1 Kings 14
14
1It was at that time that Abijah, Jeroboam's son, fell ill. 2So Jeroboam told his wife, “Please go and disguise yourself so nobody will know you're Jeroboam's wife. Then go to Shiloh and look for Ahijah the prophet. He was the one who told me I would become king over this people. 3Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey for him.#14:3. “For him”: implied. He will explain to you what will happen to the boy.”
4Jeroboam's wife did as she was told. She got up and went to Ahijah's house in Shiloh. Ahijah could not see—he had become blind because of his age. 5But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Look, Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask you about her son, because he's ill. This is what you are to tell her, because she'll come in disguise.”
6So as soon as Ahijah heard her footsteps at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why do you bother coming in disguise? I have been given some bad news for you. 7Go and tell Jeroboam this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I picked you from the masses and I made you ruler over my people Israel. 8I took the kingdom from the house of David and gave it to you. But you were not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and was totally committed to following me, only doing what was right in my sight. 9You have done more evil than all those#14:9. Probably referring to previous kings. who lived before you. You have gone and made other gods for yourself, idols made of molten metal that made me angry. You have tossed me aside. 10Now pay attention, because as a result of this I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will totally exterminate every one of your descendants in Israel, whether slave or free. I will burn the house of Jeroboam like a man burning refuse until it's all gone. 11Those of Jeroboam's family who die in the town will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the countryside will be eaten by birds. For the Lord has spoken.
12As for you, get up and go home. As soon as you arrive in the city, the child will die. 13All of Israel will mourn for him, and they will bury him. He alone of Jeroboam's family will be buried in a tomb#14:13. Receiving a proper burial was considered very important in Israelite society. because only in him has the Lord, the God of Israel found anything good—of the whole family of Jeroboam. 14The Lord will choose for himself a king to rule over Israel who will destroy the house of Jeroboam. This is starting to happen even now! 15The Lord will strike Israel like a reed jerked to and fro by the water. He will pull up Israel by the roots from this good land that he gave their forefathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their pagan Asherah poles, making the Lord angry. 16He will abandon Israel because of the sins of Jeroboam, those that he committed himself, and those he made Israel commit.”
17Jeroboam's wife got up and left for Tirzah. As soon as she stepped through the doorway of her home, the boy died. 18All of Israel buried him and mourned for him, just as the Lord had said through his servant Ahijah the prophet. 19The rest of what Jeroboam did, how he engaged in warfare and how he reigned, they are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
20Jeroboam reigned for twenty-two years, and then he died. His son Nadab succeeded him as king.
21Rehoboam, son of Solomon, reigned in Judah. He was forty-one when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel where he would be honored. The name of his mother was Naamah the Ammonite.
22Judah did what was evil in the Lord's sight, and because of the sins they committed they made his jealous anger even greater than all their fathers had done. 23They also set up for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 24There were even cult prostitutes#14:24. Referring to both males and females. in the land. They followed all the disgusting practices of the nations that the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
25In the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign, Shishak, king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem. 26He took the treasures of the Lord's Temple and the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. 27So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and handed them over to the captains of the guard to look after. They stood on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 28Whenever the king went to the Lord's Temple, the guards would carry the shields. Afterwards they returned them to the guardroom.
29The rest of what happened in Rehoboam's reign and everything that he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 30Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other. 31Rehoboam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. The name of his mother was Naamah the Ammonite. His son Abijam succeeded him as king.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
1 Kings 14
14
Jeroboam's son dies
1About the same time, Abijah son of Jeroboam got sick. 2-3Jeroboam told his wife:
Disguise yourself so no one will know you're my wife, then go to Shiloh, where the prophet Ahijah lives. Take him ten loaves of bread, some small cakes, and honey, and ask him what will happen to our son. He can tell you, because he's the one who told me I would become king.
4She got ready and left for Ahijah's house in Shiloh.
Ahijah was now old and blind, 5but the LORD told him, “Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask about her son. I will tell you what to say to her.”
Jeroboam's wife came to Ahijah's house, pretending to be someone else. 6But when Ahijah heard her walking up to the door, he said:
Come in! I know you're Jeroboam's wife—why are you pretending to be someone else? I have some bad news for you. 7Give your husband this message from the LORD God of Israel: “Jeroboam, you know that I, the LORD, chose you over anyone else to be the leader of my people Israel. 8I even took David's kingdom away from his family and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David. He always obeyed me and did what was right.
9“You have made me very angry by rejecting me and making idols out of gold. Jeroboam, you have done more evil things than any king before you.
10“Because of this, I will destroy your family by killing every man and boy in it, whether slave or free. I will wipe out your family, just as fire burns up rubbish.#1 K 15.29. 11Dogs will eat the bodies of your relatives who die in town, and vultures will eat the bodies of those who die in the country. I, the LORD, have spoken and will not change my mind!”
12That's the LORD's message to your husband. As for you, go back home, and straight after you get there, your son will die. 13Everyone in Israel will mourn at his funeral. But he will be the last one from Jeroboam's family to receive a proper burial, because he's the only one the LORD God of Israel is pleased with.
14The LORD will soon choose a new king of Israel, who will destroy Jeroboam's family. And I mean very soon.#14.14 And I mean very soon: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. 15The people of Israel have made the LORD angry by setting up sacred poles#14.15 sacred poles: Or “trees”, used as symbols of Asherah, the goddess of fertility. for worshipping the goddess Asherah. So the LORD will punish them until they shake like grass in a stream. He will take them out of the land he gave to their ancestors, then scatter them as far away as the River Euphrates. 16Jeroboam sinned and caused the Israelites to sin. Now the LORD will desert Israel.
17Jeroboam's wife left and went back home to the town of Tirzah. As soon as she set foot in her house, her son died. 18Everyone in Israel came and mourned at his funeral, just as the LORD's servant Ahijah had said.
Jeroboam dies
19Everything else Jeroboam did while he was king, including the battles he won, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. 20He was king of Israel for twenty-two years, then he died, and his son Nadab became king.
Kings of Judah and Israel
King Rehoboam of Judah
(2 Chronicles 11.5—12.16)
21Rehoboam son of Solomon was forty-one years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled seventeen years from Jerusalem, the city where the LORD had chosen to be worshipped. His mother Naamah was from Ammon.
22The people of Judah disobeyed the LORD and made him even angrier than their ancestors had. 23They also built their own local shrines#14.23 local shrines: See the note at 3.2. and stone images of foreign gods, and they set up sacred poles#14.23 sacred poles: See the note at 14.15. for worshipping the goddess Asherah on every hill and in the shade of large trees.#2 K 17.9,10. 24Even worse, they allowed prostitutes#14.24 prostitutes: Men and women sometimes served at the local shrines as prostitutes in the worship of Canaanite gods, but the LORD had forbidden the people of Israel to worship in this way (see Deuteronomy 23.17,18). at the shrines, and followed the disgusting customs of the foreign nations that the LORD had forced out of Canaan.#Dt 23.17.
25After Rehoboam had been king for four years, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.#2 Ch 12.2-8. 26He took everything of value from the temple and the palace, including Solomon's gold shields.#1 K 10.16,17; 2 Ch 9.15,16.
27Rehoboam had bronze shields made to replace the gold ones, and he ordered the guards at the city gates to keep them safe. 28Whenever Rehoboam went to the LORD's temple, the guards carried the shields. But they always took them back to the guardroom as soon as he had finished.
29Everything else Rehoboam did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 30He and Jeroboam were constantly at war. 31Rehoboam's mother Naamah was from Ammon, but when Rehoboam died, he was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem.#14.31 Jerusalem: See the note at 2.10,11. His son Abijam then became king.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012