Apr 10 - 2 Chronicles 9-12
2 Chronicles
1Also, when the queen of Sheba had heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem, with great riches and with camels which were carrying aromatics, and very much gold, and precious gems, so that she might test him with enigmas. And when she had approached Solomon, she spoke to him all that was in her heart2And Solomon explained for her all that she had proposed. And there was nothing that he did not make clear to her3And after she saw these things, specifically, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built4indeed also the foods of his table, and the habitations of the servants, and the duties of his ministers, and their apparel, and also his cupbearers and their garments, and the victims which he was immolating in the house of the Lord, there was no longer any spirit in her, due to astonishment5And she said to the king: "The word is true, which I had heard in my own land, about your virtues and wisdom6I did not believe those who described it, until I had arrived and my eyes had seen, and I had proven that not even half of your wisdom had been described to me. You have exceeded your fame with your virtue7Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you at all times and listen to your wisdom8Blessed is the Lord your God, who willed to set you upon his throne as a king for the Lord your God. Since God loves Israel, he wishes to preserve them unto eternity. For this reason, he appointed you as king over them, so that you may accomplish judgment and justice.9Then she gave to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and an exceedingly great abundance of aromatics, and very precious gems. Never were there such aromatics as those that the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon10Then too, the servants of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and wood from thyine trees, and very precious gems11And the king made, from this particular thyine wood, steps in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king, and also harps and psalteries for the singing men. Never was there seen such wood in the land of Judah12Then king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, and all that she requested, and much more than what she had brought to him. And returning, she went away to her own land with her servants13Now the weight of the gold, which was being brought to Solomon throughout each year, was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold14apart from the sum that the legates of various nations and the merchants were accustomed to bring, and apart from the gold and silver that all the kings of Arabia, and the princes of the lands, were bringing together for Solomon15And so, king Solomon made two hundred gold spears, from six hundred gold pieces, the amount used for each spear16and also three hundred gold shields, from three hundred gold pieces, which covered each shield. And the king placed them in the armory, which was situated in a forest17Also, the king made a great ivory throne, and he clothed it with the purest gold18And there were six steps, by which he would ascend to the throne, and a footstool of gold, and two arms, one on each side, and two lions standing beside the arms19Moreover, there were twelve additional little lions standing upon the six steps on both sides. There was no similar throne in all the kingdoms20Also, all the vessels for the feasts of the king were of gold, and the vessels of the forest house of Lebanon were from the purest gold. For silver in those days was considered as nothing21For indeed, the ships of the king went to Tarshish, with the servants of Hiram, once every three years. And they brought from there gold, and silver, and ivory, and primates, and peacocks22And so, Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in wealth and glory23And all the kings of the lands were desiring to see the face of Solomon, so that they might hear the wisdom that God had granted to his heart24And they were bringing to him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armor, and aromatics, and horses, and mules, throughout each year25Also, Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots and horsemen, and he appointed them to the cities of the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem26Now he also exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates as far as the land of the Philistines, and as far as the borders of Egypt27And he brought forth so much silver that it was as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones. And cedar trees were as great in number as the sycamores that spring up in the plains28And horses were brought to him from Egypt and from every region29Now the rest of the works of Solomon, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Nathan, the prophet, and in the books of Ahijah, the Shilonite, as well as in the vision of Iddo, the seer, against Jeroboam, the son of Nabat30And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all of Israel, for forty years31And he slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the City of David. And his son, Rehoboam, reigned in his place
1Now Rehoboam set out for Shechem. For in that place all of Israel had convened, so that they might appoint him as king2But when Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who was in Egypt, (indeed he had fled to that place from Solomon) had heard it, he promptly returned3And they summoned him, and he arrived with all of Israel. And they spoke to Rehoboam, saying4"Your father pressed upon us a very difficult yoke. You should govern us more lightly than your father, who imposed on us a heavy servitude, and so lift up some of the burden, so that we may serve you.5But he said, "Return to me after three days." And when the people had gone away6he took counsel with the elders, who had stood before his father Solomon while he was still living, saying, "What counsel would you give to me, so that I may respond to the people?7And they said to him, "If you please this people, and if you soothe them with words of clemency, they will be your servants for all days.8But he set aside the counsel of the elders, and he began to have discussion with the youth, who had been raised with him and who were among his companions9And he said to them: "How does it seem to you? Or how should I respond to this people, who have said to me, ‘Lift up the yoke that your father imposed upon us?’ 10But they responded like youths, having been raised with him in luxury, and they said: "So shall you speak to the people, who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy; you should lighten it,’ and so shall you respond to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than the back of my father11My father imposed a heavy yoke upon you, and I will place more weight upon it. My father cut you with whips; truly, I will beat you with scorpions.’ 12Then Jeroboam, and the entire people, went to Rehoboam on the third day, just as he had instructed them13And the king responded harshly, abandoning the counsel of the elders14And he spoke according to the will of the youths: "My father imposed a heavy yoke upon you, which I will make heavier. My father cut you with whips; truly, I will beat you with scorpions.15And he did not acquiesce to the pleadings of the people. For it was the will of God that his word be fulfilled, which he had spoken by the hand of Ahijah, the Shilonite, to Jeroboam, the son of Nabat16Then the entire people, speaking more harshly to the king, spoke to him in this way: "There is no portion for us in David, and there is no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Return to your dwellings, O Israel. Then you, O David, shall pasture your own house." And Israel went away to their dwellings17But Rehoboam reigned over the sons of Israel who were living in the cities of Judah18And king Rehoboam sent Aduram, who was in charge of the tributes. And the sons of Israel stoned him, and he died. And so king Rehoboam hurried to climb into the chariot, and he fled to Jerusalem19And Israel withdrew from the house of David, even to this day
1Then Rehoboam went to Jerusalem, and he called together the entire house of Judah and of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand elect men of war, so that he might contend against Israel, and turn back his kingdom to himself2And the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying3"Speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, the king of Judah, and to all of Israel who are of Judah, or of Benjamin4Thus says the Lord: You shall not ascend and fight against your brothers. Let each one return to his own house. For it is by my will that this has happened." And when they had heard the word of the Lord, they turned back, and they did not continue on against Jeroboam5Then Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built fortified cities in Judah6And he built up Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa7and also Bethzur, and Soco, and Adullam8indeed also Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph9then too Adoram, and Lachish, and Azekah10as well as Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which were very fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin11And when he had enclosed them with walls, he placed in them rulers, and storehouses of provisions, that is, of oil and wine12Moreover, in each city he made an armory of shields and spears, and he strengthened them with the utmost diligence. And he ruled over Judah and Benjamin13Then the priests and Levites, who were in all of Israel, came to him from all their settlements14leaving behind their suburbs and possessions, and crossing over to Judah and to Jerusalem. For Jeroboam and his followers had cast them out, so that they could not exercise the priestly office to the Lord15And he appointed for himself priests of high places, and of demons, and of calves that he had made16Moreover, out of all the tribes of Israel, whosoever would give their heart so that they sought the Lord God of Israel, they went to Jerusalem to immolate their victims before the Lord, the God of their fathers17And they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and they confirmed Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, for three years. For they walked in the ways of David and of Solomon, but only for three years18Then Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, son of David, and also Abihail, the daughter of Eliab, son of Jesse19They bore sons for him: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham20And also after her, he married Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, who bore for him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith21But Rehoboam loved Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, above all his wives and concubines. For he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines. And he conceived twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters22Truly, he appointed as the head, Abijah, the son of Maacah, to be the ruler over all his brothers. For he thought to make him king23since he was wiser and more powerful than all his sons, even in all the regions of Judah and Benjamin, and in all the fortified cities. And he provided them with very much food, and he sought many wives
1And when the kingdom of Rehoboam had been strengthened and fortified, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all of Israel with him2Then, in the fifth year of the reign of Rehoboam, Shishak, the king of Egypt, ascended against Jerusalem (for they had sinned against the Lord3with one thousand two hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. And the common people could not be numbered who had arrived with him from Egypt, namely, the Libyans, and the Troglodytes, and the Ethiopians4And he seized the most fortified cities in Judah, and he went even to Jerusalem5Then Shemaiah, the prophet, entered to Rehoboam, and to the leaders of Judah who had gathered together in Jerusalem while fleeing from Shishak, and he said to them: "Thus says the Lord: You have abandoned me, and so I have abandoned you into the hand of Shishak.6And the leaders of Israel, and the king, being in consternation, said, "The Lord is just.7And when the Lord had seen that they were humbled, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying: "Because they have been humbled, I will not disperse them. And I will give to them a little help, and my fury will not rain down upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak8Yet truly, they shall serve him, so that they may know the difference between my servitude, and the servitude of a kingdom of the lands.9And so Shishak, the king of Egypt, withdrew from Jerusalem, taking up the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the house of the king. And he took away everything with him, even the gold shields that Solomon had made10In place of these, the king made bronze ones, and he delivered them to the leaders of the shield bearers, who were guarding the vestibule of the palace11And when the king would enter into the house of the Lord, the shield bearers would arrive and take them, and they would carry them back to their armory12Yet truly, because they were humbled, the wrath of the Lord turned away from them, and so they were not utterly destroyed. And indeed, good works were also found in Judah13Therefore, king Rehoboam was strengthened in Jerusalem, and he reigned. He was forty-one years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord chose out of all the tribes of Israel, so that he might confirm his name there. Now the name of his mother was Naamah, an Ammonite14But he did evil, and he did not prepare his heart so as to seek the Lord15Truly, the works of Rehoboam, the first and the last, have been written in the books of Shemaiah, the prophet, and of Iddo, the seer, and diligently set forth. And Rehoboam and Jeroboam fought against one another during all their days16And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the City of David. And his son, Abijah, reigned in his place