2 Chronicles 10
New English Translation
The Northern Tribes Rebel
10 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in[a] Shechem to make Rehoboam[b] king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon. Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 They sent for him,[c] and Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made us work too hard![d] Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.”[e] 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[f] his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them,[g] “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 They said to him, “If you are fair to these people, grant their request, and are cordial to them, they will be your servants from this time forward.”[h] 8 But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.[i] 9 He asked them, “How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?”[j] 10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam[k] 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’[l]—say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father![m] 11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.[n] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’”[o]
12 Jeroboam and all the people reported 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[p] rejected the advice of the older men 14 and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you;[q] I will make them even heavier.[r] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.”[s] 15 The king refused to listen to the people, because God was instigating this turn of events[t] so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made[u] through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
16 When all Israel saw[v] 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![w] Return to your homes, O Israel![x] Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!”[y] So all Israel returned to their homes.[z] 17 (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) 18 King Rehoboam sent Hadoram,[aa] the supervisor of the work crews, out after them, but the Israelites 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.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 10:1 tn Heb “come [to].”
- 2 Chronicles 10:1 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 10:3 tn Heb “They sent and called for him.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:4 tn Heb “made our yoke burdensome.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:4 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, venaʿavedekha, “and we will serve you”) following the imperative (הָקֵל, haqel, “lighten”) indicates purpose/result. The conditional sentence used in the present translation is an attempt to bring out the logical relationship between these forms.
- 2 Chronicles 10:6 tn Heb “stood before.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:6 tn Heb “saying.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:7 tn Heb “If you are for good to these people and you are favorable to them and speak to them good words, they will be your servants all the days.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:8 tn Heb “Rehoboam 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.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:9 tn Heb “Lighten the yoke which your father placed on us.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 10:10 tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:10 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 (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.
- 2 Chronicles 10:11 tn Heb “and now my father placed upon you a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:11 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.
- 2 Chronicles 10:13 tn Heb “King Rehoboam.” The pronoun “he” has been used in the translation in place of the proper name in keeping with contemporary English style.
- 2 Chronicles 10:14 tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will make heavy your yoke,” but many medieval Hebrew mss and other ancient textual witnesses have, “my father made heavy your yoke.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:14 tn Heb “but I will add to your yoke.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:14 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.
- 2 Chronicles 10:15 tn Heb “because this turn of events was from God.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:15 tn Heb “so that the Lord might bring to pass his word which he spoke.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:16 tc The MT does not include the word “saw,” but many medieval Hebrew mss as well as several ancient versions have it. See the parallel text of 1 Kings 12:16, which has the verb וַיַּרְא (from רָאָה, raʾah, “to see”).
- 2 Chronicles 10:16 sn The people’s 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.
- 2 Chronicles 10:16 tn Heb “each one to your tents, Israel.” The word “return” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- 2 Chronicles 10:16 tn Heb “Now see your house, David.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:16 tn Heb “went to their tents.”
- 2 Chronicles 10:18 sn In the parallel account in 1 Kgs 12:18 this name appears as “Adoniram.”
2 Chronicles 10
King James Version
10 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king.
2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.
3 And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying,
4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.
5 And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed.
6 And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?
7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.
8 But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him.
9 And he said unto them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people, which have spoken to me, saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father did put upon us?
10 And the young men that were brought up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.
11 For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to me on the third day.
13 And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,
14 And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
15 So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the Lord might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents.
17 But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
18 Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
19 And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
2 Chronicles 10
English Standard Version
The Revolt Against Rehoboam
10 (A)Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, (B)where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 (C)“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” 5 He said to them, “Come to me again in three days.” So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men,[a] who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, (D)“If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us’; thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. 11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men, 14 King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel 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 it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word, (E)which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. (F)Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So all Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent (G)Hadoram,[b] who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 10:6 Or the elders; also verses 8, 13
- 2 Chronicles 10:18 Spelled Adoram in 1 Kings 12:18
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