1 Kings 14:1–20

The Death of Jeroboam’s Son

14At that time King Jeroboam’s son Abijah fell ill. ²Jeroboam said to his wife, “Disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you, and go to Shiloh, where the prophet Ahijah lives, the one who said I would be king of Israel. ³Take him ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey. Ask him what is going to happen to our son, and he will tell you.”

⁴So she went to Ahijah’s home in Shiloh. Old age had made Ahijah blind. ⁵The Lord had told him that Jeroboam’s wife was coming to ask him about her son, who was ill. And the Lord told Ahijah what to say.

When Jeroboam’s wife arrived, she pretended to be someone else. ⁶But when Ahijah heard her coming in the door, he said, “Come in. I know you are Jeroboam’s wife. Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have bad news for you. ⁷Go and tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to him: ‘I chose you from among the people and made you the ruler of my people Israel. ⁸I took the kingdom away from David’s descendants and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David, who was completely loyal to me, obeyed my commands, and did only what I approve of. ⁹You have committed far greater sins than those who ruled before you. You have rejected me and have aroused my anger by making idols and metal images to worship. ^10*Because of this I will bring disaster on your dynasty and will kill all your male descendants, young and old alike. I will get rid of your family; they will be swept away like dung. ¹¹Any members of your family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and any who die in the open country will be eaten by vultures. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ ”

¹²And Ahijah went on to say to Jeroboam’s wife, “Now go back home. As soon as you enter the town your son will die. ¹³All the people of Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He will be the only member of Jeroboam’s family who will be properly buried, because he is the only one with whom the Lord, the God of Israel, is pleased. ¹⁴The Lord is going to place a king over Israel who will put an end to Jeroboam’s dynasty.^{s 15}The Lord will punish Israel, and she will shake like a reed shaking in a stream. He will uproot the people of Israel from this good land which he gave to their ancestors, and he will scatter them beyond the River Euphrates, because they have aroused his anger by making idols of the goddess Asherah. ¹⁶The Lord will abandon Israel because Jeroboam sinned and led the people of Israel into sin.”

¹⁷Jeroboam’s wife went back to Tirzah. Just as she entered her home, the child died. ¹⁸The people of Israel mourned for him and buried him, as the Lord had said through his servant, the prophet Ahijah.

The Death of Jeroboam

¹⁹Everything else that King Jeroboam did, the wars he fought and how he ruled, are all recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. ²⁰Jeroboam ruled as king for 22 years. He died and was buried, and his son Nadab succeeded him as king.