³³ Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways,^(A) but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts^(B) of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. ³⁴ This was the sin^(C) of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction^(D) from the face of the earth.

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^(E) the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. ³ Take ten loaves of bread^(F) 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?^(G) I have been sent to you with bad news. ⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:^(H) ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler^(I) over my people Israel. ⁸ I tore^(J) 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^(K) in my eyes. ⁹ You have done more evil^(L) than all who lived before you.^(M) You have made for yourself other gods, idols^(N) made of metal; you have aroused^(O) my anger and turned your back on me.^(P)

¹⁰ “‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster^(Q) on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free.^[a](R) I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone.^{(S) 11} Dogs^(T) will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds^(U) 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.^(V)

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^(W) Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused^(X) the Lord’s anger by making Asherah^(Y) poles.^{[c] 16} And he will give Israel up because of the sins^(Z) Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah.^(AA) 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.

Rehoboam Fortifies Judah

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah: ⁶ Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities^(A) in Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹ He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. ¹² He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. ¹⁹ She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. ²⁰ Then he married Maakah^(A) daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah,^(B) Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives^(C) and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²² Rehoboam appointed Abijah^(D) son of Maakah as crown prince among his brothers, in order to make him king. ²³ He acted wisely, dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions^(E) and took many wives for them.

²² Judah^(A) did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger^(B) more than those who were before them had done. ²³ They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones^(C) and Asherah poles^(D) on every high hill and under every spreading tree.^{(E) 24} There were even male shrine prostitutes^(F) in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable^(G) 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^(H) Jerusalem. ²⁶ He carried off the treasures of the temple^(I) of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields^(J) 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.^{(K) 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^(L) 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.^(M) And Abijah^[a] his son succeeded him as king.

Abijah King of Judah^(N)

15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah^[b] became king of Judah, ² and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah^(O) daughter of Abishalom.^[c]

³ He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted^(P) to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. ⁴ Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp^(Q) in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. ⁵ For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep^(R) any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah^(S) the Hittite.

Shishak Attacks Jerusalem^(A)

12 After Rehoboam’s position as king was established^(B) and he had become strong,^(C) he and all Israel^[a](D) with him abandoned^(E) the law of the Lord. ² Because they had been unfaithful^(F) to the Lord, Shishak^(G) king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. ³ With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans,^(H) Sukkites and Cushites^[b](I) that came with him from Egypt, ⁴ he captured the fortified cities^(J) of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵ Then the prophet Shemaiah^(K) came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon^(L) you to Shishak.’”

⁶ The leaders of Israel and the king humbled^(M) themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”^(N)

⁷ When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance.^(O) My wrath^(P) will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. ⁸ They will, however, become subject^(Q) to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”

⁹ When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields^(R) Solomon had made. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

¹² Because Rehoboam humbled^(S) himself, the Lord’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good^(T) in Judah.

¹³ King Rehoboam established^(U) himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued as king. 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.^(V) His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. ¹⁴ He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.

¹⁵ As for the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah^(W) the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ¹⁶ Rehoboam^(X) rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Abijah^(Y) his son succeeded him as king.

Abijah King of Judah^(Z)

13 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah, ² and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah,^[c](AA) a daughter^[d] of Uriel of Gibeah.

There was war between Abijah^(AB) and Jeroboam.^{(AC) 3} Abijah went into battle with an army of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops.

⁴ Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim,^(AD) in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel,^(AE) listen to me! ⁵ Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever^(AF) by a covenant of salt?^{(AG) 6} Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled^(AH) against his master. ⁷ Some worthless scoundrels^(AI) gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive^(AJ) and not strong enough to resist them.

⁸ “And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hands of David’s descendants.^(AK) You are indeed a vast army and have with you^(AL) the golden calves^(AM) that Jeroboam made to be your gods. ⁹ But didn’t you drive out the priests^(AN) of the Lord,^(AO) the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull^(AP) and seven rams^(AQ) may become a priest of what are not gods.^(AR)

¹⁰ “As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. ¹¹ Every morning and evening^(AS) they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense^(AT) to the Lord. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table^(AU) and light the lamps^(AV) on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the Lord our God. But you have forsaken him. ¹² God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you.^(AW) People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord,^(AX) the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”^(AY)

¹³ Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush^(AZ) was behind them. ¹⁴ Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out^(BA) to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets ¹⁵ and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel^(BB) before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered^(BC) them into their hands. ¹⁷ Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men. ¹⁸ The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied^(BD) on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

¹⁹ Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the Lord struck him down and he died.

²¹ But Abijah grew in strength. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

²² The other events of Abijah’s reign, what he did and what he said, are written in the annotations of the prophet Iddo.

14 ^[e]And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.