14 At that time, Jeroboam's son Abijah became ill. 2 So Jeroboam said to his wife, ‘Change what you look like so that people will not recognize you as my wife. Then go to Shiloh. The prophet Ahijah lives there. [ a ] He told me that I would rule the nation of Israel. 3 Take ten loaves of bread with you. Also take some cakes and a pot of honey. When you visit Ahijah, he will tell you what will happen to our son.’
4 Jeroboam's wife did what he told her to do. She went to Ahijah's house in Shiloh. Ahijah could not see because he was very old. 5 But the Lord had said to Ahijah, ‘Jeroboam's wife will come to visit you. Her son is ill and she will ask you what will happen to him. I will tell you what to say to her. When she comes, she will pretend that she is not the king's wife.’
6 Then Ahijah heard her as she walked through the door of his house. He said, ‘Come in, Jeroboam's wife! I know who you are, so do not pretend to be somebody else. The Lord has given me bad news to tell you. 7 Go and say to Jeroboam, “This is what the Lord , Israel's God, says to you: I chose you from among my people, the Israelites, and I made you their ruler. 8 I took Israel's kingdom away from David's family and I gave it to you. But you have not served me faithfully as my servant David did. He obeyed my commands. He was faithful to me and he always did the things that I say are right. 9 But you have done more evil things than any of the kings who lived before you. You have made me very angry. You have used metal to make images of other gods that you could worship. You have turned away from me. 10 Because of this, I will bring great trouble to Jeroboam's family. I will kill every male among his descendants in Israel, whoever they are. I will completely destroy Jeroboam's family, like someone burns a heap of rubbish! 11 If they die in the city, dogs will eat their bodies. If they die in the country, vultures will eat them. This is what the Lord has said will happen!”
12 But you, Jeroboam's wife, should go back home now. As soon as you arrive back in the city, the boy will die. 13 All Israel will cry because of his death and they will bury him. He is the only person from Jeroboam's family that they will bury properly. He is the only one among Jeroboam's descendants who has pleased the Lord , Israel's God. 14 The Lord himself will choose another king to rule Israel. That king will destroy Jeroboam's family. This will happen very soon, even today! 15 The Lord will attack the nation of Israel. He will shake it, as the wind shakes a reed that is growing in a stream. The Lord will remove the Israelites from this good land that he gave to their ancestors. He will take them to places beyond the Euphrates river. They made Asherah poles to worship, so the Lord became very angry with them. 16 He will put Israel under the power of its enemies because of Jeroboam's sins. Jeroboam also caused Israel's people to do bad things.’
17 Then Jeroboam's wife left Ahijah's house. She went back to Tirzah. When she walked through the door of her house, the boy died. 18 They buried him and all the Israelites cried because of his death. The Lord had told his servant the prophet Ahijah what would happen. And that is what happened.
19 The other things that happened while Jeroboam was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about the battles that Jeroboam fought and how he ruled as king. 20 Jeroboam ruled as king for 22 years. Then he died and they buried him beside his ancestors. His son Nadab became king after him.
21 King Solomon's son, Rehoboam, ruled Judah as king. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. That was the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. He chose it as the place where people would give honour to his name. Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite woman. Her name was Naamah.
22 The people of Judah did things that the Lord said were evil. Their sins caused the Lord to be very angry. They did worse things than their ancestors had done. 23 They built altars on the hills for themselves. They put up stone pillars and Asherah poles to worship. They did this on every high hill and under every big tree. 24 In Judah there were even temples which had male prostitutes. The people of Judah did the same evil things as the Canaanite nations did. The Lord had chased those people out of the land so that the Israelites could live there.
25 In the fifth year that Rehoboam was king, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 He took away the valuable things that were in the Lord 's temple and in the king's palace. He took everything for himself. That included the gold shields that King Solomon had made. 27 So Rehoboam used bronze to make other shields instead. He gave them to the officers of his own soldiers. These soldiers stood as guards at the entrance of the king's palace. 28 Every time that the king went to the Lord 's temple, the guards carried the shields. After that, they took them back to the guards' room where they stored them.
29 The other things that happened while Rehoboam was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Judah's kings’. It tells about everything that King Rehoboam did. 30 There was always a war between the armies of Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 Rehoboam died and they buried him beside his ancestors in the City of David. Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite woman. Her name was Naamah. Rehoboam's son Abijah became king after him.
14 At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick. 2 Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go to Shiloh and see the prophet Ahijah. He is the one who said that I would become king of Israel. Dress yourself so that people will not know that you are my wife. 3 Give the prophet ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey. Then ask him what will happen to our son, and he will tell you.”
4 So the king’s wife did what he said. She went to the home of Ahijah the prophet in Shiloh. Ahijah was very old and had become blind. 5 But the Lord said to him, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son because he is sick. I will tell you what to say to her.”
When she came to Ahijah’s house, she pretended to be someone else. 6 But when Ahijah heard her coming to the door, he said, “Come in! I know who you are. You are Jeroboam’s wife. Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have some bad news for you. 7 Go back and tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘Jeroboam, I chose you from among all the Israelites. I made you the ruler of my people. 8 David’s family was ruling the kingdom of Israel, but I took the kingdom away from them and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David. He always obeyed my commands and followed me with his whole heart. He did only what I accepted. 9 But you have sinned worse than anyone who ruled before you. You stopped following me and made other gods for yourself. You made those statues to make me angry. 10 So Jeroboam, I will bring troubles to your family. I will kill all the men in your family. I will destroy your family completely, like fire burning up dung. 11 Anyone from your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs. And anyone from your family who dies in the fields will be eaten by birds. The Lord has spoken.’”
12 Then Ahijah said, “Now, go home. Your son will die as soon as you enter the city. 13 All Israel will cry for him. They will bury him, but he is the only one from Jeroboam’s family who will be buried. This is because he is the only one in Jeroboam’s family who pleased the Lord , the God of Israel. 14 Soon, the Lord will put a new king over Israel who will destroy Jeroboam’s family. 15 Then the Lord will punish Israel. The Israelites will be so full of fear that they will shake like tall grass in the water. He will pull Israel up from this good land that he gave their ancestors. He will scatter them to the other side of the Euphrates River. The Lord will do this because the people made him angry when they built sacred poles. [ a ] 16 He will let the Israelites be defeated because Jeroboam sinned, and then he made the Israelites sin.”
17 Jeroboam’s wife went back to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped into the house, the boy died. 18 They buried him and all the people of Israel cried for him. This happened just as the Lord said it would through his servant, the prophet Ahijah.
19 The rest of what King Jeroboam did is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel . It includes the wars he fought and the way he ruled. 20 Jeroboam ruled as king for 22 years. Then he died and was buried with his ancestors. [ b ] His son Nadab became the new king after him.
21 Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, was 41 years old when he became king of Judah. Rehoboam ruled 17 years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose for his own. He chose this city from all the other tribes of Israel. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah. She was an Ammonite.
22 The people of Judah did things that the Lord considered evil. They made him angry with all their sins—more than any of their ancestors had done. 23 They built high places, memorial stones, and sacred poles. [ c ] They built them on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 There were also men who served other gods by selling their bodies for sex. [ d ] So the people of Judah were worse than the people who had lived in the land before them. And the Lord took the land away from those people to give it to the Israelites.
25 In the fifth year that Rehoboam was king, King Shishak of Egypt came to attack Jerusalem. 26 He took the treasures from the Lord ’s Temple and from the king’s palace. He even took the gold shields that David had taken from the officers of King Hadadezer of Aram and put on the walls of Jerusalem. [ e ] 27 King Rehoboam made more shields to put in their places, but they were made from bronze. He gave them to the guards on duty at the palace gates. 28 Every time the king went to the Lord ’s Temple, the guards took out the shields and went with him. After they were finished, they put the shields back on the wall in the guardroom.
29 The rest of what King Rehoboam did is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah . 30 Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always fighting against each other.
31 Rehoboam died [ f ] and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. (His mother was Naamah. She was an Ammonite.) Rehoboam’s son Abijah became the next king after him.
14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.
4 And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
5 And the Lord said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
6 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.
7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,
8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;
9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the Lord hath spoken it.
12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
14 Moreover the Lord shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
15 For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger.
16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
17 And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord , which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord , and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.
23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord , and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house.
28 And it was so, when the king went into the house of the Lord , that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Now arise and ( A ) disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to ( B ) Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who ( C ) said regarding me that I would be king over this people. 3 ( D ) Take ten loaves with you, some pastries, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”
4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and set out and went to ( E ) Shiloh, and came to the house of ( F ) Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see ( G ) because his eyes were [ a ] glossy from his old age. 5 Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to [ b ] inquire of you about her son, because he is sick. You shall say such and such to her, for it will be when she arrives, that ( H ) she is going to make herself unrecognizable.”
6 So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why do you make yourself unrecognizable? Nevertheless, I am sent to you with a harsh message . 7 Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord , the God of Israel says: “ ( I ) Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel, 8 and ( J ) tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you— ( K ) yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, ( L ) to do only that which was right in My sight; 9 you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and ( M ) you have gone and made for yourself other gods and ( N ) cast metal images to provoke Me to anger, and have ( O ) thrown Me behind your back— 10 therefore behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and ( P ) I will eliminate from Jeroboam [ c ] every male person, ( Q ) both [ d ] bond and free in Israel, and I ( R ) will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone. 11 ( S ) Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dogs will eat. And anyone who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat; for the Lord has spoken it .”’ 12 Now you, arise, go to your house. ( T ) When your feet enter the city the child will die. 13 Then all Israel will mourn for him and bury him, for [ e ] he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him ( U ) something good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 14 Moreover, ( V ) the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will eliminate the house of Jeroboam this day [ f ] and from now on.
15 “For the Lord will strike Israel, just as a reed sways in the water; and ( W ) He will uproot Israel from ( X ) this good land which He gave to their fathers, and ( Y ) will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, ( Z ) because they have made their [ g ] Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. 16 He will give up Israel ( AA ) because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he [ h ] committed and with which he misled Israel into sin.”
17 Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to ( AB ) Tirzah. ( AC ) As she was entering the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 ( AD ) Then all Israel buried him and mourned for him, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servant Ahijah the prophet.
19 Now as for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, ( AE ) how he made war and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 20 And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he [ i ] lay down with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.
21 ( AF ) Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, ( AG ) the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. 22 And the people of ( AH ) Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord , and they ( AI ) provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they [ j ] committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they, too, built for themselves ( AJ ) high places, ( AK ) memorial stones, and [ k ] ( AL ) Asherim on every high hill and ( AM ) under every luxuriant tree. 24 There were also ( AN ) male cult prostitutes in the land. They committed [ l ] all the same abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.
25 ( AO ) Now it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt marched against Jerusalem. 26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and ( AP ) he took everything; ( AQ ) he even took all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and ( AR ) entrusted them to the [ m ] care of the commanders of the [ n ] guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 28 And it happened as often as the king entered the house of the Lord , that the [ o ] guards would carry them and would bring them back into the [ p ] guards’ room.
29 ( AS ) Now as for the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 30 ( AT ) And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31 And Rehoboam [ q ] lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and ( AU ) his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And his son Abijam became king in his place.
14 At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, 2 and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah ( A ) the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. 3 Take ten loaves of bread ( B ) with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” 4 So Jeroboam’s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.
Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. 5 But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.”
6 So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense? ( C ) I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ( D ) ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler ( E ) over my people Israel. 8 I tore ( F ) the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right ( G ) in my eyes. 9 You have done more evil ( H ) than all who lived before you. ( I ) You have made for yourself other gods, idols ( J ) made of metal; you have aroused ( K ) my anger and turned your back on me. ( L )
10 “‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster ( M ) on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free. [ a ] ( N ) I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. ( O ) 11 Dogs ( P ) will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds ( Q ) will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken!’
12 “As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. 13 All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord , the God of Israel, has found anything good. ( R )
14 “The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen. [ b ] 15 And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot ( S ) Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused ( T ) the Lord ’s anger by making Asherah ( U ) poles. [ c ] 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins ( V ) Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
17 Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah. ( W ) As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18 They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.
19 The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 20 He reigned for twenty-two years and then rested with his ancestors. And Nadab his son succeeded him as king.
21 Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. ( Y )
22 Judah ( Z ) did evil in the eyes of the Lord . By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger ( AA ) more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones ( AB ) and Asherah poles ( AC ) on every high hill and under every spreading tree. ( AD ) 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes ( AE ) in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable ( AF ) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked ( AG ) Jerusalem. 26 He carried off the treasures of the temple ( AH ) of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields ( AI ) Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. ( AJ ) 28 Whenever the king went to the Lord ’s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.
29 As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30 There was continual warfare ( AK ) between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 And Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. ( AL ) And Abijah [ d ] his son succeeded him as king.
