The Daily Audio Bible
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Judah and Benjamin Fortified
11 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled one hundred eighty thousand chosen troops of the house of Judah and Benjamin to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.(A) 2 But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God:(B) 3 “Say to King Rehoboam of Judah, son of Solomon, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin: 4 Thus says the Lord: You shall not go up or fight against your kindred. Let everyone return home, for this thing is from me.” So they heeded the word of the Lord and turned back from the expedition against Jeroboam.(C)
5 Rehoboam resided in Jerusalem, and he built cities for defense 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, 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 He also put large shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.
Priests and Levites Support Rehoboam
13 The priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all their territories. 14 The Levites had left their pasturelands and possessions and had come to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had prevented them from serving as priests of the Lord(D) 15 and had appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat-demons and for the calves that he had made.(E) 16 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 ancestors.(F) 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.(G)
Rehoboam’s Marriages
18 Rehoboam took as his wife Mahalath daughter of Jerimoth son of David and of Abihail daughter of Eliab son of Jesse.(H) 19 She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 After her he took Maacah daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters).(I) 22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king.(J) 23 He dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities; he gave them abundant provisions and found many wives for them.
Egypt Attacks Judah
12 When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he grew strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, he and all Israel with him.(K) 2 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up against Jerusalem(L) 3 with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand cavalry. A countless army came with him from Egypt: Libyans, Sukkiim, and Cushites.(M) 4 He took the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. 5 Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the officers of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak and said to them, “Thus says the Lord: You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.”(N) 6 Then the officers of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is in the right.”(O) 7 When the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.(P) 8 Nevertheless, they shall be his servants, so that they may know the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands.”(Q)
9 So King Shishak 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 everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made,(R) 10 but King Rehoboam made in place of them 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 Whenever the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard would come along bearing them and would then bring them back to the guardroom. 12 Because he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to destroy them completely; moreover, conditions were good in Judah.(S)
Death of Rehoboam
13 So King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign; 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.(T) 14 He did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.(U)
15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the records of the prophet Shemaiah and of the seer Iddo, recorded by genealogy? There were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.(V) 16 Rehoboam slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David, and his son Abijah succeeded him.(W)
Abijah Reigns over Judah
13 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah.(X) 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.
Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.(Y) 3 Abijah engaged in battle, having an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand picked men; and Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him with eight hundred thousand picked mighty warriors. 4 Then Abijah stood on the slope of Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel!(Z) 5 Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?(AA) 6 Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord,(AB) 7 and certain worthless scoundrels gathered around him and defied Rehoboam son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young and irresolute and could not withstand them.
8 “And now you think that you can withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made as gods for you.(AC) 9 Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the descendants of Aaron, and the Levites and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes to be consecrated with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are no gods.(AD) 10 But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are descendants of Aaron and Levites for their service. 11 They offer to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt offerings and fragrant incense, set out the rows of bread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand so that its lamps may burn every evening, for we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have abandoned him.(AE) 12 See, God is with us at our head, and his priests have their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O Israelites, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you cannot succeed.”(AF)
13 Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to come on them from behind; thus his troops[a] were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 When Judah turned, the battle was in front of them and behind them. They cried out to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets.(AG) 15 Then the people of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the people of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.(AH) 16 The Israelites fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hands.(AI) 17 Abijah and his army defeated them with great slaughter; five hundred thousand picked men of Israel fell slain. 18 Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the people of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.(AJ) 19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron[b] with its villages. 20 Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah; the Lord struck him down, and he died.(AK) 21 But Abijah strengthened himself. He took fourteen wives and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 The rest of the acts of Abijah, his behavior and his deeds, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.(AL)
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes[a] with groanings too deep for words.(A) 27 And God,[b] who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit[c] intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.(B)
28 We know that all things work together[d] for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.(C) 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.[e](D) 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.(E)
God’s Love in Christ Jesus
31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?(F) 32 He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.(G) 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ[f] who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.(H) 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”(I)
37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us.(J) 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,(K) 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them
and did not turn back until they were consumed.(A)
38 I struck them down so that they were unable to rise;
they fell under my feet.(B)
39 For you girded me with strength for the battle;
you made my assailants sink under me.(C)
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.(D)
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.(E)
42 I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.(F)
43 You delivered me from strife with the peoples;[a]
you made me head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.(G)
44 As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their strongholds.(H)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.