The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 But in time, after Rechav'am had consolidated his rulership and had become strong, he, and with him all Isra'el, abandoned the Torah of ADONAI.
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Now when Rehoboam's position as king had been made certain, and he was strong, he gave up the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.
2 In the fifth year of King Rechav'am, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Yerushalayim, because they had acted faithlessly toward ADONAI.
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Now in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem, because of their sin against the Lord,
3 He came out of Egypt with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen and a numberless army including Luvim, Suki'im and Ethiopians.
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With twelve hundred war-carriages and sixty thousand horsemen: and the people who came with him out of Egypt were more than might be numbered: Lubim and Sukkiim and Ethiopians.
4 He captured the fortified cities of Y'hudah, then went to Yerushalayim.
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And he took the walled towns of Judah, and came as far as Jerusalem.
5 Now Sh'ma'yah the prophet came to Rechav'am and the leaders of Y'hudah who had gathered in Yerushalayim because of Shishak and said to them, "Here is what ADONAI says: 'Because you have abandoned me, I have abandoned you to the hands of Shishak.'"
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Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the chiefs of Judah, who had come together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, The Lord has said, Because you have given me up, I have given you up into the hands of Shishak.
6 In response, the leaders of Isra'el and the king humbled themselves; they said, "ADONAI is right."
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Then the chiefs of Israel and the king made themselves low and said, The Lord is upright.
7 When ADONAI saw that they had humbled themselves, this word of ADONAI came to Sh'ma'yah: "Because they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will grant them a measure of deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Yerushalayim through Shishak.
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And the Lord, seeing that they had made themselves low, said to Shemaiah, They have made themselves low: I will not send destruction on them, but in a short time I will give them salvation, and will not let loose my wrath on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
8 However, they will become his slaves, so that they will come to appreciate the difference between serving me and serving earthly kingdoms."
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But still they will become his servants, so that they may see how different my yoke is from the yoke of the kingdoms of the lands.
9 So Shishak king of Egypt attacked Yerushalayim. He took the treasures in the house of ADONAI and the treasures in the royal palace - he took everything, including the gold shields Shlomo had made.
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So Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem and took away all the stored wealth of the house of the Lord and the king's house: he took everything away, and with the rest the gold body-covers which Solomon had made.
10 To replace them, King Rechav'am made shields of bronze, which he entrusted to the commanders of the contingent guarding the gate to the royal palace.
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And 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.
11 Whenever the king went to the house of ADONAI, the guard would come and get the shields; later they would return them 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.
12 After he humbled himself, the anger of ADONAI turned away from him, so that he did not altogether destroy him; moreover, some good things were found in Y'hudah.
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And when he made himself low, the wrath of the Lord was turned back from him, and complete destruction did not come on him, for there was still some good in Judah.
13 So King Rechav'am consolidated his rule in Yerushalayim. Rechav'am was forty-one years old when he began his reign; and he ruled seventeen years in Yerushalayim, the city ADONAI had chosen from all the tribes of Isra'el to bear his name; his mother's name was Na'amah the 'Amonit.
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So King Rehoboam made himself strong in Jerusalem and was ruling there. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he was ruling 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; and his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonite woman.
14 He did what was evil, because he had not set his heart on seeking ADONAI.
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And he did evil because his heart was not true to the Lord.
15 The activities of Rechav'am from beginning to end are written in the genealogically organized histories of Sh'ma'yah the prophet and 'Iddo the seer. But there were continual wars between Rechav'am and Yarov'am.
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Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not recorded in the words of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
16 Rechav'am slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Then Aviyah his son became king in his place.
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And Rehoboam went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth in the town of David; and Abijah his son became king in his place.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.