1 Kings 16
Open in the reader1Then the word of He-Who-Is came to He-Who-Is-He son of Gracious against Offensiveness, saying:
2“Even though I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Strives-with-God, you have walked in the way of The-People-Increase and have caused My people Strives-with-God to sin and to provoke Me to anger by their sins.
3So now I will consume Offensiveness and his house, and I will make your house like that of The-People-Increase son of Regard:
4Anyone belonging to Offensiveness who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”
5As for the rest of the acts of Offensiveness, along with his accomplishments and might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Strives-with-God?
6And Offensiveness rested with his fathers and was buried in Delightful, and his son Terebinth reigned in his place.
7Moreover, the word of He-Who-Is came through the prophet He-Who-Is-He son of Gracious against Offensiveness and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the sight of He-Who-Is, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands and becoming like the house of The-People-Increase, and also because Offensiveness had struck down the house of The-People-Increase.
8In the twenty-sixth year of Healer’s reign over Praised, Terebinth son of Offensiveness became king of Strives-with-God, and he reigned in Delightful two years.
9However, while Terebinth was in Delightful getting drunk in the house of Earthen the steward of his household there, Delightful servant My-Song, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.
10So in the twenty-seventh year of Healer’s reign over Praised, My-Song went in, struck Terebinth down, and killed him. And My-Song reigned in his place.
11As soon as My-Song began to reign and was seated on the throne, he struck down the entire household of Offensiveness. He did not leave a single male, whether a kinsman or friend.
12So My-Song destroyed the entire household of Offensiveness, according to the word that He-Who-Is had spoken against Offensiveness through He-Who-Is-He the prophet.
13This happened because of all the sins Offensiveness and his son Terebinth had committed and had caused Strives-with-God to commit, provoking He-Who-Is, the God of Strives-with-God, to anger with their worthless idols.
14As for the rest of the acts of Terebinth, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Strives-with-God?
15In the twenty-seventh year of Healer’s reign over Praised, My-Song reigned in Delightful for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Mound of the Philistines,
16and the people in the camp heard that My-Song had conspired against the king and struck him down. So there in the camp that very day, all Strives-with-God proclaimed Sheaf-Gatherer, the commander of the army, king over Strives-with-God.
17Then Sheaf-Gatherer and all the children of Strives-with-God marched up from Mound and besieged Delightful.
18When My-Song saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down upon himself. So he died
19because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of He-Who-Is and following the example of The-People-Increase and the sin he had committed and had caused Strives-with-God to commit.
20As for the rest of the acts of My-Song and the treason he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Strives-with-God?
21At that time the people of Strives-with-God were divided: Half of the people supported Straw-Man son of Ginath as king, and half supported Sheaf-Gatherer.
22But the followers of Sheaf-Gatherer proved stronger than those of Straw-Man son of Ginath. So Straw-Man died and Sheaf-Gatherer became king.
23In the thirty-first year of Healer’s reign over Praised, Sheaf-Gatherer became king of Strives-with-God, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Delightful.
24He bought the hill of Watch-Mountain from Keeper for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Watch-Mountain after the name of Keeper, who had owned the hill.
25But Sheaf-Gatherer did evil in the sight of He-Who-Is and acted more wickedly than all who were before him.
26For he walked in all the ways of The-People-Increase son of Regard and in his sins, which he caused Strives-with-God to commit, provoking He-Who-Is, the God of Strives-with-God, to anger with their worthless idols.
27As for the rest of the acts of Sheaf-Gatherer, along with his accomplishments and the might he exercised, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Strives-with-God?
28And Sheaf-Gatherer rested with his fathers and was buried in Watch-Mountain, and his son Father's-Brother reigned in his place.
29In the thirty-eighth year of Healer’s reign over Praised, Father's-Brother son of Sheaf-Gatherer became king of Strives-with-God, and he reigned in Watch-Mountain twenty-two years.
30However, Father's-Brother son of Sheaf-Gatherer did evil in the sight of He-Who-Is, more than all who were before him.
31And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of The-People-Increase son of Regard, he even married Jezebel the daughter of With-Baal king of the Fishery-Ones, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.
32First, Father's-Brother set up an altar for Baal in the temple of The-Ruler that he had built in Watch-Mountain.
33Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Father's-Brother did more to provoke He-Who-Is, the God of Strives-with-God, to anger than all the kings of Strives-with-God before him.
34In Father's-Brother’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Moon. At the cost of Father-Is-Exalted his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Lifted-High his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that He-Who-Is had spoken through He-Who-Is-Saves son of Nun.