< 1 Kings 14 >

1 It was at that time that Abijah, Jeroboam's son, fell ill.
At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
2 So Jeroboam told his wife, “Please go and disguise yourself so nobody will know you're Jeroboam's wife. Then go to Shiloh and look for Ahijah the prophet. He was the one who told me I would become king over this people.
And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
3 Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey for him. He will explain to you what will happen to the boy.”
And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.
4 Jeroboam's wife did as she was told. She got up and went to Ahijah's house in Shiloh. Ahijah could not see—he had become blind because of his age.
And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
5 But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Look, Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask you about her son, because he's ill. This is what you are to tell her, because she'll come in disguise.”
And Yhwh said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
6 So as soon as Ahijah heard her footsteps at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why do you bother coming in disguise? I have been given some bad news for you.
And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.
7 Go and tell Jeroboam this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I picked you from the masses and I made you ruler over my people Israel.
Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith Yhwh God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,
8 I took the kingdom from the house of David and gave it to you. But you were not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and was totally committed to following me, only doing what was right in my sight.
And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;
9 You have done more evil than all those who lived before you. You have gone and made other gods for yourself, idols made of molten metal that made me angry. You have tossed me aside.
But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
10 Now pay attention, because as a result of this I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will totally exterminate every one of your descendants in Israel, whether slave or free. I will burn the house of Jeroboam like a man burning refuse until it's all gone.
Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
11 Those of Jeroboam's family who die in the town will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the countryside will be eaten by birds. For the Lord has spoken.
Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for Yhwh hath spoken it.
12 As for you, get up and go home. As soon as you arrive in the city, the child will die.
Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
13 All of Israel will mourn for him, and they will bury him. He alone of Jeroboam's family will be buried in a tomb because only in him has the Lord, the God of Israel found anything good—of the whole family of Jeroboam.
And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward Yhwh God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
14 The Lord will choose for himself a king to rule over Israel who will destroy the house of Jeroboam. This is starting to happen even now!
Moreover Yhwh shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
15 The Lord will strike Israel like a reed jerked to and fro by the water. He will pull up Israel by the roots from this good land that he gave their forefathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their pagan Asherah poles, making the Lord angry.
For Yhwh shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking Yhwh to anger.
16 He will abandon Israel because of the sins of Jeroboam, those that he committed himself, and those he made Israel commit.”
And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
17 Jeroboam's wife got up and left for Tirzah. As soon as she stepped through the doorway of her home, the boy died.
And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
18 All of Israel buried him and mourned for him, just as the Lord had said through his servant Ahijah the prophet.
And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of Yhwh, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
19 The rest of what Jeroboam did, how he engaged in warfare and how he reigned, they are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
20 Jeroboam reigned for twenty-two years, and then he died. His son Nadab succeeded him as king.
And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
21 Rehoboam, son of Solomon, reigned in Judah. He was forty-one when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel where he would be honored. The name of his mother was Naamah the Ammonite.
And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which Yhwh did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
22 Judah did what was evil in the Lord's sight, and because of the sins they committed they made his jealous anger even greater than all their fathers had done.
And Judah did evil in the sight of Yhwh, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.
23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
24 There were even cult prostitutes in the land. They followed all the disgusting practices of the nations that the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which Yhwh cast out before the children of Israel.
25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign, Shishak, king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem.
And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
26 He took the treasures of the Lord's Temple and the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made.
And he took away the treasures of the house of Yhwh, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and handed them over to the captains of the guard to look after. They stood on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.
And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house.
28 Whenever the king went to the Lord's Temple, the guards would carry the shields. Afterwards they returned them to the guardroom.
And it was so, when the king went into the house of Yhwh, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
29 The rest of what happened in Rehoboam's reign and everything that he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.
Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
30 Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other.
And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
31 Rehoboam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. The name of his mother was Naamah the Ammonite. His son Abijam succeeded him as king.
And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

< 1 Kings 14 >