(Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.)

His son Jehoshaphat replaced him as king and solidified his rule over Israel. ¹ 

After Rehoboam’s rule was established and solidified, he and all Israel rejected the law of the Lord.

He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule. ¹ 

Now you are declaring that you will resist the Lord’s rule through the Davidic dynasty. ¹  You have a huge army, ²  and bring with you the gold calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

and the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the temple of God. Jehoiada ¹  said to them, “The king’s son will rule, just as the Lord promised David’s descendants.

He looked for Ahaziah, who was captured while hiding in Samaria. ¹  They brought him to Jehu and then executed him. They did give him a burial, for they reasoned, ²  “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with his whole heart.” There was no one in Ahaziah’s family strong enough to rule in his place. ³ 

King Rehoboam solidified his rule in Jerusalem; ¹  he ²  was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home. ³  Rehoboam’s ⁴  mother was an Ammonite named Naamah.

So Edom has remained free from Judah’s control to this very day. ¹  At that same time Libnah also rebelled and freed themselves from Judah’s control ²  because Jehoram ³  rejected the Lord God of his ancestors.

During Jehoram’s ¹  reign Edom freed themselves from Judah’s control and set up their own king. ² 

Now give me wisdom and discernment so ¹  I can effectively lead this nation. ²  Otherwise ³  no one is able ⁴  to make judicial decisions for ⁵  this great nation of yours.” ⁶ 

He prayed: “O Lord God of our ancestors, ¹  you are the God who lives in heaven ²  and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you.

Then I will establish your dynasty, ¹  just as I promised your father David, ‘You will not fail to have a successor ruling over Israel.’ ² 

In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah.

This Passover was observed in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.

Don’t you realize that the Lord God of Israel has given David and his dynasty lasting dominion over Israel by a formal agreement? ¹ 

He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power.

God said to Solomon, “Because you desire this, ¹  and did not ask for riches, wealth, and honor, or for vengeance on your enemies, ²  and because you did not ask for long life, ³  but requested wisdom and discernment so you can make judicial decisions for my people over whom I have made you king,

May the Lord your God be praised because he favored ¹  you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! ²  Because of your God’s love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, ³  he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions.” ⁴ 

and built up Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to him, ¹  and all the cities where chariots and horses were kept. ²  He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, ³  Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom. ⁴