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. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones(E) and Asherah poles(F) on every high hill and under every spreading tree.(G) 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes(H) in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable(I) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked(J) Jerusalem. 26 He carried off the treasures of the temple(K) of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields(L) Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.(M) 28 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

29 As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30 There was continual warfare(N) between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 And Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.(O) And Abijah[a] his son succeeded him as king.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 14:31 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 12:16); most Hebrew manuscripts Abijam

Rehoboam rules Judah

21 Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, ruled over Judah. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose from among all the tribes of Israel to set his name. Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah from Ammon. 22 Judah did evil in the Lord’s eyes. The sins they committed made the Lord angrier than anything their ancestors had done. 23 They also built shrines, standing stones, and sacred poles[a] on top of every high hill and under every green tree. 24 Moreover, the consecrated workers[b] in the land did detestable things, just like those nations that the Lord had removed among the Israelites.

25 During King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 He seized the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He took everything, even all the gold shields that Solomon had made. 27 King Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields and assigned them to the officers of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 28 Whenever the king entered the Lord’s temple, the guards would carry the shields and then return them to the guardroom. 29 The rest of Rehoboam’s deeds and all that he accomplished, aren’t they written in the official records of Judah’s kings? 30 There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 When Rehoboam died, he was buried with his ancestors in David’s City. His mother’s name was Naamah from Ammon. His son Abijam[c] succeeded him as king.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 14:23 Heb asherim, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah
  2. 1 Kings 14:24 Traditionally cultic prostitutes
  3. 1 Kings 14:31 Spelled Abijah in 2 Chron 12:16; LXX, Syr, Targ Abijah in 1 Kgs