21 Rehoboam
son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became
king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of
Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an
Ammonite.
22 Judah
did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than those
who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for
themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and
under every spreading tree. 24 There were even male shrine
prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of
the nations the Lord had driven
out before the Israelites.
25 In
the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 He
carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord
and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the
gold shields Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze
shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on
duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 28 Whenever the king
went to the Lord’s temple, the
guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.
29 As
for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written
in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30 There was
continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 And
Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of
David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. And Abijah[d] his son
succeeded him as king.
At
that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, 2 and Jeroboam
said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the
wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there—the one who
told me I would be king over this people. 3 Take ten loaves of
bread with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you
what will happen to the boy.” 4 So Jeroboam’s wife did what he
said and went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.
Now
Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. 5 But
the Lord had told Ahijah,
“Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are
to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be
someone else.”
6 So
when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, “Come in,
wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense? I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 Go,
tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord,
the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed
you ruler over my people Israel. 8 I tore the kingdom away from
the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant
David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what
was right in my eyes. 9 You have done more evil than all who
lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal;
you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me.
10 “‘Because
of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off
from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free.[a] I will burn
up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. 11 Dogs
will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds will
feed on those who die in the country. The Lord
has spoken!’
12 “As
for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. 13 All
Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to
Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of
Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God
of Israel, has found anything good.
14 “The
Lord will raise up for himself a
king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is
beginning to happen.[b]15 And
the Lord will strike Israel, so
that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from
this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the
Euphrates River, because they aroused the Lord’s
anger by making Asherah poles.[c]16 And
he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has
caused Israel to commit.”
17 Then
Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped over
the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18 They buried him,
and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord
had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.
19 The
other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the
book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 20 He reigned for
twenty-two years and then rested with his ancestors. And Nadab his son
succeeded him as king.
35 Jesus
went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and
sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,
because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then
he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask
the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest
field.”
27 As
Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy
on us, Son of David!”
28 When
he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you
believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes,
Lord,” they replied.
29 Then
he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to
you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them
sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went
out and spread the news about him all over that region.
32 While
they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was
brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man
who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has
ever been seen in Israel.”
34 But the
Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”
