Bible in a Year.

On day 167, 1 Kings 19-20 shows Elijah facing discouragement and spiritual renewal, and the military conflicts involving Israel and its neighbors. 2 Chronicles 20 recounts Judah's victory through trust in God, highlighting the importance of faith in times of danger. Song of Solomon 6 offers loving poetry that reflects the beauty of human relationships as an expression of the divine.

Chapter 19

1. And Achab told Jezabel all that Elias had done, and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

2. And Jezabel sent a messenger to Elias, saying: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and add still more, if by this hour to morrow I make not thy life as the life of one of them.

3. Then Elias was afraid, and rising up he went whithersoever he had a mind: and he came to Bersabee of Juda, and left his servant there,

4. And he went forward, one day's journey into the desert. And when he was there, and sat under a juniper tree, he requested for his soul that he might die, and said: It is enough for me, Lord, take away my soul: for I am no better than my fathers.

5. And he cast himself down, end slept in the shadow of the juniper tree: and behold an angel of the Lord touched him, and said to him: Arise and eat.

6. He looked, and behold there was at his head a hearth cake, and a vessel of water: and he ate and drank, and he fell asleep again.

7. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said to him: Arise, eat: for thou hast yet a great way to go.

8. And he arose, and ate, and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb.

9. And when he was come thither, he abode in a cave: and behold the word of the Lord came unto him, and he said to him: What dost thou here, Elias?

10. And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have thrown down thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.

11. And he said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind before the Lord over throwing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: the Lord is not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake: the Lord is not in the earthquake.

12. And after the earthquake a fire: the Lord is not in the fire, and after the fire a whistling of a gentle air.

13. And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and coming forth stood in the entering in of the cave, and behold a voice unto him, saying: What dost thou here, Elias? And he answered:

14. With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have destroyed thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.

15. And the Lord said to him: Go, and return on thy way through the desert to Damascus: and when thou art come thither, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.

16. And thou shalt anoint Jehu the son of Namsi to be king over Israel: and Eliseus the son of Saphat, of Abelmeula, thou shalt anoint to be prophet in thy room.

17. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall escape the sword of Hazael, shall be slain by Jehu: and whosoever shall escape the sword of Jehu, shall be slain by Eliseus.

18. And I will leave me seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not been bowed before Baal, and every mouth that hath not worshipped him kissing the hands.

19. And Elias departing from thence, found Eliseus the son of Saphat, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen: and he was one of them that were ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen: and when Elias came up to him, he cast his mantle upon him.

20. And he forthwith left the oxen and ran after Elias, and said: Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said to him: Go, and return back: for that which was my part, I have done to thee.

21. And returning back from him, he took a yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled the flesh with the plough of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate: and rising up he went away, and followed Elias, and ministered to him.

Chapter 20

1. And Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his host, and there were two and thirty kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and going up, he fought against Samaria, and besieged it.

2. And, sending messengers to Achab king of Israel into the city,

3. He said: Thus saith Benadad: Thy silver, and thy gold is mine: and thy wives, and thy goodliest children are mine.

4. And the king of Israel answered: According to thy word, my lord 0 king, I am thine, and all that I have.

5. And the messengers came again, and said: Thus saith Benadad, who sent us unto thee: Thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children thou shalt deliver up to me.

6. To morrow therefore at this same hour I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants: and all that pleaseth them, they shall put in their hands, and take away.

7. And the king of Israel called all the ancients of the land, and said: Mark, and see that he layeth snares for us. For he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver and gold: and I said not nay.

8. And all the ancients, and all the people said to him: Hearken not to him, nor consent to him.

9. Wherefore he answered the messengers of Benadad: Tell my lord the king: All that thou didst send for to me thy servant at first, I will do: but this thing I cannot do.

10. And the messengers returning brought him word. And he sent again and said: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and more may they add, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

11. And the king of Israel answering, said: Tell him: Let not the girded boast himself as the ungirded.

12. And it came to pass, when Benadad heard this word, that he and the kings were drinking in pavilions, and he said to his servants: Beset the city. And they beset it.

13. And behold a prophet coming to Achab king of Israel, said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Hast thou seen all this exceeding great multitude, behold I will deliver them into thy hand this day: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord.

14. And Achab said: By whom? And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: By the servants of the princes of the provinces. And he said: Who shall begin to fight? And he said: Thou.

15. So he mustered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and he found the number of two hundred and thirty-two: and he mustered after them the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand:

16. And they went out at noon. But Benadad was drinking himself drunk in his pavilion, and the two and thirty kings with him, who were come to help him.

17. And the servants of the princes of the provinces went out first. And Benadad sent. And they told him, saying: There are men come out of Samaria.

18. And he said: Whether they come for peace, take them alive: or whether they come to fight, take them alive.

19. So the servants of the princes of the provinces went out, and the rest of the army followed:

20. And every one slew the man that came against him: and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued after them. And Benadad king of Syria fled away on horseback with his horsemen.

21. But the king of Israel going out overthrew the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.

22. (And a prophet coming to the king of Israel, said to him: Go, and strengthen thyself, and know, and see what thou dost: for the next year the king of Syria will come up against thee.)

23. But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them.

24. Do thou therefore this thing: Remove all the kings from thy army, and put captains in their stead:

25. And make up the number of soldiers that have been slain of thine, and horses according to the former horses, and chariots according to the chariots which thou hadst before: and we will fight against them in the plains, and thou shalt see that we shall overcome them. He believed their counsel and did so.

26. Wherefore at the return of the year, p Benadad mustered the Syrians, ancient up to Aphec, to fight against Israel.

27. And the children of Israel were mustered, and taking victuals went out on the other side, and camped over against them, like two little hocks of goats: but the Syrians filled the land.

28. (And a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel: Thus saith the Lord: Because the Syrians have said: The Lord is God of the hills, but is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.)

29. And both sides set their armies in array one against the other seven days, and on the seventh day the battle was fought: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day.

30. And they that remained fled to Aphec, into the city: and the wall fell upon seven and twenty thousand men, that were left. And Benadad fleeing went into the city, into a chamber that was within a chamber.

31. And his servants said to him: Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful: so let us put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save our lives.

32. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said to him: Thy servant Benadad saith: I beseech thee let me have my life. And he said: If he be yet alive he is my brother.

33. The men took this for a sign: and in haste caught the word out of his mouth, and said: Thy brother Benadad. And he said to them: Go, and bring him to me. Then Benadad came out to him, and he lifted him up into his chariot.

34. And he said to him: The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore: and do thou make thee streets in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, and having made a league I will depart from thee. So he made a league with him, and let him go.

35. Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his companion in the word of the Lord: Strike me. But he would not strike.

36. Then he said to him: Because thou wouldst not hearken to the word of the Lord, behold then shalt depart from me, and a lion shall slay thee. And when he was gone a little from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

37. Then he found another man, and said to him: Strike me. And he struck him, and wounded him.

38. So the prophet went, and met the king in the way, and disguised himself by sprinkling dust on his face and his eyes.

39. And as the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said: Thy servant went out to fight hand to hand: and when a certain man was run away, one brought him to me, and said: Keep this man: and if he shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

40. And whilst I in a hurry turned this way and that, on a sudden he was not to be seen. And the king of Israel said to him: This is thy judgment, which thyself hast decreed.

41. But he forthwith wiped off the dust from his face, and the king of Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets.

42. And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a mall worthy of death, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his people.

43. And the king of Israel returned to his house, slighting to hear, and raging came into Samaria.

1. After this the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them of the Ammonites, were gathered together to fight against Josaphat.

2. And there came messengers, and told Josaphat, saying: There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and out of Syria, and behold they are in Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi.

3. And Josaphat being seized with fear betook himself wholly to pray to the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Juda.

4. And Juda gathered themselves together to pray to the Lord: and all came out of their cities to make supplication to him.

5. And Josaphat stood in the midst of the assembly of Juda, and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court,

6. And said: O Lord God of our fathers, thou art God in heaven, and rulest over all the kingdoms and nations, in thy hand is strength and power, and no one can resist thee.

7. Didst not thou our God kill all the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

8. And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctuary to thy name, saying:

9. If evils fall upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand in thy presence before this house, in which thy name is called upon: and we will cry to thee in our afflictions, and thou wilt hear, and save us.

10. Now therefore behold the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and mount Seir, through whose lands thou didst not allow Israel to pass, when they came out of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and slew them not,

11. Do the contrary, and endeavour to cast us out of the possession which thou hast delivered to us.

12. O our God, wilt thou not then judge them? as for us we have not strength enough, to be able to resist this multitude, which cometh violently upon us. But as we know not what to do, we can only turn our eyes to thee.

13. And all Juda stood before the Lord with their little ones, and their wives, and their children.

14. And Jahaziel the son of Zacharias, the son of Banaias, the son of Jehiel, the son of Mathanias, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, was there, upon whom the spirit of the Lord came in the midst of the multitude,

15. And he said: Attend ye, all Juda, and you that dwell in Jerusalem, and thou king Josaphat: Thus saith the Lord to you: Fear ye not, and be not dismayed at this multitude: for the battle is not yours, but God's.

16. To morrow you shall go down against them: for they will come up by the ascent named Sis, and you shall find them at the head of the torrent, which is over against the wilderness of Jeruel.

17. It shall not be you that shall fight, but only stand with confidence, and you shall see the help of the Lord over you, O Juda, and Jerusalem: fear ye not, nor be you dismayed: to morrow you shall go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.

18. Then Josaphat, and Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell hat on the ground before the Lord, and adored him.

19. And the Levites of the sons of Caath, and of the sons of Core praised the Lord the God of Israel with a loud voice, on high.

20. And they rose early in the morning, and went out through the desert of Thecua: and as they were marching, Josaphat standing in the midst of them, said: Hear me, ye men of Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be secure: believe his prophets, and all things shall succeed well.

21. And he gave counsel to the people, and appointed the singing men of the Lord, to praise him by their companies, and to go before the army, and with one voice to say: Give glory to the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever.

22. And when they began to sing praises, the Lord turned their ambushments upon themselves, that is to say, of the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and of mount Seir, who were come out to fight against Juda, and they were slain.

23. For the children of Ammon, and of Moab, rose up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to kill and destroy them: and when they had made an end of them, they turned also against one another, and destroyed one another.

24. And when Juda came to the watch tower, that looketh toward the desert, they saw afar off all the country, for a great space, full of dead bodies, and that no one was left that could escape death.

25. Then Josaphat came, and all the people with him to take away the spoils of the dead, and they found among the dead bodies, stuff of various kinds, and garments, and most precious vessels: and they took them for themselves, insomuch that they could not carry all, nor in three days take away the spoils, the booty was so great.

26. And on the fourth day they were assembled in the valley of Blessing: for there they blessed the Lord, and therefore they called that place the valley of Blessing until this day.

27. And every man of Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem returned, and Josaphat at their head, into Jerusalem with great joy, because the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.

28. And they came into Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets into the house of the Lord.

29. And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

30. And the kingdom of Josaphat was quiet, and God gave him peace round about.

31. And Josaphat reigned over Juda, and he was five and thirty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem: and the name of his mother was Azuba the daughter of Selahi.

32. And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and departed not from it, doing the things that were pleasing before the Lord.

33. But yet he took not away the high places, and the people had not yet turned their heart to the Lord the God of their fathers.

34. But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, first and last, are written in the words of Jehu the son of Hanani, which he digested into the books of the kings of Israel.

35. After these things Josaphat king of Juda made friendship with Ochozias king of Israel, whose works were very wicked.

36. And he was partner with him in making ships, to go to Tharsis: and they made the ships in Asiongaber.

37. And Eliezer the son of Dodau of Maresa prophesied to Josaphat, saying: Because thou hast made a league with Ochozias, the Lord hath destroyed thy works, and the ships are broken, and they could not go to Tharsis.

1. My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the bed of aromatical spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

2. I to my beloved, and my beloved to me, who feedeth among the lilies.

3. Thou art beautiful, O my love, sweet and comely as Jerusalem: terrible as an army set in array.

4. Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have made me flee away. Thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from Galaad.

5. Thy teeth as a flock of sheep, which come up from the washing, all with twins, and there is none barren among them.

6. Thy cheeks are as the bark of a pomegranate, beside what is hidden within thee.

7. There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and young maidens without number.

8. One is my dove, my perfect one is but one, she is the only one of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed: the queens and concubines, and they praised her.

9. Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?

10. I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valleys, and to look if the vineyard had flourished, and the pomegranates budded.

11. I knew not: my soul troubled me for the chariots of Aminadab.

12. Return, return, O Sulamitess : return, return that we may behold thee.