Disaster on the House of Jeroboam

1At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became sick.a 2Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go disguise yourself,b so they won’t know that you’re Jeroboam’s wife, and go to Shiloh.c Ahijah the prophet is there; it was he who told about me becoming king over this people.d 3Take with you 10 loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey,e and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

4Jeroboam’s wife did that: she went to Shiloh and arrived at Ahijah’s house. Ahijah could not see; his gaze was fixedf due to his age.g 5But the LORD had said to Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming soon to ask you about her son, for he is sick. You are to say such and such to her. When she arrives, she will be disguised.”h

6When Ahijah heard the sound of her feet entering the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you disguised?i I have bad news for you. 7Go tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the LORD God of Israel says: I raised you up from among the people, appointed you ruler over My people Israel, 8tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you.j But you were not like My servant David, who kept My commands and followed Me with all of his heart, doing only what is right in My eyes. 9You behaved more wickedly than all who were before you.k In order to provoke Me, you have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and cast images,l but you have flung Me behind your back.m 10Because of all this, I am about to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam:

I will eliminate all of Jeroboam’s males,n

both slave and free,o in Israel;

I will sweep away the house of Jeroboam

as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone!p

11Anyone who belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city,

the dogs will eat,

and anyone who dies in the field,

the birds of the sky will eat,q

for the LORD has said it! ’

12“As for you, get up and go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the boy will die.r 13All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He alone out of Jeroboam’s house will be put in the family tomb, because out of the house of Jeroboam the LORD God of Israel found something good only in him.s 14The LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel, who will eliminate the house of Jeroboam.t This is the day, yes,u even today! 15For the LORD will strike Israel and the people will shake as a reed shakes in water. He will uproot Israel from this good soil that He gave to their ancestors.v He will scatter them beyond the Euphratesw because they made their •Asherah poles, provoking the LORD.x 16He will give up Israel because of Jeroboam’s sins that he committed and caused Israel to commit.”y

17Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah.z As she was crossing the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18He was buried, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD He had spoken through His servant Ahijah the prophet.aa

19As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, how he waged warab and how he reigned, note that they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings. 20The length of Jeroboam’s reign was 22 years. He rested with his fathers, and his son Nadab became king in his place.ac

Judah’s King Rehoboam

21Now Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, reigned in Judah.ad Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king; he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, the city where •Yahweh had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name.ae Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.af

22Judah did what was evil in the LORD’s eyes.ag They provoked Him to jealous angerah more than all that their ancestors had done with the sins they committed. 23They also built for themselves •high places,ai sacred pillars,aj and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree; 24there were even male cult prostitutes in the land.ak They imitated all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.al

25In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egyptam went to war against Jerusalem.an 26He seized the treasuries of the LORD’s temple and the treasuries of the royal palace. He took everything. He took all the gold shields that Solomon had made.ao 27King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them into the care of the captains of the royal escortsap, aq who guarded the entrance to the king’s palace. 28Whenever the king entered the LORD’s temple, the royal escorts would carry the shields, then they would take them back to the royal escorts’ armory.ar

29The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign,as along with all his accomplishments, are written about in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. 30There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their reigns.at 31Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.au His son Abijamav, aw became king in his place.