1 Kings 14
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.
1 Kings 14
New King James Version
Judgment on the House of Jeroboam
14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. 2 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. 3 (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.” 4 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.
5 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.”
6 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. 7 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, 8 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; 9 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.
Rehoboam Reigns in Judah(Z)
21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. (AA)Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city (AB)which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. (AC)His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 22 (AD)Now Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they (AE)provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves (AF)high[g] places, (AG)sacred pillars, and (AH)wooden images on every high hill and (AI)under every green tree. 24 (AJ)And there were also [h]perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the (AK)abominations of the nations which the Lord had cast out before the children of (AL)Israel.
25 (AM)It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 (AN)And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields (AO)which Solomon had made. 27 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and [i]committed them to the hands of the captains of the [j]guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 28 And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom.
29 (AP)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 And there was (AQ)war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 31 (AR)So Rehoboam [k]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. (AS)His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Then (AT)Abijam[l] his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 14:3 Lit. in your hand
- 1 Kings 14:4 Lit. set
- 1 Kings 14:13 Be buried
- 1 Kings 14:14 Or this day and from now on
- 1 Kings 14:15 The Euphrates
- 1 Kings 14:15 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- 1 Kings 14:23 Places for pagan worship
- 1 Kings 14:24 Heb. qadesh, one practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious rituals
- 1 Kings 14:27 entrusted
- 1 Kings 14:27 Lit. runners
- 1 Kings 14:31 Died and joined his ancestors
- 1 Kings 14:31 Abijah, 2 Chr. 12:16ff
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
