1 Kings 14

1 At that time, Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick.

2 Jeroboam said to his wife, “Disguise yourself, in order that no one will recognize that you are my wife. Then go to Shiloh [city], where the prophet Ahijah [lives]. He is the one who predicted/prophesied that I would become the king of Israel.

3 Take with you ten [loaves of] bread and some small flat cakes, and a jar of honey, [and give them] to him. [Tell him about] our son, [and] he will tell you what will happen to him.”

4 So his wife went to Shiloh, to Ahijah’s house. Ahijah was unable to see, because he was very old and had become blind.

5 But [before she got there, ] Yahweh told Ahijah that Jeroboam’s wife was coming to inquire about their son, who was very sick. And Yahweh told Ahijah what he should tell her. When she came to him, she pretended to be another woman.

6 But when Ahijah heard her footsteps as she entered the doorway, he said to her, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! (Why do you pretend that you are someone else?/It will not help you to pretend that you are someone else.) [RHQ] [Yahweh] has given me bad news to tell you.

7 Go and tell Jeroboam that this is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says to you: ‘I chose you from among the common people and enabled you to become the king of my Israeli people.

8 I took [most of] the kingdom of Israel away from David’s descendants and gave it to you. But you have not been like David, who served me [very well]. He obeyed all my commandments very sincerely, doing only things that I considered to be right.

9 But you have done more evil things/deeds than all those [who ruled] before you. You have rejected me, and you have caused me to become very angry by making metal images of other gods so that you [and others] could worship them.

10 ‘So, I am going to cause terrible things to happen to your family. I will cause all your male descendants to die, young ones and old ones. I will completely get rid of your family [MTY]. I will get rid of your family [MTY] just like a man completely burns dung [to cook his food].

11 [The corpses of] any members of your family who die in cities will be eaten by dogs. And [the corpses of] any members of your family who die in the open fields will be eaten by vultures. [This will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said [that it will happen].’

12 So go back home. And as soon as you enter the city, your son will die.

13 All the Israeli people will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one of Jeroboam’s family who will be buried [properly], because he is the only one of Jeroboam’s family with whom Yahweh is pleased.

14 Furthermore, Yahweh will appoint for himself a king to rule over Israel who will get rid of Jeroboam’s descendants. And that [will start to happen] today!

15 Yahweh will punish the people of Israel; he will shake them like [the wind] shakes the reeds [that grow in] a stream. He will expel the Israeli people from this good land that he gave to our ancestors. He will scatter them into countries east of [the Euphrates] River, because they have caused him to become very angry by [worshiping statues of] the goddess Asherah.

16 Yahweh will abandon the Israeli people because of the sins that Jeroboam committed, sins which led the Israeli people to commit them.”

17 Jeroboam’s wife returned home to Tirzah [city, the new capital of Israel]. And just as she entered her house, her son died.

18 All the Israeli people mourned for him and buried him, which is what Yahweh had told his servant, the prophet Ahijah, would happen.

19 Everything else that Jeroboam did, and the record of wars that his [army] fought, and how he ruled, is written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

20 Jeroboam ruled for 22 years; then he died [EUP] and his son Nadab became king.

21 Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruled Judah. He was 41 years old when he started to rule, and he ruled for 17 years. He ruled in Jerusalem, which is the city that Yahweh chose out of all the tribes of Israel to be the place where he should be worshiped [MTY]. Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah; she was from the Ammon people-group.

And Roboam son of Solomon ruled over Juda. Roboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in the city Jerusalem, which the Lord chose to put his name there out of all the tribes of Israel: and his mother's name [was] Naama the Ammonitess.

22 The people of Judah did things that Yahweh considered to be evil. They caused him to become angry because they committed more sins than their ancestors had committed: They worshiped many other gods instead of worshiping only Yahweh.

And Roboam did evil in the sight of the Lord; and he provoked him in all the things which their fathers did in their sins which they sinned.

23 They built places to worship those gods; on high hills, and under big trees they set up [stone] pillars to worship the goddess Asherah.

And they built for themselves high places, and pillars, and [planted] groves on every high hill, and under every shady tree.

24 Also, there were male prostitutes at these places of worship. The Israeli people did the same disgraceful things that had been done by the people whom Yahweh had expelled while the Israelis were advancing through the land.

And there was a conspiracy in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord removed from before the children of Israel.

25 When Rehoboam had been ruling for almost five years, King Shishak of Egypt came [with his army] to attack Jerusalem.

And it came to pass in the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Susakim king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem;

26 They took away all the valuable things in the temple and in the king’s palace, including the gold shields that Solomon’s [workers] had made.

and took all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and the golden spears which David took out of the hand of the sons of Adrazaar king of Suba, and brought them into Jerusalem, even all that he took, [and] the golden shields which Solomon had made, [and carried them away into Egypt.]

27 King Rehoboam’s [workers] made bronze shields to replace them and entrusted them to officers who guarded the entrance to the king’s palace.

And king Roboam made brazen shields instead of them; and the chiefs of the golden shields which Solomon had made, and the chiefs of the body guard, who kept the gate of the house of the king, were placed in charge over them.

28 Every time that the king went into the temple, those guards carried those shields; and [when he left the temple] they returned the shields to the storeroom.

And it came to pass when the king went into the house of the Lord, that the body guard took them up, and fixed them in the chamber of the body guard.

29 Everything else that Rehoboam did is written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

And the rest of the history of Roboam, and all that he did, behold, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda?

30 There were wars continually between [the armies of] Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

And there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam continually.

31 Then Rehoboam died [EUP], and he was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’, where his ancestors were buried. Then his son Abijah became the king.

And Roboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Abiu his son reigned in his stead.