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      Genesis 14, 1 Kings 12 (English-NIV)

      Genesis 14

      1
      At this time Amraphel king of Shinar, [1] Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim
      2
      went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
      3
      All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea [2]).
      4
      For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
      5
      In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim
      6
      and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert.
      7
      Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
      8
      Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim
      9
      against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar--four kings against five.
      10
      Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills.
      11
      The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away.
      12
      They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
      13
      One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother [3] of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.
      14
      When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
      15
      During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.
      16
      He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
      17
      After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
      18
      Then Melchizedek king of Salem [4] brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,
      19
      and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator [5] of heaven and earth.
      20
      And blessed be [6] God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
      21
      The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself."
      22
      But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath
      23
      that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, `I made Abram rich.'
      24
      I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me--to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share."

      1 Kings 12

      1
      Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king.
      2
      When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from [7] Egypt.
      3
      So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him:
      4
      "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."
      5
      Rehoboam answered, "Go away for three days and then come back to me." So the people went away.
      6
      Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer these people?" he asked.
      7
      They replied, "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."
      8
      But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
      9
      He asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, `Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?"
      10
      The young men who had grown up with him replied, "Tell these people who have said to you, `Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter'--tell them, `My little finger is thicker than my father's waist.
      11
      My 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.'"
      12
      Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days."
      13
      The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders,
      14
      he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions."
      15
      So 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.
      16
      When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: "What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse's son? To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!" So the Israelites went home.
      17
      But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.
      18
      King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, [8] 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.
      19
      So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
      20
      When 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.
      21
      When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin--a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men--to make war against the house of Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.
      22
      But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God:
      23
      "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to the whole house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people,
      24
      `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.'" So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered.
      25
      Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. [9]
      26
      Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David.
      27
      If 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."
      28
      After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."
      29
      One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
      30
      And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there.
      31
      Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites.
      32
      He 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.
      33
      On 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.

    1. 1 That is, Babylonia; also in verse 9
    2. 3 That is, the Dead Sea
    3. 13 Or a relative; or an ally
    4. 18 That is, Jerusalem
    5. 19 Or Possessor; also in verse 22
    6. 20 Or And praise be to
    7. 2 Or he remained in
    8. 18 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 1 Kings 4:6 and 5:14); Hebrew Adoram
    9. 25 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel

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