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1 Kings 14:1-15:24
New American Standard Bible

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 (A)disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to (B)Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who (C)said regarding me that I would be king over this people. 3 (D)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 (E)Shiloh, and came to the house of (F)Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see (G)because his eyes were [a]glossy from his old age. 5 Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to [b]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 (H)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: “(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—(K)yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, (L)to do only that which was right in My sight; 9 you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and (M)you have gone and made for yourself other gods and (N)cast metal images to provoke Me to anger, and have (O)thrown Me behind your back— 10 therefore behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and (P)I will eliminate from Jeroboam [c]every male person, (Q)both [d]bond and free in Israel, and I (R)will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone. 11 (S)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. (T)When your feet enter the city the child will die. 13 Then all Israel will mourn for him and bury him, for [e]he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him (U)something good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 14 Moreover, (V)the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will eliminate the house of Jeroboam this day [f]and from now on.

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

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to (AB)Tirzah. (AC)As she was entering the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 (AD)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, (AE)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 [i]lay down with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Misleads Judah

21 (AF)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, (AG)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 (AH)Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they (AI)provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they [j]committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they, too, built for themselves (AJ)high places, (AK)memorial stones, and [k](AL)Asherim on every high hill and (AM)under every luxuriant tree. 24 There were also (AN)male cult prostitutes in the land. They committed [l]all the same abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

25 (AO)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 (AP)he took everything; (AQ)he even took all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and (AR)entrusted them to the [m]care of the commanders of the [n]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 [o]guards would carry them and would bring them back into the [p]guards’ room.

29 (AS)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 (AT)And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31 And Rehoboam [q]lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and (AU)his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And his son Abijam became king in his place.

Abijam Reigns over Judah

15 (AV)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 [r](AW)Maacah the daughter of [s](AX)Abishalom. 3 He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and (AY)his heart was not [t]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 (AZ)lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem, 5 (BA)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, (BB)except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. 6 (BC)And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

7 Now as for (BD)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? (BE)And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

Asa Succeeds Abijam

8 (BF)And Abijam [u]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 (BG)his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 Now (BH)Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like his father David. 12 (BI)He also removed the male cult prostitutes from the land and (BJ)removed all the idols which his fathers had made. 13 And even his mother Maacah, (BK)he also removed her from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image [v]as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her abominable image and (BL)burned it at the brook Kidron. 14 (BM)But the high places [w]were not eliminated; nevertheless (BN)Asa’s heart was [x]wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. 15 And (BO)he brought into the house of the Lord the [y]holy gifts of his father and his own [z]holy gifts: silver, gold, and valuable utensils.

16 (BP)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 (BQ)Baasha king of Israel marched against Judah and [aa](BR)fortified Ramah (BS)in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then (BT)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 (BU)King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in (BV)Damascus, saying, 19 “Let’s make a (BW)treaty between [ab]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 [ac]conquered (BX)Ijon, (BY)Dan, (BZ)Abel-beth-maacah, and all (CA)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard about it, (CB)he stopped [ad]fortifying Ramah and remained in (CC)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 (CD)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa

23 (CE)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 [ae]lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David; and his son (CF)Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 14:4 Lit set
  2. 1 Kings 14:5 Lit seek a word from
  3. 1 Kings 14:10 Lit him who urinates against the wall
  4. 1 Kings 14:10 Or children and adults in
  5. 1 Kings 14:13 Lit this one
  6. 1 Kings 14:14 Lit and what even now?
  7. 1 Kings 14:15 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  8. 1 Kings 14:16 Lit sinned
  9. 1 Kings 14:20 I.e., died
  10. 1 Kings 14:22 Lit sinned
  11. 1 Kings 14:23 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  12. 1 Kings 14:24 Lit according to all
  13. 1 Kings 14:27 Lit hand
  14. 1 Kings 14:27 Lit runners
  15. 1 Kings 14:28 Lit runners
  16. 1 Kings 14:28 Lit runners
  17. 1 Kings 14:31 I.e., died
  18. 1 Kings 15:2 In 2 Chr 13:2, Micaiah, the daughter of Uriel
  19. 1 Kings 15:2 In 2 Chr 11:20, Absalom
  20. 1 Kings 15:3 Lit complete with
  21. 1 Kings 15:8 I.e., died
  22. 1 Kings 15:13 Or for Asherah; i.e., wooden symbol of a female deity
  23. 1 Kings 15:14 Lit did not cease
  24. 1 Kings 15:14 Lit complete with
  25. 1 Kings 15:15 Or votive offerings; i.e., gifts vowed
  26. 1 Kings 15:15 Or votive offerings; i.e., gifts vowed
  27. 1 Kings 15:17 Lit built
  28. 1 Kings 15:19 Lit me and you
  29. 1 Kings 15:20 Lit struck
  30. 1 Kings 15:21 Lit building
  31. 1 Kings 15:24 I.e., died
Close NLT

1 Kings 14:1-15:24
New Living Translation

Ahijah’s Prophecy against Jeroboam

14 At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick. 2 So Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you as my wife. Then go to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh—the man who told me I would become king. 3 Take him a gift of ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and ask him what will happen to the boy.”

4 So Jeroboam’s wife went to Ahijah’s home at Shiloh. He was an old man now and could no longer see. 5 But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife will come here, pretending to be someone else. She will ask you about her son, for he is very sick. Give her the answer I give you.”

6 So when Ahijah heard her footsteps at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else?” Then he told her, “I have bad news for you. 7 Give your husband, Jeroboam, this message from the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I promoted you from the ranks of the common people and made you ruler over my people Israel. 8 I ripped the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted. 9 You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made other gods for yourself and have made me furious with your gold calves. And since you have turned your back on me, 10 I will bring disaster on your dynasty and will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel. I will burn up your royal dynasty as one burns up trash until it is all gone. 11 The members of Jeroboam’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures. I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

12 Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s wife, “Go on home, and when you enter the city, the child will die. 13 All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only member of your family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing that the Lord, the God of Israel, sees in the entire family of Jeroboam.

14 “In addition, the Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will destroy the family of Jeroboam. This will happen today, even now! 15 Then the Lord will shake Israel like a reed whipped about in a stream. He will uproot the people of Israel from this good land that he gave their ancestors and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River,[a] for they have angered the Lord with the Asherah poles they have set up for worship. 16 He will abandon Israel because Jeroboam sinned and made Israel sin along with him.”

17 So Jeroboam’s wife returned to Tirzah, and the child died just as she walked through the door of her home. 18 And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, as the Lord had promised through the prophet Ahijah.

19 The rest of the events in Jeroboam’s reign, including all his wars and how he ruled, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 20 Jeroboam reigned in Israel twenty-two years. When Jeroboam died, his son Nadab became the next king.

Rehoboam Rules in Judah

21 Meanwhile, 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 from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, an Ammonite woman.

22 During Rehoboam’s reign, the people of Judah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, provoking his anger with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors. 23 For they also built for themselves pagan shrines and set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 There were even male and female shrine prostitutes throughout the land. The people imitated the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.

25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. 26 He ransacked the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace; he stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. 27 King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields as substitutes, and he entrusted them to the care of the commanders of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 28 Whenever the king went to the Temple of the Lord, the guards would also take the shields and then return them to the guardroom.

29 The rest of the events in Rehoboam’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 30 There was constant war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 When Rehoboam died, he was buried among his ancestors in the City of David. His mother was Naamah, an Ammonite woman. Then his son Abijam[b] became the next king.

Abijam Rules in Judah

15 Abijam[c] began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. 2 He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.[d]

3 He committed the same sins as his father before him, and he was not faithful to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been. 4 But for David’s sake, the Lord his God allowed his descendants to continue ruling, shining like a lamp, and he gave Abijam a son to rule after him in Jerusalem. 5 For David had done what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and had obeyed the Lord’s commands throughout his life, except in the affair concerning Uriah the Hittite.

6 There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam[e] throughout Abijam’s reign. 7 The rest of the events in Abijam’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. There was constant war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 When Abijam died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king.

Asa Rules in Judah

9 Asa began to rule over Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. 10 He reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother[f] was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.

11 Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, as his ancestor David had done. 12 He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols[g] his ancestors had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although the pagan shrines were not removed, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful to the Lord throughout his life. 15 He brought into the Temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.

16 There was constant war between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel. 17 King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa’s territory in Judah.

18 Asa responded by removing all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. He sent it with some of his officials to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message:

19 “Let there be a treaty[h] between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.”

20 Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa’s request and sent the commanders of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Kinnereth, and all the land of Naphtali. 21 As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa sent an order throughout Judah, requiring that everyone, without exception, help to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the town of Geba in Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.

23 The rest of the events in Asa’s reign—the extent of his power, everything he did, and the names of the cities he built—are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. In his old age his feet became diseased. 24 When Asa died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David.

Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became the next king.

Footnotes

  1. 14:15 Hebrew the river.
  2. 14:31 Also known as Abijah.
  3. 15:1 Also known as Abijah.
  4. 15:2 Hebrew Abishalom (also in 15:10), a variant spelling of Absalom; compare 2 Chr 11:20.
  5. 15:6 As in a few Hebrew and Greek manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts read between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
  6. 15:10 Or The queen mother; Hebrew reads His mother (also in 15:13); compare 15:2.
  7. 15:12 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.
  8. 15:19 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads There is a treaty.
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