Historical
11 And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled of the house of Judah and Benjamin 180,000 chosen warriors to fight against [the ten rebellious tribes of] Israel to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
2 But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
3 Say to Rehoboam 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 your brethren. Return every man to his house, for this thing is from Me. And they obeyed the Lord and returned from going against Jeroboam.
5 Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem and built cities for defense in Judah.
6 He built 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 Benjamin.
11 He fortified the strongholds and put captains in them, with stores of food, oil, and vintage fruits.
12 And in each city he put shields and spears, and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.
13 And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel came over to Rehoboam from wherever they lived.
14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them out from executing the priest’s office to the Lord.
15 And he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the [idols of demon] he-goats, and calves he had made.(A)
16 And after them out of all the tribes of Israel there came to Jerusalem those who set their hearts to seek and inquire of the Lord, the God of Israel, to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers.
17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and upheld Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years; for they walked in the ways of David and Solomon for three years.
18 Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath, whose father was Jerimoth son of David; her mother was Abihail daughter of Eliab son of Jesse.
19 She bore him sons: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham.
20 And after her he took Maacah daughter [granddaughter] of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21 And Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter [granddaughter] of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines—for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he had twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22 And Rehoboam made Abijah son of Maacah the chief prince among his brethren, for he intended to make him king.
23 And he dealt understandingly and dispersed his children throughout all Judah and Benjamin to every fortified city. He gave them abundant supplies, and he sought many wives for them.
12 When Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.
2 And in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had transgressed and been unfaithful to the Lord, 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—the Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians.
4 And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came on to Jerusalem.
5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus says the Lord: You have forsaken Me, so I have abandoned you into the hands of Shishak.
6 Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, The Lord is righteous.
7 And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves, so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and My wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
8 Nevertheless, they shall be his servants, that they may know [the difference between] My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house. He took everything. He took away also the shields of gold Solomon had made.
10 Instead of them King Rehoboam made 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 whenever the king entered the Lord’s house, the guards came and got the shields of bronze and brought them again into the guard chamber.
12 When Rehoboam humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to destroy him entirely; also in Judah conditions were good.
13 So King Rehoboam established and strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city in which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put His Name [and the symbol of His presence]. His mother was Naamah an Ammonitess.
14 And he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek (inquire of, yearn for) the Lord with all his desire.
15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer regarding genealogies? There were wars between Rehoboam of Judah and Jeroboam of Israel continually.
16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David; and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
13 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah.
2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Micaiah daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam of Israel.
3 And Abijah prepared for battle with an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with 800,000 chosen men, mighty men of valor.
4 And Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel!
5 Ought you not to know that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the kingship over Israel to David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?
6 Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord [the king].
7 And there gathered to him worthless men, base fellows, who strengthened themselves against Rehoboam son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young [as king], irresolute, and inexperienced and did not withstand them with firmness and strength.
8 And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord which is in the hands of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and you have with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made for you for gods.
9 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? So whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of idols that are 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 every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and incense of sweet spices; they set in order the showbread on the table of pure gold and attend to the golden lampstand, that its lamps may be lighted every evening. For we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him.
12 Behold, God Himself is with us at our head, and His priests with their battle trumpets to sound an alarm against you. O Israelites, fight not against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot prosper.
13 But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come around them from behind, so his troops were before Judah and the ambush behind.
14 When Judah looked, behold, the battle was before and behind; and they cried to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets.
15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as they shouted, God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
16 And the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.
17 And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter, so there fell of Israel 500,000 chosen men.
18 Thus the Israelites were brought low at that time, and the people of Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord, the God of their fathers.
19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took some cities from him, Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephraim (Ephron), with their towns.
20 Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah. And the Lord smote him and he died.
21 But Abijah became mighty. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.
14 So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David; and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was at rest for ten years.
2 And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.
3 He took away the foreign altars and high places and broke down the idol pillars or obelisks and cut down the Asherim [symbols of the goddess Asherah]
4 And commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers [to inquire of and for Him and crave Him as a vital necessity], and to obey the law and the commandment.
5 Also Asa took out of all the cities of Judah the idolatrous high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under his reign.
6 And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the Lord gave him peace.
7 Therefore he said to Judah, Let us build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours, because we sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him [yearning for Him with all our desire] and He has given us rest and peace on every side. So they built and prospered.
8 Asa had an army of 300,000 men out of Judah, who bore bucklers and spears, and 280,000 out of Benjamin, who bore shields and drew bows, all mighty men of courage.
9 There came out against Judah Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of a million [that is, too many to be numbered] and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.
10 Then Asa went out against him, and they set up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
11 Asa cried to the Lord his God, O Lord, there is none besides You to help, and it makes no difference to You whether the one You help is mighty or powerless. Help us, O Lord our God! For we rely on You, and we go against this multitude in Your name. O Lord, You are our God; let no man prevail against You!
12 So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
13 Asa and the people with him pursued them to Gerar; and the Ethiopians were overthrown, so that none remained alive; for they were destroyed before the Lord and His host, who carried away very much booty.
14 And they smote all the cities round about Gerar, for the fear of the Lord came upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.
15 They smote also the cattle encampments and carried away sheep in abundance and camels; and they returned to Jerusalem.
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