Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings ¹  on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense along with them before the Lord. He made the temple his official worship place. ² 

With the timber the king made supports ¹  for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments ²  for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day. ³ )

He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas ¹  of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. ² 

Jeroboam was a talented man; ¹  when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe ²  of Joseph.

The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events ¹  so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made ²  through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty. ¹ 

He also removed Maacah his grandmother ¹  from her position as queen because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her Asherah pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

“I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made. ¹  See, I have sent you silver and gold as a present. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.” ² 

This happened because of all the sins which Baasha and his son Elah committed and which they made Israel commit. They angered the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols. ¹ 

While deployed there, the army received this report: ¹  “Zimri has conspired against the king and assassinated him.” ²  So all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day in the camp.

He went up from there to Bethel. ¹  As he was traveling up the road, some young boys ²  came out of the city and made fun of him, saying, “Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!”

He did evil in the sight of ¹  the Lord, but not to the same degree as his father and mother. He did remove the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.

The prophet ¹  asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha ²  cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float.

They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, ¹  and worshiped ²  Baal.

They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, ¹  and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry. ² 

The Lord made an agreement ¹  with them ²  and instructed them, “You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them.

Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! ¹  You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky ²  and the earth.

This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices ¹  to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. ²  My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’”

Josiah also removed all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had made them and angered the Lord. ¹  He did to them what he had done to the high place in Bethel. ² 

When all the leaders ¹  of Israel came to the king at Hebron, David made an agreement ²  with them in Hebron before the Lord. They anointed ³  David king over Israel, just as the Lord had announced through Samuel. ⁴