Prophecy Against Jeroboam
1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to gShiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, hwho said of me that I should be king over this people. 3 iTake with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”
4 Jeroboam’s wife did so. She arose and went to gShiloh and came to the house of jAhijah. Now jAhijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. 5 And the Lord said to jAhijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.”
When she came, she pretended to be another woman. 6 But when jAhijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: k“Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel 8 and ltore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been mlike my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, 9 but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and nmade for yourself other gods and ometal images, provoking me to anger, and phave cast me behind your back, 10 therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and qwill cut off from Jeroboam every male, rboth bond and free in Israel, and swill burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. 11 tAnyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’ 12 Arise therefore, go to your house. uWhen your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him vthere is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. 14 wMoreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, 15 the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and xroot up Israel out of ythis good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them zbeyond the Euphrates,1 because they have made their aAsherim, provoking the Lord to anger. 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”
17 Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed and came to bTirzah. And cas she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, daccording to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.
The Death of Jeroboam
19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, ehow he warred and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 20 And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. And he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.
Rehoboam Reigns in Judah
21 fNow Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, gthe city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. hHis mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. 22 iAnd Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they jprovoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves khigh places land pillars and mAsherim on every high hill and nunder every green tree, 24 and there were also omale cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
25 pIn the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. qHe took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold rthat Solomon had made, 27 and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house. 28 And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.
29 sNow 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? 30 tAnd there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. uHis mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And vAbijam his son reigned in his place.
Abijam Reigns in Judah
1 wNow in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 3 And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and xhis heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father. 4 Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him ya lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, 5 because zDavid did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, aexcept in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6 bNow there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 7 cThe rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? dAnd there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 eAnd Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place.
Asa Reigns in Judah
9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah, 10 and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 fAnd Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. 12 He put away the gmale cult prostitutes out of the land and removed hall the idols that his fathers had made. 13 iHe also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and jburned it at the brook Kidron. 14 kBut the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, lthe heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. 15 And mhe brought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels.
16 nAnd there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 oBaasha king of Israel went up against Judah and pbuilt Ramah, qthat he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold rthat were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house and gave them into the hands of his servants. sAnd King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, twho lived in Damascus, saying, 19 “Let there be ua covenant2 between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” 20 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered vIjon, wDan, xAbel-beth-maacah, and all yChinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21 And when Baasha heard of it, zhe stopped building Ramah, and he lived in aTirzah. 22 Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built bGeba of Benjamin and cMizpah. 23 dNow the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24 And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and eJehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
Nadab Reigns in Israel
25 fNadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord gand walked in the way of his father, and in his sin hwhich he made Israel to sin.
27 iBaasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him down at jGibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. 28 So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. 29 And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, kaccording to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and hthat he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.
31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 32 lAnd there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
Baasha Reigns in Israel
33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord mand walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.
James Killed and Peter Imprisoned
1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed fJames the brother of John gwith the sword, 3 and when he saw hthat it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during ithe days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him jin prison, delivering him over to four ksquads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest lprayer for him was made to God by the church.
Peter Is Rescued
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, mbound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, nan angel of the Lord ostood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. pHe struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And qthe chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and rput on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but sthought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. tIt opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter ucame to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that vthe Lord has sent his angel and wrescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of xJohn whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and ywere praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, za servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, ain her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is bhis angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But cmotioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to dJames and to ethe brothers.”1 Then he departed and went to another place.
18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and fordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.
The Death of Herod
20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and ghaving persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain,2 they asked for peace, because htheir country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately ian angel of the Lord struck him down, because jhe did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
24 But kthe word of God increased and multiplied.
25 lAnd Barnabas and Saul returned from3 Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them mJohn, whose other name was Mark.
