And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.

For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD:

And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.

And Rehoboam took to himself Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David for a wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;

And she bore sons for him: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.

And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom. And she bore for him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.

And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)

And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king.

And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fortified city: and he gave them victuals in abundance. And he sought for them many wives.

And it happened [that] in the fifth year of King Rehoboam (for they had acted unfaithfully against Yahweh), Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem

He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

Then came Shemaiah the Prophet to Rehoboam and to the lords of Judah that were gathered to Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and said to them, "Thus sayeth the LORD, 'Ye have left me, and therefore will I leave you also in the hands of Shishak.'"

And when Jehovah seeth that they have been humbled, a word of Jehovah hath been unto Shemaiah, saying, 'They have been humbled; I do not destroy them, and I have given to them as a little thing for an escape, and I pour not out My fury in Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak;

For they shall be to him for servants; and they shall know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the lands.

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.

So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

And he did evil, for he applied not his heart to seek Jehovah.

Now, the story of Rehoboam, first and last, is it not written in the story of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer, for enrolling,-also the wars of Rehoboam and Jeroboam, all the days?

Then Abijah died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in the City of David. Abijah's son Asa reigned in his place, and during his lifetime the land enjoyed rest for ten years.

He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother [was] Micaiah the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah. Now there was war between Abijah and between Jeroboam.

And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour.

Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

And certain foolish and good-for-nothing men were joined with him, and made themselves strong against Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when he was young and untested and not able to keep them back.

And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.

Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? So whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of non-existent gods (idols).

But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business:

And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him.

And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.

But for all that, Jeroboam sent men privily above to come behind upon them: and so they were before Judah, and the layers in wait were behind them.

And Judah, turning their faces, saw that they were being attacked in front and at the back; and they gave a cry for help to the Lord, while the priests were sounding their horns.

And the men of Judah gave a loud cry; and at their cry, God put fear into Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

And the sons of Israel are humbled at that time, and the sons of Judah are strong, for they have leant on Jehovah, God of their fathers.

Jeroboam never recovered his strength for the rest of Abijah's life. The LORD struck Jeroboam, and he died,

but Abijah continued to grow more powerful. He took fourteen wives for himself and fathered 22 sons and sixteen daughters.

So Abijah slept with his fathers [in death], and they buried him in the City of David; and Asa his son became king in his place. The land was at peace for ten years during his days.

For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:

And he commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers [to inquire of and for Him and seek Him as a vital necessity], and to observe the law [given to Moses] and the commandment.

And he put away out of all the cities of Judah, the hill altars and the idols: for the kingdom was quiet before him.

And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.

For he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars; the land is yet before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God; we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

Now Zerah the Ethiopian (Cushite) came out against Judah with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came as far as Mareshah.

And Asa went out to meet him, - and they set in array for battle, in the valley of Zaphonah, at Mareshah.

And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

So the Lord sent fear on the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah; and the Ethiopians went in flight.

And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil.

And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them.

And also tents of cattle they struck, and they will turn back sheep for multitude, and camels; and they will turn back to Jerusalem.

Now, as for Azariah son of Oded, there came upon him, the spirit of God.

and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him, as your soul’s first necessity], He will let you find Him; but if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will abandon (turn away from) you.

Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.

and in those times there is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles are on all the inhabitants of the lands,

And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.

Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.

And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

And they will gather together at Jerusalem in the third month, for the fifteenth year to the kingdom of Asa.

They entered into a covenant (solemn agreement) to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;

and every one who doth not seek for Jehovah, God of Israel, is put to death, from small unto great, from man unto woman.

And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.

And also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

Then King Asa, with all Judah, took away the stones and wood with which Baasha was building Ramah, and he made use of them for building Geba and Mizpah.

And, at that time, came Hanani the seer, unto Asa the king of Judah, - and said unto him, Because thou hast leaned upon the king of Syria, and hast not leaned upon Yahweh thy God, for this cause, hath the force of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand.

Did not the Cushim and the Lubim become a very great force for multitude, for chariot, and for horsemen? and in thy leaning on Jehovah He gave them into thy hand,

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.

In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, Asa had a very bad disease of the feet; but he did not go to the Lord for help in his disease, but to medical men.

And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very great burning for him.

And Jehovah was with Jehoshaphat, for he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto the Baals;

for to the God of his father he hath sought, and in His commands he hath walked, and not according to the work of Israel.

And Jehovah will prepare the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah will give a gift to Jehoshaphat, and riches will be to him and honor for multitude.

His heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord; and he went so far as to take away the high places and the wood pillars out of Judah.

And in the third year of his reign he hath sent for his heads, for Ben-Hail, and for Obadiah, and for Zechariah, and for Nethaneel, and for Michaiah, to teach in cities of Judah,

And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.

And some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and silver for tribute; the Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats.

And so it came to pass that, Jehoshaphat, went on waxing surpassingly great, - and he built, throughout Judah, fortresses and cities for store;

And he had many supplies in the cities of Judah and mighty warriors for battle in Jerusalem.

And these are their numbers, for the house of their fathers: Of Judah, heads of thousands, Adnah the head, and with him mighty ones of valour, three hundred chiefs.

and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who volunteered for the Lord, and with him 200,000 valiant warriors;

And next him was Jehozabad, and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war.

And there will be to Jehoshaphat riches and honor for multitude, and he will contract affinity by marriage to Ahab.

And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead.

for Israel’s King Ahab asked Judah’s King Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?”

He replied to him, “I am as you are, my people as your people; we will be with you in the battle.”

And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire first, I pray thee, for the word of Jehovah.

Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand.

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

And the king of Israel called for one of his officers, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.

And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, Thus saith Jehovah: With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have exterminated them.

And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.

And the messenger who hath gone to call for Micaiah hath spoken unto him, saying, 'Lo, the words of the prophets -- one mouth -- are good towards the king, and let, I pray thee, thy word be like one of theirs: and thou hast spoken good.'

And Micaiah will say, Jehovah lives, for what God shall say I shall speak it.

So he went to the king, and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war, or should I refrain?”

Micaiah said, “March up and succeed, for they will be handed over to you.”

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Didn't I tell you he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but disaster?"

And he will say, I will go forth and be for a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets. And he will say, Thou shalt persuade, and also thou shalt prevail: go and do thus.

So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you."

And Micaiah said, "Thou shalt see the day when thou shalt run from chamber to chamber, for to hide thyself."

For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him.

And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.

The battle continued on for the rest of the day while the king of Israel propped himself up in front of the Arameans until the sun set, at which time he died.

And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate Jehovah? for this thing wrath is upon thee from before Jehovah.

Nevertheless there are good things found in thee; for thou hast put away the Asherahs out of the land, and hast directed thy heart to seek God.