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¹ At the same tyme was Abia the sonne of Ieroboam sicke,² and Ieroboam saide vnto his wyfe: Get the vp, and disguise the, so that no man perceaue that thou art Ieroboams wyfe, and go vnto Silo: beholde, there is the prophet Ahias, which promysed me yt I shulde be kynge ouer this people:³ and take with the ten loaues of bred and cakes, and a cuppe with hony, & go to him, that he maye tell the how it shal go wt the childe.⁴ And Ieroboams wyfe did so, and gat hir vp, and wente vnto Silo, and came in to the house of Ahias. But Ahias coulde not se, for his eyes were dymme for age.⁵ Neuerthelesse the LORDE sayde vnto Ahias: Beholde, Ieroboams wyfe commeth, to axe a matter at the for hir sonne, for he is sycke. Speake thou therfore vnto her thus & thus Now whan she came in, she shewed hirselfe straunge.⁶ But whan Ahias herde the noyse of hir fete goynge in at the dore, he saide: Come in thou wyfe of Ieroboa. Why shewest thou thy selfe so straunge? I am sent vnto ye an harde messaunger.

⁷ Go thy waye and tell Ieroboam: Thus sayeth ye LORDE God of Israel: I haue exalted the from amonge the people, and set the to be prynce ouer my people of Israel,⁸ and haue rente the kyngdome from the house of Dauid, and geuen it the. But thou hast not bene as my seruaunt Dauid, which kepte my commaundemetes, and walked after me with all his hert, so that he did onely ye thinge that was righte in my sighte:⁹ and thou hast done worse then all they that haue bene before the: thou hast gone thy waye and made the other goddes, and molten ymages, to prouoke me vnto wrath, and hast cast me behynde thy backe.¹⁰ Beholde therfore, I wil brynge mysfortune vpon the house of Ieroboam, and wyl rote out from Ieroboam eue him that maketh water agaynst the wall, the presoner and forsaken in Israel: and the posterite of ye house of Ieroboam wyll I swepe out, as donge is swepte out, tyll he be cleane broughte to naught.¹¹ He that dieth (of Ieroboam) in the cite, the dogges shal eate him vp. But him yt dyeth in the felde, shall the foules of the aire eat vp, for the LORDE hath spoken it.¹² Get the vp therfore, and go home, & whan thy fete enter in to ye cite, the childe shal dye.¹³ And all Israel shal bewayle him, and burye him. For he onely of Ieroboam shal come to the graue, because there is some good founde in him before the LORDE God of Israel, in Ieroboams house.¹⁴ But the LORDE shall rayse him vp a kynge, which shal rote out ye house of Ieroboam in that daie. And what is it, yt is now in hande all ready?¹⁵ And the LORDE shal smyte Israel, like as a rede is moued in the water: & shal rote out Israel from this good londe, that he gaue vnto their fathers, & shal scater them beyonde the water, because they haue made their groues to prouoke the LORDE vnto wrath.¹⁶ And Israel shall be geuen ouer because of the synne of Ieroboam, which hath synned him selfe, & made Israel to synne.¹⁷ And Ieroboams wife gat her vp, wente hir waye, & came vnto Thirza. And whan she came vpo the thresholde of the house, ye childe dyed,¹⁸ & they buried him, & all Israel made lamentacion for him, acordinge to ye worde of the LORDE, which he spake by his seruaunt Ahia ye prophet.¹⁹ What more there is to saye of Ieroboam, how he foughte & raigned, beholde, it is wrytten in the Cronicles of the kynges of Israel.²⁰ The tyme that Ieroboam raigned, was two & twentye yeare. And he slepte with his fathers. And Nadab his sonne was kynge in his steade.

²¹ Roboam ye sonne of Salomon was kynge in Iuda. One and fortye yeare olde was Roboam wha he was made kynge, & seuentene yeare raigned he at Ierusalem, in the cite yt the LORDE had chosen out of all ye trybes of Israel, to set his name there. His mothers name was Naemaan Ammonitisse.²² And Iuda dyd yt which displeased the LORDE, & prouoked him to indignacion more the all yt their fathers had done wt their synnes which they dyd:²³ for they likewyse buylded them hye places, pilers, and groues vpo euery hye hill, and amonge all grene trees.²⁴ There were whoremogers also, & they dyd all ye abhominacios of ye Heythe, whom ye LORDE droue out before the children of Israel.²⁵ But in ye fifth yeare of kynge Roboam wete Sisack ye kynge of Egipte vp agaynst Ierusalem,²⁶ & toke the treasure out of ye house of the LORDE, & out of the kynges house, & all that mighte be gotten, & toke all the shyldes of golde, which Salomon caused to be made.²⁷ In steade wherof ye kynge Roboam caused for to make shyldes of stele, & commytted them vnder the handes of the chefe fotemen, which kepte the dore of the kynges house.²⁸ And as oft as the kynge wente in to ye house of the LORDE, the fote men bare them, and brought them agayne in to the fote mens chamber.²⁹ What more there is to saye of Roboam, and all that he dyd, beholde, it is wrytten in the Cronicles of the kynges of Iuda.³⁰ But betwene Roboam & Ieroboam there was warre as longe as they lyued.³¹ And Robobam slepte with his fathers, & was buried wt his fathers in the cite of Dauid. And his mothers name was Naema an Ammonitisse. And his sonne Abia was kynge in his steade.