In the Old Testament, the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings are one account; the two books of Chronicles are a roughly parallel account. This web site shows the parallelism between the books of Samuel and Kings and the books of Chronicles. Where verses are parallel, they are shown side by side. Special entries show when other books of the Old Testament occur.
The text is from the King James Version.
1st Samuel 1-8 begins with the birth of Samuel, and continues through his selection and judging Israel. Chapters 9-15 cover the selection and anointing of Saul, his reign, and his rejection by the Lord. Chapters 16-30 recounts the story of David, his anointing and time in Saul's court, the civil war between David and Saul, and David's ascension to the throne. 1st Chronicles 1-9 is a genealogy from Adam to Abraham and the descendants of Abraham and the house of Israel. The parallelism begins with the death of Saul in the last chapter of 1st Samuel and 1st Chronicles 10.
| Samuel and Kings | Chronicles | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Samuel 31 | 1st Chronicles 10 | Phillistines defeat Israel. Saul and sons killed. |
| 2nd Samuel 1 - 4 | no parallel | David learns of death of Saul & Jonathan, kills Amalekite who killed Saul, and laments them. War between houses of David and Saul. Abner killed by Joab. Saul's son Ish-bosheth killed. |
| 2nd Samuel 5 | 1st Chronicles 11:1-9 & chapter 14 | David anointed King and takes Jerusalem. David routes Philistines twice. |
| no parallel | 1st Chronicles 12 | A catalog of David's mighty men. |
| 2nd Samuel 6 | 1st Chronicles 13, 15, & 16 | David brings ark to his city. Uzzah dies for touching the ark. Michal criticizes David's dancing. |
| 2nd Samuel 7 | 1st Chronicles 17 | David offers to build a house for the Lord. The Lord declines, but promises rule to David's house. |
| 2nd Samuel 8 | 1st Chronicles 18 | David conquers many nations and takes riches. |
| 2nd Samuel 9 | no parallel | David honors the son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth, who was lame. |
| 2nd Samuel 10 | 1st Chronicles 19 | Ammon mistakes David's ambassadors for spies and humiliates them. David wars against them and their hirelings, the Syrians. |
| 2nd Samuel 11 & 12 | 1st Chronicles 20:1-3 | David sins with Bath-sheba and kills Uriah. Nathan tells the parable of the rich man and the poor man's lamb. Joab conquers Ammon. David takes their king's crown and tortures them. |
| 2nd Samuel 13 - 20 | no parallel | (13) Amnon molests his cousin, Tamar. Absalom kills him and flees. (14) Joab gets David to bring Absalom back. (15) Absalom wins supporters and declares himself king. David flees Jerusalem, and Absalom occupies it. (16) Shimei curses David. Ahithophel counsels Absalom. (17) Civil war. Hushai undermines Ahithophel, who hangs himself. (18) Absalom killed by Joab. David morns Absalom. (19) David returns to Jerusalem. Reconciliations. (20) Sheba rejects David's kingship. Abishai and Joab besiege his refuge, and Sheba is killed. |
| 2nd Samuel 21 | 1st Chronicles 20:4-8 | David delivers seven descendents of Saul to be hung for Saul's attack on Gibeah. Philistines attack, and four giants killed. |
| 2nd Samuel 22 | no parallel | David's song: the Lord defends the righteous. |
| 2nd Samuel 23 | 1st Chronicles 11:10-47 | David's mighty men. Three break through Philistines to satisfy David's idle wish for a drink. |
| 2nd Samuel 24 | 1st Chronicles 21 | David sins by counting Israel. Gad gives David choice of punishments. David builds altar where plague ends. |
| no parallel | 1st Chronicles 22 - 28 | (22) David charges Solomon to build the temple. (23 - 26) Levites numbered, and their duties listed. (27) Captains of Israel. (28) Pattern of the temple. |
| 1st Kings 1 & 2 | 1st Chronicles 29 | (1) Adonijah tries to succeed David. Nathan, Bath-sheba, and David ensure Solomon rules. (2 & 29) David charges Solomon. David dies. Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei killed. |
| 1st Kings 3 & 4 | 2nd Chronicles 1:1-12 | (3 & 1) God blesses Solomon with wisdom because of his humility. Solomon judges two women claiming one baby. (4) Solomon's leaders and wealth. |
| Refers to Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. | ||
| 1st Kings 5 | 2nd Chronicles 2 | Solomon contracts with Hiram to help build the temple. |
| 1st Kings 6 | 2nd Chronicles 3:1-14 | Size, details, and richness of the temple. |
| 1st Kings 7 | 2nd Chronicles 3:15 - 5:1 | Solomon's own house. Temple exterior and furnishings. |
| 1st Kings 8 | 2nd Chronicles 5:2 - 7:10 | Ark placed in the temple. Dedicatory prayer and celebration. |
| 1st Kings 9 | 2nd Chronicles 7:11 thru chapter 8 | The Lord appears to Solomon again and accepts the temple. Solomon's conquests. |
| 1st Kings 10 | 2nd Chronicles 9:1-28 & 1:13-17 | Queen of Sheba visits. Solomon's wealth. |
| 1st Kings 11 | 2nd Chronicles 9:29-31 | The Lord promises 10 tribes to Jeroboam and sends war because Solomon worships other gods. Solomon dies. His son, Rehoboam, reigns. |
| 1st Kings 12 | 2nd Chronicles 10 & 11 | Rehoboam oppresses people. Israel rebels, and Jeroboam leads them into apostacy. |
| 1st Kings 13 | no parallel | A man of God prophesies against Jeroboam's idolatrous altar, and it splits. Jeroboam's hand withers and is restored. The man of God dies bcause he eats and drinks. |
| 1st Kings 14 | 2nd Chronicles 12 | Ahijah prophesies to Jeroboam's wife the death of their son. Jeroboam dies. Egypt attacks Jerusalem. Shemaiah prophesies to Rehoboam. Rehoboam dies. |
| 1st Kings 15 | 2nd Chronicles 13-16 | Abijam (Abijah) reigns and dies. Asa reigns righteously and dies. Nadab reigns. Wars. Prophecies of Azariah and Hanani. |
| 1st Kings 16-21 | no parallel | (16) Jehu prophesies. (17) Elijah fed during famine. Widow's meal and oil last. Elijah prays, and God raises a child. (18) Fire consumes Elijah's sacrifice. False prophets killed. (19) Elisha joins Elijah. (20) Israel defeats Syria with God's help. (21) Naboth killed for his vineyard. |
| 1st Kings 22 | 2nd Chronicles 17-21:4 | Jehoshaphat reigns in Judah. Micaiah prophesies against Ahab, King of Israel, who is killed fighting Syria. Jehoshaphat dies. His son, Jehoram, regins. |
| 2nd Kings 1 - 7 | no parallel | (1) Ahaziah dies. (2) Elisha sees Elijah taken into heaven by a whirlwind. (3) By Elisha Lord commands ditch digging. (4) God multiplies oil, sends a son to an old woman, and raises the boy. (5) Naaman, a leper, washes 7 times in Jordan. The Lord cures him. (6) Elisha's servant sees divine hosts. Attackers blinded, then cured. Siege. (7) Elisha prophesies, and the siege ends miraculously. |
| 2nd Kings 8 | 2nd Chronicles 21:5 thru 22:6 | Elisha saves woman from famine. Jehoram, king of Judah, does evil. |
| 2nd Kings 9 & 10 | 2nd Chronicles 22:7-9 | Elisha anoints Jehu to be king and to destroy the house of Ahab. Ahaziah reigns in Judah. Jezebel killed. Jehu kills prophets and priests of Baal. |
| 2nd Kings 11 | 2nd Chronicles 22:10 - 24:1 | Joash hidden in the temple for six years and crowned at age seven. Athaliah killed. |
| 2nd Kings 12 | 2nd Chronicles 24 | Jehoiada collects offerings. Temple repaired. |
| Joel prophesies during(?) 2nd Kings 13. | ||
| 2nd Kings 13 | no parallel | Syria attacks. Elisha prophesies by arrows that Joash will smite Syria. Elisha dies. |
| Hosea prophesies. Jonah prophesies (2nd Kings 14:25). Amos prophesies. | ||
| 2nd Kings 14 | 2nd Chronicles 25 - 26:2 | Amaziah reigns in Israel. |
| Isaiah begins to prophesy. | ||
| 2nd Kings 15 | 2nd Chronicles 26:3 - 27 | Lord makes Uzziah a leper because he trespassed the temple to burn incense. |
| Micah prophesies (2nd Kings chapters 16 - 18). | ||
| 2nd Kings 16 | 2nd Chronicles 28 | Ahaz worships idols, loots the temple, and changes the ordinances. |
| 2nd Kings 17 | no parallel | Israel taken to Assyria. Foreigners resettled in Samaria. |
| Isaiah 36:1-22 parallels 2nd Kings 18:13-37. | ||
| 2nd Kings 18 | 2nd Chronicles 29 - 32:19 | Hezekiah reigns. Levites and temple sanctified. Assyria marches on Jerusalem. |
| Isaiah chapter 37 parallels 2nd Kings chapter 19. | ||
| 2nd Kings 19 | 2nd Chronicles 32:20-23 | Isaiah prophesies. An angel of the Lord kills 185 000 Assyrians, and they withdraw. |
| Isaiah chapters 38 & 39 parallel 2nd Kings chapter 20. | ||
| 2nd Kings 20 | 2nd Chronicles 32:24-end | Hezekiah prays not to die. The Lord heals him and has a sundial shadow go back 10 degrees as a sign. |
| Nahum prophesies (?). | ||
| 2nd Kings 21 | 2nd Chronicles 33 | Because Manasseh does great evil, worse than the heathen, and all Judah, too, the Lord will send evil and let them be carried away. Amon reigns. |
| 2nd Kings 22 | 2nd Chronicles 34:1-28 | Josiah reforms Judah and repairs the temple. Hilkiah, the high priest, finds a copy of the law. |
| Jeremiah begins to prophesy. Zephaniah prophesies. Obadiah prophesies (?). | ||
| 2nd Kings 23 | 2nd Chronicles 34:29 - 36:5 | Josiah cleanses Judah and keeps the passover. Suceeding kings do evil. |
| Daniel taken captive. Habakkuk prophesies. | ||
| 2nd Kings 24 | 2nd Chronicles 36:6-16 | Nebuchadnezzar sacks Jerusalem. |
| Ezekiel prophesies. | ||
| 2nd Kings 25 | 2nd Chronicles 36:17-end | Nebuchadnezzar sacks the temple. |
Here is a daily chronological Bible reading plan.
Created 26 August 2003 by Paul E. Black <p.black@acm.org>
Updated 10 July 2008