Open English Translation 1KI Chapter 14

14 At that time, one of Yarave’am’s sons, Aviyyah, became very sick 2 and Yarave’am told his wife, “Go and get changed so that no one will recognise you as my wife. Then go to Shiloh where the prophet Ahiyyah is—he’s the one who prophesied that I’d become king. 3 Take ten loaves of bread and some cakes and a jar of honey to give to him. He’ll tell you what will happen to the boy.”

4 So his wife got ready and went to Ahiyyah’s house at Shiloh. Ahiyyah was now very elderly and not able to see, 5 but Yahweh had told him, “Listen, Yarave’am’s wife will be coming to ask for your guidance about her son, because he’s sick. I want you to tell her so-and-so. And when she comes, she won’t be dressed like a queen.”

6 So as soon as Ahiyyah heard her walk through the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Yarave’am. Why did you get changed like that? Now I’ve been instructed to pass bad news onto you— 7 go back and give Yarave’am this message from Israel’s God Yahweh, ‘I chose you out from the people and placed you as a leader over my people Israel, 8 and I tore the kingdom away from David’s descendants and gave it to you. But you haven’t been like my servant David who obeyed my instructions and followed me with integrity—only doing what he knew that I approved of. 9 However, you’ve done more evil things than any of those who ruled before you. You’ve rejected me and made cast images of other gods, and have provoked me into anger. 10 Because of that, I’m about to bring calamity to your family: I’ll cause all your male descendants to die, either before or after they’ve left home. I’ll eliminate your family just like dried dung burns until it’s all gone.[ref] 11 The family members who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the countryside will be eaten by birds. All this comes from Yahweh.’

12 So go back home, but as soon as you set foot in the city, your son will die. 13 All Israel will mourn for him and they’ll bury him. He’ll be the only one of your children to be buried, because out of all of Yarave’am’s descendants, he’s the only one that Israel’s God Yahweh found good in. 14 In the future, Yahweh will appoint for himself, a king over Israel who will get rid of Yarave’am’s descendants—in fact it’s beginning to come about even now. 15 And Yahweh will strike Israel just like the reeds bend over in the swamps, and he’ll uproot Israel from this good soil that he gave to their ancestors and he’ll scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they made their Asherah statues which provoked Yahweh to anger. 16 He will hand Israel over to their enemies because of Yarave’am’s sins and how he encouraged Israel to sin.”

17 So Yarave’am’s wife left and went home to Tirtsah. As she entered the doorway of their home, their son died. 18 Just as Yahweh had told them, all Israel mourned for the boy and he was buried.

19 Everything else that Yarave’am did, including the record of wars that his army fought and how he ruled, is written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel. 20 Yarave’am reigned for twenty-two years, then he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his son Nadav replaced him as king.

21 Meanwhile, Shelomoh’s son Rehavam reigned in Yehudah. He was forty-one when he started reigning, and he reigned for seventeen years from Yerushalem—the city that Yahweh had chosen to associate his name with out of all the tribes of Israel. Rehavam’s mother was Naamah the Ammonite.

22 The people of Yehudah did what Yahweh had decided was evil—in fact they made him more jealous (by worshipping other gods) than their ancestors ever had. 23 They even built hilltop temples and sacred pillars and poles on every high hill and under every large evergreen tree.[ref] 24 There were also male prostitutes associated with them, and the Israelis did the same abhorrent things as the nations that Yahweh had removed ahead of their entering the land.[ref]

25 In the fifth year of King Rehavam’s reign, Egypt’s King Shishak attacked Yerushalem[ref] 26 and took away the valuables from Yahweh’s temple, and the king’s palace. He took everything of value, including all the gold shields that Shelomoh had made.[ref] 27 To replace them, King Rehavam made some bronze shields and assigned them to the officers who protect the entrance to the palace. 28 Whenever the king would enter the temple, the guards would quickly take the shields there, and when he left, they’d run them back to the palace.

29 Everything else that Rehavam did is written in the book of the events of the kings of Yehudah. 30 Rehavam and Yarave’am were in a continual state of war during their reigns. 31 Then Rehavam (his mother was Naamah the Ammonite) died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Abiyyam replaced him as king.