1 Kings

At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.

1At that time, Jeroboam's son Abijah got sick.

2And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.

2Jeroboam said to his wife, "Please get up and dress so no one knows you are my wife. Go to the town of Shiloh. Ahijah lives there. He is a prophet, someone who tells people what God says. He told me I would be king."

3And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.

3"Take him ten loaves of bread, some little cakes, and a jar of honey. He will tell you what will happen to our boy."

Note"Cracknels" in the King James Version means small hard cakes or biscuits. A "cruse" is a small jar.

4And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

4Jeroboam's wife did what he said. She went to Shiloh, to Ahijah's house. Ahijah could not see anymore. He was old, and his eyes had gone dim.

5And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.

5But the LORD had told Ahijah, "Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask about her son. He is sick. Tell her what I tell you. She will come dressed like someone else."

6And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.

6Ahijah heard her feet at the door. He said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why are you dressed like someone else? I have hard news to give you."

7Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,

7"Go and tell Jeroboam that the LORD, the God of Israel, says this: I picked you out from the people. I made you the leader of my people Israel."

8And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;

8"I took the kingdom away from David's family and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David. He obeyed my commands. He followed me with his whole heart. He did only what was right in my eyes."

9But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:

9"You have done worse than everyone before you. You made other gods for yourself. You made metal statues, and that made me angry. You threw me away behind your back."

10Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.

10"So I will bring trouble on Jeroboam's family. I will cut off every male in his family in Israel, both slave and free. I will sweep his family away, like a man sweeping away dung until none is left."

NoteThe King James Version here uses a blunt old saying, "him that pisseth against the wall," which simply means every male. "Him that is shut up and left" means both slave and free, that is, everyone.

11Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.

11"Dogs will eat anyone from Jeroboam's family who dies in the city. Birds will eat anyone who dies out in the fields. The LORD has said it."

12Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.

12"Now get up and go home. The moment your feet enter the city, the boy will die."

13And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

13"All Israel will cry for him and bury him. He is the only one of Jeroboam's family who will get a proper grave. In him the LORD, the God of Israel, found something good."

14Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.

14"The LORD will also raise up a king over Israel. That king will put an end to Jeroboam's family. This is the day. It is happening now."

15For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.

15"The LORD will strike Israel. They will shake like a reed in water. He will pull Israel up out of this good land he gave their fathers. He will scatter them far past the river. They made poles to worship other gods, and that made the LORD angry."

NoteThe "groves" of the King James Version were not woods. They were wooden poles set up to honor a goddess named Asherah. The "river" here is the Euphrates, far to the east.

16And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.

16"He will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam did. Jeroboam led Israel to sin too."

17And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;

17Jeroboam's wife got up and left. She went to the town of Tirzah. As she stepped over the doorway of her house, the boy died.

18And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.

18They buried him, and all Israel cried for him. It happened just as the LORD had said through his servant Ahijah the prophet.

19And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

19The rest of the things Jeroboam did, his wars and his ruling, are written in the book called the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

20And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.

20Jeroboam was king for twenty-two years. Then he died and was buried with his family. His son Nadab became king after him.

21And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

21Solomon's son Rehoboam was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king. He ruled seventeen years in Jerusalem. The LORD had chosen that city out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. Rehoboam's mother was Naamah, from the land of Ammon.

22And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.

22The people of Judah did evil things that the LORD saw. Their sins made him angry, more than anything their fathers had done.

23For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.

23They built places to worship on every high hill and under every green tree. They set up tall stones and wooden poles for other gods.

24And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

24There were also men in the land who sold their bodies at those places of worship. The people copied the awful things done by the nations God had pushed out of the land.

25And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:

25In Rehoboam's fifth year as king, Shishak the king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.

26And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

26He took the treasures from the LORD's house and from the king's palace. He took it all, even the gold shields Solomon had made.

27And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house.

27So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to put in their place. He gave them to the leaders of the guards who watched the palace door.

28And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.

28Whenever the king went to the LORD's house, the guards carried the shields. Then they took them back to the guardroom.

29Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

29The rest of the things Rehoboam did are written in the book called the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.

30And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.

30There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam the whole time they lived.

31And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

31Rehoboam died and was buried with his family in the City of David. His mother was Naamah, from the land of Ammon. His son Abijam became king after him.