1 Kings 14-15

New English Translation

14 ^[a] At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became sick. ² Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise^[b] yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam’s wife. Then go to Shiloh; Ahijah the prophet, who told me I would rule over this nation, lives there.^{[c] 3} Take^[d] ten loaves of bread, some small cakes, and a container of honey and visit him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

⁴ Jeroboam’s wife did as she was told. She went to Shiloh and visited Ahijah.^[e] Now Ahijah could not see; he had lost his eyesight in his old age.^{[f] 5} But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Look, Jeroboam’s wife is coming to find out from you what will happen to her son, for he is sick. Tell her such and such.^[g] When she comes, she will be in a disguise.” ⁶ When Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come on in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have been commissioned to give you bad news.^{[h] 7} Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: “I raised you up^[i] from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel. ⁸ I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only what I approve.^{[j] 9} You have sinned more than all who came before you. You went and angered me by making other gods, formed out of metal; you have completely disregarded me.^{[k] 10} So I am ready to bring disaster^[l] on the dynasty^[m] of Jeroboam. I will cut off every last male belonging to Jeroboam in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated.^[n] I will burn up the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one burns manure until it is completely consumed.^{[o] 11} Dogs will eat the members of your family^[p] who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”’ Indeed, the Lord has announced it!

¹² “As for you, get up and go home. When you set foot in the city, the boy will die. ¹³ All Israel will mourn him and bury him. He is the only one in Jeroboam’s family^[q] who will receive a decent burial, for he is the only one in whom the Lord God of Israel found anything good. ¹⁴ The Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will cut off Jeroboam’s dynasty.^[r] It is ready to happen!^{[s] 15} The Lord will attack Israel, making it like a reed that sways in the water.^[t] He will remove Israel from this good land he gave to their ancestors^[u] and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River,^[v] because they angered the Lord by making Asherah poles.^{[w] 16} He will hand Israel over to their enemies^[x] because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit.”

¹⁷ So Jeroboam’s wife got up and went back to^[y] Tirzah. As she crossed the threshold of the house, the boy died. ¹⁸ All Israel buried him and mourned for him, in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken through his servant, the prophet Ahijah.

Jeroboam’s Reign Ends

¹⁹ The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, including the details of his battles and rule, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.^{[z] 20} Jeroboam ruled for twenty-two years; then he passed away.^[aa] His son Nadab replaced him as king.

Rehoboam’s Reign over Judah

²¹ Now Rehoboam son of Solomon ruled in Judah. He^[ab] was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home.^[ac] His mother was an Ammonite woman^[ad] named Naamah.

²² Judah did evil in the sight of^[ae] the Lord. They made him more jealous by their sins than their ancestors had done.^{[af] 23} They even built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. ²⁴ There were also male cultic prostitutes^[ag] in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations^[ah] that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.

²⁵ In King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. ²⁶ He took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including all the golden shields that Solomon had made. ²⁷ King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard^[ai] who protected the entrance to the royal palace. ²⁸ Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guard carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom.

²⁹ The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.^{[aj] 30} Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other. ³¹ Rehoboam passed away^[ak] and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His mother was an Ammonite named Naamah. His son Abijah^[al] replaced him as king.

Abijah’s Reign over Judah

15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah^[am] became king over Judah. ² He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.^{[an] 3} He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been.^{[ao] 4} Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty^[ap] in Jerusalem by giving him a son^[aq] to succeed him^[ar] and by protecting Jerusalem.^{[as] 5} He did this^[at] because David had done what he approved^[au] and had not disregarded any of his commandments^[av] his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite. ⁶ Rehoboam^[aw] and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other throughout Abijah’s^[ax] lifetime. ⁷ The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.^[ay] Abijah and Jeroboam had been at war with each other. ⁸ Abijah passed away^[az] and was buried^[ba] in the City of David. His son Asa replaced him as king.

Asa’s Reign over Judah

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became the king of Judah. ¹⁰ He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother^[bb] was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ Asa did what the Lord approved^[bc] as his ancestor^[bd] David had done. ¹² He removed the male cultic prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the disgusting idols^[be] his ancestors^[bf] had made. ¹³ He also removed Maacah his grandmother^[bg] from her position as queen mother^[bh] because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her loathsome pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁴ The high places were not eliminated, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.^{[bi] 15} He brought the holy items that he and his father had made into the Lord’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles.^[bj]

¹⁶ Now Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other.^{[bk] 17} King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah and established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah.^{[bl] 18} Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and handed it to his servants. He then told them to deliver it^[bm] to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: ¹⁹ “I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made.^[bn] See, I have sent you silver and gold as a present. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.”^{[bo] 20} Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel.^[bp] They conquered^[bq] Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all the territory of Naphtali, including the region of Kinnereth.^{[br] 21} When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying^[bs] Ramah and settled down in Tirzah. ²² King Asa ordered all the men of Judah (no exemptions were granted) to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah.^[bt] King Asa used the materials to build up^[bu] Geba (in Benjamin) and Mizpah.

²³ The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, including all his successes and accomplishments, as well as a record of the cities he built, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.^[bv] Yet when he was very old he developed a foot disease.^{[bw] 24} Asa passed away^[bx] and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoshaphat replaced him as king.

Nadab’s Reign over Israel

²⁵ In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Nadab became the king of Israel; he ruled Israel for two years. ²⁶ He did evil in the sight of^[by] the Lord. He followed in his father’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to sin.^[bz]

²⁷ Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, conspired against Nadab^[ca] and assassinated him in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory. This happened while Nadab and all the Israelite army were besieging Gibbethon. ²⁸ Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah and replaced him as king. ²⁹ When he became king, he executed Jeroboam’s entire family.^[cb] He wiped out^[cc] everyone who breathed, in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. ³⁰ This happened because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit. These sins angered the Lord God of Israel.^[cd]

³¹ The rest of the events of Nadab’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.^{[ce] 32} Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other.

Baasha’s Reign over Israel

³³ In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah; he ruled for twenty-four years. ³⁴ He did evil in the sight of^[cf] the Lord; he followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to sin.^[cg]