Chapter 14

Ahijah Prophesies against the King

1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.

2 Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise now, and adisguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to bShiloh; behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who cspoke concerning me that I would be king over this people.

3 “aTake ten loaves with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

4 Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose and went to aShiloh, and came to the house of bAhijah. Now Ahijah could not see, cfor his eyes were 1dim because of his age.

5 Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to 1inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. You shall say thus and thus to her, for it will be when she arrives that ashe will pretend to be another woman.”

6 When Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam, why do you pretend to be another woman? For I am sent to you with a harsh message.

7 “Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “aBecause I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel,

8 and atore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—byet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, cto do only that which was right in My sight;

9 you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and ahave gone and made for yourself other gods and bmolten images to provoke Me to anger, and have ccast Me behind your back—

10 therefore behold, I am bringing calamity on the house of Jeroboam, and awill cut off from Jeroboam 1every male person, bboth bond and free in Israel, and I cwill make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.

11 “aAnyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs will eat. And he who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat; for the Lord has spoken it.” ’

12 “Now you, arise, go to your house. aWhen your feet enter the city the child will die.

13 “All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for 1he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him asomething good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

14 “Moreover, athe Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam this day 1and from now on.

15 “For the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and aHe will uproot Israel from bthis good land which He gave to their fathers, and cwill scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, dbecause they have made their 1Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger.

16 “He will give up Israel aon account of the sins of Jeroboam, which he 1committed and with which he made Israel to sin.”

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed and came to aTirzah. bAs she was entering the threshold of the house, the child died.

18 aAll Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, ahow he made war and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

20 The time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Misleads Judah

21 aNow Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, bthe city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

22 aJudah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they bprovoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with 1the sins which they 2committed.

23 For they also built for themselves ahigh places and sacred bpillars and 1cAsherim on every high hill and dbeneath every luxuriant tree.

24 There were also amale cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

25 aNow it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.

26 He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and ahe took everything, 1beven taking all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

27 So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and acommitted them to the 1care of the commanders of the 2guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house.

28 Then it happened as often as the king entered the house of the Lord, that the 1guards would carry them and would bring them back into the 1guards’ room.

29 aNow 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 aThere was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and ahis mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son became king in his place.