Jeroboam’s Rebellion

²⁶ Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, rebelled against the king.^{(A) 27} The following was the reason he rebelled against the king. Solomon built the Millo and closed up the gap in the wall^[a] of the city of his father David.^{(B) 28} The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. ²⁹ About that time, when Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Ahijah had clothed himself with a new garment. The two of them were alone in the open country^{(C) 30} when Ahijah laid hold of the new garment he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.^{(D) 31} He then said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: See, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes.^{(E) 32} One tribe will remain his, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. ³³ This is because he has^[b] forsaken me, worshiped Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and has^[c] not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, as his father David did.^{(F) 34} Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom away from him but will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of my servant David whom I chose and who did keep my commandments and my statutes, ³⁵ but I will take the kingdom away from his son and give it to you—that is, the ten tribes.^{(G) 36} Yet to his son I will give one tribe, so that my servant David may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.^{(H) 37} I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires; you shall be king over Israel. ³⁸ If you will listen to all that I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you an enduring house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.^{(I) 39} For this reason I will punish the descendants of David, but not forever.” ⁴⁰ Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam promptly fled to Egypt, to King Shishak of Egypt, and remained in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

Death of Solomon

⁴¹ Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did as well as his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?^{(J) 42} The time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.^{(K) 43} Solomon slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son Rehoboam succeeded him.^(L)

Boasting about Tomorrow

¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.”^{(A) 14} Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.^{(B) 15} Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.”^{(C) 16} As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it commits sin.^(D)

Warning to Rich Oppressors

5 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. ² Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten.^{(E) 3} Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure^[a] during the last days. ⁴ Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.^{(F) 5} You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.^{(G) 6} You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

²² Then they brought Jesus^[a] to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). ²³ And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.^(A)

²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” ²⁷ And with him they crucified two rebels, one on his right and one on his left.^{[b] 29} Those who passed by derided^[c] him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,^{(B) 30} save yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.^{(C) 32} Let the Messiah,^[d] the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.^(D)