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20 And it came about, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent word and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel. (A)None except the tribe of Judah alone followed the house of David.
21 (B)Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to (C)Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 “Tell Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the (D)rest of the people, saying, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: “You shall not go up nor fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return, every man to his house, (E)for this thing has come from Me.”’” So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned to go their way in accordance with the word of the Lord.
Jeroboam’s Idolatry
25 Then (F)Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived [a]there. And he went out from there and built (G)Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. 27 (H)If this people go up to [b]offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king [c]consulted, and he (I)made two golden (J)calves; and he said to [d]the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; (K)behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set up (L)one in (M)Bethel, and the other he put in (N)Dan. 30 Now (O)this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 And (P)he made houses on high places, and [e](Q)appointed priests from [f]all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. 32 Jeroboam also [g]instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, (R)like the feast that is in Judah, and he [h]went up to the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel (S)the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 Then he [i]went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, the month that he had [j](T)devised [k]in his own heart; and he [l]instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and [m]went up to the altar (U)to burn [n]incense.
Jeroboam Warned, Stricken
13 Now behold, (V)a man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar (W)to burn incense. 2 And (X)he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, (Y)Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.’” 3 Then he gave a [o]sign on the same day, saying, “(Z)This is the [p]sign which the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn to pieces and the [q]ashes which are on it shall be poured out.’” 4 Now when the king heard the statement of the man of God which he cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But his hand which he had stretched out toward him dried up, and he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was torn to pieces and the [r]ashes were poured out from the altar, in accordance with the [s]sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 6 And the king responded and said to the man of God, “Please [t](AA)appease the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.” So (AB)the man of God [u]appeased the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and (AC)I will give you a gift.” 8 But the man of God said to the king, “(AD)If you were to give me half your house, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. 9 For so [v]it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he had come to Bethel.
The Disobedient Prophet
11 Now (AE)an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his [w]sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they reported to their father. 12 And their father said to them, “[x]Which way did he go?” Now his sons [y]had seen the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. 14 So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under [z]an oak; and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 But he said, “(AF)I cannot return with you, nor come with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 For a [aa]command came to me (AG)by the word of the Lord: ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way that you came.’” 18 Then he said to him, “(AH)I too am a prophet like you, and (AI)an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But (AJ)he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.
20 Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you have [ab]disobeyed the [ac]command of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “You are not to eat bread nor drink water”; your dead body will not come to the grave of your fathers.’” 23 It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 Now when he had gone, (AK)a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body; so they came and told about it in the city where (AL)the old prophet had lived.
26 Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God, who [ad]disobeyed the [ae]command of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.” 27 Then he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28 Then he went and found his body thrown on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor [af]harmed the donkey. 29 So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him. 30 He laid his body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “(AM)Oh, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he talked to his sons, saying, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; (AN)lay my bones beside his bones. 32 (AO)For the thing will certainly come to pass which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar that is in Bethel, and (AP)against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of (AQ)Samaria.”
33 After this event, Jeroboam did not [ag]abandon his evil way, but he (AR)again [ah]appointed priests of the high places from [ai]all the people; (AS)anyone who wanted, he ordained, and he became [aj]one of the priests of the high places. 34 [ak](AT)This event also became a sin of the house of Jeroboam, (AU)even to wipe it out and eliminate it from the face of the earth.
26 (A)When he came to Jerusalem, he tried repeatedly to associate with the disciples; and yet they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But (B)Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had (C)seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how (D)he had (E)spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus at Damascus. 28 And he was with them, [a]moving about freely in Jerusalem, (F)speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he was talking and arguing with the [b](G)Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. 30 Now when (H)the [c]brothers learned of it, they brought him down to (I)Caesarea and (J)sent him away to (K)Tarsus.
31 So (L)the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria [d]enjoyed peace, as it was being built up; and as it [e]continued in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it kept increasing.
Peter’s Ministry
32 Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he also came down to (M)the [f]saints who lived at [g](N)Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years, [h]because he was paralyzed. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your own bed.” Immediately he got up. 35 And all who lived at [i](O)Lydda and (P)Sharon saw him, and they (Q)turned to the Lord.
36 Now in (R)Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which when translated means [j]Dorcas); this woman was [k]excelling in acts of kindness and charity which she did habitually. 37 But it happened [l]at that time that she became sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an (S)upstairs room. 38 Since Lydda was near (T)Joppa, (U)the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Do not delay in coming to us.” 39 So Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the (V)room upstairs; and all the (W)widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the [m]tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. 40 But Peter (X)sent them all out and (Y)knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “(Z)Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling (AA)the [n]saints and (AB)widows, he presented her alive. 42 It became known all over (AC)Joppa, and (AD)many believed in the Lord. 43 And Peter stayed in (AE)Joppa many days with (AF)a tanner named Simon.
Prayer for the Lord’s Blessing upon the Sanctuary.
A Song of Ascents.
132 Remember, Lord, in David’s behalf,
All (A)his affliction;
2 How he swore to the Lord
And vowed to (B)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I certainly will not [a]enter (C)my house,
Nor [b]lie on my bed;
4 I will not (D)give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a (E)place for the Lord,
[c]A dwelling place for (F)the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard about it in (G)Ephrathah,
We found it in the (H)field of [d]Jaar.
7 Let’s go into His [e](I)dwelling place;
Let’s (J)worship at His (K)footstool.
8 (L)Arise, Lord, to Your (M)resting place,
You and the ark of Your (N)strength.
9 May Your priests be (O)clothed with righteousness,
And may Your (P)godly ones sing for joy.
10 For the sake of Your servant David,
Do not turn away the face of Your (Q)anointed.
11 The Lord has (R)sworn to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“I will set upon your throne one (S)from the fruit of your body.
12 If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also will (T)sit upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has (U)chosen Zion;
He has (V)desired it as His dwelling place.
14 “This is My (W)resting place forever;
Here I will (X)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly (Y)bless her food;
I will (Z)satisfy her needy with bread.
16 I will also clothe her (AA)priests with salvation,
And her (AB)godly ones will sing aloud for joy.
17 I will make the (AC)horn of David spring forth there;
I have prepared a (AD)lamp for My anointed.
18 I will (AE)clothe his enemies with shame,
But upon himself his (AF)crown will gleam.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.