Bible in a Year.

On day 168, 1 Kings 21 recounts King Ahab's corruption and God's judgment upon him, while 2 Chronicles 21-22 describes Judah's journey under disobedient kings, reminding us of the importance of integrity. Song of Solomon 7 offers a rich celebration of love and beauty, emphasizing joy, desire, and devotion in human relationships, reflecting the character of God.

1. And after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in Jezrahel, had at that time a vineyard near the palace of Achab king of Samaria.

2. And Achab spoke to Naboth, saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may make me a garden of herbs, because it is nigh, and adjoining to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard: or if thou think it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

3. Naboth answered him: The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers.

4. And Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the word that Naboth the Jezrahelite had spoken to him, saying: I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting himself upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread.

5. And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and said to him: What is the matter that thy soul is so grieved? and why eatest thou no bread ?

6. And he answered her: I spoke to Naboth the Jezrahelite, and said to him: Give me thy vineyard, and take money for it: or if it please thee, I will give thee a better vineyard for it. And he said: I will not give thee my vineyard.

7. Then Jezabel his wife said to him: Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread, and be of good cheer, I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite.

8. So she wrote letter's in Achab's name, and sealed them with his ring, and sent them to the ancients, and the chief men that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.

9. And this was the tenor of the letters: Proclaim a fast, and make Naboth sit among the chief of the people,

10. And suborn two men, sons of Belial against him, and let them bear false witness: that he hath blasphemed God and the king: and then carry him out, and stone him, and so let him die.

11. And the men of his city, the ancients and nobles, that dwelt with him in the city, did as Jezabel had commanded them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them:

12. They proclaimed a fast, and made Naboth sit among the chief of the people.

13. And bringing two men, sons of the devil, they made them sit against him: and they, like men of the devil, bore witness against him before the people, saying: Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king: wherefore they brought him forth without the city, and stoned him to death.

14. And they sent to Jezabel, saying: Naboth is stoned, and is dead.

15. And it came to pass when Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned, and dead, that she said to Achab: Arise and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, who would not agree with thee, and give it thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

16. And when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he arose, and went down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, to take possession of it.

17. And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying:

18. Arise, and go down to meet Achab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth, to take possession of it:

19. And thou shalt speak to him, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast slain, moreover also thou hast taken possession. And after these words thou shalt add: Thus saith the Lord: In this place, wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also.

20. And Achab said to Elias: Hast thou found me thy enemy? He said: I have found thee, because thou art sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

21. Behold I will bring evil upon thee, and I will cut down thy posterity, and I will kill of Achab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel.

22. And I will make thy house like the t house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias: for what thou hast done, to provoke me to anger, and for making Israel to sin.

23. And of Jezabel also the Lord spoke, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel.

24. If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall eat him: but if he die in the field, the birds of the air shall eat him.

25. Now there was not such another as Achab, who was sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord: for his wife Jezabel set him on,

26. And he became abominable, insomuch that he followed the idols which the Amorrhites had made, whom the Lord destroyed before the face of the children of Israel.

27. And when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and put haircloth upon his flesh, and fasted and slept in sackcloth, and walked with his head cast down.

28. And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying:

29. Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before me? therefore, because he hath humbled himself for my sake, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Chapter 21

1. And Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David: and Joram his son reigned in his stead.

2. And he had brethren the sons of Josaphat, Azarias, and Jahiel, and Zacharias, and Azaria, and Michael, and Saphatias, all these were the sons of Josaphat king of Juda.

3. And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and pensions, with strong cities in Juda: but the kingdom he gave to Joram, because he was the eldest.

4. So Joram rose up over the kingdom of his father: and when he had established himself, he slew all his brethren with the sword, and some of the princes of Israel.

5. Joram was two and thirty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

6. And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Achab had done: for his wife was a daughter of Achab, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

7. But the Lord would not destroy the house of David: because of the covenant which he had made with him: and because he had promised to give a lamp to him, and to his sons for ever.

8. In those days Edom revolted, from being subject to Juda, and made themselves a king.

9. And Joram went over with his princes, and all his cavalry with him, and rose in the night, and defeated the Edomites who had surrounded him, and all the captains of his cavalry.

10. However Edom revolted, from being under the dominion of Juda unto this day: at that time Lobna also revolted, from being under his hand. For he had forsaken the Lord the God of his fathers:

11. Moreover he built also high places in the cities of Juda, and he made the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and Juda to transgress.

12. And there was a letter brought him from Elias the prophet, in which it was written: Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father: Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Josaphat thy father nor in the ways of Asa king of Juda,

13. But hast walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and hast made Juda and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, imitating the fornication of the house of Achab, moreover also thou hast killed thy brethren, the house of thy father, better men than thyself,

14. Behold the Lord will strike thee with a great plague, with all thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy substance.

15. And thou shalt be sick of a very grievous disease of thy bowels, till thy vital parts come out by little and little every day.

16. And the Lord stirred up against Joram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, who border on the Ethiopians.

17. And they came up into the land of Juda, and wasted it, and they carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, his sons also, and his wives: so that there was no son left him but Joachaz, who was the youngest.

18. And besides all this the Lord struck him with an incurable disease in his bowels.

19. And as day came after day, and time rolled on, two whole years passed: then after being wasted with a long consumption, so as to void his very bowels, his disease ended with his life. And he died of a most wretched illness, and the people did not make a funeral for him according to the manner of burning, as they had done for his ancestors.

20. He was two and thirty years old when he began his reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked not rightly, and they buried him in the city of David: but not in the sepulchres of the kings.

Chapter 22

1. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ochozias his youngest son king in his place: for the rovers of the Arabians, who had broke in upon the camp, had killed all that were his elder brothers. So Ochozias the son of Joram king of Juda reigned.

2. Ochozias was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Athalia the daughter of Amri.

3. He also walked in the ways of the house of Achab: for his mother pushed him on to do wickedly.

4. So he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Achab did: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

5. And he walked after their counsels. And he went with Joram the son of Achab king of Israel, to fight against Hazael king of Syria, at Ramoth Galaad : and the Syrians wounded Joram.

6. And he returned to be healed in Jezrahel: for he received many wounds in the foresaid battle. And Ochozias the son of Joram king of Juda, went down to visit Joram the son of Achab in Jezrahel where he lay sick.

7. For it was the will of God against Ochozias that he should come to Joram: and when he was come should go out also against Jehu the son of Namsi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Achab.

8. So when Jehu was rooting out the house of Achab, he found the princes of Juda, and the sons of the brethren of Ochozias, who served him, and he slew them.

9. And he sought for Ochozias himself, and took him lying hid in Samaria: and when he was brought to him, he killed him, and they buried him: because he was the son of Josaphat, who had sought the Lord with all his heart. And there was no more hope that any one should reign of the race of Ochozias.

10. For Athalia his mother, seeing that her son was dead, rose up, and killed all the royal family of the house of Joram.

11. But Josabeth the king's daughter took Joas the son of Ochozias, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain. And she hid him with his nurse in a bedchamber: now Josabeth that hid him, was daughter of king Joram, wife of Joiada the high priest, and sister of Ochozias, and therefore Athalia did not kill him.

12. And he was with them hid in the house of God six years, during which Athalia reigned over the land.

1. What shalt thou see in the Sulamitess but the companies of camps? How beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O prince's daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, that are made by the hand of a skilful workman.

2. Thy navel is like a round bowl never wanting cups. Thy belly is like a heap of wheat, set about with lilies.

3. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

4. Thy neck as a tower of ivory. Thy eyes like the fishpools in Hesebon, which are in the gate of the daughter of the multitude. Thy nose is as the tower of Libanus, that looketh toward Damascus.

5. Thy head is like Carmel: and the hairs of thy head as the purple of the king bound in the channels.

6. How beautiful art thou, and how comely, my dearest, in delights!

7. Thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

8. I said: I will go up into the palm tree, and will take hold of the fruit thereof: and thy breasts shall be as the clusters of the vine: and the odour of thy mouth like apples.

9. Thy throat like the best wine, worthy for my beloved to drink, and for his lips and his teeth to ruminate.

10. I to my beloved, and his turning is towards me.

11. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field, let us abide in the villages.

12. Let us get up early to the vineyards, let us see if the vineyard flourish, if the flowers be ready to bring forth fruits, if the pomegranates flourish: there will I give thee my breasts.

13. The mandrakes give a smell. In our gates are all fruits: the new and the old, my beloved, I have kept for thee.