Historical
11 4 Rehoboam is forbidden to fight against Jeroboam. 5 Cities which he built. 21 He hath eighteen wives, and threescore concubines, and by them eight and twenty sons, and threescore daughters.
1 And (A)when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and [a]Benjamin ninescore thousand chosen men of war to fight against [b]Israel, and to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
2 But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
3 Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon King of Judah, and to all Israel that are in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
4 Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. They obeyed therefore the word of the Lord, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
5 And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and [c]built strong cities in Judah.
6 He built also Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
7 And Beth Zur, and Sochoh, and Adullam,
8 And Gath, Mareshah, and Ziph,
9 And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,
10 And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which were in Judah and Benjamin strong cities.
11 And he [d]repaired the strongholds and put captains in them, and store of vittles, and oil and wine.
12 And in all cities he put shields and spears and made them exceedingly strong: so Judah and Benjamin were his.
13 ¶ And the Priests and the Levites that were in all Israel, [e]resorted unto him out of all their coasts.
14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possessions, and came to Judah and to Jerusalem: (B)for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them out from ministering in the Priests’ office unto the Lord.
15 (C)And he ordained him Priests for the high places, and for the [f]devils and for the calves which he had made.
16 And after the Levites there came to Jerusalem of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their [g]hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel, to offer unto the Lord God of their fathers.
17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon mighty, three years long: for three years they [h]walked in the way of David and Solomon.
18 ¶ And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliah the son of Jesse,
19 Which bare him sons Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham.
20 And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.
21 And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: for he took eighteen wives and threescore concubines, and begat eight and twenty sons, and threescore daughters.
22 And Rehoboam made [i]Abijah the son of Maachah the chief ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him King.
23 And he taught him: and dispersed all his sons throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin unto every strong city: and he gave them abundance of vittles, and [j]desired many wives.
12 1 Rehoboam forsaketh the Lord, and is punished by Shishak. 5 Shemaiah reproveth him. 6 He humbleth himself. 7 God sendeth him succor. 9 Shishak taketh his treasures. 13 His reign and death. 16 Abijah his son succeedeth him.
1 And when [k]Rehoboam had established the kingdom and made it strong, he forsook the Law of the Lord, and [l]all Israel with him.
2 Therefore in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem (because they had transgressed against the Lord)
3 With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen, and the people were without number, that came with him from Egypt, even the Lubim, [m]Sukkiim, and the [n]Ethiopians.
4 And he took the strong cities which were of Judah, and came unto Jerusalem.
5 ¶ Then came Shemaiah the Prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah that were gathered together in Jerusalem, because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, [o]therefore have I also left you in the hands of Shishak.
6 Then the princes of Israel, and the King humbled themselves, and said, The Lord is [p]just.
7 And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves, therefore I will not destroy them, but I will send them deliverance shortly, and my wrath shall not [q]be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants: so shall they know my [r]service, and the service of the kingdoms of the earth.
9 ¶ Then Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the King’s house: he took even all, and he carried away the shields of gold, (D)which Solomon had made.
10 In stead whereof King Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that waited at the door of the king’s house.
11 And when the king entered into the house of the Lord, the guard came and bare them and brought them again unto the guard chamber.
12 And because he [s]humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, that he would not destroy all together. And also in Judah the things prospered.
13 (E)So King Rehoboam was strong in Jerusalem and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old, when he began to reign, and reigned [t]seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his Name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
14 And he did evil: for he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.
15 The acts also of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the [u]book of Shemaiah the Prophet, and Iddo the Seer, in rehearsing the genealogy? and there was war always between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David, and [v]Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
13 1 Abijah maketh war against Jeroboam. 4 He showeth the occasion. 12 He trusteth in the Lord and overcometh Jeroboam. 21 Of his wives and children.
1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, began Abijah to reign over [w]Judah.
2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem: (his mother’s name also was [x]Michaiah the daughter of [y]Uriel of Gibeah) and there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
3 And Abijah set the battle in array with the army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men. Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men which were strong and valiant.
4 And Abijah stood up upon mount [z]Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, O Jeroboam, and all Israel, hear you me,
5 Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel hath given the kingdom over Israel to [aa]David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant [ab]of salt?
6 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat the servant of Solomon the son of David is risen up, and hath (F)rebelled against his lord:
7 And there are gathered to him [ac]vain men and [ad]wicked, and made themselves strong against Rehoboam the son of Solomon: for Rehoboam was [ae]but a child and [af](G)tender hearted, and could not resist them.
8 Now therefore ye think that ye be able to resist against the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hands of the sons of David, and ye be a great multitude, and the golden calves are with you which Jeroboam made you for gods.
9 (H)Have ye not driven away the Priests of the Lord the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and have made you Priests like the people of other countries? whosoever cometh to [ag]consecrate with a [ah]young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a Priest of them that are no gods.
10 But we belong unto the Lord our God, and have not forsaken him, and the Priests the sons of Aaron minister unto the Lord, and the Levites in their office.
11 And they burn unto the Lord every [ai]morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense, and the bread is set in order upon the pure table, and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the watch of the Lord our God: but ye have forsaken him.
12 And behold, this God is [aj]with us as a captain, and his Priests with the sounding trumpets to cry an alarm against you. O ye children of Israel, fight not against the Lord God of your fathers: for ye shall not prosper.
13 ¶ But Jeroboam caused an ambushment [ak]to compass, and come behind them, when they were before Judah, and the ambushment behind them.
14 Then Judah looked, and behold, the battle was before and behind them, and they cried unto the Lord, and the Priests blew with the trumpets,
15 And the men of Judah gave a shout: and even as the men of Judah shouted, God [al]smote Jeroboam and also Israel before Abijah and Judah.
16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand.
17 And Abijah and his people slew a great slaughter of them, so that there fell down wounded of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.
18 So the children of Israel were brought under at that time: and the children of Judah prevailed, [am]because they stayed upon the Lord God of their fathers.
19 And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, even Bethel and the [an]villages thereof, and Jeshanah with her villages, and Ephron with her villages.
20 And Jeroboam recovered no strength again in the days of Abijah, but the Lord plagued him, and he died.
21 So Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat two and twenty sons, and sixteen daughters.
22 The rest of the acts of Abijah, and his manners and his sayings, are written in the story of the Prophet Iddo.
14 3 Asa destroyeth idolatry, and commandeth his people to serve the true God. 11 He prayed unto God when he should go to fight. 12 He obtaineth the victory.
1 So (I)Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Asa his son reigned in his stead: in whose days the land was quiet ten years.
2 And Asa did that was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.
3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the [ao]groves,
4 And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do according to the Law and the Commandment.
5 And he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places, and the images: therefore the Kingdom was [ap]quiet before him.
6 He built also strong cities in Judah, because the land was in rest, and he had no war in those years: for the Lord had given him rest.
7 Therefore he said to Judah, Let us build these cities, and make walls about, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is [aq]before us: because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side: so they built and prospered.
8 And Asa had an army of Judah, that bare shields and spears, three hundred thousand, and of Benjamin that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were valiant men.
9 ¶ And there came out against him Zerah [ar]of Ethiopia with an host of ten hundred thousand, and three hundred chariots, and came unto [as]Mareshah.
10 Then Asa went out before him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah, beside Mareshah.
11 And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, (J)it is nothing with thee to help [at]with many, or with no power: help us, O Lord our God: for we rest on thee, and in thy Name are we come against this multitude: O Lord, thou art our God: [au]let not man prevail against thee.
12 ¶ So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
13 And Asa and the people that was with him, pursued them unto Gerar. And the Ethiopians’ host was overthrown, so that there was no life in them: for they were destroyed before the Lord and before his host: and they carried away a mighty great spoil.
14 And they smote all the cities round about Gerar: for the [av]fear of the Lord came upon them, and they spoiled all the cities, for there was exceeding much spoil in them.
15 Yea, and they smote the tents of cattle, and carried away plenty of sheep and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.