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1 Kings 14
International Children’s Bible
1 Kings 14
International Children’s Bible
Jeroboam’s Son Dies
14 At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick. 2 So Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go to Shiloh. Go to see the prophet Ahijah. He is the one who said I would become king of Israel. But dress yourself so people won’t know 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 as he said. She went to Ahijah’s home in Shiloh.
Now Ahijah was very old and had become blind. 5 But the Lord had said to him, “Jeroboam’s son is sick. So Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about him. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.” Then the Lord told Ahijah what to say.
6 When Ahijah heard her walking to the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have 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 people of Israel. I made you the leader of my people. 8 I took the kingdom away from David’s family. And I gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David. He always obeyed my commands. He followed me with all his heart. He did only the things I said were right. 9 But you have done more evil things than anyone who ruled before you. You have quit following me. You have made other gods and idols of metal. This has made me very angry. 10 So I will bring disaster to the family of Jeroboam. I will kill all of the men in your family, both slaves and free men. I will destroy your family as completely as fire burns up manure. 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 the birds. The Lord has spoken!’”
12 Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s wife, “Now go home. When you enter your city gate, your son will die. 13 All Israel will be sad for him and bury him. He will be the only one of 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 “The Lord will put a new king over Israel. That king will destroy Jeroboam’s family. This will happen soon. 15 Then the Lord will punish Israel. The people of Israel will be like grass moving in the water. The Lord will pull up Israel from this good land. This is the land he gave their ancestors. But he will scatter Israel beyond the Euphrates River. This will happen because the Lord is angry with the people. They made him angry when they made idols to worship Asherah. 16 Jeroboam sinned, and then he made the people of Israel sin. So the Lord will let the people of Israel be defeated.”
17 Then Jeroboam’s wife traveled back to Tirzah. When she entered her home, the boy died. 18 They buried him. And all Israel had a time of sadness for him. This happened as the Lord said it would. The Lord had said these things through his servant, the prophet Ahijah.
19 Everything else Jeroboam did is written down. He fought wars and continued to rule the people. It is all written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel. 20 Jeroboam ruled as king for 22 years. Then he died, and his son Nadab became king in his place.
The Death of Rehoboam
21 Solomon’s son Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king of Judah. His mother was Naamah from the land of Ammon. Rehoboam ruled in Jerusalem for 17 years. (The Lord had chosen that city from all the land of Israel. He chose to be worshiped there.)
22 The people of Judah did what the Lord said was wrong. The people’s sins made the Lord very angry at them. They made the Lord even more angry than their ancestors had done. 23 The people built stone pillars and places to worship false gods and Asherah idols. They built them on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 There were even male prostitutes at the places of worship to the gods. The people who had lived in the land before the Israelites had done many evil things. And God had taken the land away from them. Now the people of Judah were doing the same evil things.
25 During the fifth year Rehoboam was king, Shishak attacked Jerusalem. Shishak was king of Egypt. 26 He took the treasures from the Temple of the Lord and the king’s palace. He took everything, even the gold shields Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to put in their place. He gave them to the men who were guarding the palace gates. 28 Whenever the king went to the Temple of the Lord, the guards carried the shields. After they were finished, they put the shields back in the guardroom.
29 Everything else King Rehoboam did is written down. It is in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 30 Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always fighting a war with each other. 31 Rehoboam died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem. His mother was Naamah from Ammon. And Rehoboam’s son Abijam[a] became king in his place.
Footnotes
- 14:31 Abijam A negative name for Abijah. See 2 Chronicles 13.
1 Kings 14
New International Version
1 Kings 14
New International Version
Ahijah’s Prophecy Against Jeroboam
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.
Rehoboam King of Judah(X)
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.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 14:10 Or Israel—every ruler or leader
- 1 Kings 14:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
- 1 Kings 14:15 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 1 Kings
- 1 Kings 14:31 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 12:16); most Hebrew manuscripts Abijam
1 Kings 14
King James Version
1 Kings 14
King James Version
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.
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