Jeroboam’s Son Dies
14 At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick. 2 So Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go to Shiloh to see the prophet Ahijah. He is the one who said I would become king of Israel. But ·dress [disguise] yourself so people won’t know you are my wife. 3 Take the prophet ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” 4 So the king’s wife did as he said and went to Ahijah’s home in Shiloh.
Now Ahijah was very old and ·blind [L his eyes were dim]. 5 The Lord said to him, “Jeroboam’s son is sick, and Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about him. When she arrives, she will pretend to be ·someone else [another woman].” Then the Lord told Ahijah ·what to say [to say such and such/thus and thus].
6 When Ahijah heard her walking to the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why are you pretending to be ·someone else [another woman]? I have ·bad [heavy] news for you. 7 Go back and tell Jeroboam ·that this is what [T thus says] the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jeroboam, I ·chose [exalted; raised; promoted] you from among all the people and made you the leader of my people Israel. 8 I ·tore [ripped] the kingdom away from David’s ·family [L house], and I gave it to you. But you ·are not [have not been] like my servant David, who always obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart. He did only what ·I said was right [L what was right in my eyes/sight]. 9 But you have done more evil than ·anyone who ruled [all who were] before you. You have ·quit following me [turned your back on me; L thrown me behind your back] and have made other gods and idols of metal. This has ·made me very angry [provoked/aroused my anger], 10 so I will soon bring ·disaster [calamity] to ·your family [L the house of Jeroboam]. I will ·kill [L cut off] all the men ·in your family [L from Jeroboam], both ·slaves [bond] and free men. I will ·destroy [or sweep away] your family as ·completely as fire burns up [or one sweeps away] ·manure [dung]. 11 Anyone from your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the ·fields [country] will be eaten by the ·birds [vultures; L birds of the air/sky]. The Lord has spoken.’”
12 Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s wife, “Go home now. As soon as you enter your city, ·your son [the child/boy] will die, 13 and all Israel will ·be sad [mourn] for him and bury him. He is the only one of Jeroboam’s family who will ·be buried [have a proper burial; L come to the grave], because he is the only one in ·the king’s family [L Jeroboam’s house] ·who pleased the Lord, the God of Israel [in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, found something good].
14 “The Lord will ·put [raise up] a new king over Israel, who will ·destroy [L cut off] Jeroboam’s ·family [L house], ·and this will happen soon [from this day on; L this day, what, even now?; C the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain]. 15 Then the Lord will ·punish [shake; L strike] Israel, which will be like reeds ·swaying [shaking] in the water. The Lord will ·pull up [uproot] Israel from this good land, the land he gave their ancestors. He will scatter Israel beyond the Euphrates River, because he is angry with the people. They ·made the Lord angry [aroused/provoked the Lord to anger] when they set up ·idols to worship Asherah [L Asherahs; C sacred trees or poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah]. 16 Jeroboam sinned, and then he made the people of Israel sin. So the Lord will ·let the people of Israel be defeated [abandon/give up Israel].”
17 Then Jeroboam’s wife left and returned to Tirzah. As ·soon as she entered [L she crossed the threshold of] her home, the boy died. 18 After they buried him, all Israel ·had a time of sadness [mourned] for him, ·just as the Lord had said [according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke] ·through [L by the hand of] his servant, the prophet Ahijah.
19 Everything else Jeroboam did, his wars and how he ruled, ·is [L is it not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals] of the kings of Israel [C a history book now lost]. 20 He served [reigned] as king for twenty-two years. Then he ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors], and his son Nadab ·became king [reigned] in his place.
The Death of Rehoboam(A)
21 Solomon’s son Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king of Judah. His mother was Naamah from Ammon. Rehoboam ·ruled [reigned] in Jerusalem for seventeen years. (The Lord had chosen that city from all the ·land [L tribes] of Israel ·as the place where he would be worshiped [L in which to put his name].)
22 The people of Judah did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. Their sins ·made the Lord very angry, even more angry than he had been at what [provoked/aroused his resentment/jealousy more than anything] their ancestors had done. 23 The people built ·places to worship gods [L high places; 3:2] and pillars and Asherah ·idols [poles; 14:15] on every high hill and under every ·green [luxuriant; spreading] tree. 24 There were even male prostitutes [C associated with pagan cults] in the land. They ·acted like [imitated/committed the detestable acts/abominations of] the people God had ·driven out of [dispossessed from] the land before the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel].
25 During the fifth year Rehoboam was king, Shishak king of Egypt [C ruler of Egypt 935–914 bc] ·attacked [came against] Jerusalem. 26 He took the treasures from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and the king’s ·palace [L house]. He took everything, even the gold shields Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to put in their place and ·gave [entrusted; committed] them to the commanders of the guards for the ·palace gates [L doorway/entrance of the king’s house]. 28 Whenever the king went to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, the guards carried the shields. Later, they would put them back in the guardroom.
29 ·Everything [L Is not everything…?] else King Rehoboam did is written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 14:19] of the kings of Judah. 30 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam ·the whole time [continually; constantly]. 31 Rehoboam, son of Naamah from Ammon, ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried with his ·ancestors [fathers] in the City of David [C Jerusalem], and his son Abijam[a] [C a pejorative name for Abijah; see 15:1] became king in his place.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 14:31 Abijam Some Hebrew and Greek copies read “Abijah.”