Ahijah’s Prophecy Against Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah became sick. He was the son of Jeroboam. ² Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go. Put on some different clothes. Then no one will recognize you as my wife. Go to Shiloh. That’s where Ahijah the prophet is. He told me I would be king over the Israelites. ³ Take ten loaves of bread with you. Take some cakes and a jar of honey. Go to him. He’ll tell you what will happen to our son.” ⁴ So Jeroboam’s wife did what he said. She went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.

Ahijah couldn’t see. He was blind because he was so old. ⁵ But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming. Her son is sick. She’ll ask you about him. Give her the answer I give you. When she arrives, she’ll pretend to be someone else.”

⁶ Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door. He said, “Come in. I know that you are Jeroboam’s wife. Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have some bad news for you. ⁷ Go. Tell Jeroboam that the Lord has a message for him. The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘I chose you from among the people. I appointed you king over my people Israel. ⁸ I tore the kingdom away from the royal house of David. I gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David. He obeyed my commands. He followed me with all his heart. He did only what was right in my eyes. ⁹ You have done more evil things than all those who lived before you. You have made other gods for yourself. You have made statues of gods out of metal. You have made me very angry. You have turned your back on me.

¹⁰ “ ‘Because of that, I am going to bring horrible trouble on your royal house. I will cut off from you every male in Israel. It does not matter whether they are slaves or free. I will burn up your royal house, just as someone burns up trash. I will burn it until it is all gone. ¹¹ Some of the people who belong to you will die in the city. Dogs will eat them up. Others will die in the country. The birds will eat them. The Lord has spoken!’

¹² “Now go back home. When you enter your city, your son will die. ¹³ All the Israelites will mourn for him. Then he will be buried. He is the only one who belongs to Jeroboam who will be buried. That is because he is the only one in Jeroboam’s royal house in whom I have found anything good. I am the Lord, the God of Israel.

¹⁴ “I will choose for myself a king over Israel. He will destroy the family of Jeroboam. This day your son will die. Even now this is beginning to happen. ¹⁵ I, the Lord, will strike down Israel. Israel will be like tall grass swaying in the water. I will pull Israel up from this good land by the roots. I gave it to their people who lived long ago. I will scatter Israel to the east side of the Euphrates River. That is because they made the Lord very angry. They made poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. ¹⁶ I will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed. He has also caused Israel to commit those same sins.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left. She went to the city of Tirzah. As soon as she stepped through the doorway of the house, her son died. ¹⁸ He was buried and all the Israelites mourned for him. That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had said it through his servant, Ahijah the prophet.

¹⁹ The other events of Jeroboam’s rule are written down. His wars and how he ruled are written down. They are written in the official records of the kings of Israel. ²⁰ Jeroboam ruled for 22 years. Then he joined the members of his family who had already died. Jeroboam’s son Nadab became the next king after him.

Rehoboam King of Judah

²¹ Rehoboam was king in Judah. He was the son of Solomon. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. It was the city the Lord had chosen out of all the cities in the tribes of Israel. He wanted to put his Name there. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah from Ammon.

²² The people of Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. The sins they had committed made the Lord angry. The Lord was angry because they refused to worship only him. They did more to make him angry than their people who lived before them had done. ²³ Judah also set up for themselves high places for worship. They set up sacred stones. They set up poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. They did it on every high hill and under every green tree. ²⁴ There were even male prostitutes at the temples in the land. The people took part in all the practices of other nations. The Lord hated those practices. He had driven those nations out to make room for the Israelites.

²⁵ Shishak attacked Jerusalem. It was in the fifth year that Rehoboam was king. Shishak was king of Egypt. ²⁶ He carried away the treasures of the Lord’s temple. He also carried away the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything. That included all the gold shields Solomon had made. ²⁷ So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place. He gave them to the commanders of the guards on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. ²⁸ Every time the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards carried the shields. Later, they took them back to the room where they were kept.

²⁹ The other events of Rehoboam’s rule are written down. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Judah. ³⁰ Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other. ³¹ Rehoboam joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in his family tomb in the City of David. His mother was Naamah from Ammon. Rehoboam’s son Abijah became the next king after him.