1:11 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,
6:26 “The time will come when 4 the skies 5 are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people 6 sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, 7 and turn away from their sin because you punish 8 them,
6:36 “The time will come when your people 9 will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry at them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their land, whether far away or close by.
14:11 Asa prayed 20 to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. 21 Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. 22 O Lord our God, don’t let men prevail against you!” 23
20:20 Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: “Listen to me, you people of Judah 28 and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! 29 Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win.”
28:9 Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: “Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice. 31
1 tn Heb “because this was in your heart.”
2 tn Heb “the life of those who hate you.”
3 tn Heb “many days.”
4 tn Heb “when.” In the Hebrew text vv. 26-27a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Or “heavens” (also in v. 12). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
6 tn Heb “they.”
7 tn Heb “confess [or perhaps, “praise”] your name.”
8 tn The Hebrew text reads “because you answer them,” as if the verb is from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”). However, this reference to a divine answer is premature, since the next verse asks for God to intervene in mercy. It is better to revocalize the consonantal text as תְעַנֵּם (tÿ’annem, “you afflict them”), a Piel verb form from the homonym עָנָה (“afflict”).
9 tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
12 tn Heb “My little one is thicker than my father’s hips.” The referent of “my little one” is not clear. The traditional view is that it refers to the little finger (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). As the following statement makes clear, Rehoboam’s point is that he is more harsh and demanding than his father.
13 tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will make heavy your yoke,” but many medieval Hebrew
14 tn Heb “but I will add to your yoke.”
15 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I [will punish you] with scorpions.” “Scorpions” might allude to some type of torture, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound.
16 tn In the Hebrew text this is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Did you not banish?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you did,” the force of which is reflected in the translation “But you banished.”
17 tn Heb “whoever comes to fill his hand with a bull of a son of cattle, and seven rams, and he is a priest to no-gods.”
18 tn Heb “and his priests and the trumpets of the war alarm [are ready] to sound out against you.”
19 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 18).
20 tn Heb “called out.”
21 tn Heb “there is not with you to help between many with regard to [the one] without strength.”
22 tn Heb “and in your name we have come against this multitude.”
23 tn Heb “let not man retain [strength] with you.”
24 tn Heb “and look, Amariah the chief priest is over you with respect to every matter of the
25 tn Heb “Be strong and act!”
26 tn Heb “the deliverance of the
27 tn Or perhaps “don’t get discouraged.”
28 tn Heb “O Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “Judah” in v. 15.
29 tn There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The Hiphil verb form הַאֲמִינוּ (ha’aminu, “trust”) and the Niphal form תֵאָמֵנוּ (te’amenu, “you will be safe”) come from the same verbal root (אָמַן, ’aman).
30 sn The thorn bush in the allegory is Judah. Amaziah’s success had deceived him into thinking he was on the same level as the major powers in the area (symbolized by the cedar). In reality he was not capable of withstanding an attack by a real military power such as Israel (symbolized by the wild animal).
31 tn Heb “and you killed them with anger [that] reaches as far as heaven.”
32 tn Heb “how much less.”
33 tn The verb is plural, suggesting that the preceding אֱלֹהֵיכֶם (’elohekhem) be translated “your gods,” rather than “your God.”
34 tn Heb “Because your heart was tender.”
35 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
36 tn Heb “Whoever [is] among you from all his people – may the