2 Chronicles 4-15

English Standard Version

The Temple's Furnishings

4 He made ^(A)an altar of bronze, twenty cubits^[a] long and twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. ^2 (B)Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. ³ Under it were figures of gourds,^[b] for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. ⁴ It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. ⁵ Its thickness was a handbreadth.^[c] And its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. ^(C)It held 3,000 baths.^{[d] 6 (D)}He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to wash in.

⁷ And he made ten golden lampstands ^(E)as prescribed, and set them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. ^8 (F)He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. And he made a hundred basins of gold. ⁹ He made ^(G)the court of the priests ^(H)and the great court and doors for the court and overlaid their doors with bronze. ^10 (I)And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.

^11 (J)(K)Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. ^(L)So Hiram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God: ¹² the two pillars, ^(M)the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; ^13 (N)and the 400 pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars. ^14 (O)He made the stands also, and the basins on the stands, ¹⁵ and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath it. ¹⁶ The pots, the shovels, ^(P)the forks, and all the equipment for these ^(Q)(R)Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord. ¹⁷ In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.^{[e] 18 (S)}Solomon made all these things in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze was not sought.

¹⁹ So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God: the golden altar, ^(T)the tables for the bread of the Presence, ²⁰ the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold ^(U)to burn before the inner sanctuary, as prescribed; ²¹ the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of purest gold; ²² the snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold, and the sockets^[f] of the temple, for the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and for the doors of the nave of the temple were of gold.

5 ^(V)Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, and stored the silver, the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries of the house of God.

The Ark Brought to the Temple

² Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of ^(W)the city of David, which is Zion. ³ And all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast that is in the seventh month. ⁴ And all the elders of Israel came, ^(X)and the Levites took up the ark. ⁵ And they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; ^(Y)the Levitical priests brought them up. ⁶ And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. ⁷ Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁸ The cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. ⁹ And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen ^(Z)from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they are^[g] there to this day. ¹⁰ There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets ^(AA)that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. ¹¹ And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to ^(AB)their divisions, ¹² and all the Levitical ^(AC)singers, ^(AD)Asaph, ^(AE)Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with ^(AF)cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 ^(AG)priests who were trumpeters; ¹³ and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, ^(AH)with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord,

the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, ^(AJ)for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Solomon Blesses the People

6 ^(AK)Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. ² But I have built you ^(AL)an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” ³ Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. ⁴ And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, ⁵ ‘Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there, and I chose no man as prince over my people Israel; ^6 (AM)but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, ^(AN)and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’ ^7 (AO)Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁸ But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas ^(AP)it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. ⁹ Nevertheless, it is not you who shall build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ ¹⁰ Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹¹ And there I have set the ark, ^(AQ)in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”

Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

¹² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. ^13 (AR)Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits^[h] long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the court, and he stood on it. ^(AS)Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven, ¹⁴ and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, ^(AT)there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, ^(AU)keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, ^15 (AV)who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. ¹⁶ Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ^(AW)‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, ^(AX)if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.’ ¹⁷ Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David.

¹⁸ “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, ^(AY)heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built! ¹⁹ Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you, ^20 (AZ)that your eyes may be open day and night toward this house, the place where you have promised to set your name, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. ²¹ And listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen from heaven your dwelling place, ^(BA)and when you hear, forgive.

²² “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, ²³ then hear from heaven and act and judge your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

²⁴ “If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn again and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, ^25 (BB)then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to them and to their fathers.

^26 (BC)“When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict^[i] them, ^27 (BD)then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way^[j] in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

^28 (BE)“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemies besiege them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ²⁹ whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own sorrow and stretching out his hands toward this house, ^30 (BF)then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways, ^(BG)for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind, ³¹ that they may fear you and walk in your ways all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

³² “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for the sake of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, when he comes and prays toward this house, ³³ hear from heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house ^(BH)that I have built is called by your name.

³⁴ “If your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, ³⁵ then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

³⁶ “If they sin against you—^(BI)for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near, ³⁷ yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ ³⁸ if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, ³⁹ then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you. ⁴⁰ Now, O my God, ^(BJ)let your eyes be open ^(BK)and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place.

Fire from Heaven

7 ^(BQ)As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, ^(BR)fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, ^(BS)and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. ² And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. ³ When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, ^(BT)for his steadfast love endures forever.”

The Dedication of the Temple

^4 (BU)Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁵ King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. ⁶ The priests stood at their posts; ^(BV)the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lord—^(BW)for his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry;^{[k] (BX)}opposite them the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.

^7 (BY)And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.

⁸ At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from ^(BZ)Lebo-hamath to the ^(CA)Brook of Egypt. ⁹ And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days. ¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the prosperity^[l] that the Lord had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.

If My People Pray

^11 (CB)Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. ¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer ^(CC)and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. ^13 (CD)When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, ¹⁴ if my people who are called by my name ^(CE)humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ^15 (CF)Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. ^16 (CG)For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. ¹⁷ And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, ¹⁸ then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ^(CH)‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

^19 (CI)“But if you^[m] turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, ^20 (CJ)then I will pluck you^[n] up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it ^(CK)a proverb and a byword among all peoples. ²¹ And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ^(CL)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ ²² Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon's Accomplishments

8 ^(CM)At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, ² Solomon rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given to him, and settled the people of Israel in them.

³ And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and took it. ⁴ He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he built in Hamath. ⁵ He also built ^(CN)Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, ^(CO)fortified cities ^(CP)with walls, gates, and bars, ⁶ and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. ^7 (CQ)All the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, ⁸ from their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed—these Solomon drafted ^(CR)as forced labor, and so they are to this day. ⁹ But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves for his work; they were soldiers, and his officers, the commanders of his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁰ And these were the chief officers of King Solomon, 250, who exercised authority over the people.

^11 (CS)Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, for the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.”

¹² Then Solomon offered up burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord ^(CT)that he had built before the vestibule, ^13 (CU)as the duty of each day required, offering ^(CV)according to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the ^(CW)three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. ¹⁴ According to the ruling of David his father, he appointed ^(CX)the divisions of the priests for their service, ^(CY)and the Levites for their offices of praise and ^(CZ)ministry before the priests ^(DA)as the duty of each day required, and ^(DB)the gatekeepers in their divisions at each gate, for so David ^(DC)the man of God had commanded. ¹⁵ And they did not turn aside from what the king had commanded the priests and Levites concerning any matter and concerning the treasuries.

¹⁶ Thus was accomplished all the work of Solomon from^[o] the day the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to ^(DD)Ezion-geber and ^(DE)Eloth on the shore of the sea, in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ And Hiram sent to him by the hand of his servants ships and servants familiar with the sea, and they went to Ophir together with the servants of Solomon and brought from there ^(DF)450 talents^[p] of gold and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba

9 ^(DG)Now when ^(DH)the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. ² And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. ³ And when ^(DI)the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁴ the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

⁵ And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, ⁶ but I did not believe the^[q] reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. ⁷ Happy are your wives!^[r] Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ⁸ Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you ^(DJ)and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! ^(DK)Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” ⁹ Then she gave the king 120 talents^[s] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, ^(DL)who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. ¹¹ And the king made from the algum wood ^(DM)supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.

¹² And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked ^(DN)besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon's Wealth

^13 (DO)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁴ besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. ^(DP)And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. ¹⁵ King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels^[t] of beaten gold went into each shield. ¹⁶ And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; ^(DQ)300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁷ The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, ¹⁹ while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom. ²⁰ All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. ²¹ For the king's ships went to ^(DR)Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.^[u]

²² Thus King Solomon ^(DS)excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²³ And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. ²⁴ Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh,^[v] spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. ²⁵ And Solomon had ^(DT)4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^26 (DU)And he ruled over all the kings ^(DV)from the Euphrates^[w] to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. ^27 (DW)And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. ^28 (DX)And horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

Solomon's Death

^29 (DY)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from ^(DZ)first to last, are they not written in the history of ^(EA)Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of ^(EB)Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of ^(EC)Iddo ^(ED)the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? ³⁰ Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹ And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in ^(EE)the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

The Revolt Against Rehoboam

10 ^(EF)Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ² And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, ^(EG)where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. ³ And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and said to Rehoboam, ^4 (EH)“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” ⁵ He said to them, “Come to me again in three days.” So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men,^[x] who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” ⁷ And they said to him, ^(EI)“If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” ⁸ But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. ⁹ And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” ¹⁰ And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us’; thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. ¹¹ And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” ¹³ And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men, ¹⁴ King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word, ^(EJ)which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. ^(EK)Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So all Israel went to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent ^(EL)Hadoram,^[y] who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Rehoboam Secures His Kingdom

11 ^(EM)When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. ² But the word of the Lord came to ^(EN)Shemaiah the man of God: ³ “Say to Rehoboam the 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 ^(EO)your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and returned and did not go against Jeroboam.

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built ^(EP)cities for defense in Judah. ⁶ He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, ^(EQ)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 And he put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

Priests and Levites Come to Jerusalem

¹³ And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all places where they lived. ¹⁴ For the Levites left ^(ER)their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, ^(ES)because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, ¹⁵ and he appointed his own ^(ET)priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for ^(EU)the calves that he had made. ^16 (EV)And 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 fathers. ^17 (EW)They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

Rehoboam's Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of ^(EX)Eliab the son of Jesse, ¹⁹ and she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ After her he took ^(EY)Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore him ^(EZ)Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). ^22 (FA)And Rehoboam appointed ^(FB)Abijah the son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. ²³ And he dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities, and he gave them abundant provisions and procured wives for them.^[z]

Egypt Plunders Jerusalem

12 ^(FC)When the rule of Rehoboam was established ^(FD)and he was strong, ^(FE)he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. ^2 (FF)In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, ^(FG)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—^(FH)Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians. ⁴ And he took ^(FI)the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. ⁵ Then ^(FJ)Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ^(FK)‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” ⁶ Then the princes of ^(FL)Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, ^(FM)“The Lord is righteous.” ⁷ When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: ^(FN)“They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, ^(FO)and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. ⁸ Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, ^(FP)that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

^9 (FQ)So Shishak king 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 away everything. He also took away ^(FR)the shields of gold that Solomon had made, ¹⁰ and King Rehoboam made in their place 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 as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard came and carried them and brought them back to the guardroom. ¹² And when ^(FS)he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, ^(FT)conditions were good^[aa] in Judah.

^13 (FU)So King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and 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. ¹⁴ And he did evil, ^(FV)for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

^15 (FW)Now the acts of Rehoboam, ^(FX)from first to last, are they not written in the chronicles of ^(FY)Shemaiah the prophet and of ^(FZ)Iddo ^(GA)the seer?^[ab] There were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ¹⁶ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David, and ^(GB)Abijah^[ac] his son reigned in his place.

Abijah Reigns in Judah

13 ^(GC)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, ^(GD)Abijah began to reign over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(GE)Micaiah^[ad] the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

^(GF)Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam ^(GG)drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. ⁴ Then Abijah stood up on Mount ^(GH)Zemaraim that is in ^(GI)the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel ^(GJ)gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by ^(GK)a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up ^(GL)and rebelled against his lord, ⁷ and certain ^(GM)worthless scoundrels^[ae] gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was ^(GN)young and irresolute^[af] and could not withstand them.

⁸ “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you ^(GO)the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. ^9 (GP)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? Whoever comes ^(GQ)for ordination^[ag] with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are ^(GR)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 ^(GS)every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out ^(GT)the showbread on the table of pure gold, ^(GU)and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may ^(GV)burn every evening. For we ^(GW)keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him. ¹² Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests ^(GX)with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, ^(GY)do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

¹³ Jeroboam had sent ^(GZ)an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops^[ah] were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. ^(HA)And they cried to the Lord, and the priests ^(HB)blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, ^(HC)God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The men of Israel fled before Judah, ^(HD)and God gave them into their hand. ¹⁷ Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men. ¹⁸ Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, ^(HE)because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. ¹⁹ And Abijah pursued Jeroboam ^(HF)and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and ^(HG)Ephron^[ai] with its villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. ^(HH)And the Lord struck him down, ^(HI)and he died. ²¹ But Abijah grew mighty. And he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the ^(HJ)story of the prophet ^(HK)Iddo.

Asa Reigns in Judah

14 ^{[aj] (HL)}Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years. ^2 [ak] And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³ He took away the foreign altars ^(HM)and the high places and broke down ^(HN)the pillars and cut down the ^(HO)Asherim ⁴ and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. ⁵ He also took out of all the cities of Judah ^(HP)the high places and the ^(HQ)incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. ⁶ He built ^(HR)fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, ^(HS)for the Lord gave him peace. ⁷ And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with ^(HT)walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, ^(HU)and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. ⁸ And Asa had an army of ^(HV)300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.

⁹ Zerah ^(HW)the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as ^(HX)Mareshah. ¹⁰ And Asa went out to meet him, and ^(HY)they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at ^(HZ)Mareshah. ¹¹ And Asa ^(IA)cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, ^(IB)for we rely on you, ^(IC)and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” ^12 (ID)So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^(IE)Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah^[al] carried away very much spoil. ¹⁴ And they attacked all the cities around ^(IF)Gerar, ^(IG)for the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Asa's Religious Reforms

15 ^(IH)The Spirit of God came^[am] upon Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(II)The Lord is with you while you are with him. ^(IJ)If you seek him, he will be found by you, ^(IK)but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. ^3 (IL)For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, ^4 (IM)but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. ⁵ In those times there was no peace ^(IN)to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. ⁶ They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress.