What Yahweh promised to Jeroboam

26 Another man who rebelled against [IDM] Solomon was one of his officials named Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. He was from Zeredah town in the region where the tribe of Ephraim lives. His mother was a widow named Zeruah.

27 This is what happened. Solomon’s workers were filling in the land/ground on the east side of Jerusalem and repairing the walls around the city. 28 Jeroboam was a very capable young man. So, when Solomon saw that he worked very hard, he appointed him to supervise all the men who were forced to work in the areas where the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim live.

29 One day when Jeroboam was walking alone along the road outside of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh city met him. Ahijah was wearing a new robe, 30 which he took off and tore into twelve pieces. 31 He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten of these pieces for yourself, because Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, says to you, ‘I am going to tear the kingdom from Solomon, and I am going to enable you to become the ruler of ten of the tribes of Israel. 32 Solomon’s descendants will still rule one tribe (OR, two tribes), because of what I promised David, a man who served me very well, and because of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen from all the cities in Israel to be the city where my people will worship me. 33 I am going to do this because Solomon has rejected me and has been worshiping Astarte, the goddess that the people of Sidon worship, Chemosh, the god that the Moab people-group worship, and Milcom, the god that the Ammon people-group worship. He has not conducted his life as I wanted him to. He has not obeyed my statutes and laws, like his father David did.

34 ‘But I will not take the entire kingdom away from him. I will enable him to rule Judah all during the years that he is alive. I will do that because of what I promised to do for David, whom I chose to be the king, and who served me well, and who always obeyed my commandments and laws. 35 But I will take the other ten tribes of his kingdom and give them to you to rule. 36 I will allow Solomon’s son to rule one tribe, in order that descendants [MET] of David will always rule in Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen to be the place where my people worship me [MTY]. 37 I will enable you to become the king of Israel, and you will rule over all the territory that you want to. 38 If you obey all that I command you to do, and conduct your life as I want you to, and if you do what I say is right by obeying my laws and commandments like David did, I will help you. I will make sure that your descendants will rule after you die, like I promised to do for David. 39 Because of Solomon’s sins, I will punish David’s descendants, but I will not continue to punish them forever.’ ”

40 Solomon found out what Ahijah told Jeroboam, so he tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam escaped and went to Egypt. He went to Shishak, the king of Egypt, and stayed with him until after Solomon died.