Judgment on the House of Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that (A)I would be king over this people. (B)Also take [a]with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child.” And Jeroboam’s wife did so; she arose (C)and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were [b]glazed by reason of his age.

Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.

And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news. Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: (D)“Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, and (E)tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, (F)who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes; but you have done more evil than all who were before you, (G)for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and (H)have cast Me behind your back— 10 therefore behold! (I)I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and (J)will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, (K)bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. 11 The dogs shall eat (L)whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the Lord has spoken!” ’ 12 Arise therefore, go to your own house. (M)When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall [c]come to the grave, because in him (N)there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

14 (O)“Moreover the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam; [d]this is the day. What? Even now! 15 For the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will (P)uproot Israel from this (Q)good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them (R)beyond [e]the River, (S)because they have made their [f]wooden images, provoking the Lord to anger. 16 And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, (T)who sinned and who made Israel sin.”

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to (U)Tirzah. (V)When she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, (W)according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

Death of Jeroboam

19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he (X)made war and how he reigned, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 20 The period that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. So he rested with his fathers. Then (Y)Nadab his son reigned in his place.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 14:3 Lit. in your hand
  2. 1 Kings 14:4 Lit. set
  3. 1 Kings 14:13 Be buried
  4. 1 Kings 14:14 Or this day and from now on
  5. 1 Kings 14:15 The Euphrates
  6. 1 Kings 14:15 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities

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.

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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