by Septuagint
So king Solomon sleeps with his fathers, and is buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Roboam his son reigned in his stead in Jerusalem, being sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twelve years I Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Naanan, daughter of Ana son of Naas king of the children of Ammon. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked not in the way of David his father.
And there was a man of mount Ephraim, a servant to Solomon, and his name was Jeroboam: and the name of his mother was Sarira, a harlot: and Solomon made him head of the levies of the house of Joseph: and he built for Solomon Sarira in mount Ephraim; and he had three hundred chariots of horses: he built the citadel with the levies of the house of Ephraim; he fortified the city of David, and aspired to the kingdom, And Solomon sought to kill him; and he was afraid, and escaped to Susakim king of Egypt, and was with him until Solomon died.
And Jeroboam heard in Egypt that Solomon was dead: and he spoke in the ears of Susakim king of Egypt, saying, Let me go, and I will depart into my land: and Susakim said to him, Ask and request, and I will grant it thee. And Susakim gave to Jeroboam Ano the eldest sister of Thekemina his wife: she was great among the daughters of the king, and she bore to Jerobaom Abia his son: and Jeroboam said to Susakim, Let me indeed go, and I will depart.
And Jeroboam departed out of Egypt, and came into the land of Saria that was in mount Ephraim, and thither the whole in mount Ephraim, and thither the whole tribe of Ephraim assembles, and Jeroboam built a fortress there.
And his young child was sick with a very severe sickness; and Jeroboam went to enquire concerning the child: and he said to Ano his wife, Arise, go, enquire of God concerning the child, whether he shall recover from his sickness. Now there was a man in Selom, an his name was Achia: and he was sixty years old, and the word of the Lord was with him. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, and take in thine hand loaves for the man of God, and cakes for his children, and grapes, and a pot of honey. And the woman arose, and took in her hand bread, and two cakes, and grapes, and a pot of honey, for Achia: and the man was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see. And she arose, up from Sarira and went; and it came to pass when she had come into the city to Achia the Selonite, that Achia said to his servant, Go out now to meet Ano the wife of Jeroboam, and thou shalt say to her, Come in, and stand not still: for thus saith the Lord, I send grievous tidings to thee. And Ano went in to the man of God; and Achia said to her, Why hast thou brought me bread and grapes, and cakes, and a pot of honey? Thus saith the Lord, Behold, thou shalt depart from me, and it shall come to pass when thou hast entered into the city, even into Sarira, that thy maidens shall come out to meet thee, and shall say to thee, The child is dead: for thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will destroy every male of Jeroboam, and there shall be the dead of Jeroboam in the city, them the dogs shall eat, and him that eat, and he shall lament for the child, saying, Woe is me, Lord! For there has been found in him some good thing touching the Lord.
And the woman departed, when she heard this: and it came to pass as she entered into Sarira, that the child died; and there came forth a wailing to meet her. And Jeroboam went to Sikima in mount Ephraim, and assembled there the tribes of Israel; and Roboam the son of Solomon went up thither. And the word of the Lord came to Samaias son of Enlami, saying, Take to thyself a new garment which has not gone into the water, and rend it into twelve piees; and thou shalt five some to Jeroboam, and shalt say to him, thus saith the Lord, Take to thyself ten pieces to cover thee: and Jeroboam took them: and Samaias said, Thus saith the Lord concerning the ten tribes of Israel.
And the people said to Roboam the son of Solomon, Thy father make his yoke heavy upon us, and made the meat of his table heavy; and now thou shalt lighten them upon us, and we will serve thee. And Roboam said to the people, Wait three days, and I will return you an answer: and Roboam said, Bring in to me the elders, and I will take counsel with them what I shall answer to the people on the third day, So Roboam spoke in their ears, as the people sent to him to say: and the elders of the people said, Thus the people have spoken to thee.
And Roboam rejected their counsel, and it pleased him not: and he sent and brought in thouse who had been brought up with him; and he said to them, Thus and thus has the people sent to me to say: and they that had been brought up with him said, Thus shalt thou speak to the people saying, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins; my father scourged you with whips, abut I will rule you with scorpions.
And the saying pleased Roboam, and he answered the people as the young men, they that were brought up with him, counselled him: and all the people spoke as one man, every one to his neighbor, and they cried out all together, saying, We have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jessae: to they tents, O Israel, every one; for this man is not for a prince or a ruler over us. And all the people was dispersed from Sikima, and they departed every one to his tent: and Roboam strengthened him self and departed, and mounted his chariot, and entered into Jerusalem: and there follow him the whole tribe of Juda, and the whole tribe of Benjamin. And it came to pass at the beginning of the year, that Roboam gathered all the men of Juda and Benjamin, and went up to fight with Jeroboam at Sikima. And the word of the Lord came to Sameas the man of God, saying, Speak to Roboam king of Juda, and to all the house of Juda and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, neither shall ye fight with your brethren the sons of Israel: return every man to his house, for this thing is from me. And they hearkened to the word of the Lord, and forbore to go up, according to the word of the Lord.
[25] And Jeroboam built Sikima in mount Ephraim and dwelt in it, and went forth thence and built Phanuel. [26] And Jeroboam said in his heart, Behold, now the kingdom will return to the house of David. [27] If this people shall go up to offer sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of the people will return to the Lord, and to their master, to Roboam king of Juda, and they will slay me. [28] And the king took counsel, and went, and made two golden heifers, and said to the people, Let it suffice you to have gone hitherto to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. [29] And he put one in Bethel, and he put the other in Dan. [30] And this thing became a sin; and the people went before one as far as Dan, and left the house of the Lord. [31] And he made houses on the high places, and made priests of any part of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
[32] And Jeroboam appointed a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, according to the feast in the land of Juda; [33] and went up to the altar which he made in Baethel to sacrifice to the heifers which he made, and he placed in Baethel the priests of the high places which he had made. And he went up to the altar which he had made, on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, at the feast which he devised out of his own heart; and he made a feast to the children of Israel, and went up to the altar to sacrifice.
Chapter 13
[1] And behold, there came a man of God out of Juda by the word of the Lord to Baethel, and Jeroboam stood at the altar to sacrifice. [2] And he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, Behold, a son is to be born to the house of David, Josias by name; and he shall offer upon thee the priests of the high places, even of them that sacrifice upon thee, and he shall burn men’s bones upon thee. [3] And in that day one shall give a sign, saying, This is the word which the Lord has spoken, saying, Behold, the altar is rent, and the fatness upon it shall be poured out.
[4] And it came to pass when king Jeroboam heard the words of the man of God who called on the altar that was in Baethel, that the king stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying, Take hold of him. And, behold, his hand, which he stretched forth against him, withered, and he could not draw it back to himself. [5] And the altar was rent, and the fatness was poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God gave by the word of the Lord.
[6] And king Jeroboam said to the man of God, Intreat the Lord thy God, and let my hand be restored to me. And the man of God intreated the Lord, and he restored the king’s hand to him, and it became as before.
[7] And the king said to the man of God, Enter with me into the house, and dine, and I will give thee a gift. [8] And the man of God said to the king, If thou shouldest give me the half of thine house, I would not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread, neither will I drink water in this place; for thus the Lord charged me by his word, saying, [9] Eat no bread, and drink no water, and return not by the way by which thou camest. [10] So he departed by another way, and returned not by the way by which he came to Baethel.
[11] And there dwelt an old prophet in Baethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God did on that day in Baethel, and the words which he spoke to the king: and they turned the face of their father. [12] And their father spoke to them, saying, Which way went he? and his sons shew him the way by which the man of God who came out of Juda went up. [13] And he said to his sons, Saddle me the ass: and they saddled him the ass, and he mounted it, [14] and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said to him, Art thou the man of God that came out of Juda? And he said to him, I am. [15] And he said to him, Come with me, and eat bread. [16] And he said, I shall not by any means be able to return with thee, neither will I eat bread, neither will I drink water in this place. [17] For thus the Lord commanded me by word, saying, Eat not bread there, and drink not water, and return not thither by the way by which thou camest.
[18] And he said to him, I also am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back to thee into thy house, and let him eat bread and drink water: but he lied to him. [19] And he brought him back, and he ate bread and drank water in his house.
[20] And it came to pass while they were sitting at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet that brought him back; [21] and he spoke to the man of God that came out of Juda, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast resisted the word of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, [22] but hast returned, and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he spoke to thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat bread, and shalt not drink water; therefore thy body shall in nowise enter into the sepulchre of thy fathers.
[23] And it came to pass after he had eaten bread and drunk water, that he saddled the ass for him, and he turned and departed. [24] And a lion found him in the way, and slew him; and his body was cast out in the way, and the ass was standing by it, and the lion also was standing by the body. [25] And, behold, men were passing by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion was standing near the carcase: and they went in and spoke of it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. [26] And the prophet that turned him back out of the way heard, and said, This is the man of God who rebelled against the word of the Lord. [27] 28 And he went and found the body cast in the way, and the ass and the lion were standing by the body: and the lion had not devoured the body of the man of God, and had not torn the ass.
[29] And the prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on his ass; and the prophet brought him back to his city, to bury him in his own tomb, [30] and they bewailed him, saying, Alas, brother. [31] And it came to pass after he had lamented him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, Whenever I die, bury me in this tomb wherein the man of God is buried; lay me by his bones, that my bones may be preserved with his bones. [32] For the word will surely come to pass which he spoke by the word of the Lord against the altar in Baethel, and against the high houses in Samaria.
[33] And after this Jeroboam turned not from his sin, but he turned and made of part of the people priests of the high places: whoever would, he consecrated him, and he became a priest for the high places. [34] And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to its destruction and its removal from the face of the earth.
Chapter 14
[1] 2 [3] 4 [5] 6 [7] 8 [9] 10 [11] 12 [13] 14 [15] 16 [17] 18 [19] 20 [21] And Roboam son of Solomon ruled over Juda. Roboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in the city Jerusalem, which the Lord chose to put his name there out of all the tribes of Israel: and his mother’s name was Naama the Ammonitess. [22] And Roboam did evil in the sight of the Lord; and he provoked him in all the things which their fathers did in their sins which they sinned. [23] And they built for themselves high places, and pillars, and planted groves on every high hill, and under every shady tree. [24] And there was a conspiracy in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord removed from before the children of Israel.
[25] And it came to pass in the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Susakim king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; [26] and took all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and the golden spears which David took out of the hand of the sons of Adrazaar king of Suba, and brought them into Jerusalem, even all that he took, and the golden shields which Solomon had made, [and carried them away into Egypt.] [27] And king Roboam made brazen shields instead of them; and the chiefs of the body guard, who kept the gate of the house of the king, were placed in charge over them. [28] And it came to pass when the king went into the house of the Lord, that the body guard took them up, and fixed them in the chamber of the body guard.
[29] And the rest of the history of Roboam, and all that he did, behold, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda? [30] And there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam continually. [31] And Roboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Abiu his son reigned in his stead.
Chapter 15
[1] And in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nabat, Abiu son of Roboam reigns over Juda. [2] And he reigned three years over Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Maacha, daughter of Abessalom. [3] And he walked in the sins of his father which he wrought in his presence, and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. [4] Howbeit for David’s sake the Lord gave him a remnant, that he might establish his children after him, and might establish Jerusalem. [5] Forasmuch as David did that which was right in the sight of the Lord: he turned not from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life.
[6] 7 And the rest of the history of Abiu, and all that he did, behold, are not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda? And there was war between Abiu and Jeroboam. [8] And Abiu slept with his fathers in the twenty-fourth year of Jeroboam; and he is buried with his fathers in the city of David: And Asa his son reigns in his stead.
[9] In the four and twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa begins to reign over Juda. [10] And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Ana, daughter of Abessalom. [11] And Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as David his father. [12] And he removed the sodomites out of the land, and abolished all the practices which his fathers had kept up. [13] And he removed Ana his mother from being queen, forasmuch as she gathered a meeting in her grove: and Asa cut down her retreats, and burnt them with fire in the brook of Kedron. [14] But he removed not the high places; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all his days. [15] And he brought in the pillars of his father, he even brought in his gold and silver pillars into the house of the Lord, and his vessels.
[16] And there was war between Asa and Baasa king of Israel all their days. [17] And Baasa king of Israel went up against Juda, and built Rama, so that no one should go out or come in for Asa king of Juda.
[18] And Asa took all the silver and the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and gave them into the hands of his servants; and king Asa sent them out to the son of Ader, the son of Taberema son of Azin king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, [19] Make a covenant betwee
n me and thee, and between my father and thy father: lo! I have sent forth to thee gold and silver for gifts: come, break thy league with Baasa king of Israel, that he may go up from me. [20] And the son of Ader hearkened to king Asa, and sent the chiefs of his forces to the cities of Israel; and they smote Ain, Dan, and Abel of the house of Maacha, and all Chennereth, as far as the whole land of Nephthali. [21] And it came to pass when Baasa heard it, that he left off building Rama, and returned to Thersa.
[22] And king Asa charged all Juda without exception: and they take up the stones of Rama and its timbers with which Baasa was building; and king Asa built with them upon the whole hill of Benjamin, and the watch-tower.
[23] And the rest of the history of Asa, and all his mighty deeds which he wrought, and the cities which he built, behold, are not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda? Nevertheless in the time of 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 Josaphat his son reigns in his stead.
[25] And Nabat son of Jeroboam reigns over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Juda, and he reigned two years in Israel. [26] And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sins wherein he caused Israel to sin.
[27] And Baasa son of Achia, who was over the house of Belaan son of Achia, conspired against him, and smote him in Gabathon of the Philistines; for Nabat and all Israel were besieging Gabathon. [28] And Baasa slew him in the third year of Asa son of Asa king of Juda; and reigned in his stead. [29] And it came to pass when he reigned, that he smote the whole house of Jeroboam, and left none that breathed of Jeroboam, until he has destroyed him utterly, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by his servant Achia the Selonite, [30] for the sins of Jeroboam, who led Israel into sin, even by his provocation wherewith he provoked the Lord God of Israel. [31] And the rest of the history of Nabat, and all that he did, behold, are not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?