Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options Listen to 1 Kings 13-15
Close NASB

1 Kings 13-15
New American Standard Bible

Jeroboam Warned, Stricken

13 Now behold, (A)a man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar (B)to burn incense. 2 And (C)he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, (D)Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.’” 3 Then he gave a [a]sign on the same day, saying, “(E)This is the [b]sign which the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn to pieces and the [c]ashes which are on it shall be poured out.’” 4 Now when the king heard the statement of the man of God which he cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But his hand which he had stretched out toward him dried up, and he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was torn to pieces and the [d]ashes were poured out from the altar, in accordance with the [e]sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 6 And the king responded and said to the man of God, “Please [f](F)appease the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.” So (G)the man of God [g]appeased the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and (H)I will give you a gift.” 8 But the man of God said to the king, “(I)If you were to give me half your house, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. 9 For so [h]it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he had come to Bethel.

The Disobedient Prophet

11 Now (J)an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his [i]sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they reported to their father. 12 And their father said to them, “[j]Which way did he go?” Now his sons [k]had seen the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. 14 So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under [l]an oak; and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 But he said, “(K)I cannot return with you, nor come with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 For a [m]command came to me (L)by the word of the Lord: ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way that you came.’” 18 Then he said to him, “(M)I too am a prophet like you, and (N)an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But (O)he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.

20 Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you have [n]disobeyed the [o]command of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “You are not to eat bread nor drink water”; your dead body will not come to the grave of your fathers.’” 23 It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 Now when he had gone, (P)a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body; so they came and told about it in the city where (Q)the old prophet had lived.

26 Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God, who [p]disobeyed the [q]command of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.” 27 Then he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28 Then he went and found his body thrown on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor [r]harmed the donkey. 29 So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him. 30 He laid his body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “(R)Oh, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he talked to his sons, saying, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; (S)lay my bones beside his bones. 32 (T)For the thing will certainly come to pass which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar that is in Bethel, and (U)against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of (V)Samaria.”

33 After this event, Jeroboam did not [s]abandon his evil way, but he (W)again [t]appointed priests of the high places from [u]all the people; (X)anyone who wanted, he ordained, and he became [v]one of the priests of the high places. 34 [w](Y)This event also became a sin of the house of Jeroboam, (Z)even to wipe it out and eliminate it from the face of the earth.

Ahijah Prophesies against the King

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Now arise and (AA)disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to (AB)Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who (AC)said regarding me that I would be king over this people. 3 (AD)Take ten loaves with you, some pastries, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and set out and went to (AE)Shiloh, and came to the house of (AF)Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see (AG)because his eyes were [x]glossy from his old age. 5 Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to [y]inquire of you about her son, because he is sick. You shall say such and such to her, for it will be when she arrives, that (AH)she is going to make herself unrecognizable.”

6 So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why do you make yourself unrecognizable? Nevertheless, I am sent to you with a harsh message. 7 Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “(AI)Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel, 8 and (AJ)tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—(AK)yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, (AL)to do only that which was right in My sight; 9 you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and (AM)you have gone and made for yourself other gods and (AN)cast metal images to provoke Me to anger, and have (AO)thrown Me behind your back— 10 therefore behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and (AP)I will eliminate from Jeroboam [z]every male person, (AQ)both [aa]bond and free in Israel, and I (AR)will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone. 11 (AS)Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dogs will eat. And anyone who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat; for the Lord has spoken it.”’ 12 Now you, arise, go to your house. (AT)When your feet enter the city the child will die. 13 Then all Israel will mourn for him and bury him, for [ab]he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him (AU)something good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 14 Moreover, (AV)the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will eliminate the house of Jeroboam this day [ac]and from now on.

15 “For the Lord will strike Israel, just as a reed sways in the water; and (AW)He will uproot Israel from (AX)this good land which He gave to their fathers, and (AY)will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, (AZ)because they have made their [ad]Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. 16 He will give up Israel (BA)because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he [ae]committed and with which he misled Israel into sin.”

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to (BB)Tirzah. (BC)As she was entering the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 (BD)Then all Israel buried him and mourned for him, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

19 Now as for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, (BE)how he made war and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 20 And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he [af]lay down with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Misleads Judah

21 (BF)Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, (BG)the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. 22 And the people of (BH)Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they (BI)provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they [ag]committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they, too, built for themselves (BJ)high places, (BK)memorial stones, and [ah](BL)Asherim on every high hill and (BM)under every luxuriant tree. 24 There were also (BN)male cult prostitutes in the land. They committed [ai]all the same abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

25 (BO)Now it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt marched against Jerusalem. 26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and (BP)he took everything; (BQ)he even took all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and (BR)entrusted them to the [aj]care of the commanders of the [ak]guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 28 And it happened as often as the king entered the house of the Lord, that the [al]guards would carry them and would bring them back into the [am]guards’ room.

29 (BS)Now as for 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 (BT)And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31 And Rehoboam [an]lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and (BU)his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And his son Abijam became king in his place.

Abijam Reigns over Judah

15 (BV)Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was [ao](BW)Maacah the daughter of [ap](BX)Abishalom. 3 He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and (BY)his heart was not [aq]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David. 4 But for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a (BZ)lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem, 5 (CA)because David did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and did not deviate from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, (CB)except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. 6 (CC)And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

7 Now as for (CD)the rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? (CE)And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

Asa Succeeds Abijam

8 (CF)And Abijam [ar]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and his son Asa became king in his place.

9 So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah. 10 He reigned for forty-one years in Jerusalem; and (CG)his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 Now (CH)Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like his father David. 12 (CI)He also removed the male cult prostitutes from the land and (CJ)removed all the idols which his fathers had made. 13 And even his mother Maacah, (CK)he also removed her from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image [as]as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her abominable image and (CL)burned it at the brook Kidron. 14 (CM)But the high places [at]were not eliminated; nevertheless (CN)Asa’s heart was [au]wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. 15 And (CO)he brought into the house of the Lord the [av]holy gifts of his father and his own [aw]holy gifts: silver, gold, and valuable utensils.

16 (CP)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 (CQ)Baasha king of Israel marched against Judah and [ax](CR)fortified Ramah (CS)in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then (CT)Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and handed it over to his servants. And (CU)King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in (CV)Damascus, saying, 19 “Let’s make a (CW)treaty between [ay]you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” 20 So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and [az]conquered (CX)Ijon, (CY)Dan, (CZ)Abel-beth-maacah, and all (DA)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard about it, (DB)he stopped [ba]fortifying Ramah and remained in (DC)Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built fortifications. And King Asa built with them (DD)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa

23 (DE)Now as for the rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might, and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24 And Asa [bb]lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David; and his son (DF)Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.

Nadab and Then Baasha Rule over Israel

25 Now (DG)Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years. 26 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and (DH)walked in the way of his father and (DI)in his sin into which he misled Israel. 27 Then (DJ)Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha struck and killed him at (DK)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

28 So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. 29 And as soon as he was king, he struck and killed all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave Jeroboam any [bc]persons alive, but kept killing until he had eliminated them, (DL)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, 30 and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he [bd]committed, and into (DM)which he misled Israel, because of his provocation with which he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

31 (DN)Now as for the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

War with Judah

32 (DO)And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned for twenty-four years. 34 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and (DP)walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin into which he misled Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 13:3 Or wonder
  2. 1 Kings 13:3 Or wonder
  3. 1 Kings 13:3 Lit ashes of fat
  4. 1 Kings 13:5 Lit ashes of fat
  5. 1 Kings 13:5 Or wonder
  6. 1 Kings 13:6 Lit soften the face of
  7. 1 Kings 13:6 Lit softened the face of
  8. 1 Kings 13:9 Lit He commanded me
  9. 1 Kings 13:11 Lit son
  10. 1 Kings 13:12 Lit Where is this, the way he went
  11. 1 Kings 13:12 Some ancient versions showed him
  12. 1 Kings 13:14 Or a terebinth
  13. 1 Kings 13:17 Lit word
  14. 1 Kings 13:21 Lit rebelled against
  15. 1 Kings 13:21 Lit mouth
  16. 1 Kings 13:26 Lit rebelled against
  17. 1 Kings 13:26 Lit mouth
  18. 1 Kings 13:28 Lit broken
  19. 1 Kings 13:33 Lit turn away from
  20. 1 Kings 13:33 Lit made
  21. 1 Kings 13:33 Lit the extremities of the
  22. 1 Kings 13:33 Ancient versions a priest of
  23. 1 Kings 13:34 As in LXX and Targum; MT By this event also it became
  24. 1 Kings 14:4 Lit set
  25. 1 Kings 14:5 Lit seek a word from
  26. 1 Kings 14:10 Lit him who urinates against the wall
  27. 1 Kings 14:10 Or children and adults in
  28. 1 Kings 14:13 Lit this one
  29. 1 Kings 14:14 Lit and what even now?
  30. 1 Kings 14:15 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  31. 1 Kings 14:16 Lit sinned
  32. 1 Kings 14:20 I.e., died
  33. 1 Kings 14:22 Lit sinned
  34. 1 Kings 14:23 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  35. 1 Kings 14:24 Lit according to all
  36. 1 Kings 14:27 Lit hand
  37. 1 Kings 14:27 Lit runners
  38. 1 Kings 14:28 Lit runners
  39. 1 Kings 14:28 Lit runners
  40. 1 Kings 14:31 I.e., died
  41. 1 Kings 15:2 In 2 Chr 13:2, Micaiah, the daughter of Uriel
  42. 1 Kings 15:2 In 2 Chr 11:20, Absalom
  43. 1 Kings 15:3 Lit complete with
  44. 1 Kings 15:8 I.e., died
  45. 1 Kings 15:13 Or for Asherah; i.e., wooden symbol of a female deity
  46. 1 Kings 15:14 Lit did not cease
  47. 1 Kings 15:14 Lit complete with
  48. 1 Kings 15:15 Or votive offerings; i.e., gifts vowed
  49. 1 Kings 15:15 Or votive offerings; i.e., gifts vowed
  50. 1 Kings 15:17 Lit built
  51. 1 Kings 15:19 Lit me and you
  52. 1 Kings 15:20 Lit struck
  53. 1 Kings 15:21 Lit building
  54. 1 Kings 15:24 I.e., died
  55. 1 Kings 15:29 Lit breath
  56. 1 Kings 15:30 Lit sinned
Listen to 1 Kings 13-15
Close NIV

1 Kings 13-15
New International Version

The Man of God From Judah

13 By the word of the Lord a man of God(A) came from Judah to Bethel,(B) 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(C) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places(D) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign:(E) “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(F) 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.”(G)

8 But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,(H) I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread(I) 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.

11 Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12 Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“I am,” he replied.

15 So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.”

16 The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread(J) or drink water with you in this place. 17 I have been told by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”

18 The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord:(K) ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying(L) to him.) 19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have defied(M) the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. 22 You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’”

23 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24 As he went on his way, a lion(N) met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25 Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

26 When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who defied(O) the word of the Lord. The Lord has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him.”

27 The prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they did so. 28 Then he went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. 29 So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. 30 Then he laid the body in his own tomb,(P) and they mourned over him and said, “Alas, my brother!”(Q)

31 After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones(R) beside his bones. 32 For the message he declared by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places(S) in the towns of Samaria(T) will certainly come true.”(U)

33 Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways,(V) but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts(W) of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. 34 This was the sin(X) of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction(Y) from the face of the earth.

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(Z) the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. 3 Take ten loaves of bread(AA) 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?(AB) I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:(AC) ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler(AD) over my people Israel. 8 I tore(AE) 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(AF) in my eyes. 9 You have done more evil(AG) than all who lived before you.(AH) You have made for yourself other gods, idols(AI) made of metal; you have aroused(AJ) my anger and turned your back on me.(AK)

10 “‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster(AL) on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free.[a](AM) I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone.(AN) 11 Dogs(AO) will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds(AP) 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.(AQ)

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(AR) Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused(AS) the Lord’s anger by making Asherah(AT) poles.[c] 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins(AU) Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah.(AV) 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(AW)

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.(AX)

22 Judah(AY) did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger(AZ) more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones(BA) and Asherah poles(BB) on every high hill and under every spreading tree.(BC) 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes(BD) in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable(BE) 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(BF) Jerusalem. 26 He carried off the treasures of the temple(BG) of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields(BH) 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.(BI) 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(BJ) 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.(BK) And Abijah[d] his son succeeded him as king.

Abijah King of Judah(BL)

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(BM) daughter of Abishalom.[f]

3 He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted(BN) 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(BO) 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(BP) any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah(BQ) the Hittite.

6 There was war(BR) 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(BS)(BT)

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(BU) daughter of Abishalom.

11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David(BV) had done. 12 He expelled the male shrine prostitutes(BW) from the land and got rid of all the idols(BX) his ancestors had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maakah(BY) from her position as queen mother,(BZ) because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down(CA) and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although he did not remove(CB) the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed(CC) 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.(CD)

16 There was war(CE) between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns. 17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah(CF) 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(CG) and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent(CH) them to Ben-Hadad(CI) son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 19 “Let there be a treaty(CJ) 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(CK) Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maakah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah(CL) and withdrew to Tirzah.(CM) 22 Then King Asa issued an order to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away from Ramah(CN) the stones and timber Baasha had been using there. With them King Asa(CO) built up Geba(CP) in Benjamin, and also Mizpah.(CQ)

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(CR) 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(CS) in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father(CT) 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(CU) at Gibbethon,(CV) 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.(CW) 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(CX) Jeroboam had committed and had caused(CY) 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(CZ) of the kings of Israel? 32 There was war(DA) 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,(DB) and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did evil(DC) in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.

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
  5. 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
  6. 1 Kings 15:2 A variant of Absalom; also in verse 10
  7. 1 Kings 15:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Abijam (that is, Abijah); most Hebrew manuscripts Rehoboam
Next
1 Kings 12
1 Kings 16
Next
dropdown
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV