1 Kings 14

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

At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam 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.

Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise and disguise yourself, so you will not be recognized as my wife, and go to Shiloh, because Ahijah the prophet is there; he is the one who spoke about me, saying that I would become king over these people.

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.”

Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to Ahijah. He will tell you what will happen to the child.”

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.

Jeroboam's wife did so; she left and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see; he lost his sight because of old age.

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.

Yahweh said to Ahijah, “Look, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to seek advice from you regarding her son, for he is sick. Say such and such to her, because when she comes, she will act as if she were some other 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.

When Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be someone you are not? I have been sent to you with bad news.

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.

Go, tell Jeroboam that Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, 'I raised you from among the people to make you the leader over my people Israel.

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.

I tore the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you, yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, to do only what was right in my eyes.

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.

Instead, you have done evil, more than all who were before you. You have made other gods, and you have cast metal images to provoke me to anger, and have thrust me behind your back.

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].

Therefore, look, I will bring disaster on your family; I will cut off from you every male child in Israel, whether slave or free, and will completely remove your family, like someone who burns up dung until it is gone.

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].’

Anyone who belongs to your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the heavens, for I, Yahweh, have said it.'

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

So arise, wife of Jeroboam, and go back to your home; when your feet enter the city, the child Abijah 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.

All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one from Jeroboam's family who will go into a grave, because only in him, out of Jeroboam's house, was anything good found in the sight of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

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!

Also, Yahweh will raise up a king of Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam on that day. Today is that day, right now.

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.

For Yahweh will attack Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and he will root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their ancestors. He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they have made their Asherah poles and provoked Yahweh to anger.

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

He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, the sins that he has committed, and through which he has led Israel to sin.”

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

So Jeroboam's wife arose and left, and came to Tirzah. As she came to the threshold of her house, the child 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.

All Israel buried him and mourned for him, just as it was told to them by the word of Yahweh which he had spoken by his servant Ahijah the prophet.

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’.

As for the other matters concerning Jeroboam, how he waged war and how he reigned, see, they are written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel.

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

Jeroboam reigned twenty-two years and then slept with his ancestors, and Nadab his son became king in his place.

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.

Now Rehoboam son of Solomon was reigning in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Yahweh had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his name. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite woman.

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.

Judah did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; they provoked him to jealousy with the sins that they committed, more than everything that their fathers had done.

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.

For they also built for themselves high places, stone pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green 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.

There were also cultic prostitutes in the land. They did the same despicable practices as the nations that Yahweh had driven out before the people of Israel.

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

It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak 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.

He took away the treasures in the house of Yahweh, and the treasures in the king's house. He took everything away; he also took all the shields of gold that Solomon had made.

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.

King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and entrusted them into the hands of the commanders of the guard, who guarded the doors to the king's house.

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.

It happened that whenever the king entered the house of Yahweh, the guards would carry them; then they would bring them back into the guardhouse.

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

As for the other matters concerning Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah?

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

There was constant warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

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.

So Rehoboam slept with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite woman. Abijah his son became king in his place.