²¹ When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war^(A) against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

²² But this word of God came to Shemaiah^(B) the man of God:^{(C) 23} “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ²⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan

²⁵ Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem^(D) in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.^[a](E)

²⁶ Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. ²⁷ If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem,^(F) they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

²⁸ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves.^(G) He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”^{(H) 29} One he set up in Bethel,^(I) and the other in Dan.^{(J) 30} And this thing became a sin;^(K) the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.^[b]

³¹ Jeroboam built shrines^(L) on high places and appointed priests^(M) from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. ³² He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth^(N) month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel,^(O) sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. ³³ On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel.^(P) So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

The Man of God From Judah

13 By the word of the Lord a man of God^(Q) came from Judah to Bethel,^(R) as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. ² By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah^(S) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places^(T) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” ³ That same day the man of God gave a sign:^(U) “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

⁴ When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. ⁵ Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

⁶ Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede^(V) with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

⁷ The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”^(W)

⁸ But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,^(X) I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread^(Y) or drink water here. ⁹ For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” ¹⁰ So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified^(A)

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.^{(B) 2} The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³ and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!”^(C) And they slapped him in the face.^(D)

⁴ Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out^(E) to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”^{(F) 5} When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe,^(G) Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him.^(H) As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”^(I)

⁷ The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die,^(J) because he claimed to be the Son of God.”^(K)

⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹ and he went back inside the palace.^(L) “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.^{(M) 10} “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.^(N) Therefore the one who handed me over to you^(O) is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹² From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king^(P) opposes Caesar.”

¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat^(Q) at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic^(R) is Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation^(S) of the Passover; it was about noon.^(T)

“Here is your king,”^(U) Pilate said to the Jews.

¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.^(V)

The Crucifixion of Jesus^(W)

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.