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1 Kings 14-15
The Message
1 Kings 14-15
The Message
14 1-3 At about this time Jeroboam’s son Abijah came down sick. Jeroboam said to his wife, “Do something. Disguise yourself so no one will know you are the queen and go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet lives there, the same Ahijah who told me I’d be king over this people. Take along ten loaves of bread, some sweet rolls, and a jug of honey. Make a visit to him and he’ll tell you what’s going on with our boy.”
4-5 Jeroboam’s wife did as she was told; she went straight to Shiloh and to Ahijah’s house. Ahijah was an old man at this time, and blind, but God had warned Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is on her way to consult with you regarding her sick son; tell her this and this and this.”
5-9 When she came in she was disguised. Ahijah heard her come through the door and said, “Welcome, wife of Jeroboam! But why the deception? I’ve got bad news for you. Go and deliver this message I received firsthand from God, the God of Israel, to Jeroboam: I raised you up from obscurity and made you the leader of my people Israel. I ripped the kingdom from the hands of David’s family and gave it to you, but you weren’t at all like my servant David who did what I told him and lived from his undivided heart, pleasing me. Instead you’ve set a new record in works of evil by making alien gods—tin gods! Pushing me aside and turning your back—you’ve made me mighty angry.
10-11 “And I’ll not put up with it: I’m bringing doom on the household of Jeroboam, killing the lot of them right down to the last male wretch in Israel, whether slave or free. They’ve become nothing but garbage and I’m getting rid of them. The ones who die in the city will be eaten by stray dogs; the ones who die out in the country will be eaten by carrion crows. God’s decree!
12-13 “And that’s it. Go on home—the minute you step foot in town, the boy will die. Everyone will come to his burial, mourning his death. He is the only one in Jeroboam’s family who will get a decent burial; he’s the only one for whom God, the God of Israel, has a good word to say.
14-16 “Then God will appoint a king over Israel who will wipe out Jeroboam’s family, wipe them right off the map—doomsday for Jeroboam! He will hit Israel hard, as a storm slaps reeds about; he’ll pull them up by the roots from this good land of their inheritance, weeding them out, and then scatter them to the four winds. And why? Because they made God so angry with Asherah sex-and-religion shrines. He’ll wash his hands of Israel because of Jeroboam’s sins, which have led Israel into a life of sin.”
17-18 Jeroboam’s wife left and went home to Tirzah. The moment she stepped through the door, the boy died. They buried him and everyone mourned his death, just as God had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.
19-20 The rest of Jeroboam’s life, the wars he fought and the way he ruled, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. He ruled for twenty-two years. He died and was buried with his ancestors. Nadab his son was king after him.
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21-24 Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he took the throne and was king for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city God selected from all the tribes of Israel for the worship of his Name. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, an Ammonite. Judah was openly wicked before God, making him very angry. They set new records in sin, surpassing anything their ancestors had done. They built Asherah sex-and-religion shrines and set up sacred stones all over the place—on hills, under trees, wherever you looked. Worse, they had male sacred prostitutes, polluting the country outrageously—all the stuff that God had gotten rid of when he brought Israel into the land.
25-28 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s rule, Shishak king of Egypt made war against Jerusalem. He plundered The Temple of God and the royal palace of their treasures, cleaned them out—even the gold shields that Solomon had made. King Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields and outfitted the royal palace guards with them. Whenever the king went to God’s Temple, the guards carried the shields but always returned them to the guardroom.
29-31 The rest of Rehoboam’s life, what he said and did, is all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam the whole time. Rehoboam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His mother was Naamah, an Ammonite. His son Abijah ruled after him.
Abijah of Judah
15 1-6 In the eighteenth year of the rule of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah took over the throne of Judah. He ruled in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Absalom. He continued to sin just like his father before him. He was not truehearted to God as his great-grandfather David had been. But despite that, out of respect for David, his God graciously gave him a lamp, a son to follow him and keep Jerusalem secure. For David had lived an exemplary life before God all his days, not going off on his own in willful defiance of God’s clear directions (except for that time with Uriah the Hittite). But war continued between Abijah and Jeroboam the whole time.
7-8 The rest of Abijah’s life, everything he did, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. But the war with Jeroboam was the dominant theme. Abijah died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Asa was king after him.
Asa of Judah
9-10 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began his rule over Judah. He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was Maacah.
11-15 Asa conducted himself well before God, reviving the ways of his ancestor David. He cleaned house: He got rid of the sacred prostitutes and threw out all the idols his predecessors had made. Asa spared nothing and no one; he went so far as to remove Queen Maacah from her position because she had built a shockingly obscene memorial to the whore goddess Asherah. Asa tore it down and burned it up in the Kidron Valley. Unfortunately, he didn’t get rid of the local sex-and-religion shrines. But he was well-intentioned—his heart was in the right place, in tune with God. All the gold and silver vessels and artifacts that he and his father had consecrated for holy use he installed in The Temple.
16-17 But through much of his reign there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel. Baasha king of Israel started it by building a fort at Ramah and closing the border between Israel and Judah so no one could enter or leave Judah.
18-19 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of The Temple of God and the royal palace, gave it to his servants, and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, with this message: “Let’s make a treaty like the one between our fathers. I’m showing my good faith with this gift of silver and gold. Break your deal with Baasha king of Israel so he’ll quit fighting against me.”
20-21 Ben-Hadad went along with King Asa and sent out his troops against the towns of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and the entire region of Kinnereth, including Naphtali. When Baasha got the report he quit fortifying Ramah and pulled back to Tirzah.
22 Then King Asa issued orders to everyone in Judah—no exemptions—to haul away the logs and stones Baasha had used in the fortification of Ramah and use them to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah.
23-24 A full account of Asa’s life, all the great things he did and the fortifications he constructed, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. In his old age he developed severe gout. Then Asa died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Jehoshaphat became king after him.
Nadab of Israel
25-26 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa’s rule in Judah. He was king of Israel two years. He was openly evil before God—he followed in the footsteps of his father who both sinned and made Israel sin.
27-28 Baasha son of Ahijah of the tribe of Issachar ganged up on him and attacked him at the Philistine town of Gibbethon while Nadab and the Israelites were doing battle there. Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah and became Israel’s next king.
29-30 As soon as he was king he killed everyone in Jeroboam’s family. There wasn’t a living soul left to the name of Jeroboam; Baasha wiped them out totally, just as God’s servant Ahijah of Shiloh had prophesied—punishment for Jeroboam’s sins and for making Israel sin, for making the God of Israel thoroughly angry.
31-32 The rest of Nadab’s life, everything else he did, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. There was continuous war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel.
Baasha of Israel
33-34 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king in Tirzah over all Israel. He ruled twenty-four years. He was openly evil before God, walking in the footsteps of Jeroboam, who both sinned and made Israel sin.
1 Kings 14-15
New International Version
1 Kings 14-15
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.
Abijah King of Judah(AM)
15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah[e] became king of Judah, 2 and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah(AN) daughter of Abishalom.[f]
3 He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted(AO) to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. 4 Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp(AP) in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. 5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep(AQ) any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah(AR) the Hittite.
6 There was war(AS) between Abijah[g] and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime. 7 As for the other events of Abijah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 8 And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Asa his son succeeded him as king.
Asa King of Judah(AT)(AU)
9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, 10 and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maakah(AV) daughter of Abishalom.
11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David(AW) had done. 12 He expelled the male shrine prostitutes(AX) from the land and got rid of all the idols(AY) his ancestors had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maakah(AZ) from her position as queen mother,(BA) because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down(BB) and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although he did not remove(BC) the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed(BD) to the Lord all his life. 15 He brought into the temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.(BE)
16 There was war(BF) between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns. 17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah(BG) to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
18 Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple(BH) and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent(BI) them to Ben-Hadad(BJ) son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 19 “Let there be a treaty(BK) between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”
20 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered(BL) Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maakah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah(BM) and withdrew to Tirzah.(BN) 22 Then King Asa issued an order to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away from Ramah(BO) the stones and timber Baasha had been using there. With them King Asa(BP) built up Geba(BQ) in Benjamin, and also Mizpah.(BR)
23 As for all the other events of Asa’s reign, all his achievements, all he did and the cities he built, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? In his old age, however, his feet became diseased. 24 Then Asa rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And Jehoshaphat(BS) his son succeeded him as king.
Nadab King of Israel
25 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did evil(BT) in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father(BU) and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit.
27 Baasha son of Ahijah from the tribe of Issachar plotted against him, and he struck him down(BV) at Gibbethon,(BW) a Philistine town, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging it. 28 Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah and succeeded him as king.
29 As soon as he began to reign, he killed Jeroboam’s whole family.(BX) He did not leave Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all, according to the word of the Lord given through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 This happened because of the sins(BY) Jeroboam had committed and had caused(BZ) Israel to commit, and because he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel.
31 As for the other events of Nadab’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals(CA) of the kings of Israel? 32 There was war(CB) between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns.
Baasha King of Israel
33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah,(CC) and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did evil(CD) in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
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 15:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 12:16); most Hebrew manuscripts Abijam; also in verses 7 and 8
- 1 Kings 15:2 A variant of Absalom; also in verse 10
- 1 Kings 15:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Abijam (that is, Abijah); most Hebrew manuscripts Rehoboam
Luke 22:31-46
The Message
Luke 22:31-46
The Message
31-32 “Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I’ve prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start.”
33 Peter said, “Master, I’m ready for anything with you. I’d go to jail for you. I’d die for you!”
34 Jesus said, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Peter, but before the rooster crows you will have three times denied that you know me.”
35 Then Jesus said, “When I sent you out and told you to travel light, to take only the bare necessities, did you get along all right?”
“Certainly,” they said, “we got along just fine.”
36-37 He said, “This is different. Get ready for trouble. Look to what you’ll need; there are difficult times ahead. Pawn your coat and get a sword. What was written in Scripture, ‘He was lumped in with the criminals,’ gets its final meaning in me. Everything written about me is now coming to a conclusion.”
38 They said, “Look, Master, two swords!”
But he said, “Enough of that; no more sword talk!”
A Dark Night
39-40 Leaving there, he went, as he so often did, to Mount Olives. The disciples followed him. When they arrived at the place, he said, “Pray that you don’t give in to temptation.”
41-44 He pulled away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?” At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face.
45-46 He got up from prayer, went back to the disciples and found them asleep, drugged by grief. He said, “What business do you have sleeping? Get up. Pray so you won’t give in to temptation.”
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Luke 22:31-46
New International Version
Luke 22:31-46
New International Version
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked(A) to sift all of you as wheat.(B) 32 But I have prayed for you,(C) Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”(D)
33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”(E)
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals,(F) did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.
36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’[a];(G) and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”
38 The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”
“That’s enough!” he replied.
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives(H)
39 Jesus went out as usual(I) to the Mount of Olives,(J) and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”(K) 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down(L) and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup(M) from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”(N) 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.(O) 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[b]
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”(P)
Footnotes
- Luke 22:37 Isaiah 53:12
- Luke 22:44 Many early manuscripts do not have verses 43 and 44.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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