1 Kings 14
English Standard Version
Prophecy Against Jeroboam
14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to (A)Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, (B)who said of me that I should be king over this people. 3 (C)Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”
4 Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to (D)Shiloh and came to the house of (E)Ahijah. Now (F)Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. 5 And the Lord said to (G)Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.”
When she came, she pretended to be another woman. 6 But when (H)Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: (I)“Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel 8 and (J)tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been (K)like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, 9 but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and (L)made for yourself other gods and (M)metal images, provoking me to anger, and (N)have cast me behind your back, 10 therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and (O)will cut off from Jeroboam every male, (P)both bond and free in Israel, and (Q)will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. 11 (R)Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’ 12 Arise therefore, go to your house. (S)When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him (T)there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. 14 (U)Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, 15 the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and (V)root up Israel out of (W)this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them (X)beyond the Euphrates,[a] because they have made their (Y)Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”
17 Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to (Z)Tirzah. And (AA)as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, (AB)according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.
The Death of Jeroboam
19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, (AC)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 time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. And he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.
Rehoboam Reigns in Judah
21 (AD)Now 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, (AE)the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. (AF)His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. 22 (AG)And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they (AH)provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves (AI)high places (AJ)and pillars and (AK)Asherim on every high hill and (AL)under every green tree, 24 and there were also (AM)male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
25 (AN)In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house. (AO)He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold (AP)that Solomon had made, 27 and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. 28 And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.
29 (AQ)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 (AR)And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. (AS)His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. And (AT)Abijam his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 14:15 Hebrew the River
1 Kings 14
Common English Bible
Abijah’s illness
14 At that time, Jeroboam’s son Abijah became sick. 2 Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please go with a disguise so no one will recognize you as Jeroboam’s wife. Go to Shiloh where the prophet Ahijah is. He told me I would be king of this people. 3 Take ten loaves of bread, cakes, and a bottle of honey with you. Go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” 4 Jeroboam’s wife did precisely this. She left and went to Shiloh and came to Ahijah’s house. Now Ahijah had become blind in his old age.
5 The Lord said to Ahijah, “Look! Jeroboam’s wife has come seeking a word from you about her son. He is sick. Say this and that to her. When she comes, she will be disguised.”
6 When Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming through the doorway, he said, “Come in, Jeroboam’s wife! Why have you disguised yourself? I have hard news for you. 7 Tell Jeroboam: This is what the Lord, Israel’s God, says: When I lifted you up from among the people, I appointed you as a leader over my people Israel. 8 I tore the kingdom from David’s house and gave it to you. But you haven’t been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart by doing only what is right in my eyes. 9 Instead, you have done more evil than any who were before you. You have made other gods and metal images to anger me. You have turned your back on me. 10 Therefore, I’m going to bring disaster on Jeroboam’s house! Because of Jeroboam, I will eliminate everyone who urinates on a wall, whether slave or free. Then I will set fire to the house of Jeroboam, as one burns dung until it is gone. 11 Dogs will eat any of Jeroboam’s family who die in town. Birds will eat those who die in the field. The Lord has spoken!
12 “As for you, get up and go back home. When your feet enter the town, the boy will die. 13 All Israel will mourn for him and will bury him. Out of the whole line of Jeroboam, he alone will have a tomb, because only in him did Israel’s God, the Lord, find something good. 14 For this reason the Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will eliminate the house of Jeroboam. This begins today. What’s that? Even now![a] 15 The Lord will strike Israel so that it shakes like a reed in water. He will uproot Israel from this fertile land that he gave to their ancestors and their offspring, and he will scatter them across the Euphrates River, because they made the Lord angry by making their sacred poles.[b] 16 Because of the sins Jeroboam committed, and because he made Israel sin too, God will give Israel up.”
17 Then Jeroboam’s wife left and went to Tirzah. When she stepped across the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18 All Israel buried him and mourned him in agreement with the Lord’s word spoken through his servant the prophet Ahijah. 19 The rest of Jeroboam’s deeds—how he fought and how he ruled—are written in the official records of Israel’s kings. 20 Jeroboam ruled twenty-two years and he lay down with his ancestors. His son Nadab succeeded him as king.
Rehoboam rules Judah
21 Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, ruled over Judah. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose from among all the tribes of Israel to set his name. Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah from Ammon. 22 Judah did evil in the Lord’s eyes. The sins they committed made the Lord angrier than anything their ancestors had done. 23 They also built shrines, standing stones, and sacred poles[c] on top of every high hill and under every green tree. 24 Moreover, the consecrated workers[d] in the land did detestable things, just like those nations that the Lord had removed among the Israelites.
25 During King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 He seized the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He took everything, even all the gold shields that Solomon had made. 27 King Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields and assigned them to the officers of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 28 Whenever the king entered the Lord’s temple, the guards would carry the shields and then return them to the guardroom. 29 The rest of Rehoboam’s deeds and all that he accomplished, aren’t they written in the official records of Judah’s kings? 30 There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 When Rehoboam died, he was buried with his ancestors in David’s City. His mother’s name was Naamah from Ammon. His son Abijam[e] succeeded him as king.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 14:14 Heb uncertain
- 1 Kings 14:15 Heb asherim, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah
- 1 Kings 14:23 Heb asherim, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah
- 1 Kings 14:24 Traditionally cultic prostitutes
- 1 Kings 14:31 Spelled Abijah in 2 Chron 12:16; LXX, Syr, Targ Abijah in 1 Kgs
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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