Limitless Word
At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick.
1 Kings 14:1 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.
  • KJV At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
  • BSB At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill,
  • NKJV At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.
  • NASB At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jeroboam's son Abijah falls sick, setting the stage for a word of judgment on the king's house. Personal crisis exposes the king's true posture toward God.

Overview

The illness of Jeroboam's son becomes the occasion for Jeroboam to seek a prophetic word. It reveals that despite his official rival worship, Jeroboam still recognizes Yahweh's true prophet when in trouble. The episode opens the account of how God deals with Jeroboam's family in keeping with the warning just given.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • 1 Kgs 14:12–13Arise therefore, and go to your house. When your feet enter into the city, the child will die.
  • 2 Sam 12:15Nathan departed to his house. Yahweh struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it was very sick.
  • Exod 20:5you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,
  • 1 Sam 4:19–20His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered. When she heard the news that God’s ark was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth; for her pains came on her.
  • 1 Sam 31:2The Philistines overtook Saul and on his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.
  • 1 Kgs 13:33–34After this thing Jeroboam didn’t return from his evil way, but again made priests of the high places from among all the people. Whoever wanted to, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Kings 14:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.

How 1 Kings 14:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.