列王纪上 12
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
罗波安继位(A)
12 罗波安往示剑去,因为以色列众人都到了示剑,要立他作王。 2 尼八的儿子耶罗波安那时因逃避所罗门的面,仍然住在埃及,他听见了这事。 3 以色列人就派遣人去请他来,于是耶罗波安和以色列全体会众都来见罗波安,告诉他说: 4 “你父亲加给我们的重担,现在求你减轻你父亲使我们作的苦工和加在我们背上的重担,我们就服事你。” 5 罗波安回答他们:“你们暂时回去,三天以后再来见我。”众民就离开了。
不采纳老年人的意见(B)
6 罗波安王请教他父亲所罗门在世的时候,侍立在他面前的长老说:“你们给我出个主意,我应该怎样回答这民呢?” 7 长老对他说:“今天如果王作这民的仆人,服事他们,用好话回答他们,他们就常作王的仆人。”
听从少年人的计谋(C)
8 可是王拒绝了老年人给他出的主意,反去请教那些与他一起长大,侍立在他面前的年轻人, 9 问他们:“你们的主意怎样,我应该怎样回复这民?他们对我说:‘请你减轻你父亲加在我们身上的重担。’” 10 那些与他一同长大的年轻人回答他:“这民对王说:‘你父亲加重我们的重担,现在求你减轻我们的重担。’你要这样回答他们:‘我的小指头比我父亲的腰还粗! 11 我父亲把一个重担加在你们身上,我要使你们负更重的重担;我父亲用鞭子责打你们,我要用蝎子鞭责打你们。’”
12 耶罗波安和众民,照王所说“三天以后再来见我”的那话,第三天来见罗波安。 13 王严厉地回答众人。他拒绝了老年人给他所出的主意, 14 却照着年轻人给他所出的主意,对他们说:“我父亲加重你们所负的重担,我要使你们负更重的重担;我父亲用鞭子责打你们,我要用蝎子鞭责打你们。” 15 王不肯听从民众的请求,因为这个转变是出于耶和华,为要应验他藉示罗人亚希雅对尼八的儿子耶罗波安所说的话。
以色列人背叛(D)
16 以色列众人见王不肯听从他们的请求,就回答王说:
“我们在大卫里面有甚么分呢?
我们在耶西的儿子里面也没有产业;
以色列人哪,回你们自己的家去吧!
大卫啊,照顾你自己的家吧!”
于是以色列人都回自己的家去了。 17 不过住在犹大各城的以色列人,罗波安仍然作他们的王。 18 罗波安王差派掌管作苦工之人的亚多兰往以色列人那里去,以色列众人却用石头打死他。罗波安王急忙上车逃回耶路撒冷去了。 19 这样,以色列人背叛了大卫家,直到今日。
立耶罗波安作以色列人的王
20 以色列众人听说耶罗波安回来了,就派人去请他到会众面前,立他作以色列的王;除了犹大支派以外,没有跟随大卫家的。
耶和华禁止他们交战(E)
21 罗波安来到耶路撒冷,就召集了犹大全家和便雅悯支派精选的战士十八万人,要与以色列家争战,好把国夺回,重归所罗门的儿子罗波安。 22 但是, 神的话临到神人示玛雅,说: 23 “你去告诉所罗门王的儿子犹大王罗波安、犹大全家和便雅悯,以及其余的人民,说: 24 ‘耶和华这样说:你们不可上去,不可与你们的兄弟以色列人争战。你们各自回家去吧!因为这事是出于我。’”众人就听从了耶和华的话,照着耶和华的话回家去了。
耶罗波安做金牛犊
25 耶罗波安在以法莲山地修筑了示剑城,就住在城中,又从那里出去,修建了毘努伊勒。 26 耶罗波安心里说:“现在这国仍然要归回大卫家。 27 这民若是上去,在耶路撒冷耶和华的殿里献祭,这民的心就必归向他们的主犹大王罗波安,他们必把我杀了,然后回到犹大王罗波安那里去。” 28 王打定了主意,就做了两个金牛犊,对众民说:“以色列人哪,你们上耶路撒冷去实在够了。看哪,这是你们的神,就是从埃及地领你们上来的那位。” 29 他就把一个牛犊安放在伯特利,一个安放在但。 30 这事成了以色列人的罪,因为众民都到但那个牛犊面前敬拜。 31 耶罗波安在邱坛那里建殿,把不是利未子孙的平民立为祭司。 32 耶罗波安又定了八月十五日为节期,像在犹大的节期一样,他自己在祭坛上献祭,他在伯特利也是这样向他所铸造的牛犊献祭;他又在伯特利为他所建造的邱坛设立祭司。 33 八月十五日,就是他心里私定作为以色列人节期的日子,他在伯特利在自己所建的祭坛上献祭烧香。
1 Kings 12
New English Translation
Rehoboam Loses His Kingdom
12 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in[a] Shechem to make Rehoboam[b] king. 2 [c] When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since.[d] 3 They sent for him,[e] and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made us work too hard.[f] Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.”[g] 5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then return to me.” So the people went away.
6 King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served[h] his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them,[i] “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 They said to him, “Today if you will be a servant to these people and grant their request,[j] speaking kind words to them,[k] they will be your servants from this time forward.”[l] 8 But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.[m] 9 He asked them, “How do you advise me[n] to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?”[o] 10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam[p] had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you, ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.’[q] Say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father![r] 11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.[s] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’”[t]
12 Jeroboam and all the people reported[u] to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, “Return to me on the third day.” 13 The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men 14 and followed[v] the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.[w] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.”[x] 15 The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events[y] so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made[z] through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, “We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse![aa] Return to your homes, O Israel![ab] Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!”[ac] So Israel returned to their homes.[ad] 17 (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) 18 King Rehoboam sent Adoniram,[ae] the supervisor of the work crews,[af] out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day. 20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty.[ag]
21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin[ah] to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon. 22 But God told Shemaiah the prophet,[ai] 23 “Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah, and to all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the rest of the people, 24 ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you go home. Indeed this thing has happened because of me.”’” So they obeyed the Lord’s message. They went home in keeping with the Lord’s message.
Jeroboam Makes Golden Calves
25 [aj] Jeroboam built up Shechem in the Ephraimite hill country and lived there. From there he went out and built up Penuel. 26 Jeroboam then thought to himself:[ak] “Now the Davidic dynasty could regain the kingdom.[al] 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, their loyalty could shift to their former master,[am] King Rehoboam of Judah. They might kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.” 28 After the king had consulted with his advisers,[an] he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people,[ao] “It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 29 He put one in Bethel and the other in Dan. 30 This caused Israel to sin;[ap] the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.[aq]
31 He built temples[ar] on the high places and appointed as priests common people who were not Levites. 32 Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month,[as] like the festival celebrated in Judah.[at] On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made.[au] In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.
A Prophet from Judah Visits Bethel
33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen)[av] Jeroboam[aw] offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 12:1 tn Heb “come [to].”
- 1 Kings 12:1 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Kings 12:2 tc Verse 2 is not included in the Old Greek translation. See the note on 11:43.
- 1 Kings 12:2 tn Heb “and Jeroboam lived in Egypt.” The parallel text in 2 Chr 10:2 reads, “and Jeroboam returned from Egypt.” In a purely consonantal text the forms “and he lived” and “and he returned” are identical (וישׁב).
- 1 Kings 12:3 tn Heb “They sent and called for him.”
- 1 Kings 12:4 tn Heb “made our yoke burdensome.”
- 1 Kings 12:4 tn Heb “but you, now, lighten the burdensome work of your father and the heavy yoke which he placed on us, and we will serve you.” In the Hebrew text the prefixed verbal form with vav (וְנַעַבְדֶךָ, [venaʿavdekha] “and we will serve you”) following the imperative (הָקֵל [haqel], “lighten”) indicates purpose (or result). The conditional sentence used in the translation above is an attempt to bring out the logical relationship between these forms.
- 1 Kings 12:6 tn Heb “stood before.”
- 1 Kings 12:6 tn Heb “saying.”
- 1 Kings 12:7 tn Heb “and serve them and answer them,” understood as “serve them in how you answer them,” hence “grant their request.”
- 1 Kings 12:7 tn Heb “and speak to them good words.”
- 1 Kings 12:7 tn Heb “all the days.” The Hebrew phrase contrasts what he is asked to do “today” (literally “the day”) with the benefit for “all the days.”
- 1 Kings 12:8 tn Heb “He rejected the advice of the elders which they advised and he consulted the young men with whom he had grown up, who stood before him.” The referent (Rehoboam) of the initial pronoun (“he”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Kings 12:9 tn In the Hebrew text the verb “we will respond” is plural, although it can be understood as an editorial “we.” The ancient versions have the singular here.
- 1 Kings 12:9 tn Heb “Lighten the yoke which your father placed on us.”
- 1 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
- 1 Kings 12:10 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. As the following statement makes clear, Rehoboam’s point is that he is more harsh and demanding than his father.
- 1 Kings 12:11 tn Heb “and now my father placed upon you a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke.”
- 1 Kings 12:11 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” “Scorpions” might allude to some type of torture using poisonous insects, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound. Cf. CEV “whips with pieces of sharp metal.”
- 1 Kings 12:12 tn Heb “came.”
- 1 Kings 12:14 tn Heb “and spoke to them according to.”
- 1 Kings 12:14 tn Heb “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke.”
- 1 Kings 12:14 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” See the note on the same phrase in v. 11.
- 1 Kings 12:15 tn Heb “because this turn of events was from the Lord.”
- 1 Kings 12:15 tn Heb “so that he might bring to pass his word which the Lord spoke.”
- 1 Kings 12:16 sn We have no portion in David; no share in the son of Jesse. Their point seems to be that they have no familial relationship with David that brings them any benefits or places upon them any obligations. They are being treated like outsiders.
- 1 Kings 12:16 tn Heb “to your tents, Israel.” The word “return” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- 1 Kings 12:16 tn Heb “Now see your house, David.”
- 1 Kings 12:16 tn Heb “went to their tents.”
- 1 Kings 12:18 tc The MT has “Adoram” here, but the Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “Adoniram.” Cf. 1 Kgs 4:6.
- 1 Kings 12:18 sn The work crews. See the note on this expression in 4:6.
- 1 Kings 12:20 tn Heb “there was no one [following] after the house of David except the tribe of Judah, it alone.”
- 1 Kings 12:21 tn Heb “he summoned all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men, accomplished in war.”
- 1 Kings 12:22 tn Heb “and the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying.”
- 1 Kings 12:25 tc The Old Greek translation has here a lengthy section consisting of twenty-three verses that are not found in the MT.
- 1 Kings 12:26 tn Heb “said in his heart.”
- 1 Kings 12:26 tn Heb “Now the kingdom could return to the house of David.” The imperfect verbal form translated “could return” is understood as having a potential force here. Perhaps this is not strong enough; another option is “will return.”
- 1 Kings 12:27 tn Heb “the heart of these people could return to their master.”
- 1 Kings 12:28 tn The words “with his advisers” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- 1 Kings 12:28 tn Heb “to them.”
- 1 Kings 12:30 tn Heb “and this thing became a sin.”
- 1 Kings 12:30 tc The MT reads “and the people went before the one to Dan.” It is likely that some words have been accidentally omitted and that the text originally said, “and the people went before the one at Bethel and before the one at Dan.”
- 1 Kings 12:31 tn The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural is preferable here (see 1 Kgs 13:32). The Old Greek translation and the Vulgate have the plural.
- 1 Kings 12:32 sn The eighth month would correspond to October-November in modern reckoning.
- 1 Kings 12:32 sn The festival celebrated in Judah probably refers to the Feast of Tabernacles (i.e., Booths or Temporary Shelters), held in the seventh month (September-October). See also 1 Kgs 8:2.
- 1 Kings 12:32 tn Heb “and he offered up [sacrifices] on the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made.”
- 1 Kings 12:33 tn Heb “which he had chosen by himself.”
- 1 Kings 12:33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jeroboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1 Kings 12
New International Version
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam(A)
12 Rehoboam went to Shechem,(B) for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled(C) from King Solomon), he returned from[a] Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 “Your father put a heavy yoke(D) on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders(E) who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.
7 They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer,(F) they will always be your servants.”
8 But Rehoboam rejected(G) the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged(H) you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord,(I) to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah(J) the Shilonite.
16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:
“What share(K) do we have in David,
what part in Jesse’s son?
To your tents, Israel!(L)
Look after your own house, David!”
So the Israelites went home.(M) 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah,(N) Rehoboam still ruled over them.
18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,[b](O) who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death.(P) King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David(Q) to this day.
20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.(R)
21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war(S) against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.
22 But this word of God came to Shemaiah(T) the man of God:(U) 23 “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.
Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan
25 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem(V) in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.[c](W)
26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem,(X) they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”
28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves.(Y) He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”(Z) 29 One he set up in Bethel,(AA) and the other in Dan.(AB) 30 And this thing became a sin;(AC) the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.[d]
31 Jeroboam built shrines(AD) on high places and appointed priests(AE) from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth(AF) month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel,(AG) sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel.(AH) So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 12:2 Or he remained in
- 1 Kings 12:18 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 4:6 and 5:14); Hebrew Adoram
- 1 Kings 12:25 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel
- 1 Kings 12:30 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text people went to the one as far as Dan
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.