Reciting the Dead Sea Scrolls

 

1 Kings 15-19

Chapter 15

1; And in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam reigned over Judah.

2; He reigned three years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Maachah the daughter of Abishalom.

3; And he walked in all the sins of his father, those that he did before him, and his heart was not perfect with YAHWEH his Elohim, as was the heart of his father David.

4; But for David's sake YAHWEH his Elohim gave to him a lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem.

5; For David did that which is right in the eyes of YAHWEH, and did not turn aside from all that He instructed him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

6; And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

7; And the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

8; And Abijam lay with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And his son Asa reigned in his place.

9; And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel Asa reigned over Judah.

10; And he reigned forty one years in Jerusalem, and his grandmother's name was Maachah the daughter of Abishalom.

11; And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of YAHWEH, like his father David.

12; And he removed the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers made.

13; And he also removed his mother Maachah from being queen, in that she made a horrid thing for Asherah. And Asa cut down her horrid thing and burned it by the torrent Kidron.

14; But they did not remove the high places. Only the heart of Asa was perfect with YAHWEH all the days.

15; And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated and his holy things, into the house of YAHWEH, silver and gold and vessels.

16; And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

17; And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, to keep anyone from going out and coming in to Asa the king of Judah.

18; And Asa took all the silver and gold that remained in the treasures of the house of YAHWEH, and the treasures of the king's house, and gave them into his servants' hand; and King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, the king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,

19; A treaty between you and me, between my father and your father! Behold, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha the king of Israel, that he go up from me.

20; And Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and sent his army commanders against the cities of Israel. And he struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-Beth- Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.

21; And it happened, when Baasha heard, he ceased building Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.

22; And King Asa proclaimed to all Judah and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber with which Baasha had built. And King Asa built with it Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.

23; And the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Judah? Only, at the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.

24; And Asa lay with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David. And his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.

25; And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa the king of Judah. And he reigned over Israel two years.

26; And he did evil in the eyes of YAHWEH, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.

27; And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him And Baasha struck him at Gibbethon which belonged to the Philistines. For Nadab and all Israel had laid siege to Gibbethon.

28; And in the third year of Asa the king of Judah, Baasha killed him, and reigned in his place.

29; And it happened when he reigned, he struck all the house of Jeroboam; he did not leave Jeroboam any who breathed, until he had destroyed him according to the saying of YAHWEH which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the man of Shiloh;

30; because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and that he caused Israel to sin by his provocation with which he provoked YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel to anger.

31; And the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel?

32; And there was war between Asa and Baasha the king of Israel all their days.

33; In the third year of Asa the king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah reigned over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty four years.

34; And he did that which was evil in the eyes of YAHWEH, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin that he caused Israel to sin.

 

Chapter 16

1; And the Word of YAHWEH came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,

2; Since I have raised you up out of the dust, and made you ruler over My people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and caused My people Israel to sin, to provoke Me to anger with their sins;

3; behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house; and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

4; He who dies of Baasha in the city, the dogs shall eat; and whoever of his dies in the field, the birds of the heavens shall eat.

5; And the rest of the acts of Baasha, and that which he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel?

6; And Baasha lay with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah. And his son Elah reigned in his place.

7; And also by the hand of Jehu the son of Hanani the prophet, the Word of YAHWEH came against Baasha, and against his house, and against all the evil that he did in the eyes of YAHWEH to provoke Him to anger with the work of his hands, to be like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed him.

8; In the twenty sixth year of Asa the king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.

9; And his servant Zimri, the captain of half of the chariots, conspired against him. And he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the house of Tirzah.

10; And Zimri came in and struck him, and killed him in the twenty seventh year of Asa the king of Judah, and reigned in his place.

11; And it happened, when he began to reign, as he sat on his throne, that he struck all the house of Baasha; he did not leave him one who urinated against the wall, nor of his kinsmen, nor of his friends.

12; And Zimri destroyed the whole house of Baasha, according to the Word of YAHWEH that He spoke as to Baasha, by the hand of Jehu the prophet;

13; concerning all the sins of Baasha and the sins of his son Elah that they sinned, and that they caused Israel to sin, to provoke to anger YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel with their vanities.

14; And the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel?

15; In the twenty seventh year of Asa the king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. And the people were camped against Gibbethon, which was the Philistines'.

16; And the people who were encamped heard, saying, Zimri has conspired and has struck the king. And all Israel made Omri the commander of the army to rule over Israel on that day in the camp.

17; And Omri went up, and all Israel with him from Gibbethon, and they laid siege to Tirzah.

18; And it happened when Zimri saw that the city would be captured he came into a high place of the king and burned the house of the king with fire over him, and died,

19; for his sins that he sinned, to do the evil in the eyes of YAHWEH, to walk in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin that he did, to cause Israel to sin.

20; And the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his conspiracy that he made, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel?

21; Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath to cause him to reign, and the other half after Omri.

22; And the people that followed Omri were stronger than the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath; and Tibni died, and Omri reigned.

23; In the thirty first year of Asa the king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, twelve years. He reigned six years in Tirzah;

24; then he bought the hill Samaria from Shemer with two talents of silver, and built the hill, and called the name of the city that he built by the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill, that is Samaria.

25; And Omri did that which was evil in the eyes of YAHWEH, and did evil above all who were before him,

26; and walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin that he caused Israel to sin, to provoke to anger YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel with their vanities.

27; And the rest of the acts of Omri that he did, and his might that he attained, are they not written in the of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel?

28; And Omri lay down with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria. And his son Ahab reigned in his place.

29; And in the thirty eighth year of Asa the king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel. And Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty two years;

30; and Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the eyes of YAHWEH above all who were before him.

31; And it happened as if it were a light thing, that he walked in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took a wife, Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and bowed himself to it.

32; And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

33; And Ahab made an Asherah, and Ahab did still more to provoke to anger YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

34; In his days Hiel the man of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation in his first-born Abiram, and he set up its doors in Segub his youngest, according to the Word of YAHWEH that He spoke by the hand of Joshua the son of Nun.

 

Chapter 17

1; And Elijah the Tishbite, of the sojourners of Gilead, said to Ahab, As YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be no dew nor rain these years, except according to my word.

2; And the Word of YAHWEH came to him, saying,

3; Go away from here; and you shall turn eastward and shall hide by the torrent Cherith, that is before Jordan.

4; And it shall be, you shall drink of the torrent; and I shall command the ravens to feed you there.

5; And he went and did according to the Word of YAHWEH; for he went and lived by the torrent Cherith, that is before Jordan.

6; And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent.

7; And it happened after a while, that the torrent dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8; And the Word of YAHWEH came to him, saying,

9; Rise up, go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon; and you shall live there. Behold, I have instructed a widow woman there to sustain you.

10; And he rose up and went to Zarephath, and came in to the entrance of the city; and, behold, a widow woman was gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, Please bring to me a little water in a vessel, and I shall drink.

11; And she went to bring it. And he called to her and said, Please bring me a bit of bread in your hand.

12; And she said, As YAHWEH your Elohim lives, I do not have a cake, only a handful of meal in a pitcher, and a little oil in a jar; and behold, I am gathering two sticks and will go in and prepare for myself and for my son; and we shall eat it, and die.

13; And Elijah said to her, Do not fear, go, do according to your word, only first make me a little cake of it, and bring to me and afterward prepare for you and for your son.

14; For so says YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel, The pitcher of meal shall not be consumed, and the jar of oil shall not fail, until the day that YAHWEH sends rain on the land.

15; And she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she ate, she and he and her household, many days;

16; the pitcher of meal was not consumed, and the jar of oil did not fail, according to the Word of YAHWEH that He spoke by the hand of Elijah.

17; And it happened after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house became sick; and his illness was very severe until he had no breath left to him.

18; And she said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, O man of Elohim? Have you come to me to cause my iniquity to be remembered, and to cause my son to die?

19; And he said to her, Give me your son; and he took him out of her bosom, and caused him to go up into the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.

20; And he cried to YAHWEH and said, YAHWEH my Elohim, have You also brought evil on the widow with whom I am staying by slaying her son?

21; And he stretched himself on the child three times, and called to YAHWEH and said, O YAHWEH my Elohim, I pray, let the soul of this boy return to him.

22; And YAHWEH listened to the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the boy returned to him, and he lived.

23; And Elijah took the boy and brought him down from the upper room of the house, and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, See your son lives!

24; And the woman said to Elijah, Now I know this, that you are a man of Elohim, and the Word of YAHWEH that is in your mouth is truth.

 

Chapter 18

1; And it happened after many days the Word of YAHWEH came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will give rain on the face of the ground.

2; And Elijah went to appear to Ahab. And the famine in Samaria was severe.

3; And Ahab called to Obadiah, who was over the house and Obadiah greatly revered YAHWEH;

4; and it happened, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of YAHWEH, that Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and had hidden them, fifty men in a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.

5; and Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land to all the fountains of water, and to all the torrents; perhaps we may find grass and keep alive horse and mule, and will not cut off any of the livestock.

6; And they divided the land to themselves, to pass over into it; Ahab went in one way by himself, and Obadiah went in another way by himself.

7; And Obadiah was in the highway; and behold, Elijah came to meet him. And he recognized him, and he fell on his face, and said, Are you this one, my master Elijah?

8; And he said to him, I am; Go, say to your master, Behold, Elijah!

9; And he said, What have I sinned, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to kill me?

10; As YAHWEH your Elohim lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to seek you; and when they said, He is not here, then he caused the kingdom and the nation to swear that it did not find you.

11; And now, you are saying, Go, say to your master, Behold, Elijah.

12; And it shall be, I will go away from you, and the Spirit of YAHWEH will lift you up, where I do not know, and I will come to tell Ahab, and he will not find you, and he will kill me. And your servant has feared YAHWEH from my youth.

13; Was it not told to my master that which I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of YAHWEH, that I hid a hundred men of the prophets, fifty by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

14; And now you are saying, Go, say to your master, Behold, Elijah, and he will kill me!

15; And Elijah said, As YAHWEH of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely today I will be seen by him.

16; And Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him: And Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17; And it happened when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Are you this one, the disturber of Israel?

18; And he answered, I have not disturbed Israel, but you and the house of your father, in that you have forsaken the commandments of YAHWEH, and you have gone after the Baals.

19; And now send, gather all Israel to me, to Mount Carmel and four hundred and fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of the Asherah, who eat at the table of Jezebel.

20; And Ahab sent among all the sons of Israel and gathered the prophets to Mount Carmel.

21; And Elijah came near all the people and said, Until when are you limping over two opinions? If YAHWEH is Elohim, follow Him; and if Baal, follow him. But the people did not answer him a word.

22; Then Elijah said to the people, I, I am the only one of who remains a prophet of YAHWEH; but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.

23; Then let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood, and place no fire. And I, I will prepare the other bull and will put it on the wood, and I will not place fire.

24; And you shall call on the name of your Elohim; and I, I will call on the name of YAHWEH; and it shall be, the Elohim who answers by fire, he is the Elohim. And all the people answered and said, The word is good.

25; And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose the one bull for yourself, and prepare first, for you are many; and you call on the name of your Elohim, but place no fire.

26; And they took the bull that was given to them, and prepared, and called on the name of Baal from the morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us! And there was no sound, and no one was answering; and they hopped about the altar that had been made.

27; And it happened at noon, that Elijah taunted them and said, Call with a loud voice, for he is a Elohim; for he is meditating, or on the toilet, or on a journey; it may be he is asleep and must be awakened.

28; And they called with a loud voice, and cut themselves, according to their custom, with swords and with spears until blood gushed out on them.

29; And it happened as noon passed by, that they prophesied madly until the offering up of the offering; and no sound came, and no one was answering, and no one was paying attention.

30; And Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him; and he healed the altar of YAHWEH that had been broken down.

31; And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the Word of YAHWEH came, saying, Israel shall be your name.

32; And he built an altar with the stones in the name of YAHWEH, and made a trench as large as two seahs of seed in space around the altar.

33; And he arranged the wood, and cut the bull in pieces, and placed it on the wood, and said, Fill four water jars of water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.

34; And he said, Do it twice; and they did it twice; and he said, Do it a third time; and they did it a third time.

35; And the water went around the altar, and also he filled the trench with water.

36; And it happened at the offering of the sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, O YAHWEH, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that You are Elohim in Israel, and I am Your servant, that by Your Word I have done all these things.

37; Answer me, O YAHWEH, answer me; and this people shall know that You are YAHWEH Elohim; and You shall turn their hearts back again.

38; And fire fell from YAHWEH and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water that was in the trench it was licked up.

39; And all the people saw, and fell on their faces, and said, YAHWEH, He is the Elohim; YAHWEH, He is the Elohim!

40; And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let a man of them escape. And they caught them, and Elijah brought them down to the torrent of the Kishon and killed them there.

41; And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink, because of the sound of abundance of rain.

42; And Ahab went up to eat, and to drink; and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he stretched himself out on the earth, and he put his face between his knees;

43; and said to his young man, Now go up, look closely to the way of the sea. And he went up and looked closely, and said, There is nothing; and he said, Go back seven times.

44; And it happened at the seventh time, he said, Behold, a little cloud like the hand of a man is coming up out of the sea. And he said, Go up and say to Ahab, Bind up and go down, that the rain may not stop you.

45; And until this and this, it happened that the heavens became black with thick clouds and wind, and the rain was heavy; and Ahab rode and went to Jezreel;

46; and the hand of YAHWEH was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab until you come to enter Jezreel.

 

Chapter 19

1; And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah did, and all, that he killed all the prophets by the sword.

2; And Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do, and more so, if at this time tomorrow I will not cause your life to be as the life of one of them.

3; And he saw, and rose up and went for his life, and came to Beer-Sheba of Judah, and left his young man there;

4; and he himself went into the wilderness a day's journey, and came and sat under one broom tree. And he begged for his life, that he might die, and said, Enough, now, O YAHWEH; take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.

5; And he lay down and slept under a certain broom tree; and behold, a Messenger from YAHWEH touched him and said to him, Get up, eat!

6; And he looked, and behold, at his head was a cake on burning stones, and a jar of water; and he ate and drank, and turned and lay down.

7; And the Messenger of YAHWEH returned a second time, and touched him, and said, Get up, eat, for the way is too great for you.

8; And he rose up and ate and drank, and went in the power of that food forty days and forty nights to the mount of The Elohim, Horeb.

9; And he came there to the cave, and lodged there; and behold, the Word of YAHWEH came to him, and said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?

10; And he said, zealously, I have been zealous for YAHWEH Elohim of Hosts, for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant; they have thrown down Your altars, and they have killed Your prophets with the sword, and I am left, I alone, and they seek to take my life.

11; And he said, Go out and stand on the mountain before YAHWEH. And, behold, YAHWEH passed by, and a great and strong wind tearing the mountains and breaking the rocks in bits before YAHWEH! YAHWEH was not in the wind. And after the wind was an earthquake, but YAHWEH was not in the earthquake.

12; And after the earthquake was a fire, but YAHWEH was not in the fire; and after the fire came a voice which was a small whisper.

13; And it happened when Elijah heard, he wrapped his face in his robe and went out and stood at the cave opening; and, behold, a voice came to him, and it said, What are you doing here, Elijah?

14; And he said, zealously, I have been zealous for YAHWEH, Elohim of Hosts for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant; they have thrown down Your altars, and they have slain Your prophets by the sword; and I, I alone, am left; and they seek to take my life.

15; And YAHWEH said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and you shall go in and anoint Hazael as king over Syria;

16; and you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat, of Abel-Meholah, as prophet in your place.

17; And it shall be, he who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill.

18; And I have left in Israel seven thousand, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.

19; And he left there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat; and he was plowing; twelve pairs were before him, and he was with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him, and threw his robe upon him.

20; And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you. And he said to him, Go back; for what have I done to you?

21; And he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen, and sacrificed them, and boiled their flesh with the yoke of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and ministered to him.