Rehoboam in Jerusalem

11 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem,^(A) he mobilized the house of Judah and Benjamin—one hundred eighty thousand fit young soldiers—to fight against Israel to restore the reign to Rehoboam. ² But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah,^(B) the man of God: ³ “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not to march up and fight against your brothers.^(C) Each of you return home, for this incident has come from me.’”^(D)

So they listened to what the Lord said and turned back from going against Jeroboam.

Judah’s King Rehoboam

⁵ Rehoboam stayed in Jerusalem, and he fortified cities^[a](E) in Judah. ⁶ He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin. ¹¹ He strengthened their fortifications and put leaders in them with supplies of food, oil, and wine. ¹² He also put large shields and spears in each and every city to make them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his.

¹³ The priests and Levites from all their regions throughout Israel took their stand with Rehoboam, ¹⁴ for the Levites left their pasturelands and their possessions^(F) and went to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons refused to let them serve as priests of the Lord.^{(G) 15} Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places,^(H) the goat-demons,^(I) and the golden calves he had made.^{(J) 16} Those from every tribe of Israel who had determined in their hearts to seek the Lord their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ¹⁷ So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years,^(K) because they walked in the ways of David and Solomon for three years.

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath, daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab.^{(L) 19} She bore sons to him: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ After her, he married Maacah daughter^[b](M) of Absalom. She bore Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith to him. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines. He acquired eighteen wives^(N) and sixty concubines and was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²² Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as chief, leader among his brothers, intending to make him king.^{(O) 23} Rehoboam also showed discernment by dispersing some of his sons to all the regions of Judah and Benjamin and to all the fortified cities. He gave them plenty of provisions and sought many wives for them.

Shishak’s Invasion

12 When Rehoboam had established his sovereignty and royal power,^(P) he abandoned the law of the Lord—he and all Israel with him. ² Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak^(Q) of Egypt went to war against Jerusalem^{(R) 3} with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 cavalrymen, and countless people who came with him from Egypt—Libyans,^(S) Sukkiim, and Cushites. ⁴ He captured the fortified cities^(T) of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵ Then the prophet Shemaiah^(U) went to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, “This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned me; therefore, I have abandoned you to Shishak.”^(V)

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

⁷ When the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves, the Lord’s message came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them but will grant them a little deliverance.^(X) My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.^{(Y) 8} However, they will become his servants so that they may recognize the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands.”^(Z)

⁹ So King Shishak of Egypt went to war^(AA) against Jerusalem.^(AB) He seized the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the treasuries of the royal palace. He took everything. He took the gold shields that Solomon had made.^{(AC) 10} King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and committed them into the care of the captains of the guards^[c] who protected the entrance to the king’s palace. ¹¹ Whenever the king entered the Lord’s temple, the guards would carry the shields and take them back to the armory.^{[d] 12} When Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger turned away from him, and he did not destroy him completely.^(AD) Besides that, conditions were good in Judah.^(AE)

Rehoboam’s Last Days

¹³ King Rehoboam^(AF) established his royal power in Jerusalem. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put his name.^(AG) Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. ¹⁴ Rehoboam did what was evil, because he did not determine in his heart to seek the Lord.^(AH)

¹⁵ The events^(AI) of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Events of the Prophet Shemaiah^(AJ) and of the Seer Iddo concerning genealogies.^(AK) There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their reigns. ¹⁶ Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Abijah^[e](AL) became king in his place.

Healing of a Lame Man

3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple for the time of prayer^(A) at three in the afternoon.^{[a] 2} A man who was lame from birth was being carried there. He was placed each day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so that he could beg from those entering the temple.^{(B) 3} When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked for money. ⁴ Peter, along with John, looked straight at him and said, “Look at us.” ⁵ So he turned to them, expecting to get something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” ^{(C) 7} Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ So he jumped up and started to walk, and he entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.^{(D) 9} All the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ and they recognized that he was the one who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him.^(E)

Preaching in Solomon’s Colonnade

¹¹ While he^[b] was holding on to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astonished, ran toward them in what is called Solomon’s Colonnade.^{(F) 12} When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Fellow Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? ¹³ The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors,^(G) has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied before Pilate,^(H) though he had decided to release him. ¹⁴ You denied the Holy and Righteous One^(I) and asked to have a murderer released to you.^{(J) 15} You killed the source^[c] of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this.^{(K) 16} By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Jesus has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.

¹⁷ “And now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your leaders also did.^{(L) 18} In this way God fulfilled what he had predicted through all the prophets—that his Messiah would suffer.^{(M) 19} Therefore repent^(N) and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out,^{(O) 20} that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, who has been appointed^(P) for you as the Messiah. ²¹ Heaven must receive him until the time of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about through his holy prophets from the beginning.^{(Q) 22} Moses said:^[d] The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to everything he tells you. ²³ And everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be completely cut off from the people.^[e](R)

²⁴ “In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also foretold these days. ²⁵ You are the sons^[f] of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.^{[g](S) 26} God raised up his servant^[h] and sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”^(T)