Rehoboam King of Judah^(A)

²¹ 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 out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.^(B)

²² Judah^(C) did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger^(D) more than those who were before them had done.

Abijah King of Judah^(A)

15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah^[a] became king of Judah, ² and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah^(B) daughter of Abishalom.^[b]

³ He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted^(C) to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. ⁴ Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp^(D) in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong.

Asa King of Judah^(A)(B)

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, ¹⁰ and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maakah^(C) daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹ Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David^(D) had done.

Nadab King of Israel

²⁵ Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶ He did evil^(A) in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father^(B) and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit.

Baasha King of Israel

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah,^(A) and he reigned twenty-four years. ³⁴ He did evil^(B) in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.

Elah King of Israel

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

¹³ because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.^(A)

Ahab Becomes King of Israel

²⁹ In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab son of Omri did more^(A) evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. ³¹ He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married^(B) Jezebel daughter^(C) of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal^(D) and worship him. ³² He set up an altar^(E) for Baal in the temple^(F) of Baal that he built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab also made an Asherah pole^(G) and did more^(H) to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.