“ Son of man, take a piece of wood and carve on it these words:‘ This represents Judah and its allied tribes.’ Then take another piece and carve these words on it:‘ This represents Ephraim and the northern tribes of Israel.’

“人子啊，你要取一根木杖，在其上写‘为犹大和他的同伴以色列人’；又取一根木杖，在其上写‘为约瑟，就是为以法莲，又为他的同伴以色列全家’。

“人子啊，你要取一根木杖，在其上写‘为犹大和他的盟友以色列人’；又取一根木杖，在其上写‘为约瑟，就是以法莲的杖，和他的盟友以色列全家’。

“人子啊，你要取一根木杖，在其上写‘为犹大和他的盟友以色列人’；又取一根木杖，在其上写‘为约瑟，就是以法莲的杖，和他的盟友以色列全家’。

“人子啊，你拿一根杖来，写上‘犹大和他的以色列同伴’，然后再拿另一根杖，写上‘约瑟，即以法莲，与他的以色列同伴’。

“人子啊！你要拿一根木杖，在上面写‘犹大和那些与他一起的以色列人’；又拿另一根木杖，在上面写‘以法莲的木杖，就是约瑟和与他一起的以色列全家’。

「人子啊，你要取一根木杖，在其上寫『為猶大和他的同伴以色列人』；又取一根木杖，在其上寫『為約瑟，就是為以法蓮，又為他的同伴以色列全家』。

「人子啊，你要取一根木杖，在其上寫『為猶大和他的盟友以色列人』；又取一根木杖，在其上寫『為約瑟，就是以法蓮的杖，和他的盟友以色列全家』。

「人子啊，你要取一根木杖，在其上寫『為猶大和他的盟友以色列人』；又取一根木杖，在其上寫『為約瑟，就是以法蓮的杖，和他的盟友以色列全家』。

「人子啊，你拿一根杖來，寫上『猶大和他的以色列同伴』，然後再拿另一根杖，寫上『約瑟，即以法蓮，與他的以色列同伴』。

“人子啊！你要拿一根木杖，在上面寫‘猶大和那些與他一起的以色列人’；又拿另一根木杖，在上面寫‘以法蓮的木杖，就是約瑟和與他一起的以色列全家’。

『人子啊，你要取一根木棍，上面寫上：「代表猶大和跟他聯合的以色列人」；又取一根木棍，上面寫上：「代表約瑟（以法蓮）和跟他聯合的以色列全家」。

人子歟、其取一杖、書於上曰、是為猶大、及同儕以色列族、又取一杖、書於上曰、是為約瑟之以法蓮、及同儕以色列全家、

人子、爾當取一簡、書曰、猶大及同居之以色列族、又取一簡、書曰約瑟之以法蓮及同居之以色列族、

人子、當取一木簡、木簡或作木杖下同其上書曰、猶大與其同儕以色列族、又取一木簡、其上書曰、約瑟之以法蓮、與其同儕以色列全族、

“ Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it,‘ Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it,‘ Belonging to Joseph( that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’

“ Son of man, get a stick of wood. Write on it,‘ Belonging to the tribe of Judah and the Israelites who are connected with it.’ Then get another stick. Write on it,‘ Ephraim’s stick. Belonging to the tribes of Joseph and all the Israelites connected with them.’

“ Son of man, take a stick and write on it,‘ For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it,‘ For Joseph( the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’

“ Son of man, take a single stick and write on it: Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him. Then take another stick and write on it: Belonging to Joseph— the stick of Ephraim— and all the house of Israel associated with him.

“ Now you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it,‘ For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it,‘ For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’

“ As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it:‘ For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it,‘ For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’

And thou, son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

“ Son of man, take a single stick and write on it: Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him. Then take another stick and write on it: Belonging to Joseph— the stick of Ephraim— and all the house of Israel associated with him.

Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and[ for] all the house of Israel his companions:

“ As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it,‘ For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another branch and write on it,‘ For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.’

“ You, son of man, take one stick, and write on it,‘ For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.’ Then take another stick, and write on it,‘ For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions.’

Then Asa called together all the people of Judah and Benjamin, along with the people of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them. For many from Israel had moved to Judah during Asa’s reign when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

But Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.

And to this day the northern tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David.

“ Tell the people of Israel to bring you twelve wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel’s ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader’s name on his staff.Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe.

When all Israel realized that the king had refused to listen to them, they responded,“ Down with the dynasty of David! We have no interest in the son of Jesse. Back to your homes, O Israel! Look out for your own house, O David!” So the people of Israel returned home.But Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, to restore order, but the people of Israel stoned him to death. When this news reached King Rehoboam, he quickly jumped into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem.And to this day the northern tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David.When the people of Israel learned of Jeroboam’s return from Egypt, they called an assembly and made him king over all Israel. So only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the family of David.

Rehoboam strengthened their defenses and stationed commanders in them, and he stored supplies of food, olive oil, and wine.He also put shields and spears in these towns as a further safety measure. So only Judah and Benjamin remained under his control.But all the priests and Levites living among the northern tribes of Israel sided with Rehoboam.The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to serve the Lord as priests.Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made.From all the tribes of Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.This strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they supported Rehoboam son of Solomon, for during those years they faithfully followed in the footsteps of David and Solomon.

However, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the Lord.So a huge crowd assembled at Jerusalem in midspring to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread.They set to work and removed the pagan altars from Jerusalem. They took away all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.On the fourteenth day of the second month, one month later than usual, the people slaughtered the Passover lamb. This shamed the priests and Levites, so they purified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the Temple of the Lord.Then they took their places at the Temple as prescribed in the Law of Moses, the man of God. The Levites brought the sacrificial blood to the priests, who then sprinkled it on the altar.Since many of the people had not purified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter their Passover lamb for them, to set them apart for the Lord.Most of those who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not purified themselves. But King Hezekiah prayed for them, and they were allowed to eat the Passover meal anyway, even though this was contrary to the requirements of the Law. For Hezekiah said,“ May the Lord, who is good, pardon those