the LORD, and returned from going againft Jeroboam. ST And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerufalem, and built cities for defence in Judali.. 6 He built even Beth-leliem, and Etam, and Tekoa. 7 And Beth-zur, and Shoco, and Adullam, 8 And Gath, and Marethah, and Ziph, 9 And Adorain, and Lachith, and Azekah, to And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities. 11 And he fortified the ftrong holds, and put captains in them, and ftere of victual, and of oil and winc. 12 And in every feveral city he put thields and fpears, and made them exceeding trong, having Judah and Benjamin on his fide. 13 And the priests and the Levites, that were in all Ifrael, reforted to him out of all their coafts. 14 (For the Levites left their fuburbs, and their poffeffion, and came to Judah and Jerufalem, for Jeroboam and his fons had caft them off from executing the priests office unto the LORD. 15 And he ordained him priefts for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.) 16 And after them out of all the tribes of Ifrael, fuch as fet their hearts to feek the LORD God of Ifrael, came to Jerufalem, to facrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers. 17 So they ftrengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam, the fon of Solomon ftrong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon. 18 And Rehoboam took him Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth the fon of David, to wife, and Abihail, the daughter of Eliab, the fon of Jeffe: 19 Which bare him children; Jeuth, and Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 And after her he took Maachah, the daughter of Abfalom, which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 And Rehoboam loved Maachah, the daughter of Abfalom, above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threcfcore concubines, and begat twenty and eight fons, and threefcore daughters. 22 And Rehoboam made Abijah, the fon of Maachah, the chief, to be ruler among his brethren; for he thought to make him king. 23 And he dealt wifely, and difperfed of all his children, throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city; and he gave them vidual in abundance: and he defired many wives. CHAP. XII. 1 Rehoboam, forfaking God, is punished by Shishak: 13 his reign and death. A Nate came to Pals, when Rehoboam ftrengthened himself, he forfook the law of had established the kingdom, and had the LORD, and all Ifrael with him. 2 And it came to pafs, that, in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shihak king of Egypt came up againft Jerufalem, because they had tranfgrefled againft the LORD, 3 With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thoufand horfemen: and the people tvere without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkims, and the Ethiopians. 4 And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerufalem. 5 Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerufalem becaufe of Shifhak, and faid unto them, Thus faith the LORD, Ye have forfaken me, and therefore have I alfo left you in the hand of Shithak. 6 Whereupon the princes of Ifrael and the king humbled themfelves; and they said, The LORD is righteous. 7 And when the LORD faw that they humbled themfelves, the word of the LORD caine to Shemaiah, faying, they have humbled themselves, therefore I will not deftroy them, but I will grant them fome deliverance; and my wrath fhal not be poured out upon Jerufalem by the hand of Shiinak. 8 Nevertheless, they fhall be his fervants; that they may know my fervice, and the fervice of the kingdoms of the countries. 9 So Shithak King of Egypt came up against Jerufalem, and took away the treafures of the houfe of the LORD, and the treasures of the kings houfe; he took all : he carried away alio the thields of gold which Solomon had made. 10 Inflead of which king Rehoboam made fhields of brats, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the kings houfe. 11 And when the king entered into the houfe of the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard-chamber. 12 And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not deftroy him altogether: and alfo in Judah things went well. 13. So king Rehoboam ftrengthened him. felf in Jerufalem, and reigned; for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned feventeen years in Jerufalem, the city which the LORD had chofen out of all the tribes of Ifrael to put his name there: and his mothers name was Naamah, an Ammonitefs. 14 And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to feek the LORD. 15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, firft and laft, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the feer, concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 16 And Rehoboamn flept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his fon reigned in his ftead. CHAP. XIII. Abijah, fucceeding, maketh war against Jeroboam, and overcometh him. 4 Now, in the eighteenth year of king Jero boam began Abijah to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem: (his mothers name alfo was Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibea:) and there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 And Abijah fet the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam upon them: and they fpoiled all the cities: for there was exceeding much fpoil in them. 15 They fmote alfo the tents of cattle, and carried away theep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerulalem. CHAP. XV. 1 Afa, with others, make a folemn covenant with God: 16 he putteth down Maachah his mother for idolatry. Ariah, the fon of Oded. Nd the Spirit of God came upon Aza 2 And he went out to meet Afa, and faid unto him, Hear ye me Afa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye feek him, he will be found of you: but if ye forfake him, he will forfake you. 3 Now, for a long seafon Ifrael hath bee without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law: 4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lono God of Ifrael, and fought him, he was found of them. 5 And in thofe times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. 6 And nation was deftroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adverfity. 7 Be ye ftrong therefore, and let not your hands be weak; for your work fhall be rewarded. 8 And when Afa heard thefe words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD that tear before the porch of the LORD. 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the ftrangers with them out of Ephraim and Manaffeh, and out of Simeon: (for they fell to him out of Urael in abund ance, when they faw that the LORD his God was with him:) 10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerufalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Afa. 11 And they offered unto the LORD the fame time, of the fpoil thich they had brought, feven hundred oxen, and feven thousand theep. 12 And they entered into a covenant to feek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart, and with all their foul; 13 That whofoever would not seek the LORD God of Ifracl, fhould be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 And they fware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with fhouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath; for they had fworn with all their heart, and fought him with their whole defire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them reft round about. 16 And alfo concerning Maachah, the mother of Afa the king, he removed her from being queen, becaufe the had made an idol in a grove: and Afa cut down her idol, and ftamped it, and burnt at the brook Kidron. 179 But the high places were not taken away out of Ifrael: nevertheless, the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. 18 And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, filver, and gold, and vellels. 19 And there was no more war unto the rive and thirtieth year of the reign of Afa. CHAP. XVI. 1 Afa, by the aid of the Syrians, diverteth Baafha from building of Ramah: he feek eth not to God in his disease, but to the phyficians: 13 his death and burial. N the fix and thirtieth year of the reign of Afa, Baatha king of Ifrael came up against Judah, and built Ramali, to the intent that he might let none go out, or come in to Afa king of Judah. 2 Then Afa brought out filver and gold out of the treatures of the houfe of the LORD, and of the kings houfe, and fent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damafcus, faying, 3. There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy fa ther: behold, I have fent thee filver and gold; go, break thy league with Baafha king of Ifrael, that he may depart from me. 4 And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Afa, and fent the captains of his armies against the cities of Ifrael; and they fmote on, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the ftore cities of Naphtali. 5 And it came to país, when Baafha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work ceafe. 6 Then Afa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the tones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baatha was a building: and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.. 7 And at that time Hanani, the feer, came to Afa king of Judah, and faid unto him, Becaufe thou haft relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the hoft of the king of Syria es caped out of thine hand. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge holt, with very many chariots and harlemen? yet, becaufe thou didft rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to fhew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou haft done foolishly; therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. 10 Then Ala was wroth with the feer, and put him in a prifon-houfe; for he was in a rage with him, becaufe of this thing. And Afa oppreffed fome of the people the fame time. 11 And behold, the acts of Afa, first and laft, lo, they are written in the book of the Kings of Judah and Ifrael. 12 And Afa, in the thirty and ninth year of his reign, was difeafed in his feet, until his difcafe was exceeding great: yet in his difeafe he fought not to the LORD, but to the phyficians. 14 And when he was come to the king, the king fald unto him, Micaiah, thall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or thall I forbear? And he faid, Go ye up, and profper, andthey thall be delivered into your hand. 15 And the king said to him, how many times thall I adjure thee, that thou fay nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD? 16 Then he said, I did fee all Ifrael scattered upon the mountains, as theep that have no fhepherd: and the Lord said, Thefe have no maiter; let them return, therefore, every man to his houfe in peace. 17 And the king of Ifrael faid to Jehothaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophefy good unto me, but evil? he faid, Therefore, hear the word 32 For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of lfrael, they turned back again from purfuing him. 33 And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and fmote the king of Ifrael between the joints of the harnefs: therefore he faid to his chariot-man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayeft carry me out of the hoft; for I am wounded. 34 And the battle increafed that day: howbelt the king of Ifrael ftayed himself upon his chariot againft the Syrians until the even; and about the time of the fun going down, he died. CHAP. XIX. 1 Jehoshaphat vifiteth his kingdom: 5 his infiructions to the judges, &c. Nd Jehothaphat the king of Judah, return of the Eam, law, the Loan litting upon his A ed to his houfe in peace to Jeruaretu throne, and all the hoft of heaven ftanding on his right hand, and on his left. 19 And the LORD faid, Who fhall entice Ahab king of Ifrael, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one fpake, faying after this manner, and another laying after that manner. 20 Then there came out a fpirit, and ftood before, the LORD, and faid, I will entice him. And the LORD faid unto him, Wherewith? 21 And he laid, I will go out, and be a lying fpirit in the mouth of all his piophets. And the LORD faid, Thou shalt entice him and thou fhalt alfo prevail: go out, and do even fo. 22 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying fpirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee. 23 Then Zedekiah, the fon of Chenaanali, came near, and Imote Micaiah upon the cheek, and faid, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to fpeak unto thee? 24 And Micaiah faid, Behold, thou thalt fee on that day, when thou fhalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyfelf. 25 Then the king of Ifrael faid, Take ye Micaiab, and carry ye him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joath the kings Ion; 26 And fay, Thus faith the king, Put this fellotu in the prifon, and feed him with bread of affliction, and with water of affiction, until I return in peace. 27 And Micaiah faid, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not the LORD fpoken by me. And he fald, Hearken all ye people. 28 So the king of Ifrael and Jehothaphat the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29 And the king of Ifrael faid unto Jehothaphat, I will difguife myfelf, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Ifrael difguifed himfelf, and they went to the battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, faying, Fight ye not with fmall or great, fave only with the king of Ifrael. 31 And it came to pafs, when the captains of the chariots faw Jehoshaphat, that they Laid, it is the king of tract; therefore they compated about him to fight: but Jehofhaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moyed them to depart from him. 2 And Jehu, the fon of Hananithe feer,went out to meet him, and faid to king Jehofhaphat, Shouldeft thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD. 3 Nevertheless, there are good things found in thee, in that thou haft taken away the groves out of the land, and haft prepared thine heart to feek God. 4 And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerufalem: and he went out again through the people, from Beer-fheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers. 5 And he fet judges in the land, throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city. 6 And faid to the judges, Take heed what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. 7 Wherefore now, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor refpect of perfons, nor taking of gifts. 8 Moreover, in Jerufalem did Jehoshaphat fet of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Ifrael, for the judgment of the LORD, and for controverties, when they returned to Jerufalem. 9 And he charged them, faying, Thus thall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. 10 And what caufe foever thall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, ftatutes and judgments, ye thall even warn them that they trefpafs not againft the LORD, and fo wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trefpafs. 11 And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah, the fon of Ifhmael, the ruler of the houfe of Judab, for all the kings matters: alfo the Levites fhall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and the LORD thall be with the good. CHAP. XX. 1 Jehoshaphat proclaimeth a faft: 5 his prayer: 12 the overthrow of his enemies: 31 his reign. IT cimen of Moab, and theo, that the children children of Ammon, and with them other befides the Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat to battle. |