Amplified Bible (AMP)

The Ark Is Brought into the Temple

1 Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lordwas finished. He brought in the things that his father David had dedicated, and he put the silver and the gold and all the utensils in the treasuries of the house of God.

2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’householdsof the Israelites, in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lordup from the City of David, which is Zion.

3 All the men of Israel gathered before the king at the feast in the seventh month.

4 And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.

5 The Levitical priests brought up the ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy utensils that were in the Tent.

6 And King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel who gathered together with him before the ark were sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

7 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lordto its place, to the inner sanctuary of the house, into the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim;

8 for the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, making a covering above the ark and its carrying poles.

9 The poles were so long that the ends of the poles of the ark were visible from the front of the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary), but were not visible from the outside. They are there to this day.

10 There was nothing in the ark exceptthe two tablets [of the Ten Commandments] which Moses put there at Mount Horeb, when the Lordmade a covenant with the Israelites, when they came out of Egypt.

The Glory of God Fills the Temple

11 When the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves [separating themselves from everything unclean], without regard to theirassigned divisions),

12 and all of the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with their sons and relatives, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres were standing at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets

13 in unison when the trumpeters and singers were to make themselves heard with one voice praising and thanking the Lord, and when they raised their voices accompanied by the trumpets and cymbals and [other] instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord,saying,“ForHeis good, for His mercyandlovingkindness endure forever,” then the house of the Lordwas filled with a cloud,

14 so that the priests could not remain standing to minister because of the cloud; for the gloryandbrilliance of the Lordfilled the house of God.

Solomon’s Dedication

1 Then Solomon said,

“The Lordhas said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.

2 “I have built You a lofty house,

A place for You to dwell forever.”

3 Then the king turned around and blessed the entire assembly of Israel, while they were all standing.

4 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled with His handswhat He promised,saying,

5 ‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city among all the tribes of Israelin whichto build a house so that My Name (Presence) might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a leader over My people Israel;

6 but I have chosen Jerusalem that My Name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

7 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

8 But the Lordsaid to my father David, ‘Because it wasin your heart to build a house for My Name, you did well that it was in your heart.

9 ~‘Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will be born to you, he shall build the house for My Name.’

10 Now the Lordhas fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in place of my father David and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lordpromised, and have built the house for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

11 There I have placed the ark [the symbol of His Presence] in which is the covenant of the Lord[the Ten Commandments], which He made with the people (descendants) of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lordin the presence of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.

13 For Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits square and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the courtyard; and he stood on it, and he knelt down on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven,

14 and he said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like You in heaven or on the earth, keeping covenant andshowingmercyandlovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You [in obedience] with all their heart,

15 [You] who have kept Your promise to Your servant David, my father, that which You told him; You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is today.

16 Now therefore, O Lord, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David, my father, that which You promised him, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, provided your sons are careful to walk in My law as you, [David,] have walked before Me.’

17 Now then, O Lord, the God of Israel, let Your word which You have spoken to Your servant David be confirmed (verified).

18 “But will God actually dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built!

19 Yet have regard for the prayer of Your servant and for his supplication, O Lordmy God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You,

20 that Your eyes may be open toward this house day and night, toward the place in which You have said thatYou wouldput Your Name (Presence), to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.

21 So listen to the requests of Your servant and Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from Your dwelling place, from heaven; andwhen Youhear, forgive.

22 “If a man sins against his neighbor, and he is required to take anoath, and he comes and takes the oath before Your altar in this house,

23 then hear from heaven and act and judge Your servants, punishing the wicked by bringing his conduct on his own head, and providing justice to the righteous by giving to him in accordance with his righteousness (innocence).

24 “If Your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they returnto Youand confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this house,

25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which You gave to them and to their fathers.

26 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflictandhumble them;

27 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel, indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

28 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, if there are [migratory] locusts or grasshoppers, if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague or whatever sicknessthere is,

29 then whatever prayer or request is made by any man or all of Your people Israel, each knowing his own suffering and his own pain, and stretching out his hands toward this house,

30 then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive, and render to eachin accordance with all his ways, whose heart You know; for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men,

31 so that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways [in obedience to You] as long as they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.

32 “Also in regard to the foreigner who is not from Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for the sake of Your great name and Your mighty power and Your outstretched arm–when they come and pray toward this house,

33 then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, and fear You [reverently and worshipfully], asdoYour people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your Name.

34 “When Your people go out to war against their enemies, by the way that You send them, and they pray to You facing this city [Jerusalem] which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your Name,

35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their request, and maintain their causeanddo justice.

36 “When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and hand them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to a land far away or near,

37 if they take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and pray to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and have acted wickedly’;

38 if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, and pray facing their land which You have given to their fathers and toward the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your Name;

39 then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, their prayer and requests, and maintain their causeanddo justice and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

40 “Now, O my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayerofferedin this place.

41 “Now then arise, O LordGod, [and come] to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strengthandpower. Let Your priests, O LordGod, be clothed with salvation and let Your godly ones rejoice in [Your] goodness.

42 “O LordGod, do not turn awayandreject the face of Your anointed; rememberYourlovingkindnessandfaithfulness to Your servant David.”

The Shekinah Glory

1 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the [Shekinah] gloryandbrilliance of the Lordfilled the house.

2 The priests could not enter the house of the Lordbecause the gloryandbrilliance of the Lordhad filled the Lord’shouse.

3 When all the people of Israel saw how the fire came down andsawthe gloryandbrilliance of the Lordupon the house, they bowed down on the stone pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and praised the Lord,saying,“For He is good, for His mercyandlovingkindness endure forever.”

Sacrifices Offered

4 Then the king and all the people offered a sacrifice before the Lord.

5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. In this way the king and all the people dedicated God’s house.

6 The priests stood at their posts [ready for service], and the Levites also, with the musical instruments of the Lordwhich King David had made to praise the Lord,saying,“For His lovingkindnessandmercy endure forever,” whenever David offered praise through their ministry. The priests were opposite the Levites blowing the trumpets and all Israel was standing.

7 Moreover, Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house of the Lord, for it was there that he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings because the bronze altar which he had made was not sufficient to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat [all together].

The Feast of Dedication

8 At that time Solomon observed the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very large assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt.

9 On the eighth day they held a celebration, for they had observed the dedication of the altar for seven days, and the feast for seven days.

10 And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month Solomon sent the people to their tents, rejoicing and happy in heart because of the goodness that the Lordhad shown to David, to Solomon, and to His people Israel.

God’s Promise and Warning

11 And so Solomon finished the house (temple) of the Lordand the palace of the king. He successfully accomplished all that he had planned to do in the house of the Lordand in his palace.

12 Then the Lordappeared to Solomon by night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.

13 If I shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilenceandplague among My people,

14 and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.

15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayerofferedin this place.

16 For now I have chosen and sanctifiedandset apart for My purpose this house that My Name may be here forever, and My eyes and My heart will be here perpetually.

17 As for you [Solomon], if you willwalk before me as your father David walked, and do everything that I have commanded you, and observe My statutes and My ordinances,

18 then I will establish your royal throne just as I covenanted with your father David, saying, ‘You will not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’

19 “But if you [people] turn away and abandon My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and you go and serve other gods and worship them,

20 then I will uproot Israel from My land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have consecrated for My Name, out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and an object of scorn among all nations.

21 And as for this house, which was so exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonishedandappalled and say, ‘Why has the Lorddone thus to this land and to this house?’

22 Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this adversityandevil on them.’”

Solomon’s Activities and Accomplishments

1 Now it came about at the end of the twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the Lordand his own house (palace),

2 that he builtandfortifiedthe cities which Huram (Hiram) had given to him, and settled the Israelites there.

3 Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it.

4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all his storage cities in Hamath.

5 He also built upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars [to lock the gates];

6 and Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule.

7 All the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel,

8 but weredescendants of those who were left in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed–Solomon brought them up as forced laborers to this day.

9 But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were men of war, his chief captains, and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen.

10 These were the chief officers of King Solomon, two hundred and fifty [in authority] who ruled over the people.

11 Then Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David into the house (palace) he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places where the ark of the Lordhas entered are holy.”

12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lordon the altar of the Lordwhich he had built in front of the porch [of the temple],

13 a certain number every day, offering them up as Moses commanded for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the three annual feasts–the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).

14 Now in accordance with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their duties of praise and ministeringandserving before the priests as every day required, and the gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate; for David the man of God had so commanded.

15 And they did not deviate from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites in any respect or in regard to the storehousesortreasuries.

16 Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out from the day the foundation of the house of the Lordwas laid until it was finished. So the house of the Lordwas completed.

17 Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the shore of the [Red] Sea in the land of Edom.

18 And Huram (Hiram) sent him, by his servants, ships and servants familiar with the sea; and they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, and took from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to King Solomon.

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

1 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She was accompanied by a very large number of attendants, with camels bearing spices (balsam oil) and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was on her mind.

2 Solomonanswered all her questions; nothing was hidden from him which he did not make clear to her.

3 So when the queen of Sheba saw the [depth of] Solomon’s wisdom, and the house which he had built,

4 and the food of his table, the [vast] seating order of his officials, the attendanceandservice of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and hisstairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she was breathless.

5 She said to the king, “The report which I heard in my own land regarding your [accomplishments and your] words and your wisdom was true,

6 but I did not believe the reports until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told to me; you have surpassed the report that I heard.

7 Blessedandfortunate are your people, how blessedandfortunate are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom!

8 Blessed be the Lordyour God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne as king for the Lordyour God; because your God loved Israel, establishing them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”

9 Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, a very largeamount ofspices (balsam oil) and precious stones; there was no such spice [anywhere] like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 The servants of Huram and those of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought almug trees and precious stones.

11 From the almug timber the king madestairways for the house of the Lordand for the king’s palace, and lyres and harps for the singers; none like that was seen before in the land of Judah.

12 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all [the things] she desired, whatever she asked,besidesa return forwhat she had brought to the king. So she returned to her own land with her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth and Power

13 Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents,

14 besides what the traders and merchants brought; and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, using six hundredshekels ofbeaten gold on each large shield.

16 Andhe madethree hundred [smaller] shields of beaten gold, using three hundred shekels of gold on each shield; and the king put them in thehouse of the Forest of Lebanon.

17 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.

18 There weresix steps to the throne and a golden footstool attached to the throne, and arms on each side of the seat, with two lions standing beside the arms.

19 Also, twelve lions were standing there, one on each side of the six steps. Nothing like it had ever been made for any [other] kingdom.

20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon.

21 For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.

22 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom.

23 And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put into his heart.

24 Each man brought his gift, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, so much year by year.

25 Now Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities or with the king at Jerusalem.

26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt.

27 The king made silver in Jerusalemas commonas stones, and cedar wood as plentiful as thesycamore-fig trees that are in thelowland.

28 And they were importing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all [the other] countries.

29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from the first to the last, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

30 Solomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel.

Death of Solomon

31 And Solomon slept with his fathers [in death]; he was buried in the city of his father David. Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam’s Reign of Folly

1 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

2 When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heardabout the new king(for he was inEgypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), Jeroboam returned from Egypt.

3 And the people sentmessengersand summoned him. So when Jeroboam and all Israel came, they spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

4 “Your father [King Solomon] made our yoke hard (heavy, difficult); so now lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

5 Rehoboam replied, “Come back to me again in three days.” So the people departed.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon [as advisers] while he was alive, asking, “What advice do you give me in answer to these people?”

7 They answered him, saying, “If you are kind to these people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

8 But the king rejected the advice which the elders gave him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him [as advisers].

9 He asked them, “What advice do you give to us regarding the answer to these people, who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

10 The young men who grew up with him told him, “Tell the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us’: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’sloins!

11 ~‘Now my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, but I will add [more weight] to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but Iwill discipline youwith scorpions (extremely painful scourges).’”

12 So on the third day Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam just as the king had directed, saying, “Return to me on the third day.”

13 The king answered them harshly, for King Rehoboam rejected the counsel of the elders.

14 He spoke to them in accordance with the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but Iwill discipline youwith scorpions.”

15 So the king did not listen to the people, for theturn of events was from God that the Lordmight fulfill His word, which He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 When all Israel saw that the king did not listenandpay attention to them, the people answered him,

“What portion do we have in David?

We haveno inheritance in the son of Jesse.

Every man to your tents, O Israel;

Now, [Rehoboam, descendant of] David, see to your own house.”

So all Israel went to their tents.

17 But as for the Israelites who lived in Judah’s cities, Rehoboam ruled over them.

18 Then King Rehoboamsent Hadoram, who was over the forced labor, and the Israelites stoned him and he died. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his [royal] chariot to escape to Jerusalem.

19 And Israel has rebelled against the house of David to this day.

Rehoboam Reigns over Judah and Builds Cities

1 Now when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors to fight against [the ten tribes of] Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

2 But the word of the Lordcame to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

3 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,

4 ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brothers (countrymen); return, every man to his house, for this thing is from Me.”’” And they listened toandobeyed the words of the Lordand turned back from going against Jeroboam.

5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built [fortified] cities for defense in Judah.

6 Hebuilt Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

7 Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam,

8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,

9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin.

11 He strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them, with supplies of food, [olive] oil, and wine.

12 And in each city he put [large] shields and spears, and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

13 Further, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with Rehoboam from all their districts.

Jeroboam Appoints False Priests

14 For the Levites left their pasture lands and their property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from serving as priests to the Lord.

15 Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places, for the satyrs (goat demons) and calves (idols) which he had made.

16 Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LordGod of Israel followedthem to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the LordGod of their fathers.

17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years; for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

Rehoboam’s Family

18 Rehoboam took as his wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.

19 She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

20 After her he took Maacah the daughter (granddaughter) of Absalom, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter (granddaughter) of Absalom more than all his wives andconcubines–for he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah the chief leader among his brothers, because heintendedto make him king.

23 He acted wisely and distributed some of his sons throughout the territories of Judah and Benjamin to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions, and he sought many wivesfor them.

Shishak of Egypt Invades Judah

1 When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord.

2 And it came about in King Rehoboam’s fifth year, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, thatShishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem

3 with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. The people who came with him from Egypt were beyond counting–the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and theEthiopians.

4 Shishak took the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord: ‘You have abandoned (turned away from) Me, so I have abandoned you into the hands of Shishak.’”

6 Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lordis righteous.”

7 When the Lordsaw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lordcame to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them somemeasureof a remnant [that escapes]; and My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak.

8 Nevertheless they will become his slaves, so that they may know [the difference between] My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

Plunder Impoverishes Judah

9 So Shishak king of Egypt went up against Jerusalem; he took the treasures of the house of the Lordand the treasures of the king’s house (palace). He took everything. He even took the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

10 In their place King Rehoboam made shields of bronze and entrusted them to the care of the officers of the guard who guarded the door of the king’s house.

11 And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guards came and carried the shields andthenbrought them back into the guards’ room.

12 When Rehoboam humbled himself, the wrath of the Lordturned away from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and also conditions were good in Judah.

13 So King Rehoboam established himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city in which the Lordhad chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His Name. And his mother was Naamah the Ammonitess.

14 He did evil because he did not set his heart to seekandworshipandhonor the Lord.

15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, from the first to the last, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, according to genealogical enrollment?There werewars between Rehoboam [of Judah] and Jeroboam [of Israel] continually.

16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers [in death] and was buried in the City of David; and Abijah his son became king in his place.

Abijah Succeeds Rehoboam

1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah.

2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam [of Israel].

3 Abijah began the battle with an army of brave soldiers, 400,000 chosen men. Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with 800,000 chosen men, valiant men.

Civil War

4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel:

5 Do you not know that the LordGod of Israel, gave rule over Israel forever to David and to his sons by a covenant ofsalt [a permanent pact, extending to each generation of Israel]?

6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord [the king],

7 and worthless (unprincipled, unethical) men gathered around him, uselessandwicked men, who proved too strong for Rehoboam the son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young and timid, and could not assert himself against them.

8 “And now you intend to assert yourselves against the kingdom of the Lordwhich is in the hands of the sons of David, since you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves (idols) which Jeroboam made for you as gods.

9 Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples ofotherlands? So whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of non-existent gods (idols).

10 But as for us, the Lordis our God, and we have not abandoned (turned away from) Him. The sons of Aaron are ministering to the Lordas priests, and the Levites attend to their service.

11 Every morning and every evening they offer the burnt offerings and the fragrant incense to the Lord; and theshowbread is set on the clean table [of pure gold], and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the charge of the Lordour God [that is, the obligation we have to Him], but you have abandoned (turned away from) Him.

12 Behold, God is with us at our head, and His priests [are here] with their signal trumpets to sound an alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LordGod of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

13 But Jeroboam had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them.

14 When [the men of] Judah turned around, they were attacked from both front and rear; so they cried out to the Lord[for help], and the priests blew the trumpets.

15 Then the men of Judah raised a war cry; and as they shouted, God struck Jeroboam and all Israel [with defeat] before Abijah and Judah.

16 And the sons of Israel fled before Judah, and God handed over the sons of Israel to them.

17 Abijah and his people inflicted on them a great defeat, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain.

18 Thus the sons of Israel were subdued (humbled) at that time, and the sons of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers.

19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured [several] cities from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephraim (Ephron), with their villages.

Death of Jeroboam

20 Jeroboam did not recover strength again during the time of [the reign of] Abijah. And the Lordstruck him and he died.

21 But Abijah became powerful. He took fourteen wives for himself and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

22 Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his sayings, are written in the writing of the prophet Iddo.

Asa Succeeds Abijah in Judah

1 So Abijah slept with his fathers [in death], and they buried him in the City of David; and Asa his son became king in his place. The land was at peace for ten years during his days.

2 Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lordhis God.

3 He removed the foreign altars and high places and tore down the [pagan] pillars (obelisks, memorial stones), and cut to pieces the Asherim [the symbols of the goddess Asherah].

4 And he commanded Judah to seek the LordGod of their fathers [to inquire of and for Him and seek Him as a vital necessity], and to observe the law [given to Moses] and the commandment.

5 Asa also removed the [idolatrous] high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom was at restandundisturbed under his reign.

6 He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was at rest, and there was no one at war with him in those years, because the Lordhad given him rest.

7 So he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, gates and bars [to secure the doors]. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lordour God; we have sought Him [longing for Him with all our heart] and He has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered.

8 Now Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, who carried large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, who carried shields and drew bows, all courageous men.

9 Now Zerah the Ethiopian (Cushite) came out against Judah with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came as far as Mareshah.

10 Then Asa went out against him, and they drew up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11 Asa called out to the Lordhis God, saying, “O Lord, there is no one besides You to helpin the battlebetween the powerful and the weak; so help us, O Lordour God, for we trust inandrely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.”

12 So the Lordstruck the Ethiopians [with defeat] before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

13 Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far asGerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that none of themwere foundalive; for they were destroyed before the Lordand His army. And they carried away a very large amount of spoil.

14 They attackedanddestroyed all the cities around Gerar, for the dread of the Lordhad fallen on them. They plundered all the cities, for there was a large amount of spoil in them.

15 They also struck down the people [living] in tents who had livestock, and took captive large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.