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.

¹⁷ And he ordered his bodyguards, “Kill these priests of the Lord, for they are allies and conspirators with David! They knew he was running away from me, but they didn’t tell me!” But Saul’s men refused to kill the Lord’s priests.

¹¹ “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots.

God’s Anger Satisfied

⁴⁶ Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt^[a] and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.

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.”

Ahijah’s Prophecy against Jeroboam

14 At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick.

Absalom’s Rebellion

15 After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him.