¹ Allora Samuele disse a tutto Israele: "Ecco, io vi ho ubbidito in tutto quello che m’avete detto, ed ho costituito un re su di voi.

² Ed ora, ecco il re che andrà dinanzi a voi. Quanto a me, io son vecchio e canuto, e i miei figliuoli sono tra voi; io sono andato innanzi a voi dalla mia giovinezza fino a questo giorno.

³ Eccomi qui; rendete la vostra testimonianza a mio carico, in presenza dell’Eterno e in presenza del suo unto: A chi ho preso il bue? A chi ho preso l’asino? Chi ho defraudato? A chi ho fatto violenza? Dalle mani di chi ho accettato doni per chiuder gli occhi a suo riguardo? Io vi restituirò ogni cosa!"

⁴ Quelli risposero: "Tu non ci hai defraudati, non ci hai fatto violenza, e non hai preso nulla dalle mani di chicchessia"

⁵ Ed egli a loro: "Oggi l’Eterno è testimone contro di voi, e il suo unto pure e testimone, che voi non avete trovato nulla nelle mie mani". Il popolo rispose: "Egli e testimone!"

⁶ Allora Samuele disse al popolo: "Testimone è l’Eterno, che costituì Mosè ed Aaronne e fe’ salire i padri vostri dal paese d’Egitto.

⁷ Or dunque presentatevi, ond’io, dinanzi all’Eterno, dibatta con voi la causa relativa a tutte le opere di giustizia che l’Eterno ha compiute a beneficio vostro e dei vostri padri.

⁸ Dopo che Giacobbe fu entrato in Egitto, i vostri padri gridarono all’Eterno, e l’Eterno mandò Mosè ed Aaronne i quali trassero i padri vostri fuor dall’Egitto e li fecero abitare in questo luogo.

⁹ Ma essi dimenticarono l’Eterno, il loro Dio, ed egli li diede in potere di Sisera, capo dell’esercito di Hatsor, e in potere dei Filistei e del re di Moab, i quali mossero loro guerra.

¹⁰ Allora gridarono all’Eterno e dissero: "Abbiam peccato, perché abbiamo abbandonato l’Eterno, e abbiam servito agl’idoli di Baal e d’Astarte; ma ora, liberaci dalle mani dei nostri nemici, e serviremo te.

¹¹ E l’Eterno mandò Jerubbaal e Bedan e Jefte e Samuele, e vi liberò dalle mani de’ nemici che vi circondavano, e viveste al sicuro.

¹² Ma quando udiste che Nahas, re de’ figliuoli di Ammon, marciava contro di voi, mi diceste: "No, deve regnar su noi un re", mentre l’Eterno, il vostro Dio, era il vostro re.

¹³ Or dunque, ecco il re che vi siete scelto, che avete chiesto; ecco, l’Eterno ha costituito un re su di voi.

¹⁴ Se temete l’Eterno, lo servite, e ubbidite alla sua voce, se non siete ribelli al comandamento dell’Eterno, e tanto voi quanto il re che regna su voi siete seguaci dell’Eterno, ch’è il vostro Dio, bene;

¹⁵ ma, se non ubbidite alla voce dell’Eterno, se vi ribellate al comandamento dell’Eterno, la mano dell’Eterno sarà contro di voi, come fu contro i vostri padri.

¹⁶ E anche ora, fermatevi e mirate questa cosa grande che l’Eterno sta per compiere dinanzi agli occhi vostri!

¹⁷ Non siamo al tempo della mèsse del grano? Io invocherò l’Eterno, ed egli manderà tuoni e pioggia affinché sappiate e veggiate quanto è grande agli occhi dell’Eterno il male che avete fatto chiedendo per voi un re".

¹⁸ Allora Samuele invocò l’Eterno, e l’Eterno mandò quel giorno tuoni e pioggia; e tutto il popolo ebbe gran timore dell’Eterno e di Samuele.

¹⁹ E tutto il popolo disse a Samuele: "Prega l’Eterno, il tuo Dio, per i tuoi servi, affinché non muoiamo; poiché a tutti gli altri nostri peccati abbiamo aggiunto questo torto di chiedere per noi un re".

²⁰ E Samuele rispose al popolo: "Non temete; è vero, voi avete fatto tutto questo male; nondimeno, non vi ritraete dal seguir l’Eterno, ma servitelo con tutto il cuor vostro;

²¹ non ve ne ritraete, perché andreste dietro a cose vane, che non posson giovare ne liberare, perché son cose vane.

²² Poiché l’Eterno, per amore del suo gran nome, non abbandonerà il suo popolo, giacché è piaciuto all’Eterno di far di voi il popolo suo.

²³ E, quanto a me, lungi da me il peccare contro l’Eterno cessando di pregare per voi! Anzi, io vi mostrerò la buona e diritta via.

²⁴ Solo temete l’Eterno, e servitelo fedelmente, con tutto il cuor vostro; poiché mirate le cose grandi ch’egli ha fatte per voi!

²⁵ Ma, se continuate ad agire malvagiamente, perirete e voi e il vostro re".

¹ The word of Yahweh came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,

² "Because I exalted you out of the dust, and made you prince over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;

³ behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house; and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

⁴ The dogs will eat Baasha's descendants who die in the city; and he who dies of his in the field the birds of the sky will eat."

⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

⁶ Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his place.

⁷ Moreover by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of Yahweh against Baasha, and against his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he struck him.

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, [and reigned] two years.

⁹ His servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah:

¹⁰ and Zimri went in and struck him, and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.

¹¹ It happened, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he struck all the house of Baasha: he didn't leave him a single one who urinates on a wall, neither of his relatives, nor of his friends.

¹² Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet,

¹³ for all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned, and with which they made Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities.

¹⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. Now the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.

¹⁶ The people who were encamped heard say, Zimri has conspired, and has also struck the king: therefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp.

¹⁷ Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.

¹⁸ It happened, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the castle of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died,

¹⁹ for his sins which he sinned in doing that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.

²⁰ Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

²¹ Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.

²² But the people who followed Omri prevailed against the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.

²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, [and reigned] twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.

²⁴ He bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill, Samaria.

²⁵ Omri did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and dealt wickedly above all who were before him.

²⁶ For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins with which he made Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities.

²⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he showed, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

²⁸ So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son reigned in his place.

²⁹ In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.

³⁰ Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh above all that were before him.

³¹ It happened, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him.

³² He reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

³³ Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did yet more to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

³⁴ In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid its foundation with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.