Ahijah’s Prophecy Against Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, ² and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah^(A) the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. ³ Take ten loaves of bread^(B) with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” ⁴ So Jeroboam’s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.

Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. ⁵ But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.”

⁶ So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense?^(C) I have been sent to you with bad news. ⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:^(D) ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler^(E) over my people Israel. ⁸ I tore^(F) the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right^(G) in my eyes. ⁹ You have done more evil^(H) than all who lived before you.^(I) You have made for yourself other gods, idols^(J) made of metal; you have aroused^(K) my anger and turned your back on me.^(L)

¹⁰ “‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster^(M) on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free.^[a](N) I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone.^{(O) 11} Dogs^(P) will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds^(Q) will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken!’

¹² “As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. ¹³ All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, has found anything good.^(R)

¹⁴ “The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen.^{[b] 15} And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot^(S) Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused^(T) the Lord’s anger by making Asherah^(U) poles.^{[c] 16} And he will give Israel up because of the sins^(V) Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah.^(W) As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. ¹⁸ They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.

¹⁹ The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. ²⁰ He reigned for twenty-two years and then rested with his ancestors. And Nadab his son succeeded him as king.

Rehoboam King of Judah^(X)

²¹ Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.^(Y)

²² Judah^(Z) did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger^(AA) more than those who were before them had done. ²³ They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones^(AB) and Asherah poles^(AC) on every high hill and under every spreading tree.^{(AD) 24} There were even male shrine prostitutes^(AE) in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable^(AF) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

²⁵ In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked^(AG) Jerusalem. ²⁶ He carried off the treasures of the temple^(AH) of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields^(AI) Solomon had made. ²⁷ So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.^{(AJ) 28} Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

²⁹ As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ³⁰ There was continual warfare^(AK) between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ³¹ And Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.^(AL) And Abijah^[d] his son succeeded him as king.

Amaziah King of Judah^(A)(B)(C)

25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.^{(D) 3} After the kingdom was firmly in his control, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king. ⁴ Yet he did not put their children to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses,^(E) where the Lord commanded: “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.”^[a](F)

⁵ Amaziah called the people of Judah together and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered^(G) those twenty years old^(H) or more and found that there were three hundred thousand men fit for military service,^(I) able to handle the spear and shield. ⁶ He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for a hundred talents^[b] of silver.

⁷ But a man of God came to him and said, “Your Majesty, these troops from Israel^(J) must not march with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—not with any of the people of Ephraim. ⁸ Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”^(K)

⁹ Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?”

The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”^(L)

¹⁰ So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage.^(M)

¹¹ Amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir. ¹² The army of Judah also captured ten thousand men alive, took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.^(N)

¹³ Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had sent back and had not allowed to take part in the war raided towns belonging to Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed three thousand people and carried off great quantities of plunder.

¹⁴ When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods,^(O) bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them. ¹⁵ The anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why do you consult this people’s gods, which could not save^(P) their own people from your hand?”

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?”

So the prophet stopped but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

¹⁷ After Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, he sent this challenge to Jehoash^[c] son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel: “Come, let us face each other in battle.”

¹⁸ But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle^(Q) in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot. ¹⁹ You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, and now you are arrogant and proud. But stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”

²⁰ Amaziah, however, would not listen, for God so worked that he might deliver them into the hands of Jehoash, because they sought the gods of Edom.^{(R) 21} So Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah. ²² Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home. ²³ Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah,^[d] at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate^(S) to the Corner Gate^(T)—a section about four hundred cubits^[e] long. ²⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-Edom,^(U) together with the palace treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵ Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. ²⁶ As for the other events of Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷ From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish^(V), but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁸ He was brought back by horse and was buried with his ancestors in the City of Judah.^[f]