The Revolt Against Rehoboam^(A)

10 And ^(B)Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. ² So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was in Egypt, ^(C)where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), that Jeroboam returned from Egypt. ³ Then they sent for him and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ⁴ “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵ So he said to them, “Come back to me after three days.” And the people departed.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, saying, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

⁷ And they spoke to him, saying, “If you are kind to these people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever.”

^8 (D)But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. ⁹ And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

¹⁰ Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to the people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹ And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with ^[a]scourges!’ ”

¹² So ^(E)Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” ¹³ Then the king answered them roughly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders, ¹⁴ and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, ^[b]“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with ^[c]scourges!” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people; ^(F)for the turn of events was from God, that the Lord might fulfill His ^(G)word, which He had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:

So all Israel departed to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of revenue; but the children of Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. ^19 (H)So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Rehoboam’s Reign in Judah

11 Now ^(I)when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled from the house of Judah and Benjamin one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

² But the word of the Lord came ^(J)to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ³ “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, ⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up or fight against your brethren! Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the words of the Lord, and turned back from attacking Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Fortifies the Cities

⁵ So Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah. ⁶ And he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Sochoh, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin, fortified cities. ¹¹ And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. ¹² Also in every city he put shields and spears, and made them very strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.

Priests and Levites Move to Judah^(K)

¹³ And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him. ¹⁴ For the Levites left ^(L)their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for ^(M)Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the Lord. ^15 (N)Then he appointed for himself priests for the ^[d]high places, for ^(O)the demons, and ^(P)the calf idols which he had made. ^16 (Q)And ^[e]after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel, ^(R)came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. ¹⁷ So they ^(S)strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

The Family of Rehoboam

¹⁸ Then Rehoboam took for himself as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of ^(T)Eliah the son of Jesse. ¹⁹ And she bore him children: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ After her he took ^(U)Maachah the ^[f]granddaughter of ^(V)Absalom; and she bore him ^(W)Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Now Rehoboam loved Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom more than all his ^(X)wives and his concubines; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. ²² And Rehoboam ^(Y)appointed ^(Z)Abijah the son of Maachah as chief, to be leader among his brothers; for he intended to make him king. ²³ He dealt wisely, and ^[g]dispersed some of his sons throughout all the territories of Judah and Benjamin, to every ^(AA)fortified city; and he gave them provisions in abundance. He also sought many wives for them.

Egypt Attacks Judah^(AB)

12 Now ^(AC)it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that ^(AD)he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel along with him. ^2 (AE)And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord, ³ with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt—^(AF)the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. ⁴ And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem.

⁵ Then ^(AG)Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’ ”

⁶ So the leaders of Israel and the king ^(AH)humbled themselves; and they said, ^(AI)“The Lord is righteous.”

⁷ Now when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, ^(AJ)the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. ⁸ Nevertheless ^(AK)they will be his servants, that they may distinguish ^(AL)My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations.”

^9 (AM)So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also carried away the gold shields which Solomon had ^(AN)made. ¹⁰ Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them ^(AO)to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. ¹¹ And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guard would go and bring them out; then they would take them back into the guardroom. ¹² When he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also went well in Judah.

The End of Rehoboam’s Reign^(AP)

¹³ Thus King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now ^(AQ)Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, ^(AR)the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an ^(AS)Ammonitess. ¹⁴ And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.

¹⁵ The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, ^(AT)and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? ^(AU)And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. ¹⁶ So Rehoboam ^[h]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then ^(AV)Abijah^[i] his son reigned in his place.

Do Not Neglect Salvation

2 Therefore we must give ^[a]the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. ² For if the word ^(A)spoken through angels proved steadfast, and ^(B)every transgression and disobedience received a just ^[b]reward, ^3 (C)how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, ^(D)which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was ^(E)confirmed to us by those who heard Him, ^4 (F)God also bearing witness ^(G)both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and ^(H)gifts^[c] of the Holy Spirit, ^(I)according to His own will?

The Son Made Lower than Angels^(J)

⁵ For He has not put ^(K)the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. ⁶ But one testified in a certain place, saying:

For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now ^(N)we do not yet see all things put under him. ⁹ But we see Jesus, ^(O)who was made ^[f]a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death ^(P)crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death ^(Q)for everyone.

Bringing Many Sons to Glory

¹⁰ For it was fitting for Him, ^(R)for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation ^(S)perfect through sufferings. ¹¹ For ^(T)both He who ^[g]sanctifies and those who are being sanctified ^(U)are all of one, for which reason ^(V)He is not ashamed to call them brethren, ¹² saying:

¹³ And again:

And again:

¹⁴ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He ^(Z)Himself likewise shared in the same, ^(AA)that through death He might destroy him who had the power of ^(AB)death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those who ^(AC)through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶ For indeed He does not ^[h]give aid to angels, but He does ^[i]give aid to the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore, in all things He had ^(AD)to be made like His brethren, that He might be ^(AE)a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ^18 (AF)For in that He Himself has suffered, being ^[j]tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

The Son Was Faithful

3 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, ² who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as ^(AG)Moses also was faithful in all His house. ³ For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as ^(AH)He who built the house has more honor than the house. ⁴ For every house is built by someone, but ^(AI)He who built all things is God. ^5 (AJ)And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as ^(AK)a servant, ^(AL)for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, ⁶ but Christ as ^(AM)a Son over His own house, ^(AN)whose house we are ^(AO)if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope ^[k]firm to the end.

Be Faithful^(AP)

⁷ Therefore, as ^(AQ)the Holy Spirit says:

¹² Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³ but ^[l]exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, ¹⁵ while it is said:

Failure of the Wilderness Wanderers

^16 (AT)For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? ¹⁷ Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, ^(AU)whose corpses fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And ^(AV)to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of ^(AW)unbelief.