April 22

1 Kings 14:1 — 16:14

14 At that particular time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 2 So Jeroboam said to his wife: “Rise up, please, and you must disguise yourself that they may not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and you must go to Shiloh. Look! There is where Ahijah the prophet is. He is the one that spoke with reference to me as to becoming king over this people. 3 And you must take in your hand ten loaves of bread and sprinkled cakes and a flask of honey, and you must come in to him. He it is that will certainly tell you what is going to happen to the boy.”

4 And the wife of Jeroboam proceeded to do so. Consequently she rose up and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah himself was unable to see, for his eyes had set because of his age.

5 And Jehovah himself had said to Ahijah: “Here is the wife of Jeroboam coming to apply for a word from you regarding her son; for he is sick. This way and that is how you should speak to her. And it will occur that as soon as she arrives, she will be making herself unrecognizable.”

6 And it came about that as soon as Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she was coming into the entrance, he began to say: “Come in, you wife of Jeroboam. Why is it that you are making yourself unrecognizable while I am being sent to you with a severe message? 7 Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘This is what Jehovah the God of Israel has said: “For the reason that I raised you up out of the middle of your people, that I might constitute you a leader over my people Israel, 8 and I went on to rip the kingdom away from the house of David and give it to you, and you have not become like my servant David, who kept my commandments and who walked after me with all his heart by doing only what was right in my eyes, 9 but you began to act worse than all those who happened to be prior to you, and you went and made for yourself another god and molten images to offend me, and it is I whom you have cast behind your back; 10 for that reason here I am bringing calamity upon the house of Jeroboam, and I shall certainly cut off from Jeroboam anyone urinating against a wall, a helpless and worthless one in Israel; and I shall indeed make a clean sweep behind the house of Jeroboam, just as one clears away the dung until it is disposed of. 11 The one dying of Jeroboam’s in the city, the dogs will eat; and the one dying in the field, the fowls of the heavens will eat, because Jehovah himself has spoken it.”’

12 “And you yourself, rise up, go to your house. When your feet come into the city the child will certainly die. 13 And all Israel will indeed bewail him and bury him, because this one alone of Jeroboam’s will come into a burial place; for the reason that something good toward Jehovah the God of Israel has been found in him in the house of Jeroboam. 14 And Jehovah will certainly raise up to himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam the said day, and what if right now? 15 And Jehovah will indeed strike Israel down, just as the reed sways in the water; and he will certainly uproot Israel off this good ground that he gave to their forefathers, and he will indeed scatter them beyond the River, for the reason that they made their sacred poles, so offending Jehovah. 16 And he will give Israel up on account of the sins of Jeroboam with which he sinned and with which he caused Israel to sin.”

17 At that Jeroboam’s wife rose up and went her way and came to Tirzah. As she was arriving at the threshold of the house, the boy himself died. 18 So they buried him, and all Israel went wailing for him, according to Jehovah’s word that he had spoken by means of his servant Ahijah the prophet.

19 And the rest of the affairs of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, there they are written in the book of the affairs of the days of the kings of Israel. 20 And the days that Jeroboam reigned were twenty-two years, after which he lay down with his forefathers; and Nadab his son began to reign in place of him.

21 As for Rehoboam the son of Solomon, he had become king in Judah. Forty-one years old Rehoboam was when he began to reign, and seventeen years he reigned in Jerusalem, the city that Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. 22 And Judah went on doing what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah, so that they incited him to jealousy more than all that their forefathers had done by their sins with which they sinned. 23 And they too kept building for themselves high places and sacred pillars and sacred poles upon every high hill and under every luxuriant tree. 24 And even the male temple prostitute proved to be in the land. They acted according to all the detestable things of the nations whom Jehovah had driven out from before the sons of Israel.

25 And it came about in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 And he got to take the treasures of the house of Jehovah and the treasures of the house of the king; and everything he took. And he went on to take all the gold shields that Solomon had made. 27 Consequently King Rehoboam made in place of them copper shields, and he committed them to the control of the chiefs of the runners, the guards of the entrance of the king’s house. 28 And it would occur that as often as the king came to the house of Jehovah, the runners would carry them, and they returned them to the guard chamber of the runners.

29 And the rest of the affairs of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the affairs of the times of the kings of Judah? 30 And warfare itself took place between Rehoboam and Jeroboam always. 31 Finally Rehoboam lay down with his forefathers and was buried with his forefathers in the City of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son began to reign in place of him.


15 And in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. 2 Three years he reigned in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Maacah the granddaughter of Abishalom. 3 And he went on walking in all the sins of his father that he did prior to him; and his heart did not prove to be complete with Jehovah his God, like the heart of David his forefather. 4 For, on account of David, Jehovah his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising his son up after him and keeping Jerusalem in existence, 5 because David did what was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and he did not turn aside from anything that He had commanded him all the days of his life, only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6 And warfare itself took place between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

7 As for the rest of the affairs of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the affairs of the days of the kings of Judah? There was warfare also that took place between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 Finally Abijam lay down with his forefathers and they buried him in the City of David; and Asa his son began to reign in place of him.

9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa reigned as king of Judah. 10 And forty-one years he reigned in Jerusalem; and his grandmother’s name was Maacah the granddaughter of Abishalom. 11 And Asa proceeded to do what was right in the eyes of Jehovah, like David his forefather. 12 Accordingly he had the male temple prostitutes pass out of the land and removed all the dungy idols that his forefathers had made. 13 As for even Maacah his grandmother, he went on to remove her from [being] lady, because she had made a horrible idol to the sacred pole; after which Asa cut down her horrible idol and burned it at the torrent valley of Kidron. 14 And the high places he did not remove. Nevertheless, Asa’s heart itself proved to be complete with Jehovah all his days. 15 And he began to bring in the things made holy by his father and the things made holy by himself into the house of Jehovah, silver and gold and articles.

16 And warfare itself took place between Asa and Baasha the king of Israel all their days. 17 So Baasha the king of Israel came up against Judah and began to build Ramah, to allow no one to go out or come in to Asa the king of Judah. 18 At that Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Jehovah and the treasures of the house of the king and put them in the hand of his servants; and King Asa now sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon the son of Hezion, the king of Syria, who was dwelling in Damascus, saying: 19 “There is a covenant between me and you, between my father and your father. Here I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come, do break your covenant with Baasha the king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” 20 Accordingly Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the chiefs of the military forces that were his against the cities of Israel and went striking down Ijon and Dan and Abel-beth-maacah and all Chinnereth, as far as all the land of Naphtali. 21 And it came about that as soon as Baasha heard of it, he immediately quit building Ramah and continued dwelling in Tirzah. 22 And King Asa, for his part, summoned all Judah—there was none exempt—and they proceeded to carry the stones of Ramah and the timbers of it, with which Baasha had been building; and King Asa began to build with them Geba in Benjamin, and Mizpah.

23 As for the rest of all the affairs of Asa and all his mightiness and all that he did and the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the affairs of the days of the kings of Judah? Only at the time of his growing old he got diseased in his feet. 24 Finally Asa lay down with his forefathers and was buried with his forefathers in the City of David his forefather; and Jehoshaphat his son began to reign in place of him.

25 As for Nadab the son of Jeroboam, he became king over Israel in the second year of Asa the king of Judah; and he continued to reign over Israel two years. 26 And he kept doing what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah and went on walking in the way of his father and in his sin with which he caused Israel to sin. 27 And Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar began to conspire against him; and Baasha got to strike him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon. 28 So Baasha put him to death in the third year of Asa the king of Judah and began to reign in place of him. 29 And it came about that as soon as he became king, he struck down all the house of Jeroboam. He did not let anyone breathing remain of Jeroboam’s until he had annihilated them, according to Jehovah’s word that he had spoken by means of his servant Ahijah the Shilonite, 30 on account of the sins of Jeroboam with which he sinned and with which he caused Israel to sin [and] by his offensiveness with which he offended Jehovah the God of Israel. 31 As for the rest of the affairs of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the affairs of the days of the kings of Israel? 32 And warfare itself took place between Asa and Baasha the king of Israel all their days.

33 In the third year of Asa the king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah for twenty-four years. 34 And he kept doing what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah and went walking in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin with which he caused Israel to sin.

16 The word of Jehovah now came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying: 2 “Inasmuch as I raised you up out of the dust that I might constitute you leader over my people Israel, but you went walking in the way of Jeroboam and so caused my people Israel to sin by offending me with their sins, 3 here I am making a clean sweep after Baasha and after his house, and I shall certainly constitute his house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 4 Anyone of Baasha that is dying in the city the dogs will eat; and anyone of his that is dying in the field the fowls of the heavens will eat.”

5 As for the rest of the affairs of Baasha and what he did and his mightiness, are they not written in the book of the affairs of the days of the kings of Israel? 6 Finally Baasha lay down with his forefathers and was buried in Tirzah; and Elah his son began to reign in place of him. 7 And also by means of Jehu the son of Hanani the prophet, Jehovah’s word itself had come against Baasha and his house, both because of all the badness that he committed in the eyes of Jehovah by offending him with the work of his hands, that it might become like the house of Jeroboam, and because he struck him down.

8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa the king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel in Tirzah for two years. 9 And his servant Zimri the chief of half the chariots began to conspire against him, while he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk at the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah. 10 And Zimri proceeded to come in and strike him down and put him to death in the twenty-seventh year of Asa the king of Judah, and he began to reign in place of him. 11 And it came about that when he began to reign, as soon as he sat down upon his throne, he struck down all the house of Baasha. He did not let anyone of his remain that urinates against a wall or his avengers of blood or his friends. 12 Thus Zimri annihilated the whole house of Baasha, according to the word of Jehovah that he had spoken against Baasha by means of Jehu the prophet, 13 on account of all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son with which they sinned and with which they caused Israel to sin by offending Jehovah the God of Israel with their vain idols. 14 As for the rest of the affairs of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the affairs of the days of the kings of Israel?