16 (A)“Son of man, (B)take a stick[a] and write on it, ‘For (C)Judah, and (D)the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For (E)Joseph (the stick of (F)Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20

16 “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites(A) associated with him.(B)’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’

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And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, (A)and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

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Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers(A) had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

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19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

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19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

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17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah.

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17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

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(A)“Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff, and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house.

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“Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs(A) from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes.(B) Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name,(C) for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe.

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The Kingdom Divided

16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. (A)To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over (B)the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent (C)Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 (D)So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but (E)the tribe of Judah only.

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16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share(A) do we have in David,
    what part in Jesse’s son?
To your tents, Israel!(B)
    Look after your own house, David!”

So the Israelites went home.(C) 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah,(D) Rehoboam still ruled over them.

18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,[a](E) who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death.(F) King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David(G) to this day.

20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 12:18 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 4:6 and 5:14); Hebrew Adoram

11 However, (A)some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded (B)by the word of the Lord.

13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (C)in the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed (D)the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away (E)and threw into the brook Kidron. 15 (F)And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. (G)And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, (H)so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. 16 (I)They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses (J)the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. 18 For a majority of the people, (K)many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise (L)than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone

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11 Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled(A) themselves and went to Jerusalem.(B) 12 Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity(C) of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord.

13 A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread(D) in the second month. 14 They removed the altars(E) in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.(F)

15 They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated(G) themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord. 16 Then they took up their regular positions(H) as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them by the Levites. 17 Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill(I) the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs[a] to the Lord. 18 Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves,(J) yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 30:17 Or consecrate themselves

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 (A)their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, (B)because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, 15 and he appointed his own (C)priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for (D)the calves that he had made. 16 (E)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 (F)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.

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11 He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. 12 He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his.

13 The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. 14 The Levites(A) even abandoned their pasturelands and property(B) and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord 15 when he appointed(C) his own priests(D) for the high places and for the goat(E) and calf(F) idols he had made. 16 Those from every tribe of Israel(G) who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 17 They strengthened(H) the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.

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