2 Chronicles 7-14

English Standard Version

Fire from Heaven

7 ^(A)As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, ^(B)fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, ^(C)and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. ² And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. ³ When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, ^(D)for his steadfast love endures forever.”

The Dedication of the Temple

^4 (E)Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁵ King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. ⁶ The priests stood at their posts; ^(F)the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lord—^(G)for his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry;^{[a] (H)}opposite them the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.

^7 (I)And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.

⁸ At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from ^(J)Lebo-hamath to the ^(K)Brook of Egypt. ⁹ And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days. ¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the prosperity^[b] that the Lord had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.

If My People Pray

^11 (L)Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. ¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer ^(M)and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. ^13 (N)When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, ¹⁴ if my people who are called by my name ^(O)humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ^15 (P)Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. ^16 (Q)For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. ¹⁷ And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, ¹⁸ then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ^(R)‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

^19 (S)“But if you^[c] turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, ^20 (T)then I will pluck you^[d] up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it ^(U)a proverb and a byword among all peoples. ²¹ And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ^(V)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ ²² Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon's Accomplishments

8 ^(W)At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, ² Solomon rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given to him, and settled the people of Israel in them.

³ And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and took it. ⁴ He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he built in Hamath. ⁵ He also built ^(X)Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, ^(Y)fortified cities ^(Z)with walls, gates, and bars, ⁶ and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. ^7 (AA)All the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, ⁸ from their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed—these Solomon drafted ^(AB)as forced labor, and so they are to this day. ⁹ But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves for his work; they were soldiers, and his officers, the commanders of his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁰ And these were the chief officers of King Solomon, 250, who exercised authority over the people.

^11 (AC)Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, for the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.”

¹² Then Solomon offered up burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord ^(AD)that he had built before the vestibule, ^13 (AE)as the duty of each day required, offering ^(AF)according to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the ^(AG)three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. ¹⁴ According to the ruling of David his father, he appointed ^(AH)the divisions of the priests for their service, ^(AI)and the Levites for their offices of praise and ^(AJ)ministry before the priests ^(AK)as the duty of each day required, and ^(AL)the gatekeepers in their divisions at each gate, for so David ^(AM)the man of God had commanded. ¹⁵ And they did not turn aside from what the king had commanded the priests and Levites concerning any matter and concerning the treasuries.

¹⁶ Thus was accomplished all the work of Solomon from^[e] the day the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to ^(AN)Ezion-geber and ^(AO)Eloth on the shore of the sea, in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ And Hiram sent to him by the hand of his servants ships and servants familiar with the sea, and they went to Ophir together with the servants of Solomon and brought from there ^(AP)450 talents^[f] of gold and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba

9 ^(AQ)Now when ^(AR)the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. ² And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. ³ And when ^(AS)the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁴ the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

⁵ And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, ⁶ but I did not believe the^[g] reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. ⁷ Happy are your wives!^[h] Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ⁸ Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you ^(AT)and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! ^(AU)Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” ⁹ Then she gave the king 120 talents^[i] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, ^(AV)who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. ¹¹ And the king made from the algum wood ^(AW)supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.

¹² And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked ^(AX)besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon's Wealth

^13 (AY)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁴ besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. ^(AZ)And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. ¹⁵ King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels^[j] of beaten gold went into each shield. ¹⁶ And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; ^(BA)300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁷ The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, ¹⁹ while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom. ²⁰ All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. ²¹ For the king's ships went to ^(BB)Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.^[k]

²² Thus King Solomon ^(BC)excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²³ And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. ²⁴ Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh,^[l] spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. ²⁵ And Solomon had ^(BD)4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^26 (BE)And he ruled over all the kings ^(BF)from the Euphrates^[m] to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. ^27 (BG)And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. ^28 (BH)And horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

Solomon's Death

^29 (BI)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from ^(BJ)first to last, are they not written in the history of ^(BK)Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of ^(BL)Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of ^(BM)Iddo ^(BN)the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? ³⁰ Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹ And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in ^(BO)the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

The Revolt Against Rehoboam

10 ^(BP)Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ² And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, ^(BQ)where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. ³ And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and said to Rehoboam, ^4 (BR)“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” ⁵ He said to them, “Come to me again in three days.” So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men,^[n] who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” ⁷ And they said to him, ^(BS)“If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” ⁸ But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. ⁹ And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” ¹⁰ And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us’; thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. ¹¹ And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” ¹³ And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men, ¹⁴ King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word, ^(BT)which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. ^(BU)Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So all Israel went to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent ^(BV)Hadoram,^[o] who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Rehoboam Secures His Kingdom

11 ^(BW)When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. ² But the word of the Lord came to ^(BX)Shemaiah the man of God: ³ “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, ⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against ^(BY)your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and returned and did not go against Jeroboam.

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built ^(BZ)cities for defense in Judah. ⁶ He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, ^(CA)Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, fortified cities that are in Judah and in Benjamin. ¹¹ He made the fortresses strong, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. ¹² And he put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

Priests and Levites Come to Jerusalem

¹³ And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all places where they lived. ¹⁴ For the Levites left ^(CB)their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, ^(CC)because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, ¹⁵ and he appointed his own ^(CD)priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for ^(CE)the calves that he had made. ^16 (CF)And those who had set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers. ^17 (CG)They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

Rehoboam's Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of ^(CH)Eliab the son of Jesse, ¹⁹ and she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ After her he took ^(CI)Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore him ^(CJ)Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). ^22 (CK)And Rehoboam appointed ^(CL)Abijah the son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. ²³ And he dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities, and he gave them abundant provisions and procured wives for them.^[p]

Egypt Plunders Jerusalem

12 ^(CM)When the rule of Rehoboam was established ^(CN)and he was strong, ^(CO)he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. ^2 (CP)In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, ^(CQ)Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem ³ with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people were without number who came with him from Egypt—^(CR)Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians. ⁴ And he took ^(CS)the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. ⁵ Then ^(CT)Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ^(CU)‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” ⁶ Then the princes of ^(CV)Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, ^(CW)“The Lord is righteous.” ⁷ When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: ^(CX)“They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, ^(CY)and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. ⁸ Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, ^(CZ)that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

^9 (DA)So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house. He took away everything. He also took away ^(DB)the shields of gold that Solomon had made, ¹⁰ and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. ¹¹ And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard came and carried them and brought them back to the guardroom. ¹² And when ^(DC)he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, ^(DD)conditions were good^[q] in Judah.

^13 (DE)So King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. ¹⁴ And he did evil, ^(DF)for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

^15 (DG)Now the acts of Rehoboam, ^(DH)from first to last, are they not written in the chronicles of ^(DI)Shemaiah the prophet and of ^(DJ)Iddo ^(DK)the seer?^[r] There were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ¹⁶ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David, and ^(DL)Abijah^[s] his son reigned in his place.

Abijah Reigns in Judah

13 ^(DM)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, ^(DN)Abijah began to reign over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(DO)Micaiah^[t] the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

^(DP)Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam ^(DQ)drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. ⁴ Then Abijah stood up on Mount ^(DR)Zemaraim that is in ^(DS)the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel ^(DT)gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by ^(DU)a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up ^(DV)and rebelled against his lord, ⁷ and certain ^(DW)worthless scoundrels^[u] gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was ^(DX)young and irresolute^[v] and could not withstand them.

⁸ “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you ^(DY)the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. ^9 (DZ)Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes ^(EA)for ordination^[w] with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are ^(EB)not gods. ¹⁰ But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. ¹¹ They offer to the Lord ^(EC)every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out ^(ED)the showbread on the table of pure gold, ^(EE)and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may ^(EF)burn every evening. For we ^(EG)keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him. ¹² Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests ^(EH)with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, ^(EI)do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

¹³ Jeroboam had sent ^(EJ)an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops^[x] were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. ^(EK)And they cried to the Lord, and the priests ^(EL)blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, ^(EM)God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The men of Israel fled before Judah, ^(EN)and God gave them into their hand. ¹⁷ Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men. ¹⁸ Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, ^(EO)because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. ¹⁹ And Abijah pursued Jeroboam ^(EP)and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and ^(EQ)Ephron^[y] with its villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. ^(ER)And the Lord struck him down, ^(ES)and he died. ²¹ But Abijah grew mighty. And he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the ^(ET)story of the prophet ^(EU)Iddo.

Asa Reigns in Judah

14 ^{[z] (EV)}Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years. ^2 [aa] And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³ He took away the foreign altars ^(EW)and the high places and broke down ^(EX)the pillars and cut down the ^(EY)Asherim ⁴ and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. ⁵ He also took out of all the cities of Judah ^(EZ)the high places and the ^(FA)incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. ⁶ He built ^(FB)fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, ^(FC)for the Lord gave him peace. ⁷ And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with ^(FD)walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, ^(FE)and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. ⁸ And Asa had an army of ^(FF)300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.

⁹ Zerah ^(FG)the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as ^(FH)Mareshah. ¹⁰ And Asa went out to meet him, and ^(FI)they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at ^(FJ)Mareshah. ¹¹ And Asa ^(FK)cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, ^(FL)for we rely on you, ^(FM)and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” ^12 (FN)So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^(FO)Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah^[ab] carried away very much spoil. ¹⁴ And they attacked all the cities around ^(FP)Gerar, ^(FQ)for the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.