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2 Chronicles 11-13
Contemporary English Version
2 Chronicles 11-13
Contemporary English Version
Shemaiah the Prophet Warns Rehoboam
(1 Kings 12.21-24)
11 After Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he decided to attack Israel and regain control of the whole country. So he called together 180,000 soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
2 Meanwhile, the Lord had told Shemaiah the prophet 3 to tell Rehoboam and everyone from Judah and Benjamin, 4 “The Lord warns you not to go to war against the people from the northern tribes—they are your relatives. Go home! The Lord is the one who made these things happen.”
Rehoboam and his army obeyed the Lord's message and did not attack Jeroboam and his troops.
Rehoboam Fortifies Cities in Judah
5 Rehoboam ruled from Jerusalem, and he had several cities in Judah turned into fortresses so he could use them to defend his country. These cities included 6 Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth-Zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. After he had fortified these cities in the territories of Judah and Benjamin, 11 he assigned an army commander to each of them and stocked them with supplies of food, olive oil, and wine, 12 as well as with shields and spears. He used these fortified cities to keep control of Judah and Benjamin.
The Priests and the Levites Support Rehoboam
13 The priests and Levites from the northern tribes of Israel gave their support to King Rehoboam. 14 And since Jeroboam and the kings of Israel that followed him would not allow any Levites to serve as priests, most Levites left their towns and pasturelands in Israel and moved to Jerusalem and other towns in Judah. 15 (A) Jeroboam chose his own priests to serve at the local shrines[a] in Israel and at the places of worship where he had set up statues of goat-demons and of calves.
16 But some of the people from Israel wanted to worship the Lord God, just as their ancestors had done. So they followed the priests and Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord. 17 For the next three years, they lived in Judah and were loyal to Rehoboam and his kingdom, just as they had been loyal to David and Solomon.
Rehoboam's Family
18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, whose father was Jerimoth son of David, and whose mother was Abihail the daughter of Eliab and granddaughter of Jesse. 19 Rehoboam and Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 Then Rehoboam married Maacah the daughter of Absalom. Their sons were Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21 Rehoboam had 18 wives, but he also married 60 other women,[b] and he was the father of 28 sons and 60 daughters. Rehoboam loved his wife Maacah the most, 22 so he chose their oldest son Abijah to be the next king. 23 Rehoboam was wise enough to put one of his sons in charge of each fortified city in his kingdom. He gave them all the supplies they needed and found wives for every one of them.
King Shishak of Egypt Invades Judah
(1 Kings 14.25-28)
12 Soon after Rehoboam had control of his kingdom, he and everyone in Judah stopped obeying the Lord. 2 So in the fifth year of Rehoboam's rule, the Lord punished them for their unfaithfulness and allowed King Shishak of Egypt to invade Judah. 3 Shishak attacked with his army of 1,200 chariots and 60,000 cavalry troops, as well as countless Egyptian soldiers from Libya, Sukkoth, and Ethiopia.[c] 4 He captured every one of the fortified cities in Judah and then marched to Jerusalem.
5 Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah had gone to Jerusalem to escape Shishak's invasion. And while they were there, Shemaiah the prophet told them, “The Lord says that because you have disobeyed him, he has now abandoned you. The Lord will not help you against Shishak!”
6 Rehoboam and the leaders were sorry for what they had done and admitted, “The Lord is right. We have deserted him.”
7 When the Lord heard this, he told Shemaiah:
The people of Judah are truly sorry for their sins, and so I won't let Shishak completely destroy them. But because I am still angry, 8 he will conquer and rule them.
Then my people will know what it's like to serve a foreign king instead of serving me.
9 (B) Shishak attacked Jerusalem and took all the valuable things from the temple and from the palace, including Solomon's gold shields.
10 Rehoboam had bronze shields made to replace the gold ones, and he ordered the guards at the city gates to keep them safe. 11 Whenever 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 worshiping.
12 Rehoboam turned back to the Lord, and so the Lord did not let Judah be completely destroyed, and Judah was prosperous again.
Rehoboam's Rule in Judah
(1 Kings 14.21,29-31)
13 Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king, and he ruled 17 years from Jerusalem, the city where the Lord had chosen to be worshiped. His mother Naamah was from Ammon. Rehoboam was a powerful king, 14 but he still did wrong and refused to obey the Lord.
15 Everything else Rehoboam did while he was king, including a history of his family, is written in the records of the two prophets, Shemaiah and Iddo. During Rehoboam's rule, he and King Jeroboam of Israel were constantly at war. 16 When Rehoboam died, he was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Abijah became king.
King Abijah of Judah
(1 Kings 15.1-8)
13 Abijah[d] became king of Judah in Jeroboam's eighteenth year as king of Israel, 2 and he ruled from Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah.
Some time later, Abijah and King Jeroboam of Israel went to war against each other. 3 Abijah's army had 400,000 troops, and Jeroboam met him in battle with 800,000 troops.
4 Abijah went to the top of Mount Zemaraim[e] in the hills of Ephraim and shouted:
Listen, Jeroboam and all you Israelites! 5 The Lord God of Israel has made a solemn promise that every king of Israel will be from David's family. 6 But Jeroboam, you were King Solomon's official, and you rebelled. 7 Then right after Rehoboam became king, you and your bunch of worthless followers challenged Rehoboam, who was too young to know how to stop you.
8 Now you and your powerful army think you can stand up to the kingdom that the Lord has given to David's descendants. The only gods you have are those gold statues of calves that Jeroboam made for you. 9 You don't even have descendants of Aaron on your side, because you forced out the Lord's priests and Levites. In their place, you appoint ordinary people to be priests, just as the foreign nations do. In fact, anyone who brings a bull and seven rams to the altar can become a priest of your so-called gods.
10 But we have not turned our backs on the Lord God! Aaron's own descendants serve as our priests, and the Levites are their assistants. 11 Two times every day they offer sacrifices and burn incense to the Lord. They set out the sacred loaves of bread on a table that has been purified, and they light the lamps in the gold lampstand every day at sunset. We follow the commands of the Lord our God—you have rejected him! 12 That's why God is on our side and will lead us into battle when the priests sound the signal on the trumpets. It's no use, Israelites. You might as well give up. There's no way you can defeat the Lord, the God your ancestors worshiped.
13 But while Abijah was talking, Jeroboam had sent some of his troops to attack Judah's army from behind, while the rest attacked from the front. 14 Judah's army realized they were trapped, and so they prayed to the Lord. The priests blew the signal on the trumpet, 15 and the troops let out a battle cry. Then with Abijah leading them into battle, God defeated Jeroboam and Israel's army. 16 The Israelites ran away, and God helped Judah's soldiers slaughter 17 500,000 enemy troops. 18 Judah's army won because they had trusted the Lord God of their ancestors.
19 Abijah kept up his attack on Jeroboam's army and captured the Israelite towns of Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, as well as the villages around them.
20 Jeroboam never regained his power during the rest of Abijah's rule. The Lord punished Jeroboam, and he died, but Abijah became more powerful.
21 Abijah had a total of 14 wives, 22 sons, and 16 daughters. 22 Everything Abijah said and did while he was king is written in the records of Iddo the prophet.
Footnotes
- 11.15 local shrines: The Hebrew text has “high places,” which were local places to worship foreign gods.
- 11.21 other women: This translates a Hebrew word for women who were legally bound to a man, but without the full privileges of a wife.
- 12.3 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
- 13.1 Abijah: In 1 Kings 15.1-8 his name is spelled “Abijam.”
- 13.4 Mount Zemaraim: Probably located on the northern border of the territory of Benjamin.
2 Chronicles 11-13
New International Version
2 Chronicles 11-13
New International Version
11 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem,(A) he mustered Judah and Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam.
2 But this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah(B) the man of God: 3 “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, 4 ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your fellow Israelites.(C) Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the words of the Lord and turned back from marching against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam Fortifies Judah
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah: 6 Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities(D) in Judah and Benjamin. 11 He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. 12 He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his.
13 The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. 14 The Levites(E) even abandoned their pasturelands and property(F) and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord 15 when he appointed(G) his own priests(H) for the high places and for the goat(I) and calf(J) idols he had made. 16 Those from every tribe of Israel(K) who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 17 They strengthened(L) the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.
Rehoboam’s Family
18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. 19 She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. 20 Then he married Maakah(M) daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah,(N) Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives(O) and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah(P) son of Maakah as crown prince among his brothers, in order to make him king. 23 He acted wisely, dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions(Q) and took many wives for them.
Shishak Attacks Jerusalem(R)
12 After Rehoboam’s position as king was established(S) and he had become strong,(T) he and all Israel[a](U) with him abandoned(V) the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful(W) to the Lord, Shishak(X) king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. 3 With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans,(Y) Sukkites and Cushites[b](Z) that came with him from Egypt, 4 he captured the fortified cities(AA) of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
5 Then the prophet Shemaiah(AB) came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon(AC) you to Shishak.’”
6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled(AD) themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”(AE)
7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance.(AF) My wrath(AG) will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. 8 They will, however, become subject(AH) to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”
9 When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields(AI) Solomon had made. 10 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. 11 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.
12 Because Rehoboam humbled(AJ) himself, the Lord’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good(AK) in Judah.
13 King Rehoboam established(AL) himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued as king. 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.(AM) His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. 14 He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.
15 As for the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah(AN) the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 16 Rehoboam(AO) rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Abijah(AP) his son succeeded him as king.
Abijah King of Judah(AQ)
13 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah, 2 and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah,[c](AR) a daughter[d] of Uriel of Gibeah.
There was war between Abijah(AS) and Jeroboam.(AT) 3 Abijah went into battle with an army of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops.
4 Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim,(AU) in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel,(AV) listen to me! 5 Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever(AW) by a covenant of salt?(AX) 6 Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled(AY) against his master. 7 Some worthless scoundrels(AZ) gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive(BA) and not strong enough to resist them.
8 “And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hands of David’s descendants.(BB) You are indeed a vast army and have with you(BC) the golden calves(BD) that Jeroboam made to be your gods. 9 But didn’t you drive out the priests(BE) of the Lord,(BF) the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull(BG) and seven rams(BH) may become a priest of what are not gods.(BI)
10 “As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. 11 Every morning and evening(BJ) they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense(BK) to the Lord. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table(BL) and light the lamps(BM) on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the Lord our God. But you have forsaken him. 12 God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you.(BN) People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord,(BO) the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”(BP)
13 Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush(BQ) was behind them. 14 Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out(BR) to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets 15 and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel(BS) before Abijah and Judah. 16 The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered(BT) them into their hands. 17 Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men. 18 The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied(BU) on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. 20 Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the Lord struck him down and he died.
21 But Abijah grew in strength. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
22 The other events of Abijah’s reign, what he did and what he said, are written in the annotations of the prophet Iddo.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 12:1 That is, Judah, as frequently in 2 Chronicles
- 2 Chronicles 12:3 That is, people from the upper Nile region
- 2 Chronicles 13:2 Most Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 11:20 and 1 Kings 15:2); Hebrew Micaiah
- 2 Chronicles 13:2 Or granddaughter
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