2 Chronicles 10
Amplified Bible
Rehoboam’s Reign of Folly
10 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard about the new king (for he was in [a]Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), Jeroboam returned from Egypt.(A) 3 And the people sent messengers and summoned him. So when Jeroboam and all Israel came, they spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father [King Solomon] made our yoke hard (heavy, difficult); so now lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5 Rehoboam replied, “Come back to me again in three days.” So the people departed.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon [as advisers] while he was alive, asking, “What advice do you give me in answer to these people?” 7 They answered him, saying, “If you are kind to these people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But the king rejected the advice which the elders gave him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him [as advisers]. 9 He asked them, “What advice do you give to us regarding the answer to these people, who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” 10 The young men who grew up with him told him, “Tell the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us’: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s [b]loins! 11 Now my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, but I will add [more weight] to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions (extremely painful scourges).’”
12 So on the third day Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam just as the king had directed, saying, “Return to me on the third day.” 13 The king answered them harshly, for King Rehoboam rejected the counsel of the elders. 14 He spoke to them in accordance with the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for the [c]turn of events was from God that the Lord might fulfill His word, which He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.(B)
16 When all Israel saw that the king did not listen and pay attention to them, the people answered him,
“What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Every man to your tents, O Israel;
Now, [Rehoboam, descendant of] David, see to your own house.”
So all Israel went to their tents. 17 But as for the Israelites who lived in Judah’s cities, Rehoboam ruled over them. 18 Then King Rehoboam [d]sent Hadoram, who was over the forced labor, and the Israelites stoned him and he died. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his [royal] chariot to escape to Jerusalem. 19 And Israel has rebelled against the house of David to this day.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 10:2 Jeroboam had been living in Egypt under the protection of the pharaoh, Shishak.
- 2 Chronicles 10:10 The midsection of the body between the lower ribs and the hips.
- 2 Chronicles 10:15 God brought about the revolt of the northern tribes, intending it as a punishment of the house of David for Solomon’s apostasy.
- 2 Chronicles 10:18 This evidently was a last-resort effort by Rehoboam to assert control over the Israelites.
2 Chronicles 10
Contemporary English Version
Some of the People Rebel against Rehoboam
(1 Kings 12.1-20)
10 Rehoboam went to Shechem where everyone was waiting to crown him king.
2 Jeroboam son of Nebat heard what was happening, and he returned from Egypt, where he had gone to hide from Solomon. 3 The people from the northern tribes of Israel sent for him. Then together they went to Rehoboam and said, 4 “Your father Solomon forced us to work very hard. But if you make our work easier, we will serve you and do whatever you ask.”
5 Rehoboam replied, “Come back in three days for my answer.” So the people left.
6 Rehoboam went to some leaders who had been his father's senior officials, and he asked them, “What should I tell these people?”
7 They answered, “If you want them to serve and obey you, then you should be kind and promise to make their work easier.”
8 But Rehoboam refused their advice and went to the younger men who had grown up with him and were now his officials. 9 He asked, “What do you think I should say to these people who asked me to make their work easier?”
10 His younger advisors said:
Here's what we think you should say to them: “Compared to me, my father was weak.[a] 11 He made you work hard, but I'll make you work even harder. He punished you with whips, but I'll use whips with pieces of sharp metal!”
12 Three days later, Jeroboam and the others came back. 13 Rehoboam ignored the advice of the older advisors. He spoke bluntly 14 and told them exactly what his own advisors had suggested. He said: “My father made you work hard, but I'll make you work even harder. He punished you with whips, but I'll use whips with pieces of sharp metal!”
15-19 (A) When the people realized that Rehoboam would not listen to them, they shouted: “We don't have to be loyal to David's family. We can do what we want. Come on, people of Israel, let's go home! Rehoboam can rule his own people.”
Adoniram[b] was in charge of the work force, and Rehoboam sent him to talk to the people. But they stoned him to death. Then Rehoboam ran to his chariot and hurried back to Jerusalem.
Everyone from Israel's northern tribes went home, leaving Rehoboam to rule only the people from Judah. And since that day, the people of Israel have been opposed to David's descendants in Judah.[c] All of this happened just as Ahijah the Lord's prophet from Shiloh had told Jeroboam.
Footnotes
- 10.10 Compared … weak: Hebrew “My little finger is bigger than my father's waist.”
- 10.15-19 Adoniram: The Hebrew text has “Hadoram,” another spelling of the name.
- 10.15-19 the people of Israel have been opposed … Judah: From this time on, “Israel” usually refers only to the northern kingdom. The southern kingdom is called “Judah.”
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