New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam fell sick.
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At that time Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, became ill.
2 Jeroboam said to his wife, "Go, disguise yourself, so that it will not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh; for the prophet Ahijah is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people.
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And Jeroboam said to his wife, Now come, put on different clothing so that you may not seem to be the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh; see, Ahijah is there, the prophet who said I would be king over this people.
3 Take 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."
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And take with you ten cakes of bread and dry cakes and a pot of honey, and go to him: he will give you word of what is to become of the child.
4 Jeroboam's wife did so; she set out and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age.
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So Jeroboam's wife did so, and got up and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah was unable to see, because he was very old.
5 But the Lord said to Ahijah, "The wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son; for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her." When she came, she pretended to be another woman.
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And the Lord had said to Ahijah, The wife of Jeroboam is coming to get news from you about her son, who is ill; give her such and such an answer; for she will make herself seem to be another woman.
6 But when Ahijah 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 heavy tidings for you.
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Then Ahijah, hearing the sound of her footsteps coming in at the door, said, Come in, O wife of Jeroboam; why do you make yourself seem like another? for I am sent to you with bitter news.
7 Go, tell Jeroboam, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because I exalted you from among the people, made you leader over my people Israel,
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Go, say to Jeroboam, These are the words of the Lord, the God of Israel: Though I took you from among the people, lifting you up to be a ruler over my people Israel,
8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David to give it to you; yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my sight,
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And took the kingdom away by force from the seed of David and gave it to you, you have not been like my servant David, who kept my orders, and was true to me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.
9 but you have done evil above all those who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods, and cast images, provoking me to anger, and have thrust me behind your back;
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But you have done evil more than any before you, and have made for yourself other gods, and images of metal, moving me to wrath, and turning your back on me.
10 therefore, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will consume the house of Jeroboam, just as one burns up dung until it is all gone.
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So I will send evil on the line of Jeroboam, cutting off from his family every male child, those who are shut up and those who go free in Israel; the family of Jeroboam will be brushed away like a man brushing away waste till it is all gone.
11 Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dogs shall eat; and anyone who dies in the open country, the birds of the air shall eat; for the Lord has spoken.'
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Those of the family of Jeroboam who come to death in the town, will become food for the dogs; and those on whom death comes in the open country, will be food for the birds of the air; for the Lord has said it.
12 Therefore set out, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die.
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Up, then! go back to your house; and in the hour when your feet go into the town, the death of the child will take place.
13 All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him; for he alone of Jeroboam's family shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.
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And all Israel will put his body to rest, weeping over him, because he only of the family of Jeroboam will be put into his resting-place in the earth; for of all the family of Jeroboam, in him only has the Lord, the God of Israel, seen some good.
14 Moreover the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today, even right now!
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And the Lord will put up a king over Israel who will send destruction on the family of Jeroboam in that day;
15 "The Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; he will root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their ancestors, and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their sacred poles, provoking the Lord to anger.
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And even now the hand of the Lord has come down on Israel, shaking it like a river-grass in the water; and, uprooting Israel from this good land, which he gave to their fathers, he will send them this way and that on the other side of the River; because they have made for themselves images, moving the Lord to wrath.
16 He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and which he caused Israel to commit."
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And he will give Israel up because of the sins which Jeroboam has done and made Israel do.
17 Then Jeroboam's wife got up and went away, and she came to Tirzah. As she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.
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Then Jeroboam's wife got up and went away and came to Tirzah; and when she came to the doorway of the house, death came to the child.
18 All Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant the prophet Ahijah.
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And all Israel put his body to rest, weeping over him, as the Lord had said by his servant Ahijah the prophet.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, are written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
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Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he became king, are recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
20 The time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; then he slept with his ancestors, and his son Nadab succeeded him.
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And Jeroboam was king for twenty-two years, and was put to rest with his fathers, and Nadab his son became king in his place.
21 Now Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite.
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And Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, was king in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he was king for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the town which the Lord had made his out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there; his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonite woman.
22 Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their ancestors had done.
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And Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and made him more angry than their fathers had done by their sins.
23 For they also built for themselves high places, pillars, and sacred poles on every high hill and under every green tree;
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For they made high places and upright stones and wood pillars on every high hill and under every green tree;
24 there were also male temple prostitutes in the land. They committed all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
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And more than this, there were those in the land who were used for sex purposes in the worship of the gods, doing the same disgusting crimes as the nations which the Lord had sent out before the children of Israel.
25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt came up against Jerusalem;
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Now in 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; he took everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made;
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And took away all the stored wealth from the house of the Lord, and from the king's house, and all the gold body-covers which Solomon had made.
27 so King Rehoboam made shields of bronze instead, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house.
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So in their place King Rehoboam had other body-covers made of brass, and gave them into the care of the captains of the armed men who were stationed at the door of the king's house.
28 As often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.
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And whenever the king went into the house of the Lord, the armed men went with him taking the body-covers, and then took them back to their room.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
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Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah?
30 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
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And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
31 Rehoboam slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. His son Abijam succeeded him.
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And Rehoboam went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth with his fathers in the town of David; his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonite woman. And Abijam his son became king in his place.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.