Women of the New Testament

The Cultivation of Consistency

Sent With Purpose

I Said Yes to Jesus: A 5-Day Journey to Take Your Next Steps in Faith by Youth Alive Australia

Boundaries: A Biblical Perspective

Perfectly Imperfect | Discovering Grace When Perfect Isn’t Possible, a 7-Day Devotional by Jacques McNeil

Acts 19:23-41 | Living for Christ in a Confused World

When Grief or Loss Hits Like a Wave

THE RIPPLE EFFECT: The Art of Discipleship

Seeing With Your Ears

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkLUK">
 <div class="chapter ch19" data-usfm="LUK.19">
 <div class="label">19</div><div class="s1">Zacchaeus the Tax Collector</div><div class="p"> 1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.</div><div class="p"> 5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, &#8220;Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.&#8221; 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.</div><div class="p"> 7All the people saw this and began to mutter, &#8220;He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, &#8220;Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Jesus said to him, &#8220;Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Parable of the Ten Minas</div><div class="p"> 11While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12He said: &#8220;A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.#19:13 A mina was about three months&#8217; wages. &#8216;Put this money to work,&#8217; he said, &#8216;until I come back.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 14 &#8220;But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, &#8216;We don&#8217;t want this man to be our king.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 15 &#8220;He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.</div><div class="p"> 16 &#8220;The first one came and said, &#8216;Sir, your mina has earned ten more.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 17 &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Well done, my good servant!&#8217; his master replied. &#8216;Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 18 &#8220;The second came and said, &#8216;Sir, your mina has earned five more.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 19 &#8220;His master answered, &#8216;You take charge of five cities.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 20 &#8220;Then another servant came and said, &#8216;Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 22 &#8220;His master replied, &#8216;I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn&#8217;t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 24 &#8220;Then he said to those standing by, &#8216;Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 25 &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Sir,&#8217; they said, &#8216;he already has ten!&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 26 &#8220;He replied, &#8216;I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them&#8212;bring them here and kill them in front of me.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King</div><div class="p"> 28After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30&#8220;Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, &#8216;Why are you untying it?&#8217; say, &#8216;The Lord needs it.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, &#8220;Why are you untying the colt?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34They replied, &#8220;The Lord needs it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 35They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.</div><div class="p"> 37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:</div><div class="q1"> 38&#8220;Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!&#8221;#19:38 Psalm 118:26</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, &#8220;Teacher, rebuke your disciples!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 40 &#8220;I tell you,&#8221; he replied, &#8220;if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42and said, &#8220;If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace&#8212;but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God&#8217;s coming to you.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus at the Temple</div><div class="p"> 45When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46&#8220;It is written,&#8221; he said to them, &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;My house will be a house of prayer&#8217;#19:46 Isaiah 56:7; but you have made it &#8216;a den of robbers.&#8217;#19:46 Jer. 7:11&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 47Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1KI">
 <div class="chapter ch10" data-usfm="1KI.10">
 <div class="label">10</div><div class="s1">The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon</div><div class="p"> 1When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan&#8212;with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones&#8212;she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. 3Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at#10:5 Or the ascent by which he went up to the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.</div><div class="p"> 6She said to the king, &#8220;The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord&#8217;s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10And she gave the king 120 talents#10:10 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.</div><div class="p"> 11(Hiram&#8217;s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood#10:11 Probably a variant of algumwood; also in verse 12 and precious stones. 12The king used the almugwood to make supports#10:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)</div><div class="p"> 13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.</div><div class="s1">Solomon&#8217;s Splendor</div><div class="p"> 14The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,#10:14 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons 15not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.</div><div class="p"> 16King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels#10:16 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms; also in verse 29 of gold went into each shield. 17He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas#10:17 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms; or perhaps reference is to double minas, that is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms. of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.</div><div class="p"> 18Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21All King Solomon&#8217;s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon&#8217;s days. 22The king had a fleet of trading ships#10:22 Hebrew of ships of Tarshish at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.</div><div class="p"> 23King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift&#8212;articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.</div><div class="p"> 26Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,#10:26 Or charioteers which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28Solomon&#8217;s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue#10:28 Probably Cilicia&#8212;the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.#10:29 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1KI">
 <div class="chapter ch11" data-usfm="1KI.11">
 <div class="label">11</div><div class="s1">Solomon&#8217;s Wives</div><div class="p"> 1King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh&#8217;s daughter&#8212;Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, &#8220;You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.&#8221; Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.</div><div class="p"> 7On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.</div><div class="p"> 9The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord&#8217;s command. 11So the Lord said to Solomon, &#8220;Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Solomon&#8217;s Adversaries</div><div class="p"> 14Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 15Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. 16Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. 17But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. 18They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking people from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.</div><div class="p"> 19Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh&#8217;s own children.</div><div class="p"> 21While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, &#8220;Let me go, that I may return to my own country.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22&#8220;What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?&#8221; Pharaoh asked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Nothing,&#8221; Hadad replied, &#8220;but do let me go!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24When David destroyed Zobah&#8217;s army, Rezon gathered a band of men around him and became their leader; they went to Damascus, where they settled and took control. 25Rezon was Israel&#8217;s adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel.</div><div class="s1">Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon</div><div class="p"> 26Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon&#8217;s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.</div><div class="p"> 27Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces#11:27 Or the Millo and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.</div><div class="p"> 29About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31Then he said to Jeroboam, &#8220;Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: &#8216;See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon&#8217;s hand and give you ten tribes. 32But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33I will do this because they have#11:33 Hebrew; Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac because he has forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon&#8217;s father, did.</div><div class="p"> 34&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon&#8217;s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. 35I will take the kingdom from his son&#8217;s hands and give you ten tribes. 36I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. 38If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39I will humble David&#8217;s descendants because of this, but not forever.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 40Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon&#8217;s death.</div><div class="s1">Solomon&#8217;s Death</div><div class="p"> 41As for the other events of Solomon&#8217;s reign&#8212;all he did and the wisdom he displayed&#8212;are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? 42Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 43Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1KI">
 <div class="chapter ch12" data-usfm="1KI.12">
 <div class="label">12</div><div class="s1">Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam</div><div class="p"> 1Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from#12:2 Or he remained in Egypt. 3So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4&#8220;Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Rehoboam answered, &#8220;Go away for three days and then come back to me.&#8221; So the people went away.</div><div class="p"> 6Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. &#8220;How would you advise me to answer these people?&#8221; he asked.</div><div class="p"> 7They replied, &#8220;If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9He asked them, &#8220;What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, &#8216;Lighten the yoke your father put on us&#8217;?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10The young men who had grown up with him replied, &#8220;These people have said to you, &#8216;Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.&#8217; Now tell them, &#8216;My little finger is thicker than my father&#8217;s waist. 11My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, &#8220;Come back to me in three days.&#8221; 13The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14he followed the advice of the young men and said, &#8220;My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.&#8221; 15So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.</div><div class="p"> 16When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;What share do we have in David,</div><div class="q2">what part in Jesse&#8217;s son?</div><div class="q1">To your tents, Israel!</div><div class="q2">Look after your own house, David!&#8221;</div><div class="m">So the Israelites went home. 17But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.</div><div class="p"> 18King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,#12:18 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 4:6 and 5:14); Hebrew Adoram who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.</div><div class="p"> 20When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.</div><div class="p"> 21When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin&#8212;a hundred and eighty thousand able young men&#8212;to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.</div><div class="p"> 22But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23&#8220;Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24&#8216;This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.</div><div class="s1">Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan</div><div class="p"> 25Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.#12:25 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel</div><div class="p"> 26Jeroboam thought to himself, &#8220;The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 28After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, &#8220;It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.&#8221; 29One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.#12:30 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text people went to the one as far as Dan</div><div class="p"> 31Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1KI">
 <div class="chapter ch13" data-usfm="1KI.13">
 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">The Man of God From Judah</div><div class="p"> 1By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: &#8220;Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: &#8216;A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; 3That same day the man of God gave a sign: &#8220;This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, &#8220;Seize him!&#8221; But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 6Then the king said to the man of God, &#8220;Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.&#8221; So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king&#8217;s hand was restored and became as it was before.</div><div class="p"> 7The king said to the man of God, &#8220;Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8But the man of God answered the king, &#8220;Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: &#8216;You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; 10So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.</div><div class="p"> 11Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12Their father asked them, &#8220;Which way did he go?&#8221; And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13So he said to his sons, &#8220;Saddle the donkey for me.&#8221; And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, &#8220;Are you the man of God who came from Judah?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I am,&#8221; he replied.</div><div class="p"> 15So the prophet said to him, &#8220;Come home with me and eat.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16The man of God said, &#8220;I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17I have been told by the word of the Lord: &#8216;You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18The old prophet answered, &#8220;I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord: &#8216;Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; (But he was lying to him.) 19So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.</div><div class="p"> 20While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. 22You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.</div><div class="p"> 26When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, &#8220;It is the man of God who defied the word of the Lord. The Lord has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27The prophet said to his sons, &#8220;Saddle the donkey for me,&#8221; and they did so. 28Then he went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. 29So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. 30Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him and said, &#8220;Alas, my brother!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 31After burying him, he said to his sons, &#8220;When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32For the message he declared by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. 34This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch14" data-usfm="1KI.14">
 <div class="label">14</div><div class="s1">Ahijah&#8217;s Prophecy Against Jeroboam</div><div class="p"> 1At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, 2and Jeroboam said to his wife, &#8220;Go, disguise yourself, so you won&#8217;t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there&#8212;the one who told me I would be king over this people. 3Take 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.&#8221; 4So Jeroboam&#8217;s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah&#8217;s house in Shiloh.</div><div class="p">Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. 5But the Lord had told Ahijah, &#8220;Jeroboam&#8217;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.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, &#8220;Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense? I have been sent to you with bad news. 7Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: &#8216;I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 8I 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. 9You 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.</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;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&#8212;slave or free.#14:10 Or Israel&#8212;every ruler or leader I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. 11Dogs 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!&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. 13All 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.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;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.#14:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain. 15And 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&#8217;s anger by making Asherah poles.#14:15 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 1 Kings 16And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Then Jeroboam&#8217;s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.</div><div class="p"> 19The other events of Jeroboam&#8217;s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 20He reigned for twenty-two years and then rested with his ancestors. And Nadab his son succeeded him as king.</div><div class="s1">Rehoboam King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 21Rehoboam 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&#8217;s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.</div><div class="p"> 22Judah 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. 23They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24There 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.</div><div class="p"> 25In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26He 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. 27So 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. 28Whenever the king went to the Lord&#8217;s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.</div><div class="p"> 29As for the other events of Rehoboam&#8217;s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31And Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother&#8217;s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. And Abijah#14:31 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 12:16); most Hebrew manuscripts Abijam his son succeeded him as king.</div>
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