Ahijah Prophesies against the King

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. ² Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise now, 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)spoke concerning me that I would be king over this people. ^3 (D)Take ten loaves with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

⁴ Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose and went to ^(E)Shiloh, and came to the house of ^(F)Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, ^(G)for his eyes were ^[a]dim because of his age. ⁵ Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ^[b]inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. You shall say thus and thus to her, for it will be when she arrives that ^(H)she will pretend to be another woman.”

⁶ When Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam, why do you pretend to be another woman? For I am sent to you with a harsh message. ⁷ Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord 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—^(K)yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who 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)have gone and made for yourself other gods and ^(N)molten images to provoke Me to anger, and have ^(O)cast Me behind your back— ¹⁰ therefore behold, I am bringing calamity on the house of Jeroboam, and ^(P)will cut off from Jeroboam ^[c]every male person, ^(Q)both bond and free in Israel, and I ^(R)will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, 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 he who dies in the field the birds of the heavens 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 All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for ^[d]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 cut off the house of Jeroboam this day ^[e]and from now on.

¹⁵ “For the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken 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 ^[f]Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. ¹⁶ He will give up Israel ^(AA)on account of the sins of Jeroboam, which he ^[g]committed and with which he made Israel to 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)All Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

¹⁹ Now 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 The time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son 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 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 (AH)Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they ^(AI)provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with ^[h]the sins which they ^[i]committed. ²³ For they also built for themselves ^(AJ)high places and sacred ^(AK)pillars and ^[j](AL)Asherim on every high hill and ^(AM)beneath every luxuriant tree. ²⁴ There were also ^(AN)male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the 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 came up against Jerusalem. ²⁶ He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and ^(AP)he took everything, ^[k](AQ)even taking all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. ²⁷ So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and ^(AR)committed them to the ^[l]care of the commanders of the ^[m]guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. ²⁸ Then it happened as often as the king entered the house of the Lord, that the ^[n]guards would carry them and would bring them back into the ^[o]guards’ room.

^29 (AS)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 (AT)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; and ^(AU)his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son became king in his place.

Overseers and Deacons

3 ^(A)It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the ^(B)office of ^[a]overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. ^2 [b](C)An overseer, then, must be above reproach, ^(D)the husband of one wife, ^(E)temperate, prudent, respectable, ^(F)hospitable, ^(G)able to teach, ^3 (H)not addicted to wine ^[c]or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, ^(I)free from the love of money. ⁴ He must be one who ^(J)manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity ⁵ (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of ^(K)the church of God?), ⁶ and not a new convert, so that he will not become ^(L)conceited and fall into the ^(M)condemnation ^[d]incurred by the devil. ⁷ And he must ^(N)have a good reputation with ^(O)those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and ^(P)the snare of the devil.

^8 (Q)Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not ^[e]double-tongued, ^[f](R)or addicted to much wine ^[g](S)or fond of sordid gain, ^9 (T)but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ^10 (U)These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. ^11 [h]Women must likewise be dignified, ^(V)not malicious gossips, but ^(W)temperate, faithful in all things. ^12 (X)Deacons must be ^(Y)husbands of only one wife, and ^[i](Z)good managers of their children and their own households. ¹³ For those who have served well as deacons ^(AA)obtain for themselves a ^[j]high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴ I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; ¹⁵ but ^[k]in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how ^[l]one ought to conduct himself in ^(AB)the household of God, which is the ^(AC)church of ^(AD)the living God, the ^(AE)pillar and support of the truth. ¹⁶ By common confession, great is ^(AF)the mystery of godliness:

Apostasy

4 But ^(AM)the Spirit explicitly says that ^(AN)in later times some will ^[o]fall away from the faith, paying attention to ^(AO)deceitful spirits and ^(AP)doctrines of demons, ² by means of the hypocrisy of liars ^(AQ)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, ³ men who ^(AR)forbid marriage and advocate ^(AS)abstaining from foods which ^(AT)God has created to be ^(AU)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For ^(AV)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is ^(AW)received with gratitude; ⁵ for it is sanctified by means of ^(AX)the word of God and prayer.

A Good Minister’s Discipline

⁶ In pointing out these things to ^(AY)the brethren, you will be a good ^(AZ)servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the ^[p](BA)sound doctrine which you ^(BB)have been following. ⁷ But ^[q]have nothing to do with ^(BC)worldly ^(BD)fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of ^(BE)godliness; ⁸ for ^(BF)bodily discipline is only of little profit, but ^(BG)godliness is profitable for all things, since it ^(BH)holds promise for the ^(BI)present life and also for the life to come. ^9 (BJ)It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. ¹⁰ For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed ^(BK)our hope on ^(BL)the living God, who is ^(BM)the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

^11 [r](BN)Prescribe and teach these things. ^12 (BO)Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, ^(BP)love, faith and purity, show yourself ^(BQ)an example ^[s]of those who believe. ^13 (BR)Until I come, give attention to the public ^(BS)reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. ¹⁴ Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through ^(BT)prophetic utterance with ^(BU)the laying on of hands by the ^[t](BV)presbytery. ¹⁵ Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. ^16 (BW)Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ^[u](BX)ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

The Psalmist’s Profession of Uprightness.

A Psalm of David.