Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David also went out and confronted them at the pool of Gibeon. One group stationed themselves on one side of the pool, and the other group on the other side of the pool.

Then King David reached ¹  Bahurim. There a man from Saul’s extended family named Shimei son of Gera came out, yelling curses as he approached. ² 

and said, “O Lord, I will not do this! ¹  It is equivalent to the blood of the men who risked their lives by going.” ²  So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors. ³ 

Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three. ¹  He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three. ² 

He also killed an impressive-looking Egyptian. ¹  The Egyptian wielded a spear, while Benaiah attacked ²  him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear.

After he buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the tomb where the prophet ¹  is buried; put my bones right beside his bones,

Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise ¹  yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam’s wife. Then go to Shiloh; Ahijah the prophet, who told me I would rule over this nation, lives there. ² 

Now King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled all his army, along with thirty-two other kings with their horses and chariots. He marched against Samaria ¹  and besieged and attacked it. ² 

I will make your dynasty ¹  like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah because you angered me and made Israel sin.’ ² 

The Lord announced, “I will also spurn Judah, ¹  just as I spurned Israel. I will reject this city that I chose – both Jerusalem and the temple, about which I said, “I will live there.” ² 

All these men were warriors who were ready to march. ¹  They came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel by acclamation; ²  all the rest of the Israelites also were in agreement that David should become king. ³ 

Solomon sent a message to King Huram ¹  of Tyre: ²  “Help me ³  as you did my father David, when you sent him cedar logs ⁴  for the construction of his palace. ⁵ 

Solomon took a census ¹  of all the male resident foreigners in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all.

Images of bulls were under it all the way around, ten every eighteen inches ¹  all the way around. The bulls were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.”

Hezekiah ordered the burnt sacrifice to be offered on the altar. As they began to offer the sacrifice, they also began to sing to the Lord, accompanied by the trumpets and the musical instruments of King David of Israel.

‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. ¹  You will not have to witness all the disaster I will bring on this place and its residents.’”’” Then they reported back to the king.

All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations. ¹  They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time ¹  Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

“Due to your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not stop guiding them in the path by day, ¹  nor did the pillar of fire stop illuminating for them by night the path on which they should travel.

Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis.