1 Kings 14
14
Jeroboam’s Son Dies
1At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick. 2Jeroboam 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. 3Give 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.”
4So 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. 5But 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. 6But 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. 7Go 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. 8David’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. 9But 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. 10So 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. 11Anyone 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.’”
12Then Ahijah said, “Now, go home. Your son will die as soon as you enter the city. 13All 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. 14Soon, the Lord will put a new king over Israel who will destroy Jeroboam’s family. 15Then 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.#14:15 sacred poles People used these things to worship false gods. 16He will let the Israelites be defeated because Jeroboam sinned, and then he made the Israelites sin.”
17Jeroboam’s wife went back to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped into the house, the boy died. 18They 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.
19The 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. 20Jeroboam ruled as king for 22 years. Then he died and was buried with his ancestors.#14:20 died … ancestors Literally, “slept with his ancestors.” His son Nadab became the new king after him.
Rehoboam, King of Judah
21Solomon’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.
22The 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. 23They built high places, memorial stones, and sacred poles.#14:23 high places, memorial stones, and sacred poles People used these things to worship false gods. They built them on every high hill and under every green tree. 24There were also men who served other gods by selling their bodies for sex.#14:24 men … for sex Sexual sins like this were a part of the way people worshiped the Canaanite gods. 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.
25In the fifth year that Rehoboam was king, King Shishak of Egypt came to attack Jerusalem. 26He 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.#14:26 He even took … Jerusalem This is from the ancient Greek version. The standard Hebrew text has “He even took the gold shields that Solomon had made.” 27King 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. 28Every 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.
29The rest of what King Rehoboam did is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah. 30Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always fighting against each other.
31Rehoboam died#14:31 died Literally, “slept with his ancestors.” 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.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
1 Kings 14
14
Ahijah’s Prophecy against Jeroboam
1At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick. 2So Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you as my wife. Then go to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh—the man who told me I would become king. 3Take him a gift of ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and ask him what will happen to the boy.”
4So Jeroboam’s wife went to Ahijah’s home at Shiloh. He was an old man now and could no longer see. 5But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife will come here, pretending to be someone else. She will ask you about her son, for he is very sick. Give her the answer I give you.”
6So when Ahijah heard her footsteps at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else?” Then he told her, “I have bad news for you. 7Give your husband, Jeroboam, this message from the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I promoted you from the ranks of the common people and made you ruler over my people Israel. 8I ripped the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted. 9You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made other gods for yourself and have made me furious with your gold calves. And since you have turned your back on me, 10I will bring disaster on your dynasty and will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel. I will burn up your royal dynasty as one burns up trash until it is all gone. 11The members of Jeroboam’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures. I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
12Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s wife, “Go on home, and when you enter the city, the child will die. 13All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only member of your family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing that the Lord, the God of Israel, sees in the entire family of Jeroboam.
14“In addition, the Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will destroy the family of Jeroboam. This will happen today, even now! 15Then the Lord will shake Israel like a reed whipped about in a stream. He will uproot the people of Israel from this good land that he gave their ancestors and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River,#14:15 Hebrew the river. for they have angered the Lord with the Asherah poles they have set up for worship. 16He will abandon Israel because Jeroboam sinned and made Israel sin along with him.”
17So Jeroboam’s wife returned to Tirzah, and the child died just as she walked through the door of her home. 18And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, as the Lord had promised through the prophet Ahijah.
19The rest of the events in Jeroboam’s reign, including all his wars and how he ruled, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 20Jeroboam reigned in Israel twenty-two years. When Jeroboam died, his son Nadab became the next king.
Rehoboam Rules in Judah
21Meanwhile, 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 from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, an Ammonite woman.
22During Rehoboam’s reign, the people of Judah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, provoking his anger with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors. 23For they also built for themselves pagan shrines and set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 24There were even male and female shrine prostitutes throughout the land. The people imitated the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.
25In the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. 26He ransacked the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace; he stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. 27King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields as substitutes, and he entrusted them to the care of the commanders of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 28Whenever the king went to the Temple of the Lord, the guards would also take the shields and then return them to the guardroom.
29The rest of the events in Rehoboam’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 30There was constant war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31When Rehoboam died, he was buried among his ancestors in the City of David. His mother was Naamah, an Ammonite woman. Then his son Abijam#14:31 Also known as Abijah. became the next king.
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