given great opportunity to the enemies of the Lord to despise and blaspheme him, so your child shall die.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David begged him to spare the child and went without food, and lay all night before the Lord on the bare earth.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then, on the seventh day, the baby died. David’s aides were afraid to tell him.
“He was so broken up about the baby being sick,” they said, “what will he do to himself when we tell him the child is dead?”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But when David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened.
“Is the baby dead?” he asked.
“Yes,” they replied, “he is.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David got up off the ground, washed himself, brushed his hair, changed his clothes, and went into the Tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. Then he returned to the palace and ate.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
His aides were amazed.
“We don’t understand you,” they told him. “While the baby was still living, you wept and refused to eat; but now that the baby is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.’


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David comforted Bathsheba; and when he slept with her, she conceived and gave birth to a son and named him Solomon. And the Lord loved the baby,


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and sent congratulations and blessings through Nathan the prophet. David nicknamed the baby Jedidiah (meaning, “Beloved of Jehovah”) because of the Lord’s interest.*


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Meanwhile Joab and the Israeli army were successfully ending their siege of Rabbah the capital of Ammon. Joab sent messengers to tell David, “Rabbah and its beautiful harbor are ours!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Now bring the rest of the army and finish the job, so that you will get the credit for the victory instead of me.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So David led his army to Rabbah and captured it. Tremendous amounts of loot were carried back to Jerusalem, and David took the king of Rabbah’s crown—a $50,000 treasure made from solid gold set with gems—and placed it on his own head.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He made slaves of the people of the city and made them labor with saws, picks, and axes and work in the brick kilns; that is the way he treated all of the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and the army returned to Jerusalem.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Prince Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Prince Amnon (her half brother) fell desperately in love with her.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Amnon became so tormented by his love for her that he became ill. He had no way of talking to her, for the girls and young men were kept strictly apart.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
One day Jonadab said to Amnon, “What’s the trouble? Why should the son of a king look so haggard morning after morning?”
So Amnon told him, “I am in love with Tamar, my half sister.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Well,” Jonadab said, “I’ll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are sick; when your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you’ll feel better if she feeds you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So Amnon did. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him for this favor—that his sister Tamar be permitted to come and cook a little something for him to eat.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So she did and went into his bedroom so that he could watch her mix some dough; then she baked some special bread for him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But when she set the serving tray before him, he refused to eat!
“Everyone get out of here,” he told his servants; so they all left the apartment.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then he said to Tamar, “Now bring me the food again here in my bedroom and feed it to me.” So Tamar took it to him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But as she was standing there before him, he grabbed her and demanded, “Come to bed with me, my darling.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Oh, Amnon,” she cried. “Don’t be foolish! Don’t do this to me! You know what a serious crime it is in Israel.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. Please, just speak to the king about it, for he will let you marry me.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then suddenly his love turned to hate, and now he hated her more than he had loved her.
“Get out of here!” he snarled at her.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“No, no!” she cried. “To reject me now is a greater crime than the other you did to me.”
But he wouldn’t listen to her.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He shouted for his valet and demanded, “Throw this woman out and lock the door behind her.”
So he put her out. She was wearing a long robe with sleeves, as was the custom in those days for virgin daughters of the king.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Her brother Absalom asked her, “Is it true that Amnon raped you? Don’t be so upset, since it’s all in the family anyway. It’s not anything to worry about!”
So Tamar lived as a desolate woman in her brother Absalom’s quarters.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When King David heard what had happened, he was very angry, but Absalom said nothing one way or the other about this to Amnon. However, he hated him with a deep hatred because of what he had done to his sister. Then, two years later, when Absalom’s sheep were being sheared at Baal-hazor in Ephraim, Absalom invited his father and all his brothers to come to a feast to celebrate the occasion.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The king replied, “No, my boy; if we all came, we would be too much of a burden on you.”
Absalom pressed him, but he wouldn’t come, though he sent his thanks.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Well, then,” Absalom said, “if you can’t come, how about sending my brother Amnon instead?”
“Why Amnon?” the king asked.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Absalom kept on urging the matter until finally the king agreed and let all of his sons attend, including Amnon.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Absalom told his men, “Wait until Amnon gets drunk, then, at my signal, kill him! Don’t be afraid. I’m the one who gives the orders around here, and this is a command. Take courage and do it!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled. As they were on the way back to Jerusalem, the report reached David: “Absalom has killed all of your sons, and not one is left alive!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The king jumped up, ripped off his robe, and fell prostrate to the ground. His aides also tore their clothes in horror and sorrow.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But just then Jonadab (the son of David’s brother Shimeah) arrived and said, “No, not all have been killed! It was only Amnon! Absalom has been plotting this ever since Amnon raped Tamar. No, no! Your sons aren’t all dead! It was only Amnon.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Meanwhile Absalom escaped. Now the watchman on the Jerusalem wall saw a great crowd coming toward the city along the road at the side of the hill.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Absalom fled to King Talmai of Geshur (the son of Ammihud) and stayed there three years. Meanwhile David, now reconciled to Amnon’s death, longed day after day for fellowship with his son Absalom.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
he sent for a woman of Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom and told her to ask for an appointment with the king. He told her what to say to him.
“Pretend you are in mourning,” Joab instructed her. “Wear mourning clothes, and dishevel your hair as though you have been in deep sorrow for a long time.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When the woman approached the king, she fell face downward on the floor in front of him, and cried out, “O king! Help me!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“What’s the trouble?” he asked.
“I am a widow,” she replied, “and my two sons had a fight out in the field, and since no one was there to part them, one of them was killed.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Now the rest of the family is demanding that I surrender my other son to them to be executed for murdering his brother. But if I do that, I will have no one left, and my husband’s name will be destroyed from the face of the earth.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Oh, thank you, my lord,” she replied. “And I’ll take the responsibility if you are criticized for helping me like this.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Don’t worry about that!” the king replied. “If anyone objects, bring him to me; I can assure you he will never complain again!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then she said, “Please swear to me by God that you won’t let anyone harm my son. I want no more bloodshed.”
“I vow by God,” he replied, “that not a hair of your son’s head shall be disturbed!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Why don’t you do as much for all the people of God as you have promised to do for me?” she asked. “You have convicted yourself in making this decision, because you have refused to bring home your own banished son.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
All of us must die eventually; our lives are like water that is poured out on the ground—it can’t be gathered up again. But God will bless you with a longer life if you will find a way to bring your son back from his exile.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But I have come to plead with you for my son because my life and my son’s life have been threatened, and I said to myself, ‘Perhaps the king will listen to me and rescue us from those who would end our existence in Israel.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Yes, the king will give us peace again.’ I know that you are like an angel of God and can discern good from evil. May God be with you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Did Joab send you here?”
And the woman replied, “How can I deny it? Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He did it in order to place the matter before you in a different light. But you are as wise as an angel of God, and you know everything that happens!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Joab fell to the ground before the king and blessed him and said, “At last I know that you like me! For you have granted me this request!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“He may go to his own quarters,” the king ordered, “but he must never come here. I refuse to see him.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Now no one in Israel was such a handsome specimen of manhood as Absalom, and no one else received such praise.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He cut his hair only once a year—and then only because it weighed three pounds and was too much of a load to carry around!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
he sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him; but Joab wouldn’t come. Absalom sent for him again, but again he refused to come.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So Absalom said to his servants, “Go and set fire to that barley field of Joab’s next to mine,” and they did.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And Absalom replied, “Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back from Geshur if he didn’t intend to see me. I might as well have stayed there. Let me have an interview with the king; then if he finds that I am guilty of murder, let him execute me.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So Joab told the king what Absalom had said. Then at last David summoned Absalom, and he came and bowed low before the king, and David kissed him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Absalom then bought a magnificent chariot and chariot horses, and hired fifty footmen to run ahead of him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city; and when anyone came to bring a case to the king for trial, Absalom called him over and expressed interest in his problem.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He would say, “I can see that you are right in this matter; it’s unfortunate that the king doesn’t have anyone to assist him in hearing these cases.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
I surely wish I were the judge; then anyone with a lawsuit could come to me, and I would give him justice!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
After four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron to sacrifice to the Lord in fulfillment of a vow I made to him while I was at Geshur—that if he would bring me back to Jerusalem, I would sacrifice to him.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But while he was there, he sent spies to every part of Israel to incite rebellion against the king. “As soon as you hear the trumpets,” his message read, “you will know that Absalom has been crowned in Hebron.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
While he was offering the sacrifice, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Ahithophel declared for Absalom, as did more and more others. So the conspiracy became very strong.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell King David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Then we must flee at once or it will be too late!” was David’s instant response to his men. “If we get out of the city before he arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be saved.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So the king and his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his young wives to keep the palace in order.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David paused at the edge of the city to let his troops move past him to lead the way—six hundred Gittites who had come with him from Gath, and the Cherethites and Pelethites.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But suddenly the king turned to Ittai, the captain of the six hundred Gittites, and said to him, “What are you doing here? Go on back with your men to Jerusalem, to your king, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. It seems but yesterday that you arrived, and now today should I force you to wander with us, who knows where? Go on back and take your troops with you, and may the Lord be merciful to you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But Ittai replied, “I vow by God and by your own life that wherever you go, I will go, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So David replied, “All right, come with us.” Then Ittai and his six hundred men and their families went along.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
There was deep sadness throughout the city as the king and his retinue passed by, crossed Kidron Brook, and went out into the country.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Abiathar and Zadok and the Levites took the Ark of the Covenant of God and set it down beside the road until everyone had passed.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then, following David’s instructions, Zadok took the Ark back into the city. “If the Lord sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. But if he is through with me, well, let him do what seems best to him.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then the king told Zadok, “Look, here is my plan. Return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
I will stop at the ford of the Jordan River and wait there for a message from you. Let me know what happens in Jerusalem before I disappear into the wilderness.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David walked up the road that led to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the mountain.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When someone told David that Ahithophel, his advisor, was backing Absalom, David prayed, “O Lord, please make Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
As they reached the spot at the top of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, David found Hushai the Archite waiting for him with torn clothing and earth upon his head.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But David told him, “If you go with me, you will only be a burden; return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will counsel you as I did your father.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, are there. Tell them the plans that are being made to capture me, and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to find me and tell me what is going on.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David was just past the top of the hill when Ziba, the manager of Mephibosheth’s household, caught up with him. He was leading two donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred bunches of grapes, and a small barrel of wine.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“What are these for?” the king asked Ziba.
And Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for your people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat; the wine is to be taken with you into the wilderness for any who become faint.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“And where is Mephibosheth?” the king asked him.
“He stayed at Jerusalem,” Ziba replied. “He said, ‘Now I’ll get to be king! Today I will get back the kingdom of my father, Saul.’”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“In that case,” the king told Ziba, “I give you everything he owns.”
“Thank you, thank you, sir,” Ziba replied.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
As David and his party passed Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei, the son of Gera, a member of Saul’s family.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded them!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for murdering King Saul and his family; you stole his throne and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom! At last you will taste some of your own medicine, you murderer!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai demanded. “Let me go over and strike off his head!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
My own son is trying to kill me, and this Benjaminite is merely cursing me. Leave him alone, for no doubt the Lord has told him to do it.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So David and his men continued on, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing as he went and throwing stones at David and tossing dust into the air.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The king and all those who were with him were weary by the time they reached Bahurim, so they stayed there awhile and rested.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When David’s friend, Hushai the Archite, arrived, he went immediately to see Absalom.
“Long live the king!” he exclaimed. “Long live the king!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s wives, for he has left them here to keep the house. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted him beyond the possibility of reconciliation, and they will all close ranks behind you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So a tent was erected on the roof of the palace where everybody could see it, and Absalom went into the tent to lie with his father’s wives.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
(Absalom did whatever Ahithophel told him to, just as David had; for every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.)


book: 2Sam
contenido:
I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged, and he and his troops will be thrown into a panic and everyone will run away; and I will kill only the king and let all those who are with him live, and restore them to you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had said.
“What is your opinion?” Absalom asked him. “Should we follow Ahithophel’s advice? If not, speak up.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
You know your father and his men; they are mighty warriors and are probably as upset as a mother bear who has been robbed of her cubs. And your father is an old soldier and isn’t going to be spending the night among the troops;


book: 2Sam
contenido:
he has probably already hidden in some pit or cave. And when he comes out and attacks and a few of your men fall, there will be panic among your troops and everyone will start shouting that your men are being slaughtered.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then even the bravest of them, though they have hearts of lions, will be paralyzed with fear; for all Israel knows what a mighty man your father is and how courageous his soldiers are.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“What I suggest is that you mobilize the entire army of Israel, bringing them from as far away as Dan and Beersheba, so that you will have a huge force. And I think that you should personally lead the troops.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And if David has escaped into some city, you will have the entire army of Israel there at your command, and we can take ropes and drag the walls of the city into the nearest valley until every stone is torn down.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “Hushai’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s.” For the Lord had arranged to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster upon Absalom!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Hushai reported to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had said and what he himself had suggested instead.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Quick!” he told them. “Find David and urge him not to stay at the ford of the Jordan River tonight. He must go across at once into the wilderness beyond; otherwise he will die, and his entire army with him.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been staying at En-rogel so as not to be seen entering and leaving the city. Arrangements had been made for a servant girl to carry to them the messages they were to take to King David.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But a boy saw them leaving En-rogel to go to David, and he told Absalom about it. Meanwhile, they escaped to Bahurim where a man hid them inside a well in his backyard.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The man’s wife put a cloth over the top of the well with grain on it to dry in the sun; so no one suspected they were there.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When Absalom’s men arrived and asked her if she had seen Ahimaaz and Jonathan, she said they had crossed the brook and were gone. They looked for them without success and returned to Jerusalem.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then the two men crawled out of the well and hurried on to King David. “Quick!” they told him, “cross the Jordan tonight!” And they told him how Ahithophel had advised that he be captured and killed.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So David and all the people with him went across during the night and were all on the other bank before dawn.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Meanwhile, Ahithophel—publicly disgraced when Absalom refused his advice—saddled his donkey, went to his hometown, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself; so he died and was buried beside his father.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David soon arrived at Mahanaim. Meanwhile, Absalom had mobilized the entire army of Israel and was leading the men across the Jordan River.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Absalom had appointed Amasa as general of the army, replacing Joab. (Amasa was Joab’s second cousin; his father was Ithra, an Ishmaelite, and his mother was Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, who was the sister of Joab’s mother, Zeruiah.)


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was warmly greeted by Shobi (son of Nahash of Rabbah, an Ammonite) and Machir (son of Ammiel of Lodebar) and Barzillai (a Gileadite of Rogelim).


book: 2Sam
contenido:
They brought him and those who were with him mats to sleep on, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley flour, parched grain, beans, lentils, honey, butter, and cheese. For they said, “You must be very tired and hungry and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
A third were placed under Joab’s brother, Abishai (the son of Zeruiah); and a third under Ittai, the Gittite. The king planned to lead the army himself, but his men objected strongly.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“You mustn’t do it,” they said, “for if we have to turn and run, and half of us die, it will make no difference to them—they will be looking only for you. You are worth ten thousand of us, and it is better that you stay here in the city and send us help if we need it.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Well, whatever you think best,” the king finally replied. So he stood at the gate of the city as all the troops passed by.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give them this charge.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and the Israeli troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter and twenty thousand men laid down their lives that day.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men disappeared in the forest than were killed.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
During the battle Absalom came upon some of David’s men and as he fled on his mule, it went beneath the thick boughs of a great oak tree, and his hair caught in the branches. His mule went on, leaving him dangling in the air.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“What? You saw him there and didn’t kill him?” Joab demanded. “I would have rewarded you handsomely and made you a commissioned officer.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“For a million dollars I wouldn’t do it,” the man replied. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please don’t harm young Absalom.’


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son (and the king would certainly find out who did it), you yourself would be the first to accuse me.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into the heart of Absalom as he dangled alive from the oak.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
They threw Absalom’s body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And the army of Israel fled to their homes.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
(Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no sons to carry on my name.” He called it “Absalom’s Monument,” as it is still known today.)


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to King David with the good news that the Lord has saved him from his enemy Absalom.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You can be my messenger some other time.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Joab said to a man from Cush, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed and ran off.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But Ahimaaz pleaded with Joab, “Please let me go too.”
“No, we don’t need you now, my boy,” Joab replied. “There is no further news to send.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged.
And Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” Then Ahimaaz took a shortcut across the plain and got there ahead of the man from Cush.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David was sitting at the gate of the city. When the watchman climbed the stairs to his post at the top of the wall, he saw a lone man running toward them.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”
As the messenger came closer,


book: 2Sam
contenido:
the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one.”
And the king replied, “He will have more news.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“The first man looks like Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok,” the watchman said.
“He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed low with his face to the ground and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God who has destroyed the rebels who dared to stand against you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“What of young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”
“When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of shouting; but I didn’t know what was happening,” Ahimaaz answered.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then the man from Cush arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today Jehovah has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“What about young Absalom? Is he all right?” the king demanded.
And the man replied, “May all of your enemies be as that young man is!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then the king broke into tears, and went up to his room over the gate, crying as he went. “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. If only I could have died for you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
As the people heard of the king’s deep grief for his son, the joy of that day’s wonderful victory was turned into deep sadness.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The king covered his face with his hands and kept on weeping, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom my son, my son!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Joab went to the king’s room and said to him, “We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and concubines; and yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed, as though we had done something wrong.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
You seem to love those who hate you, and hate those who love you. Apparently we don’t mean anything to you; if Absalom had lived and all of us had died, you would be happy.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Now go out there and congratulate the troops, for I swear by Jehovah that if you don’t, not a single one of them will remain here during the night; then you will be worse off than you have ever been in your entire life.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So the king went out and sat at the city gates, and as the news spread throughout the city that he was there, everyone went to him.
Meanwhile, there was much discussion and argument going on all across the nation: “Why aren’t we talking about bringing the king back?” was the great topic everywhere. “For he saved us from our enemies, the Philistines; and Absalom, whom we made our king instead, chased him out of the country, but now Absalom is dead. Let’s ask David to return and be our king again.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David sent Zadok and Abiathar the priests to say to the elders of Judah, “Why are you the last ones to reinstate the king? For all Israel is ready, and only you are holding out. Yet you are my own brothers, my own tribe, my own flesh and blood!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And he told them to tell Amasa, “Since you are my nephew, may God strike me dead if I do not appoint you as commander-in-chief of my army in place of Joab.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Amasa convinced all the leaders of Judah, and they responded as one man. They sent word to the king, “Return to us and bring back all those who are with you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So the king started back to Jerusalem. And when he arrived at the Jordan River, it seemed as if everyone in Judah had come to Gilgal to meet him and escort him across the river!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Shimei (the son of Gera the Benjaminite), the man from Bahurim, hurried across with the men of Judah to welcome King David.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
A thousand men from the tribe of Benjamin were with him, including Ziba, the servant of Saul, and Ziba’s fifteen sons and twenty servants; they rushed down to the Jordan to arrive ahead of the king.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
They all worked hard ferrying the king’s household and troops across, and helped them in every way they could.
As the king was crossing, Shimei fell down before him,


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and pleaded, “My lord the king, please forgive me and forget the terrible thing I did when you left Jerusalem;


book: 2Sam
contenido:
for I know very well how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all the tribe of Joseph to greet you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Don’t talk to me like that!” David exclaimed. “This is not a day for execution but for celebration! I am once more king of Israel!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Now Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, arrived from Jerusalem to meet the king. He had not washed his feet or clothes nor trimmed his beard since the day the king left Jerusalem.
“Why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?” the king asked him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And he replied, “My lord, O king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey so that I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am lame.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that you are as an angel of God, so do what you think best.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
I and all my relatives could expect only death from you, but instead you have honored me among all those who eat at your own table! So how can I complain?”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“All right,” David replied. “My decision is that you and Ziba will divide the land equally between you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Barzillai, who had fed the king and his army during their exile in Mahanaim, arrived from Rogelim to conduct the king across the river. He was very old now, about eighty, and very wealthy.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Come across with me and live in Jerusalem,” the king said to Barzillai. “I will take care of you there.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
I am eighty years old today, and life has lost its excitement. Food and wine are no longer tasty, and entertainment is not much fun; I would only be a burden to my lord the king.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then let me return again to die in my own city, where my father and mother are buried. But here is Chimham. Let him go with you and receive whatever good things you want to give him.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Good,” the king agreed. “Chimham shall go with me, and I will do for him whatever I would have done for you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So all the people crossed the Jordan with the king; and after David had kissed and blessed Barzillai, he returned home.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The king then went on to Gilgal, taking Chimham with him. And most of Judah and half of Israel were there to greet him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But the men of Israel complained to the king because only men from Judah had ferried him and his household across the Jordan.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Why not?” the men of Judah replied. “The king is one of our own tribe. Why should this make you angry? We have charged him nothing—he hasn’t fed us or given us gifts!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“But there are ten tribes in Israel,” the others replied, “so we have ten times as much right in the king as you do; why didn’t you invite the rest of us? And, remember, we were the first to speak of bringing him back to be our king again.”
The argument continued back and forth, and the men of Judah were very rough in their replies.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then a hothead whose name was Sheba (son of Bichri, a Benjaminite) blew a trumpet and yelled, “We want nothing to do with David. Come on, you men of Israel, let’s get out of here. He’s not our king!”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So all except Judah and Benjamin turned around and deserted David and followed Sheba! But the men of Judah stayed with their king, accompanying him from the Jordan to Jerusalem.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When he arrived at his palace in Jerusalem, the king instructed that his ten wives he had left to keep house should be placed in seclusion. Their needs were to be cared for, he said, but he would no longer sleep with them as his wives. So they remained in virtual widowhood until their deaths.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then the king instructed Amasa to mobilize the army of Judah within three days and to report back at that time.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So Amasa went out to notify the troops, but it took him longer than the three days he had been given.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then David said to Abishai, “That fellow Sheba is going to hurt us more than Absalom did. Quick, take my bodyguard and chase after him before he gets into a fortified city where we can’t reach him.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So Abishai and Joab set out after Sheba with an elite guard from Joab’s army and the king’s own bodyguard.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
As they arrived at the great stone in Gibeon, they came face-to-face with Amasa. Joab was wearing his uniform with a dagger strapped to his side. As he stepped forward to greet Amasa, he stealthily slipped the dagger from its sheath. “I’m glad to see you, my brother,” Joab said, and took him by the beard with his right hand as though to kiss him. Amasa didn’t notice the dagger in his left hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it, so that his bowels gushed out onto the ground. He did not need to strike again, and he died there. Joab and his brother, Abishai, left him lying there and continued after Sheba.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
One of Joab’s young officers shouted to Amasa’s troops, “If you are for David, come and follow Joab.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But Amasa lay in his blood in the middle of the road, and when Joab’s young officers saw that a crowd was gathering around to stare at him, they dragged him off the road into a field and threw a garment over him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Meanwhile Sheba had traveled across Israel to mobilize his own clan of Bichri at the city of Abel in Beth-maacah.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When Joab’s forces arrived, they besieged Abel and built a mound to the top of the city wall and began battering it down.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But a wise woman in the city called out to Joab, “Listen to me, Joab. Come over here so I can talk to you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So she told him, “There used to be a saying, ‘If you want to settle an argument, ask advice at Abel.’ For we always give wise counsel.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
You are destroying an ancient, peace-loving city, loyal to Israel. Should you destroy what is the Lord’s?”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
All I want is a man named Sheba from the hill country of Ephraim, who has revolted against King David. If you will deliver him to me, we will leave the city in peace.”
“All right,” the woman replied, “we will throw his head over the wall to you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then the woman went to the people with her wise advice, and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab. And he blew the trumpet and called his troops back from the attack, and they returned to the king at Jerusalem.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Adoram was in charge of the forced labor battalions, and Jehoshaphat was the historian who kept the records.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
There was a famine during David’s reign that lasted year after year for three years, and David spent much time in prayer about it. Then the Lord said, “The famine is because of the guilt of Saul and his family, for they murdered the Gibeonites.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So King David summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were what was left of the nation of the Amorites. Israel had sworn not to kill them; but Saul, in his nationalistic zeal, had tried to wipe them out.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David asked them, “What can I do for you to rid ourselves of this guilt and to induce you to ask God to bless us?”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Well, money won’t do it,” the Gibeonites replied, “and we don’t want to see Israelites executed in revenge.”
“What can I do, then?” David asked. “Just tell me and I will do it for you.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Well, then,” they replied, “give us seven of Saul’s sons—the sons of the man who did his best to destroy us. We will hang them before the Lord in Gibeon, the city of King Saul.”
“All right,” the king said, “I will do it.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who was Saul’s grandson, because of the oath between himself and Jonathan.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But he gave them Saul’s two sons Armoni and Mephibosheth, whose mother was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. He also gave them the five adopted sons of Michal that she brought up for Saul’s daughter Merab, the wife of Adriel.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The men of Gibeon impaled them in the mountain before the Lord. So all seven of them died together at the beginning of the barley harvest.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Then Rizpah, the mother of two of the men, spread sackcloth upon a rock and stayed there through the entire harvest season* to prevent the vultures from tearing at their bodies during the day and the wild animals from eating them at night.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
he arranged for the men’s bones to be buried in the grave of Saul’s father, Kish. At the same time he sent a request to the men of Jabesh-gilead, asking them to bring him the bones of Saul and Jonathan. They had stolen their bodies from the public square at Beth-shan where the Philistines had impaled them after they had died in battle on Mount Gilboa. So their bones were brought to him. Then at last God answered prayer and ended the famine.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Once when the Philistines were at war with Israel, and David and his men were in the thick of the battle, David became weak and exhausted.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Ishbi-benob, a giant whose speartip weighed more than twelve pounds and who was sporting a new suit of armor, closed in on David and was about to kill him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, came to his rescue and killed the Philistine. After that David’s men declared, “You are not going out to battle again! Why should we risk snuffing out the light of Israel?”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Later, during a war with the Philistines at Gob, Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, another giant.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
At still another time and at the same place, Elhanan killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear handle was as huge as a weaver’s beam!


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And once when the Philistines and the Israelis were fighting at Gath, a giant with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot defied Israel, and David’s nephew Jonathan—the son of David’s brother Shimei—killed him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
I will hide in God,
Who is my rock and my refuge.
He is my shield
And my salvation,
My refuge and high tower.
Thank you, O my Savior,
For saving me from all my enemies.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But I called upon the Lord in my distress,
And he heard me from his Temple.
My cry reached his ears.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Smoke poured from his nostrils;
Fire leaped from his mouth
And burned up all before him,
Setting fire to the world.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He saved me from powerful enemies,
From those who hated me
And from those who were too strong for me.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
For you have given me strength for the battle
And have caused me to subdue
All those who rose against me.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
You have preserved me
From the rebels of my people;
You have preserved me
As the head of the nations.
Foreigners shall serve me


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And rescues me from my enemies.
Yes, you hold me safe above their heads.
You deliver me from violence.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He gives wonderful deliverance to his king
And shows mercy to his anointed—
To David and his family,
Forever.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
These are the last words of David:
“David, the son of Jesse, speaks.
David, the man to whom God gave such wonderful success;
David, the anointed of the God of Jacob;
David, sweet psalmist of Israel:


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He shall be as the light of the morning;
A cloudless sunrise
When the tender grass
Springs forth upon the earth;
As sunshine after rain.’


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And it is my family
He has chosen!
Yes, God has made
An everlasting covenant with me;
His agreement is eternal, final, sealed.
He will constantly look after
My safety and success.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
These are the names of the Top Three—the most heroic men in David’s army: the first was Josheb-basshebeth from Tahchemon, known also as Adino, the Eznite. He once killed eight hundred men in one battle.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Next in rank was Eleazar, the son of Dodo and grandson of Ahohi. He was one of the three men who, with David, held back the Philistines that time when the rest of the Israeli army fled.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He killed the Philistines until his hand was too tired to hold his sword; and the Lord gave him a great victory. (The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the loot!)


book: 2Sam
contenido:
After him was Shammah, the son of Agee from Harar. Once during a Philistine attack, when all his men deserted him and fled, he stood alone at the center of a field of lentils and beat back the Philistines; and God gave him a great victory.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
One time when David was living in the cave of Adullam and the invading Philistines were at the valley of Rephaim, three of the Thirty—the top-ranking officers of the Israeli army—went down at harvest time to visit him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David was in the stronghold at the time, for Philistine marauders had occupied the nearby city of Bethlehem.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
David remarked, “How thirsty I am for some of that good water in the city well!” (The well was near the city gate.)


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So the three men broke through the Philistine ranks and drew water from the well and brought it to David. But he refused to drink it! Instead, he poured it out before the Lord.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“No, my God,” he exclaimed, “I cannot do it! This is the blood of these men who have risked their lives.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Of those three men, Abishai, the brother of Joab (son of Zeruiah), was the greatest. Once he took on three hundred of the enemy single-handed and killed them all. It was by such feats that he earned a reputation equal to the Three, though he was not actually one of them. But he was the greatest of the Thirty—the top-ranking officers of the army—and was their leader.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
There was also Benaiah (son of Jehoiada), a heroic soldier from Kabzeel. Benaiah killed two giants, sons of Ariel of Moab. Another time he went down into a pit and, despite the slippery snow on the ground, took on a lion that was caught there and killed it.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Another time, armed only with a staff, he killed an Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear; he wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
He was one of the greatest of the Thirty, but was not actually one of the Top Three. And David made him chief of his bodyguard.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Asahel, the brother of Joab, was also one of the Thirty. Others were:
Elhanan (son of Dodo) from Bethlehem;
Shammah from Harod;
Elika from Harod;
Helez from Palti;
Ira (son of Ikkesh) from Tekoa;
Abiezer from Anathoth;
Mebunnai from Hushath;
Zalmon from Ahoh;
Maharai from Netophah;
Heleb (son of Baanah) from Netophah;
Ittai (son of Ribai) from Gibeah, of the tribe of Benjamin;
Benaiah of Pirathon;
Hiddai from the brooks of Gaash;
Abi-albon from Arbath;
Azmaveth from Bahurim;
Eliahba from Shaalbon;
The sons of Jashen;
Jonathan;
Shammah from Harar;
Ahiam (the son of Sharar) from Harar;
Eliphelet (son of Ahasbai) from Maacah;
Eliam (the son of Ahithophel) from Gilo;
Hezro from Carmel;
Paarai from Arba;
Igal (son of Nathan) from Zobah;
Bani from Gad;
Zelek from Ammon;
Naharai from Beeroth, the armor bearer of Joab (son of Zeruiah);
Ira from Ithra;
Gareb from Ithra;
Uriah the Hittite—thirty-seven in all.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
Once again the anger of the Lord flared against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a national census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the Lord told him.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So the king said to Joab, commander-in-chief of his army, “Take a census of all the people from one end of the nation to the other, so that I will know how many of them there are.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But Joab replied, “God grant that you will live to see the day when there will be a hundred times as many people in your kingdom as there are now! But you have no right to rejoice in their strength.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But the king’s command overcame Joab’s remonstrance; so Joab and the other army officers went out to count the people of Israel.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
First they crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, south of the city that lies in the middle of the valley of Gad, near Jazer;


book: 2Sam
contenido:
and then to the stronghold of Tyre, and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and south to Judah as far as Beersheba.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And Joab reported the number of the people to the king—800,000 men of conscription age in Israel and 500,000 in Judah.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him, and he said to the Lord, “What I did was very wrong. Please forgive this foolish wickedness of mine.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s contact with God.
The Lord said to Gad,


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose seven years of famine across the land, or to flee for three months before your enemies, or to submit to three days of plague? Think this over and let me know what answer to give to God.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“This is a hard decision,” David replied, “but it is better to fall into the hand of the Lord (for his mercy is great) than into the hands of men.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days; and seventy thousand men died throughout the nation.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But as the death angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord was sorry for what was happening and told him to stop. He was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite at the time.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “Look, I am the one who has sinned! What have these sheep done? Let your anger be only against me and my family.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came forward and fell flat on the ground with his face in the dust.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Why have you come?” Araunah asked.
And David replied, “To buy your threshing floor, so that I can build an altar to the Lord, and he will stop the plague.”


book: 2Sam
contenido:
“Use anything you like,” Araunah told the king. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing instruments and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
But the king said to Araunah, “No, I will not have it as a gift. I will buy it, for I don’t want to offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that have cost me nothing.”
So David paid him for the threshing floor and the oxen.


book: 2Sam
contenido:
And David built an altar there to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer, and the plague was stopped.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
In his old age King David was confined to his bed; but no matter how many blankets were heaped upon him, he was always cold.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“The cure for this,” his aides told him, “is to find a young virgin to be your concubine and nurse. She will lie in your arms and keep you warm.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So they searched the country from one end to the other to find the most beautiful girl in all the land. Abishag, from Shunam, was finally selected. They brought her to the king, and she lay in his arms to warm him (but he had no sexual relations with her).


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
At about that time, David’s son Adonijah (his mother was Haggith) decided to crown himself king in place of his aged father. So he hired chariots and drivers and recruited fifty men to run down the streets before him as royal footmen.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time—not so much as by a single scolding! He was a very handsome man and was Absalom’s younger brother.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
He took General Joab and Abiathar the priest into his confidence, and they agreed to help him become king.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
But among those who remained loyal to King David and refused to endorse Adonijah were the priests Zadok and Benaiah, the prophet Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David’s army chiefs.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Adonijah went to En-rogel where he sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fat young goats at the Serpent’s Stone. Then he summoned all of his brothers—the other sons of King David—and all the royal officials of Judah, requesting that they come to his coronation.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Nathan the prophet went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, and asked her, “Do you realize that Haggith’s son, Adonijah, is now the king and that our lord David doesn’t even know about it?


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Go at once to King David and ask him, ‘My lord, didn’t you promise me that my son Solomon would be the next king and would sit upon your throne? Then why is Adonijah reigning?’


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So Bathsheba went into the king’s bedroom. He was an old, old man now, and Abishag was caring for him.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
She replied, “My lord, you vowed to me by the Lord your God that my son Solomon would be the next king and would sit upon your throne.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
He has celebrated his coronation by sacrificing oxen, fat goats, and many sheep and has invited all your sons and Abiathar the priest and General Joab. But he didn’t invite Solomon.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And now, my lord the king, all Israel is waiting for your decision as to whether Adonijah is the one you have chosen to succeed you.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
If you don’t act, my son Solomon and I will be arrested and executed as criminals as soon as you are dead.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
While she was speaking, the king’s aides told him, “Nathan the prophet is here to see you.”
Nathan came in and bowed low before the king,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
and asked, “My lord, have you appointed Adonijah to be the next king? Is he the one you have selected to sit upon your throne?


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Today he celebrated his coronation by sacrificing oxen, fat goats, and many sheep, and has invited your sons to attend the festivities. He also invited General Joab and Abiathar the priest; and they are feasting and drinking with him and shouting, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Has this been done with your knowledge? For you haven’t said a word as to which of your sons you have chosen to be the next king.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
I decree that your son Solomon shall be the next king and shall sit upon my throne, just as I swore to you before by the Lord God of Israel.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Bathsheba bowed low before him again and exclaimed, “Oh, thank you, sir. May my lord the king live forever!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Call Zadok the priest,” the king ordered, “and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah.”
When they arrived,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him there as king of Israel. Then blow the trumpets and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When you bring him back here, place him upon my throne as the new king; for I have appointed him king of Israel and Judah.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“May the Lord be with Solomon as he has been with you, and may God make Solomon’s reign even greater than yours!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, and David’s bodyguard took Solomon to Gihon, riding on King David’s own mule.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
At Gihon, Zadok took a flask of sacred oil from the Tabernacle and poured it over Solomon; and the trumpets were blown and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then they all returned with him to Jerusalem, making a joyous and noisy celebration all along the way.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Adonijah and his guests heard the commotion and shouting just as they were finishing their banquet.
“What’s going on?” Joab demanded. “Why is the city in such an uproar?”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And while he was still speaking, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, rushed in.
“Come in,” Adonijah said to him, “for you are a good man; you must have good news.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“The king sent him to Gihon with Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah, protected by the king’s own bodyguard; and he rode on the king’s own mule. And Zadok and Nathan have anointed him as the new king! They have just returned, and the whole city is celebrating and rejoicing. That’s what all the noise is.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Solomon is sitting on the throne, and all the people are congratulating King David, saying, ‘May God bless you even more through Solomon than he has blessed you personally! May God make Solomon’s reign even greater than yours!’ And the king is lying in bed, acknowledging their blessings.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
He is saying, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who has selected one of my sons to sit upon my throne while I am still alive to see it.’”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Adonijah and his guests jumped up from the banquet table and fled in panic; for they were fearful for their lives. Adonijah rushed into the Tabernacle and caught hold of the horns of the sacred altar.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When word reached Solomon that Adonijah was claiming sanctuary in the Tabernacle, and pleading for clemency,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So King Solomon summoned him, and they brought him down from the altar. He came to bow low before the king; and then Solomon curtly dismissed him.
“Go on home,” he said.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“I am going where every man on earth must some day go. I am counting on you to be a strong and worthy successor.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Obey the laws of God and follow all his ways; keep each of his commands written in the law of Moses so that you will prosper in everything you do, wherever you turn.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
If you do this, then the Lord will fulfill the promise he gave me, that if my children and their descendants watch their step and are faithful to God, one of them shall always be the king of Israel—my dynasty will never end.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Now listen to my instructions. You know that Joab murdered my two generals, Abner and Amasa. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
But be kind to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite. Make them permanent guests of the king, for they took care of me when I fled from your brother Absalom.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And do you remember Shimei, the son of Gera the Benjaminite from Bahurim? He cursed me with a terrible curse as I was going to Mahanaim; but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I promised I wouldn’t kill him.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
But that promise doesn’t bind you! You are a wise man, and you will know how to arrange a bloody death for him.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
One day Adonijah, the son of Haggith, came to see Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba.
“Have you come to make trouble?” she asked him.
“No,” he replied, “I come in peace.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Everything was going well for me,” he said, “and the kingdom was mine: everyone expected me to be the next king. But the tables are turned, and everything went to my brother instead; for that is the way the Lord wanted it.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
But now I have just a small favor to ask of you; please don’t turn me down.”
“What is it?” she asked.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
He replied, “Speak to King Solomon on my behalf (for I know he will do anything you request) and ask him to give me Abishag, the Shunammite, as my wife.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So she went to ask the favor of King Solomon. The king stood up from his throne as she entered and bowed low to her. He ordered that a throne for his mother be placed beside his; so she sat at his right hand.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “I hope you won’t turn me down.”
“What is it, my mother?” he asked. “You know I won’t refuse you.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Are you crazy?” he demanded. “If I were to give him Abishag, I would be giving him the kingdom too! For he is my older brother! He and Abiathar the priest and General Joab would take over!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then King Solomon swore with a great oath, “May God strike me dead if Adonijah does not die this very day for this plot against me! I swear it by the living God who has given me the throne of my father David and this kingdom he promised me.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your home in Anathoth. You should be killed, too, but I won’t do it now. For you carried the Ark of the Lord during my father’s reign, and you suffered right along with him in all of his troubles.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So Solomon forced Abiathar to give up his position as the priest of the Lord, thereby fulfilling the decree of Jehovah at Shiloh concerning the descendants of Eli.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When Joab heard about Adonijah’s death (Joab had joined Adonijah’s revolt, though not Absalom’s) he ran to the Tabernacle for sanctuary and caught hold of the horns of the altar.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Benaiah went into the Tabernacle and said to Joab, “The king says to come out!”
“No,” he said, “I’ll die here.”
So Benaiah returned to the king for further instructions.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Do as he says,” the king replied. “Kill him there beside the altar and bury him. This will remove the guilt of his senseless murders from me and from my father’s family.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Jehovah will hold him personally responsible for the murders of two men who were better than he. For my father was no party to the deaths of General Abner, commander-in-chief of the army of Israel, and General Amasa, commander-in-chief of the army of Judah.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
May Joab and his descendants be forever guilty of these murders, and may the Lord declare David and his descendants guiltless concerning their deaths.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So Benaiah returned to the Tabernacle and killed Joab; and he was buried beside his house in the desert.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The king now sent for Shimei and told him, “Build a house here in Jerusalem, and don’t step outside the city on pain of death. The moment you go beyond Kidron Brook, you die; and it will be your own fault.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
But three years later two of Shimei’s slaves escaped to King Achish of Gath. When Shimei learned where they were,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
he saddled a donkey and went to Gath to visit the king. And when he had found his slaves, he took them back to Jerusalem.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
he sent for him and demanded, “Didn’t I command you in the name of God to stay in Jerusalem or die? You replied, ‘Very well, I will do as you say.’


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And what about all the wicked things you did to my father, King David? May the Lord take revenge on you,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
but may I receive God’s rich blessings, and may one of David’s descendants always sit upon this throne.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then, at the king’s command, Benaiah took Shimei outside and killed him.
So Solomon’s grip upon the kingdom became secure.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to Jerusalem to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple and the wall around the city.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings on altars in the hills, for the Temple of the Lord hadn’t yet been built.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
(Solomon loved the Lord and followed all of his father David’s instructions except that he continued to sacrifice in the hills and to offer incense there.)


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The most famous of the hilltop altars was at Gibeon, and now the king went there and sacrificed one thousand burnt offerings!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The Lord appeared to him in a dream that night and told him to ask for anything he wanted, and it would be given to him!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Solomon replied, “You were wonderfully kind to my father David because he was honest and true and faithful to you, and obeyed your commands. And you have continued your kindness to him by giving him a son to succeed him.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
O Lord my God, now you have made me the king instead of my father David, but I am as a little child who doesn’t know his way around.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And here I am among your own chosen people, a nation so great that there are almost too many people to count!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Give me an understanding mind so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. For who by himself is able to carry such a heavy responsibility?”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So he replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people and haven’t asked for a long life, or riches for yourself, or the defeat of your enemies—


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
yes, I’ll give you what you asked for! I will give you a wiser mind than anyone else has ever had or ever will have!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And I will also give you what you didn’t ask for—riches and honor! And no one in all the world will be as rich and famous as you for the rest of your life!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and went into the Tabernacle. And as he stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all of his officials to a great banquet.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Sir,” one of them began, “we live in the same house, just the two of us, and recently I had a baby. When it was three days old, this woman’s baby was born too.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep, and laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And in the morning when I tried to feed my baby it was dead! But when it became light outside, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then the other woman interrupted, “It certainly was her son, and the living child is mine.”
“No,” the first woman said, “the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” And so they argued back and forth before the king.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then the king said, “Let’s get the facts straight: both of you claim the living child, and each says that the dead child belongs to the other.


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contenido:
Then the woman who really was the mother of the child, and who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, sir! Give her the child—don’t kill him!”
But the other woman said, “All right, it will be neither yours nor mine; divide it between us!”


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Word of the king’s decision spread quickly throughout the entire nation, and all the people were awed as they realized the great wisdom God had given him.


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Here is a list of King Solomon’s cabinet members:
Azariah (son of Zadok) was the High Priest;
Elihoreph and Ahijah (sons of Shisha) were secretaries;
Jehoshaphat (son of Ahilud) was the official historian and in charge of the archives;
Benaiah (son of Jehoiada) was commander-in-chief of the army;
Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
Azariah (son of Nathan) was secretary of state;
Zabud (son of Nathan) was the king’s personal priest and special friend;
Ahishar was manager of palace affairs;
Adoniram (son of Abda) was superintendent of public works.


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There were also twelve officials of Solomon’s court—one man from each tribe—responsible for requisitioning food from the people for the king’s household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year.


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The names of these twelve officers were:
Ben-hur, whose area for this taxation was the hill country of Ephraim;
Ben-deker, whose area was Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;
Ben-hesed, whose area was Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher;
Ben-abinadab (who married Solomon’s daughter, the princess Taphath), whose area was the highlands of Dor;
Baana (son of Ahilud), whose area was Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shean near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam;
Ben-geber, whose area was Ramoth-gilead, including the villages of Jair (the son of Manasseh) in Gilead; and the region of Argob in Bashan, including sixty walled cities with bronze gates;
Ahinadab (the son of Iddo), whose area was Mahanaim;
Ahimaaz (who married Princess Basemath, another of Solomon’s daughters), whose area was Naphtali;
Baana (son of Hushai), whose areas were Asher and Bealoth;
Jehoshaphat (son of Paruah), whose area was Issachar;
Shimei (son of Ela), whose area was Benjamin;
Geber (son of Uri), whose area was Gilead, including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan.
A general manager supervised these officials and their work.


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King Solomon ruled the whole area from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and down to the borders of Egypt. The conquered peoples of those lands sent taxes to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime.


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10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, and, from time to time, deer, gazelles, roebucks, and plump fowl.


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His dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace throughout the land.


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Throughout the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety; and each family had its own home and garden.


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He was wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he was famous among all the surrounding nations.


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He was a great naturalist, with interest in animals, birds, snakes, fish, and trees—from the great cedars of Lebanon down to the tiny hyssop which grows in cracks in the wall.


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King Hiram of Tyre had always been a great admirer of David, so when he learned that David’s son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to extend congratulations and good wishes.


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Solomon replied with a proposal about the Temple of the Lord he wanted to build. His father David, Solomon pointed out to Hiram, had not been able to build it because of the numerous wars going on, and he had been waiting for the Lord to give him peace.


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“But now,” Solomon said to Hiram, “the Lord my God has given Israel peace on every side; I have no foreign enemies or internal rebellions.


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So I am planning to build a Temple for the Lord my God, just as he instructed my father that I should do. For the Lord told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place upon your throne, shall build me a Temple.’


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Now please assist me with this project. Send your woodsmen to the mountains of Lebanon to cut cedar timber for me, and I will send my men to work beside them, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask; for as you know, no one in Israel can cut timber like you Sidonians!”


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Hiram was very pleased with the message from Solomon. “Praise God for giving David a wise son to be king of the great nation of Israel,” he said.


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Then he sent this reply to Solomon: “I have received your message and I will do as you have asked concerning the timber. I can supply both cedar and cypress.


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My men will bring the logs from the Lebanon mountains to the Mediterranean Sea and build them into rafts. We will float them along the coast to wherever you need them; then we will break the rafts apart and deliver the timber to you. You can pay me with food for my household.”


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and in return Solomon sent him an annual payment of 125,000 bushels of wheat for his household and 96 gallons of pure olive oil.


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So the Lord gave great wisdom to Solomon just as he had promised. And Hiram and Solomon made a formal alliance of peace.


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and rotated them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month, so that each man was a month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was the general superintendent of this labor camp.


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Solomon also had seventy thousand additional laborers, eighty thousand stonecutters in the hill country,


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The stonecutters quarried and shaped huge blocks of stone—a very expensive job—for the foundation of the Temple.


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Men from Gebal helped Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders in cutting the timber and making the boards, and in preparing the stone for the Temple.


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It was in the spring of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign that he began the actual construction of the Temple. (This was 480 years after the people of Israel left their slavery in Egypt.)


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An annex of rooms was built along the full length of both sides of the Temple against the outer walls.


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These rooms were three stories high, the lower floor being 7½ feet wide, the second floor 9 feet wide, and the upper floor 10½ feet wide. The rooms were connected to the walls of the Temple by beams resting on blocks built out from the wall—so the beams were not inserted into the walls themselves.


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The stones used in the construction of the Temple were prefinished at the quarry, so the entire structure was built without the sound of hammer, ax, or any other tool at the building site.


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The bottom floor of the side rooms was entered from the right side of the Temple, and there were winding stairs going up to the second floor; another flight of stairs led from the second to the third.


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As already stated, there was an annex on each side of the building, attached to the Temple walls by cedar timbers. Each story of the annex was 7½ feet high.


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Then the Lord sent this message to Solomon concerning the Temple he was building: “If you do as I tell you to and follow all of my commandments and instructions, I will do what I told your father David I would do:


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The entire inside, from floor to ceiling, was paneled with cedar, and the floors were made of cypress boards.


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The thirty-foot inner room at the far end of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—was also paneled from the floor to the ceiling with cedar boards.


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Throughout the Temple the cedar paneling laid over the stone walls was carved with designs of rosebuds and open flowers.


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This innr sanctuary was thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty feet high. Its walls and ceiling were overlaid with pure gold, and Solomon made a cedar-wood altar for this room.


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Then he overlaid the interior of the remainder of the Temple—including the cedar altar—with pure gold; and he made gold chains to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place.


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Within the inner sanctuary Solomon placed two statues of Guardian Angels made from olive wood, each fifteen feet high. They were placed so that their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, while their inner wings touched each other at the center of the room; each wing was 7½ feet long, so each Angel measured fifteen feet from wing tip to wing tip. The two Angels were identical in all dimensions, and each was overlaid with gold.


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Figures of Guardian Angels, palm trees, and open flowers were carved on all the walls of both rooms of the Temple,


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and its two olive-wood doors were carved with Guardian Angels, palm trees, and open flowers, all overlaid with gold.


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and the entire building was completed in every detail in November of the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build.


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One of the rooms in the palace was called the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon. It was huge—measuring 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The great cedar ceiling beams rested upon four rows of cedar pillars.


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There were forty-five windows in the hall, set in three tiers, one tier above the other, five to a tier, facing each other from three walls.


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Another room was called the Hall of Pillars. It was seventy-five feet long and forty-five feet wide, with a porch in front covered by a canopy that was supported by pillars.


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There was also the Throne Room or Judgment Hall, where Solomon sat to hear legal matters; it was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.


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His cedar-paneled living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall. (He designed similar living quarters, the same size, in the palace that he built for Pharaoh’s daughter—one of his wives.)


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The Great Court had three courses of hewn stone in its walls, topped with cedar beams, just like the inner court of the Temple and the porch of the palace.


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King Solomon then asked for a man named Hiram to come from Tyre, for he was a skilled craftsman in bronze work.


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He was half Jewish, being the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a foundry worker from Tyre. So he came to work for King Solomon.


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He cast two hollow bronze pillars, each twenty-seven feet high and eighteen feet around, with three-inch-thick walls.


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At the tops of the pillars he made two lily-shaped capitals from molten bronze, each 7½ feet high. The upper part of each capital was shaped like a lily, six feet high. Each capital was decorated with seven sets of bronze, chain-designed lattices and four hundred pomegranates in two rows. Hiram set these pillars at the entrance of the Temple. The one on the south was named the Jachin Pillar, and the one on the north, the Boaz Pillar.*


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Then Hiram cast a round bronze tank, 7½ feet high and 15 feet from brim to brim; 45 feet in circumference.


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On the underside of the rim were two rows of ornaments an inch or two apart, which were cast along with the tank.


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It rested on twelve bronze oxen standing tail to tail, three facing north, three west, three south, and three east.


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The sides of the tank were four inches thick; its brim was shaped like a goblet, and it had a twelve thousand gallon capacity.


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Then he made ten four-wheeled movable stands, each 6 feet square and 4½ feet high. They were constructed with undercarriages braced with square crosspieces. These crosspieces were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and Guardian Angels. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations. Each of these movable stands had four bronze wheels and bronze axles, and at each corner of the stands were supporting posts made of bronze and decorated with wreaths on each side.


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The top of each stand was a round piece 1½ feet high. Its center was concave, 2¼ feet deep, decorated on the outside with wreaths. Its panels were square, not round.


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The stands rode on four wheels which were connected to axles that had been cast as part of the stands. The wheels were twenty-seven inches high


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and were similar to chariot wheels. All the parts of the stands were cast from molten bronze, including the axles, spokes, rims, and hubs.


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There were supports at each of the four corners of the stands, and these, too, were cast with the stands.


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A nine-inch rim surrounded the tip of each stand, banded with lugs. All was cast as one unit with the stand.


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Guardian Angels, lions, and palm trees surrounded by wreaths were engraved on the borders of the band wherever there was room.


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Then he made ten brass vats, and placed them on the stands. Each vat was six feet square and contained 240 gallons of water.


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Five of these vats were arranged on the left and five on the right-hand side of the room. The tank was in the southeast corner, on the right-hand side of the room.


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Hiram also made the necessary pots, shovels, and basins and at last completed the work in the Temple of the Lord that had been assigned to him by King Solomon.


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Here is a list of the items he made:
Two pillars;
A capital at the top of each pillar;
Latticework covering the bases of the capitals of each pillar;
Four hundred pomegranates in two rows on the latticework, to cover the bases of the two capitals;
Ten movable stands holding ten vats;
One large tank and twelve oxen supporting it;
Pots;
Shovels;
Basins.
All these items were made of burnished bronze and were cast at the plains of the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan.


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All the utensils and furniture used in the Temple were made of solid gold. This included the altar, the table where the Bread of the Presence of God was displayed,


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the lampstands (five on the right-hand side and five on the left, in front of the Most Holy Place), the flowers, lamps, tongs,


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cups, snuffers, basins, spoons, firepans, the hinges of the doors to the Most Holy Place, and the main entrance doors of the Temple. Each of these was made of solid gold.


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When the Temple was finally finished, Solomon took into the treasury of the Temple the silver, the gold, and all the vessels dedicated for that purpose by his father David.


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Then Solomon called a convocation at Jerusalem of all the leaders of Israel—the heads of the tribes and clans—to observe the transferring of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from the Tabernacle in Zion, the City of David, to the Temple.


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During the festivities the priests carried the Ark to the Temple, along with all the sacred vessels that had previously been in the Tabernacle.


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Then the priests took the Ark into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it under the wings of the statues of the Guardian Angels.


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The Angels had been constructed in such a manner that their wings spread out over the spot where the Ark would be placed; so now their wings overshadowed the Ark and its carrying poles.


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The poles were so long that they stuck out past the Angels and could be seen from the next room, but not from the outer court; and they remain there to this day.


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There was nothing in the Ark at that time except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed there at Mount Horeb at the time the Lord made his covenant with the people of Israel after they left Egypt.


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Now King Solomon prayed this invocation:
“The Lord has said that he would live in the thick darkness;
But, O Lord, I have built you a lovely home on earth, a place for you to live forever.”


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for he said to him, ‘When I brought my people from Egypt, I didn’t appoint a place for my Temple, but I appointed a man to be my people’s leader.’


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And now the Lord has done what he promised; for I have followed my father as king of Israel, and now this Temple has been built for the Lord God of Israel.


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And I have prepared a place in the Temple for the Ark that contains the covenant made by the Lord with our fathers, at the time that he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”


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Then, as all the people watched, Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord with his hands spread out toward heaven and said, “O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or earth, for you are loving and kind and you keep your promises to your people if they do their best to do your will.


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and now, O Lord God of Israel, fulfill your further promise to him: that if his descendants follow your ways and try to do your will as he did, one of them shall always sit upon the throne of Israel.


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“But is it possible that God would really live on earth? Why, even the skies and the highest heavens cannot contain you, much less this Temple I have built!


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Please watch over this Temple night and day—this place you have promised to live in—and as I face toward the Temple and pray, whether by night or by day, please listen to me and answer my requests.


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Listen to every plea of the people of Israel whenever they face this place to pray; yes, hear in heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.


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“If a man is accused of doing something wrong and then, standing here before your altar, swears that he didn’t do it,


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“And when your people sin and their enemies defeat them, hear them from heaven and forgive them if they turn to you again and confess that you are their God. Bring them back again to this land which you have given to their fathers.


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“And when the skies are shut up and there is no rain because of their sin, hear them from heaven and forgive them when they pray toward this place and confess your name. And after you have punished them, help them to follow the good ways in which they should walk, and send rain upon the land that you have given your people.


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“If there is a famine in the land caused by plant disease or locusts or caterpillars, or if Israel’s enemies besiege one of her cities, or if the people are struck by an epidemic or plague—or whatever the problem is—


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hear them from heaven and forgive and answer all who have made an honest confession; for you know each heart.


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In this way they will always learn to reverence you as they continue to live in this land that you have given their fathers.


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“And when foreigners hear of your great name and come from distant lands to worship you (for they shall hear of your great name and mighty miracles) and pray toward this Temple,


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hear them from heaven and answer their prayers. And all the nations of the earth will know and fear your name just as your own people Israel do; and all the earth will know that this is your Temple.


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“When you send your people out to battle against their enemies and they pray to you, looking toward your chosen city of Jerusalem and toward this Temple that I have built in your name,


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“If they sin against you (and who doesn’t?) and you become angry with them and let their enemies lead them away as captives to some foreign land, whether far or near,


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and they come to their senses and turn to you and cry to you saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong’;


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if they honestly return to you and pray toward this land that you have given their fathers, and toward this city of Jerusalem that you have chosen, and toward this Temple that I have built for your name,


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May your eyes be open and your ears listening to their pleas. O Lord, hear and answer them whenever they cry out to you,


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for when you brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, you told your servant Moses that you had chosen Israel from among all the nations of the earth to be your own special people.”


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Solomon had been kneeling with his hands outstretched toward heaven. As he finished this prayer, he rose from before the altar of Jehovah and cried out this blessing upon all the people of Israel:


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“Blessed be the Lord who has fulfilled his promise and given rest to his people Israel; not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises proclaimed by his servant Moses.


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May he give us the desire to do his will in everything, and to obey all the commandments and instructions he has given our ancestors.


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And may these words of my prayer be constantly before him day and night, so that he helps me and all of Israel in accordance with our daily needs.


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O my people, may you live good and perfect lives before the Lord our God; may you always obey his laws and commandments, just as you are doing today.”


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Then the king and all the people dedicated the Temple by sacrificing peace offerings to the Lord—a total of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep and goats!


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As a temporary measure the king sanctified the court in front of the Temple for the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: for the bronze altar was too small to handle so much.


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The celebration lasted for fourteen days, and a great crowd came from one end of the land to the other.


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Afterwards Solomon sent the people home, happy for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to his servant David and to his people Israel. And they blessed the king.


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When Solomon had finished building the Temple and the palace and all the other buildings he had always wanted,


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the Lord appeared to him the second time (the first time had been at Gibeon) and said to him, “I have heard your prayer. I have hallowed this Temple that you have built and have put my name here forever. I will constantly watch over it and rejoice in it.


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then I will cause your descendants to be the kings of Israel forever, just as I promised your father David when I told him, ‘One of your sons shall always be upon the throne of Israel.’


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then I will take away the people of Israel from this land that I have given them. I will take them from this Temple which I have hallowed for my name, and I will cast them out of my sight; and Israel will become a joke to the nations and an example and proverb of sudden disaster.


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This Temple will become a heap of ruins, and everyone passing by will be amazed and will whistle with astonishment, asking, ‘Why has the Lord done such things to this land and this Temple?’


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And the answer will be, ‘The people of Israel abandoned the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt; they worshiped other gods instead. That is why the Lord has brought this evil upon them.’”


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he gave twenty cities in the land of Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre as payment for all the cedar and cypress lumber and gold he had furnished for the construction of the palace and Temple. Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities, but he wasn’t at all pleased with them.


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“What sort of deal is this, my brother?” he asked. “These cities are a wasteland!” (And they are still known as “The Wasteland” today.)


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Solomon had conscripted forced labor to build the Temple, his palace, Fort Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.


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Gezer was the city the king of Egypt conquered and burned, killing the Israeli population; later he had given the city to his daughter as a dowry—she was one of Solomon’s wives.


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He also built cities for grain storage, cities in which to keep his chariots, cities for homes for his cavalry and chariot drivers, and resort cities near Jerusalem and in the Lebanon mountains and elsewhere throughout the land.


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Solomon conscripted his labor forces from those who survived in the nations he conquered—the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. For the people of Israel had not been able to wipe them out completely at the time of the invasion and conquest of Israel, and they continue as slaves even today.


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Solomon didn’t conscript any Israelis for this work, although they became soldiers, officials, army officers, chariot commanders, and cavalrymen.


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King Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David—the old sector of Jerusalem—to the new quarters he had built for her in the palace. Then he built Fort Millo.


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After the Temple was completed, Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings three times a year on the altar he had built. And he also burned incense upon it.


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King Solomon had a shipyard in Ezion-geber near Eloth on the Red Sea in the land of Edom, where he built a fleet of ships.


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King Hiram supplied experienced sailors to accompany Solomon’s crews. They used to sail back and forth from Ophir, bringing gold to King Solomon, the total value of which was several million dollars each trip.


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When the queen of Sheba heard how wonderfully the Lord had blessed Solomon with wisdom, she decided to test him with some hard questions.


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She arrived in Jerusalem with a long train of camels carrying spices, gold, and jewels; and she told him all her problems.


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Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for him, for the Lord gave him the right answers every time.


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She soon realized that everything she had ever heard about his great wisdom was true. She also saw the beautiful palace he had built,


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and when she saw the wonderful foods on his table, the great number of servants and aides who stood around in splendid uniforms, his cupbearers, and the many offerings he sacrificed by fire to the Lord—well, there was no more spirit in her!


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She exclaimed to him, “Everything I heard in my own country about your wisdom and about the wonderful things going on here is all true.


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I didn’t believe it until I came, but now I have seen it for myself! And really! The half had not been told me! Your wisdom and prosperity are far greater than anything I’ve ever heard of!


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Your people are happy and your palace aides are content—but how could it be otherwise, for they stand here day after day listening to your wisdom!


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Blessed be the Lord your God who chose you and set you on the throne of Israel. How the Lord must love Israel—for he gave you to them as their king! And you give your people a just, good government!”


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Then she gave the king a gift of $3,500,000 in gold, along with a huge quantity of spices and precious gems; in fact, it was the largest single gift of spices King Solomon had ever received.


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(And when King Hiram’s ships brought gold to Solomon from Ophir, they also brought along a great supply of algum trees and gems.


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Solomon used the algum wood to make pillars for the Temple and the palace, and for harps and harpsichords for his choirs. Never before or since has there been such a supply of beautiful wood.)


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In exchange for the gifts from the queen of Sheba, King Solomon gave her everything she asked him for, besides the presents he had already planned. Then she and her servants returned to their own land.


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besides sales taxes and profits from trade with the kings of Arabia and the other surrounding territories.


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contenido:
Solomon had some of the gold beaten into two hundred pieces of armor (gold worth $6,000 went into each piece) and three hundred shields ($1,800 worth of gold in each). And he kept them in his palace in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.


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contenido:
And there were two lions on each step—twelve in all. There was no other throne in all the world so splendid as that one.


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contenido:
All of King Solomon’s cups were of solid gold, and in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon his entire dining service was made of solid gold. (Silver wasn’t used because it wasn’t considered to be of much value!)


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contenido:
King Solomon’s merchant fleet was in partnership with King Hiram’s, and once every three years a great load of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks arrived at the Israeli ports.


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contenido:
They brought him annual tribute of silver and gold dishes, beautiful cloth, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules.


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contenido:
Solomon built up a great stable of horses with a vast number of chariots and cavalry—1,400 chariots in all and 12,000 cavalrymen, who lived in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.


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contenido:
Silver was as common as stones in Jerusalem in those days, and cedar was of no greater value than the common sycamore!


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contenido:
Solomon’s horses were brought to him from Egypt and southern Turkey, where his agents purchased them at wholesale prices.


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contenido:
An Egyptian chariot delivered to Jerusalem cost $400, and the horses were valued at $150 each. Many of these were then resold to the Hittite and Syrian kings.


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contenido:
King Solomon married many other girls besides the Egyptian princess. Many of them came from nations where idols were worshiped—Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from the Hittites—


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contenido:
even though the Lord had clearly instructed his people not to marry into those nations, because the women they married would get them started worshiping their gods. Yet Solomon did it anyway.


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contenido:
He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines; and sure enough, they turned his heart away from the Lord,


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contenido:
especially in his old age. They encouraged him to worship their gods instead of trusting completely in the Lord as his father David had done.


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contenido:
Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the horrible god of the Ammonites.


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contenido:
He even built a temple on the Mount of Olives, across the valley from Jerusalem, for Chemosh, the depraved god of Moab, and another for Molech, the unutterably vile god of the Ammonites.


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contenido:
Solomon built temples for these foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.


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contenido:
Jehovah was very angry with Solomon about this, for now Solomon was no longer interested in the Lord God of Israel who had appeared to him twice to warn him specifically against worshiping other gods. But he hadn’t listened,


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contenido:
so now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept our agreement and have not obeyed my laws, I will tear the kingdom away from you and your family and give it to someone else.


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contenido:
However, for the sake of your father David, I won’t do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. And even so I will let him be king of one tribe, for David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”


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contenido:
So the Lord caused Hadad the Edomite to grow in power. And Solomon became apprehensive, for Hadad was a member of the royal family of Edom.


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contenido:
Years before, when David had been in Edom with Joab to arrange for the burial of some Israeli soldiers who had died in battle, the Israeli army had killed nearly every male in the entire country.


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contenido:
It took six months to accomplish this, but they finally killed all except Hadad and a few royal officials who took him to Egypt (he was a very small child at the time). They slipped out of Midian and went to Paran, where others joined them and accompanied them to Egypt, and Pharaoh had given them homes and food.


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contenido:
She presented him with a son, Genubath, who was brought up in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s own sons.


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contenido:
When Hadad, there in Egypt, heard that David and Joab were both dead, he asked Pharaoh for permission to return to Edom.


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contenido:
“Why?” Pharaoh asked him. “What do you lack here? How have we disappointed you?”
“Everything is wonderful,” he replied, “but even so, I’d like to go back home.”


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contenido:
Another of Solomon’s enemies whom God raised to power was Rezon, one of the officials of King Hadadezer of Zobah who had deserted his post and fled the country.


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contenido:
He had become the leader of a gang of bandits—men who fled with him to Damascus (where he later became king) when David destroyed Zobah.


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contenido:
During Solomon’s entire lifetime, Rezon and Hadad were his enemies, for they hated Israel intensely.


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contenido:
Another rebel leader was Jeroboam (the son of Nebat), who came from the city of Zeredah in Ephraim; his mother was Zeruah, a widow.


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contenido:
Here is the story of his rebellion: Solomon was rebuilding Fort Millo, repairing the walls of this city his father had built. Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw how industrious he was, he put him in charge of his labor battalions from the tribe of Joseph.


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contenido:
One day as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh (who had put on a new robe for the occasion) met him and called him aside to talk to him. And as the two of them were alone in the field,


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contenido:
and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten of these pieces, for the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I will tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and give ten of the tribes to you!


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contenido:
But I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen above all the other cities of Israel.


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contenido:
For Solomon has forsaken me and worships Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; and Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Milcom, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my paths and has not done what I consider right; he has not kept my laws and instructions as his father David did.


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contenido:
I will not take the kingdom from him now, however; for the sake of my servant David, my chosen one who obeyed my commandments, I will let Solomon reign for the rest of his life.


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contenido:
His son shall have the other one so that the descendants of David will continue to reign in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen to be the place for my name to be enshrined.


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contenido:
If you listen to what I tell you and walk in my path and do whatever I consider right, obeying my commandments as my servant David did, then I will bless you; and your descendants shall rule Israel forever. (I once made this same promise to David.


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contenido:
Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until the death of Solomon.


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contenido:
and then died and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.


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contenido:
Jeroboam, who was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon, heard about the plans from his friends. They urged him to attend, so he joined the rest of Israel at Shechem and was the ringleader in getting the people to make certain demands upon Rehoboam.
“Your father was a hard master,” they told Rehoboam. “We don’t want you as our king unless you promise to treat us better than he did.”


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contenido:
“Give me three days to think this over,” Rehoboam replied. “Come back then for my answer.” So the people left.


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contenido:
Rehoboam talked it over with the old men who had counseled his father Solomon.
“What do you think I should do?” he asked them.


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contenido:
And they replied, “If you give them a pleasant reply and agree to be good to them and serve them well, you can be their king forever.”


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contenido:
And the young men replied, “Tell them, ‘If you think my father was hard on you, well, I’ll be harder!


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contenido:
Yes, my father was harsh, but I’ll be even harsher! My father used whips on you, but I’ll use scorpions!’”


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contenido:
the new king answered them roughly. He ignored the old men’s advice and followed that of the young men;


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contenido:
so the king refused the people’s demands. (But the Lord’s hand was in it—he caused the new king to do this in order to fulfill his promise to Jeroboam, made through Ahijah, the prophet from Shiloh.)


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contenido:
When the people realized that the king meant what he said and was refusing to listen to them, they began shouting, “Down with David and all his relatives! Let’s go home! Let Rehoboam be king of his own family!”
And they all deserted him except for the tribe of Judah, who remained loyal and accepted Rehoboam as their king.


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contenido:
When King Rehoboam sent Adoram (who was in charge of the draft) to conscript men from the other tribes, a great mob stoned him to death. But King Rehoboam escaped by chariot and fled to Jerusalem.


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contenido:
When the people of Israel learned of Jeroboam’s return from Egypt, he was asked to come before an open meeting of all the people; and there he was made king of Israel. Only the tribe of Judah continued under the kingship of the family of David.


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contenido:
When King Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned his army—all the able-bodied men of Judah and Benjamin: 180,000 special troops—to force the rest of Israel to acknowledge him as their king.


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contenido:
“Tell Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and all the people of Judah and Benjamin that they must not fight against their brothers, the people of Israel. Tell them to disband and go home, for what has happened to Rehoboam is according to my wish.” So the army went home as the Lord had commanded.


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contenido:
Jeroboam now built the city of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and it became his capital. Later he built Penuel.


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contenido:
When they go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple, they will become friendly with King Rehoboam; then they will kill me and ask him to be their king instead.”


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contenido:
So on the advice of his counselors, the king had two golden calf idols made and told the people, “It’s too much trouble to go to Jerusalem to worship; from now on these will be your gods—they rescued you from your captivity in Egypt!”


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contenido:
He also made shrines on the hills and ordained priests from the rank and file of the people—even those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi.


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contenido:
Jeroboam also announced that the annual Tabernacle Festival would be held at Bethel on the first of November (a date he decided upon himself), similar to the annual festival at Jerusalem; he himself offered sacrifices upon the altar to the calves at Bethel and burned incense to them. And it was there at Bethel that he ordained priests for the shrines on the hills.


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contenido:
As Jeroboam approached the altar to burn incense to the golden calf idol, a prophet of the Lord from Judah walked up to him.


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contenido:
Then, at the Lord’s command, the prophet shouted, “O altar, the Lord says that a child named Josiah shall be born into the family line of David, and he shall sacrifice upon you the priests from the shrines on the hills who come here to burn incense; and men’s bones shall be burned upon you.”


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contenido:
Then he gave this proof that his message was from the Lord: “This altar will split apart, and the ashes on it will spill to the ground.”


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contenido:
The king was very angry with the prophet for saying this. He shouted to his guards, “Arrest that man!” and shook his fist at him. Instantly the king’s arm became paralyzed in that position; he couldn’t pull it back again!


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contenido:
At the same moment a wide crack appeared in the altar and the ashes poured out, just as the prophet had said would happen. For this was the prophet’s proof that God had been speaking through him.


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contenido:
“Oh, please, please,” the king cried out to the prophet, “beg the Lord your God to restore my arm again.”
So he prayed to the Lord, and the king’s arm became normal again.


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contenido:
Then the king said to the prophet, “Come to the palace with me and rest awhile and have some food; and I’ll give you a reward because you healed my arm.”


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contenido:
But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you gave me half your palace, I wouldn’t go into it; nor would I eat or drink even water in this place!


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contenido:
For the Lord has given me strict orders not to eat anything or drink any water while I’m here, and not to return to Judah by the road I came on.”


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contenido:
As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons went home and told him what the prophet from Judah had done and what he had said to the king.


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contenido:
he rode after the prophet and found him sitting under an oak tree.
“Are you the prophet who came from Judah?” he asked him.
“Yes,” he replied, “I am.”


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contenido:
“No,” he replied, “I can’t; for I am not allowed to eat anything or to drink any water at Bethel. The Lord strictly warned me against it; and he also told me not to return home by the same road I came on.”


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contenido:
But the old man said, “I am a prophet too, just as you are; and an angel gave me a message from the Lord. I am to take you home with me and give you food and water.”
But the old man was lying to him.


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contenido:
So they went back together, and the prophet ate some food and drank some water at the old man’s home.


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contenido:
and he shouted at the prophet from Judah, “The Lord says that because you have been disobedient to his clear command and have come here, and have eaten and drunk water in the place he told you not to, therefore your body shall not be buried in the grave of your fathers.”


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contenido:
and the prophet started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. Those who came by and saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing quietly beside it, reported it in Bethel where the old prophet lived.


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contenido:
When he heard what had happened he exclaimed, “It is the prophet who disobeyed the Lord’s command; the Lord fulfilled his warning by causing the lion to kill him.”


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contenido:
He found the prophet’s body lying in the road; and the donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey.


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contenido:
So the prophet laid the body upon the donkey and took it back to the city to mourn over it and bury it.


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contenido:
Afterwards he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the prophet is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones.


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contenido:
For the Lord told him to shout against the altar in Bethel, and his curse against the shrines in the cities of Samaria shall surely be fulfilled.”


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contenido:
Despite the prophet’s warning, Jeroboam did not turn away from his evil ways; instead, he made more priests than ever from the common people, to offer sacrifices to idols in the shrines on the hills. Anyone who wanted to could be a priest.


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contenido:
This was a great sin and resulted in the destruction of Jeroboam’s kingdom and the death of all of his family.


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contenido:
Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you as the queen, and go to Ahijah the prophet at Shiloh—the man who told me that I would become king.


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contenido:
Take him a gift of ten loaves of bread, some fig bars, and a jar of honey, and ask him whether the boy will recover.”


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contenido:
But the Lord told him that the queen, pretending to be someone else, would come to ask about her son, for he was very sick. And the Lord told him what to tell her.


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contenido:
So when Ahijah heard her at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else?” Then he told her, “I have sad news for you.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Give your husband this message from the Lord God of Israel: ‘I promoted you from the ranks of the common people and made you king of Israel.


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contenido:
I ripped the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you, but you have not obeyed my commandments as my servant David did. His heart’s desire was always to obey me and to do whatever I wanted him to.


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contenido:
But you have done more evil than all the other kings before you; you have made other gods and have made me furious with your gold calves. And since you have refused to acknowledge me,


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contenido:
I will bring disaster upon your home and will destroy all of your sons—this boy who is sick and all those who are well. I will sweep away your family as a stable hand shovels out manure.


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contenido:
I vow that those of your family who die in the city shall be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field shall be eaten by birds.’”


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contenido:
Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s wife, “Go on home, and when you step into the city, the child will die.


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contenido:
All of Israel will mourn for him and bury him, but he is the only member of your family who will come to a quiet end. For this child is the only good thing that the Lord God of Israel sees in the entire family of Jeroboam.


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contenido:
Then the Lord will shake Israel like a reed whipped about in a stream; he will uproot the people of Israel from this good land of their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, for they have angered the Lord by worshiping idol-gods.


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contenido:
So Jeroboam’s wife returned to Tirzah; and the child died just as she walked through the door of her home.


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contenido:
The rest of Jeroboam’s activities—his wars and the other events of his reign—are recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.


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contenido:
Meanwhile, Rehoboam the son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he was on the throne seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which, among all the cities of Israel, the Lord had chosen to live in. (Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, an Ammonite woman.)


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contenido:
During his reign the people of Judah, like those in Israel, did wrong and angered the Lord with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
There was homosexuality throughout the land, and the people of Judah became as depraved as the heathen nations which the Lord drove out to make room for his people.


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contenido:
He ransacked the Temple and the palace and stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made.


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contenido:
Whenever the king went to the Temple, the guards paraded before him and then took the shields back to the guard chamber.


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contenido:
When Rehoboam died—his mother was Naamah the Ammonitess—he was buried among his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Abijam took the throne.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Abijam began his three-year reign as king of Judah in Jerusalem during the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. (Abijam’s mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.)


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contenido:
He was as great a sinner as his father was, and his heart was not right with God, as King David’s was.


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contenido:
But despite Abijam’s sin, the Lord remembered David’s love and did not end the line of David’s royal descendants.


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contenido:
He deposed his grandmother Maacah as queen mother because she had made an idol—which he cut down and burned at Kidron Brook.


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contenido:
He made permanent exhibits in the Temple of the bronze shields his grandfather had dedicated, along with the silver and gold vessels he himself had donated.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Asa took all the silver and gold left in the Temple treasury and all the treasures of the palace, and gave them to his officials to take to Damascus, to King Ben-hadad of Syria, with this message:


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Let us be allies just as our fathers were. I am sending you a present of gold and silver. Now break your alliance with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.”


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contenido:
Ben-hadad agreed and sent his armies against some of the cities of Israel; and he destroyed Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, all of Chinneroth, and all the cities in the land of Naphtali.


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contenido:
When Baasha received word of the attack, he discontinued building the city of Ramah and returned to Tirzah.


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contenido:
Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, asking every able-bodied man to help demolish Ramah and haul away its stones and timbers. And King Asa used these materials to build the city of Geba in Benjamin and the city of Mizpah.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The rest of Asa’s biography—his conquests and deeds and the names of the cities he built—is found in The Annals of the Kings of Judah. In his old age his feet became diseased,


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contenido:
and when he died, he was buried in the royal cemetery in Jerusalem. Then his son Jehoshaphat became the new king of Judah.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Meanwhile over in Israel, Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, had become king. He reigned two years, beginning in the second year of the reign of King Asa of Judah.


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contenido:
But he was not a good king; like his father, he worshiped many idols and led all of Israel into sin.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Baasha (the son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar) plotted against him and assassinated him while he was with the Israeli army laying siege to the Philistine city of Gibbethon.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So Baasha replaced Nadab as the king of Israel in Tirzah during the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah.


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contenido:
He immediately killed all of the descendants of King Jeroboam, so that not one of the royal family was left, just as the Lord had said would happen when he spoke through Ahijah, the prophet from Shiloh.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
This was done because Jeroboam had angered the Lord God of Israel by sinning and leading the rest of Israel into sin.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
There was continuous warfare between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel. Baasha reigned for twenty-four years,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
but all that time he continually disobeyed the Lord. He followed the evil paths of Jeroboam, for he led the people of Israel into the sin of worshiping idols.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
A message of condemnation from the Lord was delivered to King Baasha at this time by the prophet Jehu:


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contenido:
“I lifted you out of the dust,” the message said, “to make you king of my people Israel; but you have walked in the evil paths of Jeroboam. You have made my people sin, and I am angry!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Those of your family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the fields will be eaten by the birds.”
The message was sent to Baasha and his family because he had angered the Lord by all his evil deeds. He was as evil as Jeroboam despite the fact that the Lord had destroyed all of Jeroboam’s descendants for their sins.
The rest of Baasha’s biography—his deeds and conquests—are written in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.


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contenido:
Elah, Baasha’s son, began reigning during the twenty-sixth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, but he reigned only two years.


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contenido:
Then General Zimri, who had charge of half the royal chariot troops, plotted against him. One day King Elah was half drunk at the home of Arza, the superintendent of the palace, in the capital city of Tirzah.


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contenido:
Zimri simply walked in and struck him down and killed him. (This occurred during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Asa of Judah.) Then Zimri declared himself to be the new king of Israel.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
He immediately killed the entire royal family—leaving not a single male child. He even destroyed distant relatives and friends.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
This destruction of the descendants of Baasha was in line with what the Lord had predicted through the prophet Jehu.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The tragedy occurred because of the sins of Baasha and his son Elah; for they had led Israel into worshiping idols, and the Lord was very angry about it.


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contenido:
But Zimri lasted only seven days; for when the army of Israel, which was then engaged in attacking the Philistine city of Gibbethon, heard that Zimri had assassinated the king, they decided on General Omri, commander-in-chief of the army, as their new ruler.


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contenido:
When Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the palace and burned it over him and died in the flames.


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contenido:
For he, too, had sinned like Jeroboam; he had worshiped idols and had led the people of Israel to sin with him.


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contenido:
But now the kingdom of Israel was split in two; half the people were loyal to General Omri, and the other half followed Tibni, the son of Ginath.


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contenido:
King Asa of Judah had been on the throne thirty-one years when Omri began his reign over Israel, which lasted twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.


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contenido:
Then Omri bought the hill now known as Samaria from its owner, Shemer, for $4,000 and built a city on it, calling it Samaria in honor of Shemer.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
King Asa of Judah had been on the throne thirty-eight years when Ahab became the king of Israel; and Ahab reigned for twenty-two years.


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contenido:
And as though that were not enough, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and then began worshiping Baal.


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contenido:
Then he made other idols and did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than any of the other kings of Israel before him.


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contenido:
(It was during his reign that Hiel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. When he laid the foundations, his oldest son, Abiram, died; and when he finally completed it by setting up the gates, his youngest son, Segub, died. For this was the Lord’s curse upon Jericho as declared by Joshua, the son of Nun.)


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contenido:
Then Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord God of Israel lives—the God whom I worship and serve—there won’t be any dew or rain for several years until I say the word!”


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contenido:
Then the Lord said to him, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. There is a widow there who will feed you. I have given her my instructions.”


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contenido:
So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the city he saw a widow gathering sticks; and he asked her for a cup of water.


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contenido:
But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I haven’t a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jar. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I must die of starvation.”


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contenido:
But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and cook that ‘last meal,’ but bake me a little loaf of bread first; and afterwards there will still be enough food for you and your son.


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contenido:
For the Lord God of Israel says that there will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat from her supply of flour and oil as long as it was needed.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
For no matter how much they used, there was always plenty left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“O man of God,” she cried, “what have you done to me? Have you come here to punish my sins by killing my son?”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Give him to me,” Elijah replied. And he took the boy’s body from her and carried it upstairs to the guest room where he lived, and laid the body on his bed,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
and then cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you killed the son of this widow with whom I am staying?”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s spirit return to him.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And the Lord heard Elijah’s prayer; and the spirit of the child returned, and he became alive again!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Now I know for sure that you are a prophet,” she told him afterward, “and that whatever you say is from the Lord!”


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contenido:
It was three years later that the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and tell King Ahab that I will soon send rain again!”


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contenido:
The man in charge of Ahab’s household affairs was Obadiah, who was a devoted follower of the Lord. Once when Queen Jezebel had tried to kill all of the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden one hundred of them in two caves—fifty in each—and had fed them with bread and water.


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contenido:
That same day, while Elijah was on the way to see King Ahab, the king said to Obadiah, “We must check every stream and brook to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules. You go one way and I’ll go the other, and we will search the entire land.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Suddenly Obadiah saw Elijah coming toward him! Obadiah recognized him at once and fell to the ground before him.
“Is it really you, my lord Elijah?” he asked.


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contenido:
For I swear by God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you. And each time when he was told ‘Elijah isn’t here,’ King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim.


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contenido:
But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you away, who knows where, and when Ahab comes and can’t find you, he will kill me; yet I have been a true servant of the Lord all my life.


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contenido:
Has no one told you about the time when Queen Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord’s prophets, and I hid a hundred of them in two caves and fed them with bread and water?


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contenido:
But Elijah said, “I swear by the Lord God of the armies of heaven, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab today.”


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contenido:
“So it’s you, is it?—the man who brought this disaster upon Israel!” Ahab exclaimed when he saw him.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“You’re talking about yourself,” Elijah answered. “For you and your family have refused to obey the Lord and have worshiped Baal instead.


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contenido:
Now bring all the people of Israel to Mount Carmel, with all 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.”


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contenido:
Then Elijah talked to them. “How long are you going to waver between two opinions?” he asked the people. “If the Lord is God,follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!”


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contenido:
Then Elijah spoke again. “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left,” he told them, “but Baal has 450 prophets.


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contenido:
Now bring two young bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without putting any fire under the wood; and I will prepare the other young bull and lay it on the wood on the Lord’s altar, with no fire under it.


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contenido:
Then pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord; and the god who answers by sending fire to light the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed to this test.


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contenido:
Then Elijah turned to the prophets of Baal. “You first,” he said, “for there are many of you; choose one of the bulls and prepare it and call to your god; but don’t put any fire under the wood.”


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contenido:
So they prepared one of the young bulls and placed it on the altar; and they called to Baal all morning, shouting, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they began to dance around the altar.


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contenido:
About noontime, Elijah began mocking them.
“You’ll have to shout louder than that,” he scoffed, “to catch the attention of your god! Perhaps he is talking to someone, or is out sitting on the toilet, or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”


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contenido:
So they shouted louder and, as was their custom, cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but there was no reply, no voice, no answer.


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contenido:
Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here.”
And they all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.


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contenido:
and used the stones to rebuild the Lord’s altar. Then he dug a trench about three feet wide around the altar.


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contenido:
He piled wood upon the altar and cut the young bull into pieces and laid the pieces on the wood.
“Fill four barrels with water,” he said, “and pour the water over the carcass and the wood.”
After they had done this he said,


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contenido:
At the customary time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant; prove that I have done all this at your command.


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contenido:
O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”


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contenido:
Then, suddenly, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even evaporated all the water in the ditch!


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contenido:
And when the people saw it, they fell to their faces upon the ground shouting, “Jehovah is God! Jehovah is God!”


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contenido:
Then Elijah told them to grab the prophets of Baal. “Don’t let a single one escape,” he commanded.
So they seized them all, and Elijah took them to Kishon Brook and killed them there.


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contenido:
So Ahab prepared a feast. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and got down on his knees, with his face between his knees,


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contenido:
and said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.”
He did, but returned to Elijah and told him, “I didn’t see anything.”
Then Elijah told him, “Go again, and again, and again, seven times!”


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contenido:
Finally, the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.”
Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him to get into his chariot and get down the mountain, or he’ll be stopped by the rain!”


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contenido:
And sure enough, the sky was soon black with clouds, and a heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm. Ahab left hastily for Jezreel,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
and the Lord gave special strength to Elijah so that he was able to run ahead of Ahab’s chariot to the entrance of the city!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When Ahab told Queen Jezebel what Elijah had done, and that he had slaughtered the prophets of Baal,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
she sent this message to Elijah: “You killed my prophets, and now I swear by the gods that I am going to kill you by this time tomorrow night.”


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contenido:
Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day, and sat down under a broom bush and prayed that he might die.
“I’ve had enough,” he told the Lord. “Take away my life. I’ve got to die sometime, and it might as well be now.”


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contenido:
Then he lay down and slept beneath the broom bush. But as he was sleeping, an Angel touched him and told him to get up and eat!


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contenido:
He looked around and saw some bread baking on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.


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contenido:
Then the Angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, for there is a long journey ahead of you.”


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contenido:
So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God,


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contenido:
He replied, “I have worked very hard for the Lord God of the heavens; but the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you and torn down your altars and killed your prophets, and only I am left; and now they are trying to kill me too.”


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contenido:
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain; it was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.


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contenido:
And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his scarf and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
And a voice said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”


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contenido:
He replied again, “I have been working very hard for the Lord God of the armies of heaven, but the people have broken their covenant and have torn down your altars; they have killed every one of your prophets except me; and now they are trying to kill me too.”


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contenido:
Then the Lord told him, “Go back by the desert road to Damascus, and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king of Syria.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then anoint Jehu (son of Nimshi) to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha (the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah) to replace you as my prophet.


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contenido:
Anyone who escapes from Hazael shall be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu shall be killed by Elisha!


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contenido:
So Elijah went and found Elisha who was plowing a field with eleven other teams ahead of him; he was at the end of the line with the last team. Elijah went over to him and threw his coat across his shoulders and walked away again.


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contenido:
Elisha left the oxen standing there and ran after Elijah and said to him, “First let me go and say good-bye to my father and mother, and then I’ll go with you!”
Elijah replied, “Go on back! Why all the excitement?”


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contenido:
Elisha then returned to his oxen, killed them, and used wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the other plowmen, and they all had a great feast. Then he went with Elijah, as his assistant.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
King Ben-hadad of Syria now mobilized his army and, with thirty-two allied nations and their hordes of chariots and horses, besieged Samaria, the Israeli capital.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
He sent this message into the city to King Ahab of Israel: “Your silver and gold are mine, as are your prettiest wives and the best of your children!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Soon Ben-hadad’s messengers returned again with another message: “You must not only give me your silver, gold, wives, and children, but about this time tomorrow I will send my men to search your palace and the homes of your people, and they will take away whatever they like!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Ahab summoned his advisors. “Look what this man is doing,” he complained to them. “He is stirring up trouble despite the fact that I have already told him he could have my wives and children and silver and gold, just as he demanded.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So he told the messengers from Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘I will give you everything you asked for the first time, but your men may not search the palace and the homes of the people.’” So the messengers returned to Ben-hadad.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then the Syrian king sent this message to Ahab: “May the gods do more to me than I am going to do to you if I don’t turn Samaria into handfuls of dust!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
This reply of Ahab’s reached Ben-hadad and the other kings as they were drinking in their tents.
“Prepare to attack!” Ben-hadad commanded his officers.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then a prophet came to see King Ahab and gave him this message from the Lord: “Do you see all these enemy forces? I will deliver them all to you today. Then at last you will know that I am the Lord.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Ahab asked, “How will he do it?”
And the prophet replied, “The Lord says, ‘By the troops from the provinces.’”
“Shall we attack first?” Ahab asked.
“Yes,” the prophet answered.


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contenido:
About noontime, as Ben-hadad and the thirty-two allied kings were still drinking themselves drunk, the first of Ahab’s troops marched out of the city.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Each one killed a Syrian soldier, and suddenly the entire Syrian army panicked and fled. The Israelis chased them, but King Ben-hadad and a few others escaped on horses.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
However, the great bulk of the horses and chariots were captured, and most of the Syrian army was killed in a great slaughter.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then the prophet approached King Ahab and said, “Get ready for another attack by the king of Syria.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
For after their defeat, Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “The Israeli God is a god of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Recruit another army like the one you lost; give us the same number of horses, chariots, and men, and we will fight against them in the plains; there’s not a shadow of a doubt that we will beat them.” So King Ben-hadad did as they suggested.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The following year he called up the Syrian army and marched out against Israel again, this time at Aphek.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Israel then mustered its army, set up supply lines, and moved into the battle; but the Israeli army looked like two little flocks of baby goats in comparison to the vast Syrian forces that filled the countryside!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then a prophet went to the king of Israel with this message from the Lord: “Because the Syrians have declared, ‘The Lord is a God of the hills and not of the plains,’ I will help you defeat this vast army, and you shall know that I am indeed the Lord.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle began. And the Israelis killed 100,000 Syrian infantrymen that first day.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The rest fled behind the walls of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben-hadad fled into the city and hid in the inner room of one of the houses.


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contenido:
“Sir,” his officers said to him, “we have heard that the kings of Israel are very merciful. Let us wear sackcloth and put ropes on our heads and go out to King Ahab to see if he will let you live.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So they went to the king of Israel and begged, “Your servant Ben-hadad pleads, ‘Let me live!’”
“Oh, is he still alive?” the king of Israel asked. “He is my brother!”


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contenido:
The men were quick to grab this straw of hope and hurried to clinch the matter by exclaiming, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad!”
“Go and get him,” the king of Israel told them. And when Ben-hadad arrived, he invited him up into his chariot!


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contenido:
Ben-hadad told him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father, and you may establish trading posts in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Meanwhile, the Lord instructed one of the prophets to say to another man, “Strike me with your sword!” But the man refused.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then the prophet told him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, a lion shall kill you as soon as you leave me.” And sure enough, as he turned to go a lion attacked and killed him.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then the prophet turned to another man and said, “Strike me with your sword.” And he did, wounding him.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The prophet waited for the king beside the road, having placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Sir, I was in the battle, and a man brought me a prisoner and said, ‘Keep this man; if he gets away, you must die, or else pay me $2,000!’


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!”
“Well, it’s your own fault,” the king replied. “You’ll have to pay.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then the prophet yanked off the bandage from his eyes, and the king recognized him as one of the prophets.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then the prophet told him, “The Lord says, ‘Because you have spared the man I said must die, now you must die in his place, and your people shall perish instead of his.’”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
One day the king talked to him about selling him this land.
“I want it for a garden,” the king explained, “because it’s so convenient to the palace.” He offered cash or, if Naboth preferred, a piece of better land in trade.


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contenido:
So Ahab went back to the palace angry and sullen. He refused to eat and went to bed with his face to the wall!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“What in the world is the matter?” his wife, Jezebel, asked him. “Why aren’t you eating? What has made you so upset and angry?”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and addressed them to the civic leaders of Jezreel, where Naboth lived.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
In her letter she commanded: “Call the citizens together for fasting and prayer. Then summon Naboth,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
and find two scoundrels who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and execute him.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then two men who had no conscience accused him of cursing God and the king; and he was dragged outside the city and stoned to death.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Give him this message from me: ‘Isn’t killing Naboth bad enough? Must you rob him too? Because you have done this, dogs shall lick your blood outside the city just as they licked the blood of Naboth!’”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“So my enemy has found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah.
“Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come to place God’s curse upon you because you have sold yourself to the devil.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The Lord is going to bring great harm to you and sweep you away; he will not let a single one of your male descendants survive!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
He is going to destroy your family as he did the family of King Jeroboam and the family of King Baasha, for you have made him very angry and have led all of Israel into sin.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The members of your family who die in the city shall be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the country shall be eaten by vultures.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
No one else was so completely sold out to the devil as Ahab, for his wife, Jezebel, encouraged him to do every sort of evil.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
He was especially guilty because he worshiped idols just as the Amorites did—the people whom the Lord had chased out of the land to make room for the people of Israel.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When Ahab heard these prophecies, he tore his clothing, put on rags, fasted, slept in sackcloth, and went about in deep humility.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime; it will happen to his sons; I will destroy his descendants.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Ahab said to his officials, “Do you realize that the Syrians are still occupying our city of Ramoth-gilead? And we’re sitting here without doing a thing about it!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and asked him, “Will you send your army with mine to recover Ramoth-gilead?”
And King Jehoshaphat of Judah replied, “Of course! You and I are brothers; my people are yours to command, and my horses are at your service.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
So King Ahab summoned his 400 heathen prophets and asked them, “Shall I attack Ramoth-gilead, or not?”
And they all said, “Yes, go ahead, for God will help you conquer it.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Well, there’s one,” King Ahab replied, “but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything good. He always has something gloomy to say. His name is Micaiah, the son of Imlah.”
“Oh, come now!” Jehoshaphat replied. “Don’t talk like that!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Meanwhile, all the prophets continued prophesying before the two kings, who were dressed in their royal robes and were sitting on thrones placed on the threshing floor near the city gate.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
One of the prophets, Zedekiah (son of Chenaanah), made some iron horns and declared, “The Lord promises that you will push the Syrians around with these horns until they are destroyed.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And all the others agreed. “Go ahead and attack Ramoth-gilead,” they said, “for the Lord will cause you to triumph!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The messenger who went to get Micaiah told him what the other prophets were saying and urged him to say the same thing.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we attack Ramoth-gilead, or not?”
“Why, of course! Go right ahead!” Micaiah told him. “You will have a great victory, for the Lord will cause you to conquer!”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Micaiah told him, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains as sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their king is dead; send them to their homes.’”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Turning to Jehoshaphat, Ahab complained, “Didn’t I tell you this would happen? He never tells me anything good. It’s always bad.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Micaiah said, “Listen to this further word from the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and the armies of heaven stood around him.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Then the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go and die at Ramoth-gilead?’
“Various suggestions were made,


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“‘How?’ the Lord asked.
“And he replied, ‘I will go as a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’
“And the Lord said, ‘That will do it; you will succeed. Go ahead.’


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“Don’t you see? The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets, but the fact of the matter is that the Lord has decreed disaster upon you.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then Zedekiah (son of Chenaanah) walked over and slapped Micaiah on the face.
“When did the Spirit of the Lord leave me and speak to you?” he demanded.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
And Micaiah replied, “You will have the answer to your question when you find yourself hiding in an inner room.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Then King Ahab ordered Micaiah’s arrest.
“Take him to Amon, the mayor of the city, and to my son Joash.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Tell them, ‘The king says to put this fellow in jail and feed him with bread and water—and only enough to keep him alive—until I return in peace.’”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
“If you return in peace,” Micaiah replied, “it will prove that the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he turned to the people standing nearby and said, “Take note of what I’ve said.”


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “You wear your royal robes, but I’ll not wear mine!”
So Ahab went into the battle disguised in an ordinary soldier’s uniform.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
For the king of Syria had commanded his thirty-two chariot captains to fight no one except King Ahab himself.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When they saw King Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they thought, “That’s the man we’re after.” So they wheeled around to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat shouted out to identify himself, they turned back!


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
However, someone shot an arrow at random and it struck King Ahab between the joints of his armor.
“Take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded,” he groaned to his chariot driver.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The battle became more and more intense as the day wore on, and King Ahab went back in, propped up in his chariot with the blood from his wound running down onto the floorboards. Finally, toward evening, he died.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Just as the sun was going down the cry ran through his troops. “It’s all over—return home! The king is dead!”
And his body was taken to Samaria and buried there.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When his chariot and armor were washed beside the pool of Samaria, where the prostitutes bathed, dogs came and licked the king’s blood just as the Lord had said would happen.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The rest of Ahab’s history—including the story of the ivory palace and the cities he built—is written in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Meanwhile, over in Judah, Jehoshaphat the son of Asa had become king during the fourth year of the reign of King Ahab of Israel.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he ascended the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
He did as his father Asa had done, obeying the Lord in all but one thing: he did not destroy the shrines on the hills, so the people sacrificed and burned incense there.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
The rest of the deeds of Jehoshaphat and his heroic achievements and his wars are described in The Annals of the Kings of Judah.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
He also closed all the houses of male prostitution that still continued from the days of his father Asa.


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contenido:
King Jehoshaphat built great freighters to sail to Ophir for gold; but they never arrived, for they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.


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contenido:
Ahaziah, King Ahab’s son and successor, had proposed to Jehoshaphat that his men go, too, but Jehoshaphat had refused the offer.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
When King Jehoshaphat died he was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, the city of his forefather David; and his son Jehoram took the throne.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
It was during the seventeenth year of the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah that Ahaziah, Ahab’s son, began to reign over Israel in Samaria; and he reigned two years.


book: 1Kgs
contenido:
But he was not a good king, for he followed in the footsteps of his father and mother and of Jeroboam, who had led Israel into the sin of worshiping idols. So Ahaziah made the Lord God of Israel very angry.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
After King Ahab’s death the nation of Moab declared its independence and refused to pay tribute to Israel any longer.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Israel’s new king, Ahaziah, had fallen off the upstairs porch of his palace at Samaria and was seriously injured. He sent messengers to the temple of the god Baal-zebub at Ekron to ask whether he would recover.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But the Angel of the Lord told Elijah the prophet, “Go and meet the messengers and ask them, ‘Is it true that there is no God in Israel? Is that why you are going to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether the king will get well?


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Because King Ahaziah has done this, the Lord says that he will never leave the bed he is lying on; he will surely die.’”
When Elijah told the messengers this, they returned immediately to the king.
“Why have you returned so soon?” he asked them.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“A man came up to us,” they said, “and told us to go back to the king and tell him, ‘The Lord wants to know why you are asking questions of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. Is it because there is no God in Israel? Now, since you have done this, you will not leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.’”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“He was a hairy man,” they replied, “with a wide leather belt.”
“It was Elijah the prophet!” the king exclaimed.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he sent an army captain with fifty soldiers to arrest him. They found him sitting on top of a hill. The captain said to him, “O man of God, the king has commanded you to come along with us.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” Then lightning struck them and killed them all!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So the king sent another captain with fifty men to demand, “O man of God, the king says that you must come down right away.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men.” And again the fire from God burned them up.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Once more the king sent fifty men, but this time the captain fell to his knees before Elijah and pleaded with him, “O man of God, please spare my life and the lives of these, your fifty servants.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then the Angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Don’t be afraid. Go with him.” So Elijah went to the king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Why did you send messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask about your sickness?” Elijah demanded. “Is it because there is no God in Israel to ask? Because you have done this, you shall not leave this bed; you will surely die.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So Ahaziah died as the Lord had predicted through Elijah, and his brother Joram became the new king—for Ahaziah did not have a son to succeed him. This occurred in the second year of the reign of King Jehoram (son of Jehoshaphat) of Judah.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Now the time came for the Lord to take Elijah to heaven—by means of a whirlwind! Elijah said to Elisha as they left Gilgal, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.”
But Elisha replied, “I swear to God that I won’t leave you!”
So they went on together to Bethel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
There the young prophets of Bethel Seminary came out to meet them and asked Elisha, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take Elijah away from you today?”
“Quiet!” Elisha snapped. “Of course I know it.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here in Bethel, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
But Elisha replied again, “I swear to God that I won’t leave you.” So they went on together to Jericho.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then the students at Jericho Seminary came to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take away your master today?”
“Will you please be quiet?” he commanded. “Of course I know it!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan River.”
But Elisha replied as before, “I swear to God that I won’t leave you.”
So they went on together and stood beside the Jordan River as fifty of the young prophets watched from a distance.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it; and the river divided and they went across on dry ground!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When they arrived on the other side Elijah said to Elisha, “What wish shall I grant you before I am taken away?”
And Elisha replied, “Please grant me twice as much prophetic power as you have had.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“You have asked a hard thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
As they were walking along, talking, suddenly a chariot of fire, drawn by horses of fire, appeared and drove between them, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariot of Israel and the charioteers!”
As they disappeared from sight he tore his robe.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he picked up Elijah’s cloak and returned to the bank of the Jordan River, and struck the water with it.
“Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” he cried out. And the water parted and Elisha went across!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When the young prophets of Jericho saw what had happened, they exclaimed, “The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha!” And they went to meet him and greeted him respectfully.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Sir,” they said, “just say the word and fifty of our best athletes will search the wilderness for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has left him on some mountain or in some ravine.”
“No,” Elisha said, “don’t bother.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But they kept urging until he was embarrassed and finally said, “All right, go ahead.” Then fifty men searched for three days, but didn’t find him.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Now a delegation of the city officials of Jericho visited Elisha. “We have a problem,” they told him. “This city is located in beautiful natural surroundings, as you can see; but the water is bad and causes our women to have miscarriages.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he went out to the city well and threw the salt in and declared, “The Lord has healed these waters. They shall no longer cause death or miscarriage.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
From Jericho he went to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a gang of young men from the city began mocking and making fun of him because of his bald head.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He turned around and cursed them in the name of the Lord; and two female bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of them.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Ahab’s son Joram began his reign over Israel during the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah; and he reigned twelve years. His capital was Samaria.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He was a very evil man, but not as wicked as his father and mother had been, for he at least tore down the pillar to Baal that his father had made.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Nevertheless he still clung to the great sin of Jeroboam (the son of Nebat), who had led the people of Israel into the worship of idols.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
King Mesha of Moab and his people were sheep ranchers. They paid Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams;


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So King Joram mustered the Israeli army and sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you help me fight him?”
“Of course I will,” Jehoshaphat replied. “My people and horses are yours to command. What are your battle plans?”
“We’ll attack from the wilderness of Edom,” Joram replied.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So their two armies, now joined also by troops from Edom, moved along a roundabout route through the wilderness for seven days; but there was no water for the men or their pack animals.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Oh, what shall we do?” the king of Israel cried out. “The Lord has brought us here to let the king of Moab defeat us.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord with us? If so, we can find out what to do!”
“Elisha is here,” one of the king of Israel’s officers replied. Then he added, “He was Elijah’s assistant.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Fine,” Jehoshaphat said. “He’s just the man we want.” So the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom went to consult Elisha.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“I want no part of you,” Elisha snarled at King Joram of Israel. “Go to the false prophets of your father and mother!”
But King Joram replied, “No! For it is the Lord who has called us here to be destroyed by the king of Moab!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“I swear by the Lord God that I wouldn’t bother with you except for the presence of King Jehoshaphat of Judah,” Elisha replied.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Now bring me someone to play the lute.” And as the lute was played, the message of the Lord came to Elisha:


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
You won’t see wind nor rain, but this valley will be filled with water, and you will have plenty for yourselves and for your animals!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
You will conquer the best of their cities—even those that are fortified—and ruin all the good land with stones.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
And sure enough, the next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered—look! Water! It was flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon there was water everywhere.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Meanwhile, when the people of Moab heard about the three armies marching against them, they mobilized every man who could fight, old and young, and stationed themselves along their frontier.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Blood!” they exclaimed. “The three armies have attacked and killed each other! Let’s go and collect the loot!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But when they arrived at the Israeli camp, the army of Israel rushed out and began killing them; and the army of Moab fled. Then the men of Israel moved forward into the land of Moab, destroying everything as they went.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
They destroyed the cities, threw stones on every good piece of land, stopped up the wells, and felled the fruit trees; finally, only Fort Kir-hareseth was left, but even that finally fell to them.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When the king of Moab saw that the battle had been lost, he led 700 of his swordsmen in a last desperate attempt to break through to the king of Edom; but he failed.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he took his oldest son, who was to have been the next king, and to the horror of the Israeli army, killed him and sacrificed him as a burnt offering upon the wall. So the army of Israel turned back in disgust to their own land.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
One day the wife of one of the seminary students came to Elisha to tell him of her husband’s death. He was a man who had loved God, she said. But he had owed some money when he died, and now the creditor was demanding it back. If she didn’t pay, he said he would take her two sons as his slaves.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“What shall I do?” Elisha asked. “How much food do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a jar of olive oil,” she replied.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Then pour olive oil from your jar into the pots and pans, setting them aside as they are filled!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Soon every container was full to the brim!
“Bring me another jar,” she said to her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” they told her. And then the oil stopped flowing!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When she told the prophet what had happened, he said to her, “Go and sell the oil and pay your debt, and there will be enough money left for you and your sons to live on!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
One day Elisha went to Shunem. A prominent woman of the city invited him in to eat, and afterwards, whenever he passed that way, he stopped for dinner.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Let’s make a little room for him on the roof; we can put in a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, and he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Once when he was resting in the room he said to his servant Gehazi, “Tell the woman I want to speak to her.”
When she came,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
he said to Gehazi, “Tell her that we appreciate her kindness to us. Now ask her what we can do for her. Does she want me to put in a good word for her to the king or to the general of the army?”
“No,” she replied, “I am perfectly content.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“What can we do for her?” he asked Gehazi afterwards.
He suggested, “She doesn’t have a son, and her husband is an old man.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Call her back again,” Elisha told him.
When she returned, he talked to her as she stood in the doorway. “Next year at about this time you shall have a son!”
“O man of God,” she exclaimed, “don’t lie to me like that!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But it was true; the woman soon conceived and had a baby boy the following year, just as Elisha had predicted.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
One day when her child was older, he went out to visit his father, who was working with the reapers.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He complained about a headache and soon was moaning in pain. His father said to one of the servants, “Carry him home to his mother.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
then she sent a message to her husband: “Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the prophet and come right back.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, “Hurry! Don’t slow down for my comfort unless I tell you to.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
As she approached Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance and said to Gehazi, “Look, that woman from Shunem is coming.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Run and meet her and ask her what the trouble is. See if her husband is all right and if the child is well.”
“Yes,” she told Gehazi, “everything is fine.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But when she came to Elisha at the mountain she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the prophet said, “Leave her alone; something is deeply troubling her and the Lord hasn’t told me what it is.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he said to Gehazi, “Quick, take my staff! Don’t talk to anyone along the way. Hurry! Lay the staff upon the child’s face.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But the boy’s mother said, “I swear to God that I won’t go home without you.” So Elisha returned with her.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff upon the child’s face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The child is still dead.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he lay upon the child’s body, placing his mouth upon the child’s mouth, and his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his hands upon the child’s hands. And the child’s body began to grow warm again!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then the prophet went down and walked back and forth in the house a few times; returning upstairs, he stretched himself again upon the child. This time the little boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then the prophet summoned Gehazi. “Call her!” he said. And when she came in, he said, “Here’s your son!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Elisha now returned to Gilgal, but there was a famine in the land. One day as he was teaching the young prophets, he said to Gehazi, “Make some stew for supper for these men.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
One of the young men went out into the field to gather vegetables and came back with some wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into a kettle without realizing that they were poisonous.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Bring me some meal,” Elisha said. He threw it into the kettle and said, “Now it’s all right! Go ahead and eat!” And then it didn’t harm them.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
One day a man from Baal-shalishah brought Elisha a sack of fresh corn and twenty individual loaves of barley bread made from the first grain of his harvest. Elisha told Gehazi to use it to feed the young prophets.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“What?” Gehazi exclaimed. “Feed one hundred men with only this?”
But Elisha said, “Go ahead, for the Lord says there will be plenty for all, and some will even be left over!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The king of Syria had high admiration for Naaman, the commander-in-chief of his army, for he had led his troops to many glorious victories. So he was a great hero, but he was a leper.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Bands of Syrians had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a little girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
One day the little girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Go and visit the prophet,” the king told him. “I will send a letter of introduction for you to carry to the king of Israel.”
So Naaman started out, taking gifts of $20,000 in silver, $60,000 in gold, and ten suits of clothing.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The letter to the king of Israel said: “The man bringing this letter is my servant Naaman; I want you to heal him of his leprosy.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When the king of Israel read it, he tore his clothes and said, “This man sends me a leper to heal! Am I God, that I can kill and give life? He is only trying to get an excuse to invade us again.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But when Elisha the prophet heard about the king of Israel’s plight, he sent this message to him: “Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet of God here in Israel.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Elisha sent a messenger out to tell him to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed of every trace of his leprosy!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But Naaman was angry and stalked away.
“Look,” he said, “I thought at least he would come out and talk to me! I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call upon the name of the Lord his God and heal me!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Aren’t the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all the rivers of Israel put together? If it’s rivers I need, I’ll wash at home and get rid of my leprosy.” So he went away in a rage.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply to go and wash and be cured!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the prophet had told him to. And his flesh became as healthy as a little child’s, and he was healed!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he and his entire party went back to find the prophet; they stood humbly before him and Naaman said, “I know at last that there is no God in all the world except in Israel; now please accept my gifts.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But Elisha replied, “I swear by Jehovah my God that I will not accept them.”
Naaman urged him to take them, but he absolutely refused.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Well,” Naaman said, “all right. But please give me two muleloads of earth to take back with me, for from now on I will never again offer any burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the Lord.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
However, may the Lord pardon me this one thing—when my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship there and leans on my arm, may the Lord pardon me when I bow too.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, said to himself, “My master shouldn’t have let this fellow get away without taking his gifts. I will chase after him and get something from him.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So Gehazi caught up with him. When Naaman saw him coming, he jumped down from his chariot and ran to meet him.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Yes,” he said, “but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hills of Ephraim have just arrived, and he would like $2,000 in silver and two suits to give to them.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Take $4,000,” Naaman insisted. He gave him two expensive robes, tied up the money in two bags, and gave them to two of his servants to carry back with Gehazi.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But when they arrived at the hill where Elisha lived, Gehazi took the bags from the servants and sent the men back. Then he hid the money in his house.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”
“I haven’t been anywhere,” he replied.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But Elisha asked him, “Don’t you realize that I was there in thought when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to receive money and clothing and olive farms and vineyards and sheep and oxen and servants?


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Because you have done this, Naaman’s leprosy shall be upon you and upon your children and your children’s children forever.”
And Gehazi walked from the room a leper, his skin as white as snow.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
One day the seminary students came to Elisha and told him, “As you can see, our dormitory is too small. Tell us, as our president, whether we can build a new one down beside the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs.”
“All right,” he told them, “go ahead.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
but as one of them was chopping, his axhead fell into the river.
“Oh, sir,” he cried, “it was borrowed!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Where did it fall?” the prophet asked. The youth showed him the place, and Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water; and the axhead rose to the surface and floated!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Once when the king of Syria was at war with Israel, he said to his officers, “We will mobilize our forces at ____” (naming the place).


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Immediately Elisha warned the king of Israel, “Don’t go near ____” (naming the same place) “for the Syrians are planning to mobilize their troops there!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The king sent a scout to see if Elisha was right, and sure enough, he had saved him from disaster. This happened several times.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The king of Syria was puzzled. He called together his officers and demanded, “Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel about my plans?”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“It’s not us, sir,” one of the officers replied. “Elisha, the prophet, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Go and find out where he is, and we’ll send troops to seize him,” the king exclaimed.
And the report came back, “Elisha is at Dothan.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So one night the king of Syria sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When the prophet’s servant got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere.
“Alas, my master, what shall we do now?” he cried out to Elisha.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” And the Lord opened the young man’s eyes so that he could see horses of fire and chariots of fire everywhere upon the mountain!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Elisha went out and told them, “You’ve come the wrong way! This isn’t the right city! Follow me and I will take you to the man you’re looking for.” And he led them to Samaria!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
As soon as they arrived Elisha prayed, “Lord, now open their eyes and let them see.” And the Lord did, and they discovered that they were in Samaria, the capital city of Israel!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, “Oh, sir, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Of course not!” Elisha told him. “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their king. And after that the Syrian raiders stayed away from the land of Israel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
As a result there was a great famine in the city, and after a long while even a donkey’s head sold for fifty dollars and a pint of dove’s dung brought three dollars!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
One day as the king of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, “Help, my lord the king!”
“If the Lord doesn’t help you, what can I do?” he retorted. “I have neither food nor wine to give you. However, what’s the matter?”
She replied, “This woman proposed that we eat my son one day and her son the next. So we boiled my son and ate him, but the next day when I said, ‘Kill your son so we can eat him,’ she hid him.”
When the king heard this he tore his clothes. (The people watching noticed through the rip he tore in them that he was wearing an inner robe made of sackcloth next to his flesh.)


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Elisha was sitting in his house at a meeting with the elders of Israel when the king sent a messenger to summon him. But before the messenger arrived Elisha said to the elders, “This murderer has sent a man to kill me. When he arrives, shut the door and keep him out, for his master will soon follow him.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived followed by the king.
“The Lord has caused this mess,” the king stormed. “Why should I expect any help from him?”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Elisha replied, “The Lord says that by this time tomorrow two gallons of flour or four gallons of barley grain will be sold in the markets of Samaria for a dollar!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The officer assisting the king said, “That couldn’t happen if the Lord made windows in the sky!”
But Elisha replied, “You will see it happen, but you won’t be able to buy any of it!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Now there were four lepers sitting outside the city gates. “Why sit here until we die?” they asked each other.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“We will starve if we stay here and we will starve if we go back into the city; so we might as well go out and surrender to the Syrian army. If they let us live, so much the better; but if they kill us, we would have died anyway.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
(For the Lord had made the whole Syrian army hear the clatter of speeding chariots and a loud galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. “The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us,” they cried out.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So they panicked and fled into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else.)


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When the lepers arrived at the edge of the camp they went into one tent after another, eating, drinking wine, and carrying out silver and gold and clothing and hiding it.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Finally they said to each other, “This isn’t right. This is wonderful news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! Even if we wait until morning, some terrible calamity will certainly fall upon us; come on, let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So they went back to the city and told the watchmen what had happened—they had gone out to the Syrian camp and no one was there! The horses and donkeys were tethered and the tents were all in order, but there was not a soul around.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The king got out of bed and told his officers, “I know what has happened. The Syrians know we are starving, so they have left their camp and have hidden in the fields, thinking that we will be lured out of the city. Then they will attack us and make slaves of us and get in.”


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contenido:
One of his officers replied, “We’d better send out scouts to see. Let them take five of the remaining horses—if something happens to the animals it won’t be any greater loss than if they stay here and die with the rest of us!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Four chariot horses were found and the king sent out two charioteers to see where the Syrians had gone.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
They followed a trail of clothing and equipment all the way to the Jordan River—thrown away by the Syrians in their haste. The scouts returned and told the king,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
and the people of Samaria rushed out and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So it was true that two gallons of flour and four gallons of barley were sold that day for one dollar, just as the Lord had said!


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contenido:
The king appointed his special assistant to control the traffic at the gate, but he was knocked down and trampled and killed as the people rushed out. This is what Elisha had predicted on the previous day when the king had come to arrest him,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
and the prophet had told the king that flour and barley would sell for so little on the following day.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The king’s officer had replied, “That couldn’t happen even if the Lord opened the windows of heaven!”
And the prophet had said, “You will see it happen, but you won’t be able to buy any of it!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “Take your family and move to some other country, for the Lord has called down a famine on Israel that will last for seven years.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
After the famine ended, she returned to the land of Israel and went to see the king about getting back her house and land.


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contenido:
Just as she came in, the king was talking with Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, and saying, “Tell me some stories of the great things Elisha has done.”


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contenido:
And Gehazi was telling the king about the time when Elisha brought a little boy back to life. At that very moment, the mother of the boy walked in!
“Oh, sir!” Gehazi exclaimed. “Here is the woman now, and this is her son—the very one Elisha brought back to life!”


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contenido:
“Is this true?” the king asked her. And she told him that it was. So he directed one of his officials to see to it that everything she had owned was restored to her, plus the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Afterwards Elisha went to Damascus (the capital of Syria), where King Ben-hadad lay sick. Someone told the king that the prophet had come.


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contenido:
When the king heard the news, he said to Hazael, “Take a present to the man of God and tell him to ask the Lord whether I will get well again.”
So Hazael took forty camel-loads of the best produce of the land as presents for Elisha and said to him, “Your son Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, has sent me to ask you whether he will recover.”


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contenido:
“What’s the matter, sir?” Hazael asked him.
Elisha replied, “I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel: you will burn their forts, kill the young men, dash their babies against the rocks, and rip open the bellies of the pregnant women!”


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contenido:
“Am I a dog?” Hazael asked him. “I would never do that sort of thing.”
But Elisha replied, “The Lord has shown me that you are going to be the king of Syria.”


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contenido:
When Hazael went back, the king asked him, “What did he tell you?”
And Hazael replied, “He told me that you would recover.”


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contenido:
But the next day Hazael took a blanket and dipped it in water and held it over the king’s face until he smothered to death. And Hazael became king instead.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
King Jehoram, the son of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, began his reign during the fifth year of the reign of King Joram of Israel, the son of Ahab.


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contenido:
But he was as wicked as Ahab and the other kings of Israel; he even married one of Ahab’s daughters.


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contenido:
Nevertheless, because God had promised his servant David that he would watch over and guide his descendants, he did not destroy Judah.


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contenido:
King Jehoram tried unsuccessfully to crush the rebellion: he crossed the Jordan River and attacked the city of Zair, but was quickly surrounded by the army of Edom. Under cover of night he broke through their ranks, but his army deserted him and fled.


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contenido:
He died and was buried in the royal cemetery in the City of David—the old section of Jerusalem.
Then his son Ahaziah became the new king during the twelfth year of the reign of King Joram of Israel, the son of Ahab.


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contenido:
Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, but he reigned only one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter of King Omri of Israel.


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contenido:
He was an evil king, just as all of King Ahab’s descendants were—for he was related to Ahab by marriage.


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contenido:
He joined King Joram of Israel (son of Ahab) in his war against Hazael, the king of Syria, at Ramoth-gilead. King Joram was wounded in the battle,


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contenido:
so he went to Jezreel to rest and recover from his wounds. While he was there, King Ahaziah of Judah (son of Jehoram) came to visit him.


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contenido:
Meanwhile Elisha had summoned one of the young prophets.
“Get ready to go to Ramoth-gilead,” he told him. “Take this vial of oil with you


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contenido:
and find Jehu (the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi). Call him into a private room away from his friends,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
and pour the oil over his head. Tell him that the Lord has anointed him to be the king of Israel; then run for your life!”


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contenido:
he found Jehu sitting around with the other army officers.
“I have a message for you, sir,” he said.
“For which one of us?” Jehu asked.
“For you,” he replied.


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contenido:
So Jehu left the others and went into the house, and the young man poured the oil over his head and said, “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘I anoint you king of the Lord’s people, Israel.


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contenido:
You are to destroy the family of Ahab; you will avenge the murder of my prophets and of all my other people who were killed by Jezebel.


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contenido:
I will destroy the family of Ahab as I destroyed the families of Jeroboam (son of Nebat) and of Baasha (son of Ahijah).


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contenido:
Dogs shall eat Ahab’s wife Jezebel at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.’”
Then he opened the door and ran.


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contenido:
Jehu went back to his friends and one of them asked him, “What did that crazy fellow want? Is everything all right?”
“You know very well who he was and what he wanted,” Jehu replied.


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contenido:
“No, we don’t,” they said. “Tell us.”
So he told them what the man had said and that he had been anointed king of Israel!


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contenido:
That is how Jehu (son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi) rebelled against King Joram. (King Joram had been with the army at Ramoth-gilead, defending Israel against the forces of King Hazael of Syria.


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contenido:
But he had returned to Jezreel to recover from his wounds.)
“Since you want me to be king,” Jehu told the men who were with him, “don’t let anyone escape to Jezreel to report what we have done.”


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contenido:
Then Jehu jumped into a chariot and rode to Jezreel himself to find King Joram, who was lying there wounded. (King Ahaziah of Judah was there too, for he had gone to visit him.)


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contenido:
The watchman on the Tower of Jezreel saw Jehu and his company approaching and shouted, “Someone is coming.”
“Send out a rider and find out if he is friend or foe,” King Joram shouted back.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So a soldier rode out to meet Jehu.
“The king wants to know whether you are friend or foe,” he demanded. “Do you come in peace?”
Jehu replied, “What do you know about peace? Get behind me!”
The watchman called out to the king that the messenger had met them but was not returning.


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contenido:
So the king sent out a second rider. He rode up to them and demanded in the name of the king to know whether their intentions were friendly or not.
Jehu answered, “What do you know about friendliness? Get behind me!”


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contenido:
“He isn’t returning either!” the watchman exclaimed. “It must be Jehu, for he is driving so furiously.”


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contenido:
“Quick! Get my chariot ready!” King Joram commanded.
Then he and King Ahaziah of Judah rode out to meet Jehu. They met him at the field of Naboth,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
and King Joram demanded, “Do you come as a friend, Jehu?”
Jehu replied, “How can there be friendship as long as the evils of your mother Jezebel are all around us?”


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contenido:
Then King Joram reined the chariot horses around and fled, shouting to King Ahaziah, “There is treachery, Ahaziah! Treason!”


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contenido:
Then Jehu drew his bow with his full strength and shot Joram between the shoulders; and the arrow pierced his heart, and he sank down dead in his chariot.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Jehu said to Bidkar, his assistant, “Throw him into the field of Naboth, for once when you and I were riding along behind his father Ahab, the Lord revealed this prophecy to me:


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
‘I will repay him here on Naboth’s property for the murder of Naboth and his sons.’ So throw him out on Naboth’s field, just as the Lord said.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Meanwhile, King Ahaziah of Judah had fled along the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu rode after him, shouting, “Shoot him too.”
So they shot him in his chariot at the place where the road climbs to Gur, near Ibleam. He was able to go on as far as Megiddo, but died there.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When Jezebel heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When Jehu entered the gate of the palace, she shouted at him, “How are you today, you murderer! You son of a Zimri who murdered his master!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He looked up and saw her at the window and shouted, “Who is on my side?” And two or three eunuchs looked out at him.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Throw her down!” he yelled.
So they threw her out the window, and her blood spattered against the wall and on the horses; and she was trampled by the horses’ hoofs.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Jehu went into the palace for lunch. Afterwards he said, “Someone go and bury this cursed woman, for she is the daughter of a king.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When they returned and told him, he remarked, “That is just what the Lord said would happen. He told Elijah the prophet that dogs would eat her flesh


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
and that her body would be scattered like manure upon the field, so that no one could tell whose it was.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Jehu wrote a letter to the city council of Samaria and to the guardians of Ahab’s seventy sons—all of whom were living there.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Upon receipt of this letter, select the best one of Ahab’s sons to be your king, and prepare to fight for his throne. For you have chariots and horses and a fortified city and an armory.”


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contenido:
But they were too frightened to do it. “Two kings couldn’t stand against this man! What can we do?” they said.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So the manager of palace affairs and the city manager, together with the city council and the guardians of Ahab’s sons, sent him this message:
“Jehu, we are your servants and will do anything you tell us to. We have decided that you should be our king instead of one of Ahab’s sons.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Jehu responded with this message: “If you are on my side and are going to obey me, bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel at about this time tomorrow.”
(These seventy sons of King Ahab were living in the homes of the chief men of the city, where they had been raised since childhood.)


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contenido:
When the letter arrived, all seventy of them were murdered, and their heads were packed into baskets and presented to Jehu at Jezreel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When a messenger told Jehu that the heads of the king’s sons had arrived, he said to pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate, and to leave them there until the next morning.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
In the morning he went out and spoke to the crowd that had gathered around them. “You aren’t to blame,” he told them. “I conspired against my master and killed him, but I didn’t kill his sons! The Lord has done that, for everything he says comes true. He declared through his servant Elijah that this would happen to Ahab’s descendants.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Jehu then killed all the rest of the members of the family of Ahab who were in Jezreel, as well as all of his important officials, personal friends, and private chaplains. Finally, no one was left who had been close to him in any way.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
While he was there he met the brothers of King Ahaziah of Judah.
“Who are you?” he asked them.
And they replied, “We are brothers of King Ahaziah. We are going to Samaria to visit the sons of King Ahab and of the Queen Mother, Jezebel.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Grab them!” Jehu shouted to his men. And he took them out to the cistern and killed all forty-two of them.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
As he left the inn, he met Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, who was coming to meet him. After they had greeted each other, Jehu said to him, “Are you as loyal to me as I am to you?”
“Yes,” Jehonadab replied.
“Then give me your hand,” Jehu said, and he helped him into the royal chariot.


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contenido:
“Now come along with me,” Jehu said, “and see how much I have done for the Lord.” So Jehonadab rode along with him.


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contenido:
When he arrived in Samaria he butchered all of Ahab’s friends and relatives, just as Elijah, speaking for the Lord, had predicted.
Then Jehu called a meeting of all the people of the city and said to them, “Ahab hardly worshiped Baal at all in comparison to the way I am going to!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Summon all the prophets and priests of Baal, and call together all his worshipers. See to it that every one of them comes, for we worshipers of Baal are going to have a great celebration to praise him. Any of Baal’s worshipers who don’t come will be put to death.”
But Jehu’s plan was to exterminate them.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He sent messengers throughout all Israel summoning those who worshiped Baal; and they all came and filled the temple of Baal from one end to the other.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He instructed the head of the robing room, “Be sure that every worshiper wears one of the special robes.”


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contenido:
Then Jehu and Jehonadab (son of Rechab) went into the temple to address the people: “Check to be sure that only those who worship Baal are here; don’t let anyone in who worships the Lord!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
As the priests of Baal began offering sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu surrounded the building with eighty of his men and told them, “If you let anyone escape, you’ll pay for it with your own life.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
As soon as he had finished sacrificing the burnt offering, Jehu went out and told his officers and men, “Go in and kill the whole bunch of them. Don’t let a single one escape.”
So they slaughtered them all and dragged their bodies outside. Then Jehu’s men went into the inner temple,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
However, he didn’t destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan—this was the great sin of Jeroboam (son of Nebat), for it resulted in all Israel sinning.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Afterwards the Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well in following my instructions to destroy the dynasty of Ahab. Because of this I will cause your son, your grandson, and your great-grandson to be the kings of Israel.”


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contenido:
But Jehu didn’t follow the Lord God of Israel with all his heart, for he continued to worship Jeroboam’s gold calves that had been the cause of such great sin in Israel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
At about that time the Lord began to whittle down the size of Israel. King Hazael conquered several sections of the country east of the Jordan River, as well as all of Gilead, Gad, and Reuben; he also conquered parts of Manasseh from the Aroer River in the valley of the Arnon as far as Gilead and Bashan.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was dead, she killed all of his children,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
except for his year-old son Joash. Joash was rescued by his Aunt Jehosheba, who was a sister of King Ahaziah (for she was a daughter of King Jehoram, Ahaziah’s father). She stole him away from among the rest of the king’s children who were waiting to be slain and hid him and his nurse in a storeroom of the Temple.* They lived there for six years while Athaliah reigned as queen.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
In the seventh year of Queen Athaliah’s reign, Jehoiada the priest summoned the officers of the palace guard and the queen’s bodyguard. He met them in the Temple, swore them to secrecy, and showed them the king’s son.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he gave them their instructions: “A third of those who are on duty on the Sabbath are to guard the palace.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The other two-thirds shall stand guard at the Temple; surround the king, weapons in hand, and kill anyone who tries to break through. Stay with the king at all times.”


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contenido:
So the officers followed Jehoiada’s instructions. They brought to Jehoiada the men who were going off duty on the Sabbath and those who were coming on duty,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The guards, with weapons ready, stood across the front of the sanctuary and surrounded the altar, which was near Joash’s hideaway.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Jehoiada brought out the young prince and put the crown upon his head and gave him a copy of the Ten Commandments, and anointed him as king. Then everyone clapped and shouted, “Long live the king!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When Athaliah heard all the noise, she ran into the Temple and saw the new king standing beside the pillar, as was the custom at times of coronation, surrounded by her bodyguard and many trumpeters; and everyone was rejoicing and blowing trumpets.
“Treason! Treason!” she screamed, and began to tear her clothes.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Get her out of here,” shouted Jehoiada to the officers of the guard. “Don’t kill her here in the Temple. But kill anyone who tries to come to her rescue.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Jehoiada made a treaty between the Lord, the king, and the people, that they would be the Lord’s people. He also made a contract between the king and the people.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Everyone went over to the temple of Baal and tore it down, breaking the altars and images and killing Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altar. And Jehoiada set guards at the Temple of the Lord.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he and the officers and the guard and all the people led the king from the Temple, past the guardhouse, and into the palace. And he sat upon the king’s throne.


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contenido:
It was seven years after Jehu had become the king of Israel that Joash became king of Judah. He reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. (His mother was Zibiah, from Beersheba.)


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Yet even so he didn’t destroy the shrines on the hills—the people still sacrificed and burned incense there.


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contenido:
One day King Joash said to Jehoiada, “The Temple building needs repairing. Whenever anyone brings a contribution to the Lord, whether it is a regular assessment or some special gift, use it to pay for whatever repairs are needed.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them, “Why haven’t you done anything about the Temple? Now don’t use any more money for your own needs; from now on it must all be spent on getting the Temple into good condition.”


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contenido:
So the priests agreed to set up a special repair fund that would not go through their hands, lest it be diverted to care for their personal needs.


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contenido:
Jehoiada the priest bored a hole in the lid of a large chest and set it on the right-hand side of the altar at the Temple entrance. The doorkeepers put all of the people’s contributions into it.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Whenever the chest became full, the king’s financial secretary and the High Priest counted it, put it into bags,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
and gave it to the construction superintendents to pay the carpenters, stonemasons, quarrymen, timber dealers, and stone merchants, and to buy the other materials needed to repair the Temple of the Lord.


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contenido:
It was not used to buy silver cups, gold snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or similar articles, but only for repairs to the building.


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contenido:
No accounting was required from the construction superintendents, for they were honest and faithful men.


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contenido:
However, the money that was contributed for guilt offerings and sin offerings was given to the priests for their own use. It was not put into the chest.


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contenido:
About this time, King Hazael of Syria went to war against Gath and captured it; then he moved on toward Jerusalem to attack it.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
King Joash took all the sacred objects that his ancestors—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—had dedicated, along with what he himself had dedicated, and all the gold in the treasuries of the Temple and the palace, and sent it to Hazael. So Hazael called off the attack.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But his officers plotted against him and assassinated him in his royal residence at Millo on the road to Silla.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The assassins were Jozachar, the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of Shomer—both trusted aides. He was buried in the royal cemetery in Jerusalem, and his son Amaziah became the new king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Jehoahaz (the son of Jehu) began a seventeen-year reign over Israel during the twenty-third year of the reign of King Joash of Judah.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But he was an evil king, and he followed the wicked paths of Jeroboam, who had caused Israel to sin.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he continually allowed King Hazael of Syria and his son Ben-hadad to conquer them.


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contenido:
But Jehoahaz prayed for the Lord’s help, and the Lord listened to him; for the Lord saw how terribly the king of Syria was oppressing Israel.


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contenido:
So the Lord raised up leaders among the Israelis to rescue them from the tyranny of the Syrians; and then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days.


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contenido:
But they continued to sin, following the evil ways of Jeroboam; and they continued to worship the goddess Asherah at Samaria.


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contenido:
Finally the Lord reduced Jehoahaz’s army to fifty mounted troops, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry; for the king of Syria had destroyed the others as though they were dust beneath his feet.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Joash reigned in Samaria for sixteen years. He came to the throne in the thirty-seventh year of the reign of King Joash of Judah.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But he was an evil man, for, like Jeroboam, he encouraged the people to worship idols and led them into sin.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The rest of the history of the reign of Joash, including his wars against King Amaziah of Judah, are written in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Joash died and was buried in Samaria with the other kings of Israel; and Jeroboam II became the new king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When Elisha was in his last illness, King Joash visited him and wept over him.
“My father! My father! You are the strength of Israel!” he cried.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Open that eastern window,” he instructed. Then he told the king to put his hand upon the bow, and Elisha laid his own hands upon the king’s hands.
“Shoot!” Elisha commanded, and he did.
Then Elisha proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s arrow, full of victory over Syria; for you will completely conquer the Syrians at Aphek.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the floor.”
So the king picked them up and struck the floor three times.


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contenido:
But the prophet was angry with him. “You should have struck the floor five or six times,” he exclaimed, “for then you would have beaten Syria until they were entirely destroyed; now you will be victorious only three times.”


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contenido:
So Elisha died and was buried.
In those days bandit gangs of Moabites used to invade the land each spring. Once some men who were burying a friend spied these marauders so they hastily threw his body into the tomb of Elisha. And as soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But the Lord was gracious to the people of Israel, and they were not totally destroyed. For God pitied them, and also he was honoring his contract with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And this is still true.


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contenido:
King Joash of Israel (the son of Jehoahaz) was successful on three occasions in reconquering the cities that his father had lost to Ben-hadad.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
During the second year of the reign of King Joash of Israel, King Amaziah began his reign over Judah.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Amaziah was twenty-five years old at the time, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. (His mother was Jehoaddin, a native of Jerusalem.)


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He was a good king in the Lord’s sight, though not quite like his ancestor David; but he was as good a king as his father Joash.


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contenido:
However, he didn’t destroy the shrines on the hills, so the people still sacrificed and burned incense there.


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contenido:
but he didn’t kill their children, for the Lord had commanded through the law of Moses that fathers shall not be killed for their children, nor children for the sins of their fathers: everyone must pay the penalty for his own sins.


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contenido:
Once Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomites in Salt Valley; he also conquered Sela and changed its name to Joktheel, as it is called to this day.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
One day he sent a message to King Joash of Israel (the son of Jehoahaz and the grandson of Jehu), daring him to mobilize his army and come out and fight.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But King Joash replied, “The thistle of Lebanon demanded of the mighty cedar tree, ‘Give your daughter to be a wife for my son.’ But just then a wild animal passed by and stepped on the thistle and trod it into the ground!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
You have destroyed Edom and are very proud about it; but my advice to you is, be content with your glory and stay home! Why provoke disaster for both yourself and Judah?”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But Amaziah refused to listen, so King Joash of Israel mustered his army. The battle began at Beth-shemesh, one of the cities of Judah,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
King Amaziah was captured, and the army of Israel marched on Jerusalem and broke down its wall from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, a distance of about six hundred feet.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
King Joash took many hostages and all the gold and silver from the Temple and palace treasury, also the gold cups. Then he returned to Samaria.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The rest of the history of Joash and his war with King Amaziah of Judah are recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When Joash died, he was buried in Samaria with the other kings of Israel. And his son Jeroboam became the new king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
There was a plot against his life in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but his enemies sent assassins and killed him there.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
His body was returned on horses, and he was buried in the royal cemetery, in the City of David section of Jerusalem.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Meanwhile, over in Israel, Jeroboam II had become king during the fifteenth year of the reign of King Amaziah of Judah. Jeroboam’s reign lasted forty-one years.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But he was as evil as Jeroboam I (the son of Nebat), who had led Israel into the sin of worshiping idols.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Jeroboam II recovered the lost territories of Israel between Hamath and the Dead Sea, just as the Lord God of Israel had predicted through Jonah (son of Amittai) the prophet from Gathhepher.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
And he had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel, so he used King Jeroboam II to save her.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The rest of Jeroboam’s biography—all that he did, and his great power, and his wars, and how he recovered Damascus and Hamath (which had been captured by Judah)—is recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When Jeroboam II died, he was buried with the other kings of Israel, and his son Zechariah became the new king of Israel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
New king of Judah: Azariah
Father’s name: Amaziah, the former king
His age at the beginning of his reign: 16 years old
Length of reign: 52 years, in Jerusalem
Mother’s name: Jecoliah of Jerusalem
Reigning in Israel at that time: King Jeroboam, who had been the king there for 27 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But like his predecessors, he didn’t destroy the shrines on the hills where the people sacrificed and burned incense.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Because of this the Lord struck him with leprosy, which lasted until the day of his death; so he lived in a house by himself. And his son Jotham was the acting king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When Azariah died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Jotham became king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
New king of Israel: Zechariah
Father’s name: Jeroboam
Length of reign: 6 months, in Samaria
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Azariah, who had been the king there for 38 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But Zechariah was an evil king in the Lord’s sight, just like his ancestors. Like Jeroboam I (the son of Nebat), he encouraged Israel in the sin of worshiping idols.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Shallum (the son of Jabesh) conspired against him and assassinated him at Ibleam and took the crown himself.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
(So the Lord’s statement to Jehu came true, that Jehu’s son, grandson, and great-grandson would be kings of Israel.)


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
New king of Israel: Shallum
Father’s name: Jabesh
Length of reign: 1 month, in Samaria
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Uzziah, who had been the king there for 39 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
One month after Shallum became king, Menahem (the son of Gadi) came to Samaria from Tirzah and assassinated him and took the throne.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Additional details about King Shallum and his conspiracy are recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Menahem destroyed the city of Tappuah and the surrounding countryside, for its citizens refused to accept him as their king; he killed the entire population and ripped open the pregnant women.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
New king of Israel: Menahem
Length of reign: 10 years, in Samaria
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Azariah, who had been the king there for 39 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But Menahem was an evil king. He worshiped idols, as King Jeroboam I had done so long before, and he led the people of Israel into grievous sin.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then King Pul of Assyria invaded the land; but King Menahem bought him off with a gift of $2,000,000, so he turned around and returned home. Menahem extorted the money from the rich, assessing each one $2,000 in the form of a special tax.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
New king of Israel: Pekahiah
Father’s name: King Menahem
Length of reign: 2 years, in Samaria
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Azariah, who had been the king there for 50 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But Pekahiah was an evil king, and he continued the idol worship begun by Jeroboam I (son of Nebat) who led Israel down that evil trail.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Pekah (son of Remaliah), the commanding general of his army, conspired against him with fifty men from Gilead and assassinated him in the palace at Samaria (Argob and Arieh were also slain in the revolt). So Pekah became the new king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
New king of Israel: Pekah
Father’s name: Remaliah
Length of reign: 20 years, in Samaria
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Azariah, who had been the king there for 52 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Pekah, too, was an evil king, and he continued in the example of Jeroboam I (son of Nebat), who led all of Israel into the sin of worshiping idols.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
It was during his reign that King Tiglath-pileser led an attack against Israel. He captured the cities of Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali; and he took the people away to Assyria as captives.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Hoshea (the son of Elah) plotted against Pekah and assassinated him; and he took the throne for himself.
New king of Israel: Hoshea
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Jotham (son of Uzziah), who had been the king there for 20 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
New king of Judah: Jotham
Father’s name: King Uzziah
His age at the beginning of his reign: 25 years old
Length of reign: 16 years, in Jerusalem
Mother’s name: Jerusha (daughter of Zadok)
Reigning in Israel at that time: King Pekah (son of Remaliah), who had been the king there for 2 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Generally speaking, Jotham was a good king. Like his father Uzziah, he followed the Lord. But he didn’t destroy the shrines on the hills where the people sacrificed and burned incense. It was during King Jotham’s reign that the upper gate of the Temple of the Lord was built.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When Jotham died he was buried with the other kings of Judah in the royal cemetery, in the City of David section of Jerusalem. Then his son Ahaz became the new king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
New king of Judah: Ahaz
Father’s name: Jotham
His age at the beginning of his reign: 20 years old
Length of reign: 16 years, in Jerusalem
Character of his reign: evil
Reigning in Israel at that time: King Pekah (son of Remaliah), who had been the king there for 17 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
he was as wicked as the kings of Israel. He even killed his own son by offering him as a burnt sacrifice to the gods, following the heathen customs of the nations around Judah—nations that the Lord destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He also sacrificed and burned incense at the shrines on the hills and at the numerous altars in the groves of trees.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah (son of Remaliah) of Israel declared war on Ahaz and besieged Jerusalem; but they did not conquer it.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
However, at that time King Rezin of Syria recovered the city of Elath for Syria; he drove out the Jews and sent Syrians to live there, as they do to this day.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
King Ahaz sent a messenger to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, begging him to help him fight the attacking armies of Syria and Israel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple and from the royal vaults and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So the Assyrians attacked Damascus, the capital of Syria. They took away the population of the city as captives, resettling them in Kir, and King Rezin of Syria was killed.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
King Ahaz now went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser, and while he was there he noticed an unusual altar in a heathen temple. He jotted down its dimensions and made a sketch and sent it back to Uriah the priest with a detailed description.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Uriah built one just like it by following these directions and had it ready for the king, who, upon his return from Damascus, inaugurated it with an offering.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The king presented a burnt offering and a grain offering, poured a drink offering over it, and sprinkled the blood of peace offerings upon it.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he removed the old bronze altar from the front of the Temple (it had stood between the Temple entrance and the new altar), and placed it on the north side of the new altar.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He instructed Uriah the priest to use the new altar for the sacrifices of burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, and the offerings of the people, including their drink offerings. The blood from the burnt offerings and sacrifices was also to be sprinkled over the new altar. So the old altar was used only for purposes of divination.
“The old bronze altar,” he said, “will be only for my personal use.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then the king dismantled the wheeled stands in the Temple, removed their crosspieces and the water vats they supported, and removed the great tank from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed it upon the stone pavement.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
In deference to the king of Assyria he also removed the festive passageway he had constructed between the palace and the Temple.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When Ahaz died he was buried in the royal cemetery, in the City of David sector of Jerusalem, and his son Hezekiah became the new king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
New king of Israel: Hoshea
Father’s name: Elah
Length of reign: 9 years, in Samaria
Character of his reign: evil—but not as bad as some of the other kings of Israel
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Ahaz, who had been the king there for 12 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked and defeated King Hoshea, so Israel had to pay heavy annual taxes to Assyria.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Hoshea conspired against the king of Assyria by asking King So of Egypt to help him shake free of Assyria’s power, but this treachery was discovered. At the same time he refused to pay the annual tribute to Assyria. So the king of Assyria put him in prison and in chains for his rebellion.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Now the land of Israel was filled with Assyrian troops for three years besieging Samaria, the capital city of Israel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria. They were placed in colonies in the city of Halah and along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and among the cities of the Medes.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
This disaster came upon the nation of Israel because the people worshiped other gods, thus sinning against the Lord their God who had brought them safely out of their slavery in Egypt.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were wrong, and they had built altars to other gods throughout the land.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
and they had burned incense to the gods of the very nations which the Lord had cleared out of the land when Israel came in. So the people of Israel had done many evil things, and the Lord was very angry.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Again and again the Lord had sent prophets to warn both Israel and Judah to turn from their evil ways; he had warned them to obey his commandments which he had given to their ancestors through these prophets,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
but Israel wouldn’t listen. The people were as stubborn as their ancestors and refused to believe in the Lord their God.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
They rejected his laws and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and despised all his warnings. In their foolishness they worshiped heathen idols despite the Lord’s stern warnings.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
They defied all the commandments of the Lord their God and made two calves from molten gold. They made detestable, shameful idols and worshiped Baal and the sun, moon, and stars.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
They even burned their own sons and daughters to death on the altars of Molech; they consulted fortune-tellers and used magic and sold themselves to evil. So the Lord was very angry.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But even Judah refused to obey the commandments of the Lord their God; they too walked in the same evil paths as Israel had.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So the Lord rejected all the descendants of Jacob. He punished them by delivering them to their attackers until they were destroyed.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
For Israel split off from the kingdom of David and chose Jeroboam I (the son of Nebat) as its king. Then Jeroboam drew Israel away from following the Lord. He made them sin a great sin,


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
until the Lord finally swept them away, just as all his prophets had warned would happen. So Israel was carried off to the land of Assyria where they remain to this day.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
And the king of Assyria transported colonies of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the cities of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel. So the Assyrians took over Samaria and the other cities of Israel.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But since these Assyrian colonists did not worship the Lord when they first arrived, the Lord sent lions among them to kill some of them.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then they sent a message to the king of Assyria: “We colonists here in Israel don’t know the laws of the god of the land, and he has sent lions among us to destroy us because we have not worshiped him.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The king of Assyria then decreed that one of the exiled priests from Samaria should return to Israel and teach the new residents the laws of the god of the land. So one of them returned to Bethel and taught the colonists from Babylon how to worship the Lord.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But these foreigners also worshiped their own gods. They placed them in the shrines on the hills near their cities.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their god Succoth-benoth; those from Cuth worshiped their god Nergal; and the men of Hamath worshiped Ashima.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
The gods Nibhaz and Tartak were worshiped by the Avvites, and the people from Sephar even burned their own children on the altars of their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
They also worshiped the Lord, and they appointed from among themselves priests to sacrifice to the Lord on the hilltop altars.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
And this is still going on among them today—they follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the Lord or obeying the laws he gave to the descendants of Jacob (whose name was later changed to Israel).


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
For the Lord had made a contract with them—that they were never to worship or make sacrifices to any heathen gods. They were to worship only the Lord who had brought them out of the land of Egypt with such tremendous miracles and power.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
These colonists from Babylon worshiped the Lord, yes—but they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same thing.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
New king of Judah: Hezekiah
Father’s name: Ahaz
His age at the beginning of his reign: 25 years old
Length of reign: 29 years, in Jerusalem
Mother’s name: Abi (daughter of Zechariah)
Character of his reign: good (similar to that of his ancestor David)
Reigning in Israel at that time: King Hoshea (son of Elah), who had been the king there for 3 years


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He removed the shrines on the hills, broke down the obelisks, knocked down the shameful idols of Asherah, and broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had begun to worship it by burning incense to it; even though, as King Hezekiah pointed out to them, it was merely a piece of bronze.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He trusted very strongly in the Lord God of Israel. In fact, none of the kings before or after him were as close to God as he was.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So the Lord was with him and prospered everything he did. Then he rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to pay tribute any longer.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He also conquered the Philistines as far distant as Gaza and its suburbs, destroying cities both large and small.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
It was during the fourth year of his reign (which was the seventh year of the reign of King Hoshea in Israel) that King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked Israel and began a siege on the city of Samaria.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Three years later (during the sixth year of the reign of King Hezekiah and the ninth year of the reign of King Hoshea of Israel) Samaria fell.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
It was at that time that the king of Assyria transported the Israelis to Assyria and put them in colonies in the city of Halath and along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
For they had refused to listen to the Lord their God or to do what he wanted them to do. Instead, they had transgressed his covenant and disobeyed all the laws given to them by Moses the servant of the Lord.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Later, during the fourteenth year of the reign of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria besieged and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
King Hezekiah sued for peace and sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. I will pay whatever tribute you demand if you will only go away.” The king of Assyria then demanded a settlement of $1,500,000.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
To gather this amount, King Hezekiah used all the silver stored in the Temple and in the palace treasury.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
He even stripped off the gold from the Temple doors, and from the doorposts he had overlaid with gold, and gave it all to the Assyrian king.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Nevertheless the king of Assyria sent his field marshal, his chief treasurer, and his chief of staff from Lachish with a great army; and they camped along the highway beside the field where cloth was bleached, near the conduit of the upper pool.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
They demanded that King Hezekiah come out to speak to them, but instead he sent a truce delegation of the following men: Eliakim, his business manager; Shebnah, his secretary; and Joah, his royal historian.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then the Assyrian general sent this message to King Hezekiah: “The great king of Assyria says, ‘No one can save you from my power!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
You need more than mere promises of help before rebelling against me. But which of your allies will give you more than words? Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, you will find her to be a stick that breaks beneath your weight and pierces your hand. The Egyptian Pharaoh is totally unreliable!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
And if you say, “We’re trusting the Lord to rescue us”—just remember that he is the very one whose hilltop altars you’ve destroyed. For you require everyone to worship at the altar in Jerusalem!’


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
I’ll tell you what: Make a bet with my master, the king of Assyria! If you have two thousand men left who can ride horses, we’ll furnish the horses!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
And with an army as small as yours, you are no threat to even the least lieutenant in charge of the smallest contingent in my master’s army. Even if Egypt supplies you with horses and chariots, it will do no good.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
And do you think we have come here on our own? No! The Lord sent us and told us, ‘Go and destroy this nation!’”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Eliakim, Shebnah, and Joah said to them, “Please speak in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don’t use Hebrew, for the people standing on the walls will hear you.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
But the Assyrian general replied, “Has my master sent me to speak only to you and to your master? Hasn’t he sent me to the people on the walls too? For they are doomed with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then the Assyrian ambassador shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, “Listen to the great king of Assyria!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Don’t listen to King Hezekiah. Surrender! You can live in peace here in your own land until I take you to another land just like this one—with plentiful crops, grain, grapes, olive trees, and honey. All of this instead of death! Don’t listen to King Hezekiah when he tries to persuade you that the Lord will deliver you.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
What god has ever been able to save any nation from my power? So what makes you think the Lord can save Jerusalem?’”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then Eliakim (son of Hilkiah) the business manager, and Shebnah the king’s secretary, and Joah (son of Asaph) the historian went to King Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him what the Assyrian general had said.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the Temple to pray.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he told Eliakim, Shebnah, and some of the older priests to clothe themselves in sackcloth and to go to Isaiah (son of Amoz), the prophet, with this message:


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“King Hezekiah says, ‘This is a day of trouble, insult, and dishonor. It is as when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver it.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Yet perhaps the Lord your God has heard the Assyrian general defying the living God and will rebuke him. Oh, pray for the few of us who are left.’”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Isaiah replied, “The Lord says, ‘Tell your master not to be troubled by the sneers these Assyrians have made against me.’


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
For the king of Assyria will receive bad news from home and will decide to return; and the Lord will see to it that he is killed when he arrives there.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then the Assyrian general returned to his king at Libnah (for he received word that he had left Lachish).


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Soon afterwards news reached the king that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was coming to attack him. Before leaving to meet the attack, he sent back this message to King Hezekiah:


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“Don’t be fooled by that god you trust in. Don’t believe it when he says that I won’t conquer Jerusalem.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone; they have completely destroyed everything. Why would you be any different?


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Have the gods of the other nations delivered them—such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and Eden in the land of Telassar? The former kings of Assyria destroyed them all!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
What happened to the king of Hamoth and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, read it, and went over to the Temple and spread it out before the Lord.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Then he prayed this prayer:
“O Lord God of Israel, sitting on your throne high above the angels, you alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You created the heavens and the earth.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Bend low, O Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, O Lord, and see. Listen to this man’s defiance of the living God.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
and have burned their idol-gods. But they weren’t gods at all; they were destroyed because they were only things that men had made of wood and stone.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
O Lord our God, we plead with you to save us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone are God.”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
And this is my reply to King Sennacherib: The virgin daughter of Zion isn’t afraid of you! The daughter of Jerusalem scorns and mocks at you.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
Whom have you defied and blasphemed? And toward whom have you felt so cocky? It is the Holy One of Israel!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“‘You have boasted, “My chariots have conquered the highest mountains, yes, the peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down the tallest cedars and choicest cypress trees and have conquered the farthest borders.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
I have been refreshed at many conquered wells, and I destroyed the strength of Egypt just by walking by!”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“‘Why haven’t you realized long before this that it is I, the Lord, who lets you do these things? I decreed your conquest of all those fortified cities!


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
So of course the nations you conquered had no power against you! They were like grass shriveling beneath the hot sun, and like grain blighted before it is half grown.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
I know everything about you. I know all your plans and where you are going next; and I also know the evil things you have said about me.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
And because of your arrogance against me, I am going to put a hook in your nose and a bridle in your mouth and turn you back on the road by which you came.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
And this is the proof that I will do as I have promised: This year my people will eat the volunteer wheat and use it as seed for next year’s crop; and in the third year they will have a bountiful harvest.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“‘O my people Judah, those of you who have escaped the ravages of the siege shall become a great nation again; you shall be rooted deeply in the soil and bear fruit for God.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
“‘And my command concerning the king of Assyria is that he shall not enter this city. He shall not stand before it with a shield, nor build a ramp against its wall, nor even shoot an arrow into it.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
for I will defend and save this city for the sake of my own name and for the sake of my servant David.’”


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
That very night the Angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian troops, and dead bodies were seen all across the landscape in the morning.


book: 2Kgs
contenido:
and as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him. They escaped into eastern Turkey—the land of Ararat—and his son Esarhaddon became the new king.


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Hezekiah now became deathly sick, and Isaiah the prophet went to visit him.
“Set your affairs in order and prepare to die,” Isaiah told him. “The Lord says you won’t recover.”


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“O Lord,” he pleaded, “remember how I’ve always tried to obey you and to please you in everything I do. . . . ” Then he broke down and cried.


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“Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, and tell him that the Lord God of his ancestor David has heard his prayer and seen his tears. I will heal him, and three days from now he will be out of bed and at the Temple!


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I will add fifteen years to his life and save him and this city from the king of Assyria. And it will all be done for the glory of my own name and for the sake of my servant David.”


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Isaiah then instructed Hezekiah to boil some dried figs and to make a paste of them and spread it on the boil. And he recovered!


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Meanwhile, King Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “Do a miracle to prove to me that the Lord will heal me and that I will be able to go to the Temple again three days from now.”


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“All right, the Lord will give you a proof,” Isaiah told him. “Do you want the shadow on the sundial to go forward ten points or backward ten points?”


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So Isaiah asked the Lord to do this, and he caused the shadow to move ten points backward on the sundial of Ahaz!


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At that time Merodach-baladan (the son of King Baladan of Babylon) sent ambassadors with greetings and a present to Hezekiah, for he had learned of his sickness.


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Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them all his treasures—the silver, gold, spices, aromatic oils, the armory—everything.


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Then Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men want? Where are they from?”
“From far away in Babylon,” Hezekiah replied.


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“What have they seen in your palace?” Isaiah asked.
And Hezekiah replied, “Everything. I showed them all my treasures.”


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The time will come when everything in this palace shall be carried to Babylon. All the treasures of your ancestors will be taken—nothing shall be left.


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Some of your own sons will be taken away and made into eunuchs who will serve in the palace of the king of Babylon.”


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“All right,” Hezekiah replied, “if this is what the Lord wants, it is good.” But he was really thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during the remainder of my own life!”


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The rest of the history of Hezekiah and his great deeds—including the pool and conduit he made and how he brought water into the city—are recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Judah.


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New king of Judah: Manasseh
His age at the beginning of his reign: 12 years old
Length of reign: 55 years, in Jerusalem
Mother’s name: Hephzibah
Character of his reign: evil; he did the same things the nations had done that were thrown out of the land to make room for the people of Israel


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He rebuilt the hilltop shrines that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He built altars for Baal and made a shameful Asherah idol, just as Ahab the king of Israel had done. Heathen altars to the sun god, moon god, and the gods of the stars were placed even in the Temple of the Lord—in the very city and building that the Lord had selected to honor his own name.


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And he sacrificed one of his sons as a burnt offering on a heathen altar. He practiced black magic and used fortune-telling, and patronized mediums and wizards. So the Lord was very angry, for Manasseh was an evil man, in God’s sight.


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Manasseh even set up a shameful Asherah idol in the Temple—the very place that the Lord had spoken to David and Solomon about when he said, “I will place my name forever in this Temple, and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the cities of the tribes of Israel.


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If the people of Israel will only follow the instructions I gave them through Moses, I will never again expel them from this land of their fathers.”


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But the people did not listen to the Lord, and Manasseh enticed them to do even more evil than the surrounding nations had done, even though Jehovah had destroyed those nations for their evil ways when the people of Israel entered the land.


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“Because King Manasseh has done these evil things and is even more wicked than the Amorites who were in this land long ago, and because he has led the people of Judah into idolatry:


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I will bring such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of those who hear about it will tingle with horror.


