¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people; ^(A)for the turn of events was from God, that the Lord might fulfill His ^(B)word, which He had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

²⁵ If one man sins against another, ^(A)God^[a] will judge him. But if a man ^(B)sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, ^(C)because the Lord desired to kill them.

²⁹ Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet ^(A)Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. ³⁰ Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and ^(B)tore it into twelve pieces. ³¹ And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for ^(C)thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you ³² (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), ^33 (D)because ^[a]they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. ³⁴ However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. ³⁵ But ^(E)I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes. ³⁶ And to his son I will give one tribe, that ^(F)My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there. ³⁷ So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. ³⁸ Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then ^(G)I will be with you and ^(H)build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. ³⁹ And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.’ ”

¹⁶ So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?”

Then the prophet ceased, and said, “I know that God has ^(A)determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”

Israel Defeats Judah^(B)

¹⁷ Now ^(C)Amaziah king of Judah asked advice and sent to ^[a]Joash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.”

¹⁸ And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. ¹⁹ Indeed you say that you have defeated the Edomites, and your heart is lifted up to ^(D)boast. Stay at home now; why should you meddle with trouble, that you should fall—you and Judah with you?”

²⁰ But Amaziah would not heed, for ^(E)it came from God, that He might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they ^(F)sought the gods of Edom.