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14 ¶ At that time Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, fell sick.

And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou not be known to be the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh, for Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I should be king over this people.

And take with thee ten loaves and cracknels and a cruse of honey and go to him, that he shall tell thee what shall become of this child.

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.

But the LORD had said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam shall come to consult thee regarding her son, who is sick; thus and thus shalt thou say unto her, for it shall be, when she comes, that she shall come in disguise.

And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why art thou in disguise? For I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.

¶ Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people and made thee prince over my people Israel,

and rent the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it thee, and yet thou hast not been as my slave David, who kept my commandments and who followed me with all his heart, to doing only that which was right in my eyes,

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 everyone that pisses against the wall, the one that is shut up along with the one that is left in Israel, and will burn away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns away dung until it is all gone.

11 The one that dies of those of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs shall eat, and the one that dies in the field, the fowls of the air shall eat; for the LORD has spoken it.

12 Arise thou, therefore, go to thy 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 those of Jeroboam shall enter into the grave because in him there is found some good thing of the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

14 And the LORD shall raise up a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam in this day, but what if 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 had given 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 sinned and who has made Israel sin.

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah; and as she entered by the threshold of the house, the child died.

18 And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he had spoken by the hand of his slave 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 twenty-two 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-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD chose 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 anger more than all that their fathers had done in their sins which they committed.

23 For they also built themselves high places and statues, and groves on every high hill and under every green tree.

24 And there were also male cult prostitutes in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the Gentiles which the LORD had cast out before the sons 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 took it all away, 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, who kept the door of the king’s house.

28 And when the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard bore them and brought them back afterward 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.

Ahijah’s Prophecy Against Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, 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. 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.” 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. 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.”

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. 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. 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. 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. 1 Kings 14:10 Or Israel—every ruler or leader
  2. 1 Kings 14:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  3. 1 Kings 14:15 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 1 Kings
  4. 1 Kings 14:31 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 12:16); most Hebrew manuscripts Abijam