²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For ^(A)we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but ^(B)the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And ^(C)he who searches hearts knows what is ^(D)the mind of the Spirit, because^[a] the Spirit ^(E)intercedes for the saints ^(F)according to the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^(G)for good,^[b] for ^(H)those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he ^(I)foreknew he also ^(J)predestined ^(K)to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be ^(L)the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also ^(M)justified, and those whom he justified he also ^(N)glorified.

God's Everlasting Love

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? ^(O)If God is for us, who can be^[c] against us? ^32 (P)He who did not spare his own Son but ^(Q)gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? ^(R)It is God who justifies. ^34 (S)Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—^(T)who is at the right hand of God, ^(U)who indeed is interceding for us.^{[d] 35} Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than ^(X)conquerors through ^(Y)him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rehoboam Secures His Kingdom

11 ^(A)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 ^(B)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 ^(C)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 ^(D)cities for defense in Judah. ⁶ He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, ^(E)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 ^(F)their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, ^(G)because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, ¹⁵ and he appointed his own ^(H)priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for ^(I)the calves that he had made. ^16 (J)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 (K)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 ^(L)Eliab the son of Jesse, ¹⁹ and she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ After her he took ^(M)Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore him ^(N)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 (O)And Rehoboam appointed ^(P)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.^[a]

Egypt Plunders Jerusalem

12 ^(Q)When the rule of Rehoboam was established ^(R)and he was strong, ^(S)he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. ^2 (T)In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, ^(U)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—^(V)Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians. ⁴ And he took ^(W)the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. ⁵ Then ^(X)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, ^(Y)‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” ⁶ Then the princes of ^(Z)Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, ^(AA)“The Lord is righteous.” ⁷ When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: ^(AB)“They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, ^(AC)and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. ⁸ Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, ^(AD)that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

^9 (AE)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 ^(AF)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 ^(AG)he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, ^(AH)conditions were good^[b] in Judah.

^13 (AI)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, ^(AJ)for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

^15 (AK)Now the acts of Rehoboam, ^(AL)from first to last, are they not written in the chronicles of ^(AM)Shemaiah the prophet and of ^(AN)Iddo ^(AO)the seer?^[c] There were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ¹⁶ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David, and ^(AP)Abijah^[d] his son reigned in his place.

Abijah Reigns in Judah

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

^(AT)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 ^(AU)drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. ⁴ Then Abijah stood up on Mount ^(AV)Zemaraim that is in ^(AW)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 ^(AX)gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by ^(AY)a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up ^(AZ)and rebelled against his lord, ⁷ and certain ^(BA)worthless scoundrels^[f] gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was ^(BB)young and irresolute^[g] 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 ^(BC)the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. ^9 (BD)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 ^(BE)for ordination^[h] with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are ^(BF)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 ^(BG)every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out ^(BH)the showbread on the table of pure gold, ^(BI)and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may ^(BJ)burn every evening. For we ^(BK)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 ^(BL)with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, ^(BM)do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

¹³ Jeroboam had sent ^(BN)an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops^[i] 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. ^(BO)And they cried to the Lord, and the priests ^(BP)blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, ^(BQ)God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The men of Israel fled before Judah, ^(BR)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, ^(BS)because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. ¹⁹ And Abijah pursued Jeroboam ^(BT)and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and ^(BU)Ephron^[j] with its villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. ^(BV)And the Lord struck him down, ^(BW)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 ^(BX)story of the prophet ^(BY)Iddo.