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1 Kings 11:26-14:31
New King James Version

Jeroboam’s Rebellion

26 Then Solomon’s servant, (A)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, (B)also (C)rebelled against the king.

27 And this is what caused him to rebel against the king: (D)Solomon had built the Millo and [a]repaired the damages to the City of David his father. 28 The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was (E)industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.

29 Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet (F)Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and (G)tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for (H)thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32 (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 (I)because [b]they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. 34 However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. 35 But (J)I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes. 36 And to his son I will give one tribe, that (K)My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there. 37 So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then (L)I will be with you and (M)build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.’ ”

40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to (N)Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

Death of Solomon(O)

41 Now (P)the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 (Q)And the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 (R)Then Solomon [c]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his (S)place.

The Revolt Against Rehoboam(T)

12 And (U)Rehoboam went to (V)Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. 2 So it happened, when (W)Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in (X)Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), 3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our (Y)yoke [d]heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

5 So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

7 And they spoke to him, saying, (Z)“If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with [e]scourges!’ ”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” 13 Then the king answered the people [f]roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with [g]scourges!” 15 So the king did not listen to the people; for (AA)the turn of events was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word, which the Lord had (AB)spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:

(AC)“What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel!
Now, see to your own house, O David!”

So Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over (AD)the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

18 Then King Rehoboam (AE)sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So (AF)Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all (AG)Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah (AH)only.

21 And when (AI)Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of (AJ)Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But (AK)the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, 24 ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, (AL)for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the Lord, and turned back, according to the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam’s Gold Calves

25 Then Jeroboam (AM)built[h] Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built (AN)Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: 27 If these people (AO)go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

28 Therefore the king asked advice, (AP)made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. (AQ)Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 And he set up one in (AR)Bethel, and the other he put in (AS)Dan. 30 Now this thing became (AT)a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made [i]shrines on the high places, (AU)and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

32 Jeroboam [j]ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like (AV)the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. (AW)And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had (AX)devised in his own heart. And he [k]ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and (AY)burned incense.

The Message of the Man of God

13 And behold, (AZ)a man of God went from Judah to Bethel [l]by the word of the Lord, (BA)and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 Then he cried out against the altar [m]by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, (BB)Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be (BC)burned on you.’ ” 3 And he gave (BD)a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.”

4 So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself. 5 The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 6 Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Please (BE)entreat the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.”

So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and (BF)I will give you a reward.”

8 But the man of God said to the king, (BG)“If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 9 For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, (BH)‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’ ” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

Death of the Man of God

11 Now an (BI)old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his [n]sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons [o]had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah. 13 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, 14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then 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 And he said, (BJ)“I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place. 17 For [p]I have been told (BK)by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’ ”

18 He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (He was lying to him.)

19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

20 Now it happened, as they sat 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, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the (BL)place of which the Lord said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ”

23 So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 When he was gone, (BM)a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. 25 And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

26 Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord. Therefore the Lord has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.” 27 And he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it. 28 Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him. 30 Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, saying, (BN)“Alas, my brother!” 31 So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; (BO)lay my bones beside his bones. 32 (BP)For the [q]saying which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the [r]shrines on the high places which are in the cities of (BQ)Samaria, will surely come to pass.”

33 (BR)After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. 34 (BS)And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as (BT)to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth.

Judgment on the House of Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that (BU)I would be king over this people. 3 (BV)Also take [s]with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child.” 4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so; she arose (BW)and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were [t]glazed by reason of his age.

5 Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.”

6 And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: (BX)“Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, 8 and (BY)tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, (BZ)who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes; 9 but you have done more evil than all who were before you, (CA)for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and (CB)have cast Me behind your back— 10 therefore behold! (CC)I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and (CD)will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, (CE)bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. 11 The dogs shall eat (CF)whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the Lord has spoken!” ’ 12 Arise therefore, go to your own house. (CG)When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall [u]come to the grave, because in him (CH)there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

14 (CI)“Moreover the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam; [v]this is the day. What? Even now! 15 For the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will (CJ)uproot Israel from this (CK)good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them (CL)beyond [w]the River, (CM)because they have made their [x]wooden images, provoking the Lord to anger. 16 And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, (CN)who sinned and who made Israel sin.”

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to (CO)Tirzah. (CP)When she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, (CQ)according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

Death of Jeroboam

19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he (CR)made war and how he reigned, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 20 The period that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. So he rested with his fathers. Then (CS)Nadab his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Reigns in Judah(CT)

21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. (CU)Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city (CV)which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. (CW)His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 22 (CX)Now Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they (CY)provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves (CZ)high[y] places, (DA)sacred pillars, and (DB)wooden images on every high hill and (DC)under every green tree. 24 (DD)And there were also [z]perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the (DE)abominations of the nations which the Lord had cast out before the children of (DF)Israel.

25 (DG)It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 (DH)And 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 all the gold shields (DI)which Solomon had made. 27 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and [aa]committed them to the hands of the captains of the [ab]guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 28 And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom.

29 (DJ)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 And there was (DK)war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 31 (DL)So Rehoboam [ac]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. (DM)His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Then (DN)Abijam[ad] his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 11:27 Lit. closed up the breaches
  2. 1 Kings 11:33 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. he has
  3. 1 Kings 11:43 Died and joined his ancestors
  4. 1 Kings 12:4 hard
  5. 1 Kings 12:11 Scourges with points or barbs, lit. scorpions
  6. 1 Kings 12:13 harshly
  7. 1 Kings 12:14 Lit. scorpions
  8. 1 Kings 12:25 fortified
  9. 1 Kings 12:31 Lit. a house; cf. 1 Kin. 13:32, lit. houses
  10. 1 Kings 12:32 instituted
  11. 1 Kings 12:33 instituted
  12. 1 Kings 13:1 at the Lord’s command
  13. 1 Kings 13:2 at the Lord’s command
  14. 1 Kings 13:11 Lit. son
  15. 1 Kings 13:12 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. showed him
  16. 1 Kings 13:17 Lit. a command came to me by
  17. 1 Kings 13:32 Lit. word
  18. 1 Kings 13:32 Lit. houses
  19. 1 Kings 14:3 Lit. in your hand
  20. 1 Kings 14:4 Lit. set
  21. 1 Kings 14:13 Be buried
  22. 1 Kings 14:14 Or this day and from now on
  23. 1 Kings 14:15 The Euphrates
  24. 1 Kings 14:15 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
  25. 1 Kings 14:23 Places for pagan worship
  26. 1 Kings 14:24 Heb. qadesh, one practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious rituals
  27. 1 Kings 14:27 entrusted
  28. 1 Kings 14:27 Lit. runners
  29. 1 Kings 14:31 Died and joined his ancestors
  30. 1 Kings 14:31 Abijah, 2 Chr. 12:16ff
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1 Kings 11:26-14:31
New International Version

Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon

26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled(A) against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.

27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces[a](B) and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing,(C) and when Solomon saw how well(D) the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.

29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah(E) the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore(F) it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear(G) the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake(H) of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have[b] forsaken me and worshiped(I) Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked(J) in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees(K) and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.

34 “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe(L) to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp(M) before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule(N) over all that your heart desires;(O) you will be king over Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right(P) in my eyes by obeying my decrees(Q) and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty(R) as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”

40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled(S) to Egypt, to Shishak(T) the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.

Solomon’s Death(U)

41 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign—all he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? 42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 43 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam(V) his son succeeded him as king.

Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam(W)

12 Rehoboam went to Shechem,(X) for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled(Y) from King Solomon), he returned from[c] Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 “Your father put a heavy yoke(Z) on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders(AA) who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

7 They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer,(AB) they will always be your servants.”

8 But Rehoboam rejected(AC) the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged(AD) you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord,(AE) to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah(AF) the Shilonite.

16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share(AG) do we have in David,
    what part in Jesse’s son?
To your tents, Israel!(AH)
    Look after your own house, David!”

So the Israelites went home.(AI) 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah,(AJ) Rehoboam still ruled over them.

18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,[d](AK) who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death.(AL) King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David(AM) to this day.

20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.(AN)

21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war(AO) against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

22 But this word of God came to Shemaiah(AP) the man of God:(AQ) 23 “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan

25 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem(AR) in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.[e](AS)

26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem,(AT) they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves.(AU) He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”(AV) 29 One he set up in Bethel,(AW) and the other in Dan.(AX) 30 And this thing became a sin;(AY) the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.[f]

31 Jeroboam built shrines(AZ) on high places and appointed priests(BA) from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth(BB) month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel,(BC) sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel.(BD) So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

The Man of God From Judah

13 By the word of the Lord a man of God(BE) came from Judah to Bethel,(BF) as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2 By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah(BG) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places(BH) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign:(BI) “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5 Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

6 Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede(BJ) with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

7 The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”(BK)

8 But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,(BL) I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread(BM) or drink water here. 9 For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

11 Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12 Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“I am,” he replied.

15 So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.”

16 The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread(BN) or drink water with you in this place. 17 I have been told by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”

18 The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord:(BO) ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying(BP) to him.) 19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have defied(BQ) the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. 22 You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’”

23 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24 As he went on his way, a lion(BR) met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25 Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

26 When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who defied(BS) the word of the Lord. The Lord has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him.”

27 The prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they did so. 28 Then he went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. 29 So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. 30 Then he laid the body in his own tomb,(BT) and they mourned over him and said, “Alas, my brother!”(BU)

31 After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones(BV) beside his bones. 32 For the message he declared by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places(BW) in the towns of Samaria(BX) will certainly come true.”(BY)

33 Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways,(BZ) but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts(CA) of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. 34 This was the sin(CB) of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction(CC) from the face of the earth.

Ahijah’s Prophecy Against Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, 2 and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah(CD) the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. 3 Take ten loaves of bread(CE) with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” 4 So Jeroboam’s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.

Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. 5 But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.”

6 So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense?(CF) I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:(CG) ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler(CH) over my people Israel. 8 I tore(CI) the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right(CJ) in my eyes. 9 You have done more evil(CK) than all who lived before you.(CL) You have made for yourself other gods, idols(CM) made of metal; you have aroused(CN) my anger and turned your back on me.(CO)

10 “‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster(CP) on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free.[g](CQ) I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone.(CR) 11 Dogs(CS) will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds(CT) will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken!’

12 “As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. 13 All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, has found anything good.(CU)

14 “The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen.[h] 15 And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot(CV) Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused(CW) the Lord’s anger by making Asherah(CX) poles.[i] 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins(CY) Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah.(CZ) As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18 They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.

19 The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 20 He reigned for twenty-two years and then rested with his ancestors. And Nadab his son succeeded him as king.

Rehoboam King of Judah(DA)

21 Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.(DB)

22 Judah(DC) did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger(DD) more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones(DE) and Asherah poles(DF) on every high hill and under every spreading tree.(DG) 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes(DH) in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable(DI) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked(DJ) Jerusalem. 26 He carried off the treasures of the temple(DK) of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields(DL) Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.(DM) 28 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

29 As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30 There was continual warfare(DN) between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 And Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.(DO) And Abijah[j] his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 11:27 Or the Millo
  2. 1 Kings 11:33 Hebrew; Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac because he has
  3. 1 Kings 12:2 Or he remained in
  4. 1 Kings 12:18 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 4:6 and 5:14); Hebrew Adoram
  5. 1 Kings 12:25 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel
  6. 1 Kings 12:30 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text people went to the one as far as Dan
  7. 1 Kings 14:10 Or Israel—every ruler or leader
  8. 1 Kings 14:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  9. 1 Kings 14:15 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 1 Kings
  10. 1 Kings 14:31 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 12:16); most Hebrew manuscripts Abijam
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