Rehoboam’s Reign of Foolishness

10 ^(A)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 it (^(B)he was in Egypt where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), Jeroboam returned from Egypt. ³ So they sent word and summoned him. When Jeroboam and all Israel came, they spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ⁴ “Your father made our ^(C)yoke hard; but now, lighten the hard labor imposed by your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” ⁵ He said to them, “Return to me again in three days.” So the people departed.

⁶ And then King Rehoboam ^(D)consulted with the elders who had ^[a]served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” ⁷ They spoke to him, saying, “If you are kind to this people and please them and ^(E)speak pleasant words to them, then they will be your servants always.” ⁸ But he ^(F)ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him ^[b]and served him. ⁹ He said to them, “What advice do you give, so that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” ¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “This is what you should say to the people who spoke to you, saying: ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us!’ You should speak this way to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹ Now then, my father loaded you with a heavy yoke; yet I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with ^[c]scorpions!’”

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ^[d]directed, saying, “Return to me on the third day.” ¹³ The king answered them harshly, and King Rehoboam ignored the advice of the elders. ¹⁴ He spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “^[e]My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with ^[f]scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, ^(G)because it was a turn of events from God ^(H)so that the Lord might establish His word, which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people replied to the king, saying,

^(J)So all Israel went away to their tents. ¹⁷ But as for the sons of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in ^(K)charge of the forced labor, and the sons of Israel stoned him ^[g]to death. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So ^(L)Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which ^(A)God gave Him to ^(B)show to His bond-servants, ^(C)the things which must soon take place; and He sent and ^[a]communicated it ^(D)by His angel to His bond-servant ^(E)John, ² who testified to ^(F)the word of God and to ^(G)the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. ^3 (H)Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and ^[b]keep the things which are written in it; ^(I)for the time is near.

Message to the Seven Churches

^4 (J)John to ^(K)the seven churches that are in ^(L)Asia: ^(M)Grace to you and peace from ^(N)Him who is, and who was, and who ^[c]is to come, and from ^(O)the ^[d]seven spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, ^(P)the faithful witness, the ^(Q)firstborn of the dead, and the ^(R)ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who ^(S)loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— ⁶ and He made us into a ^(T)kingdom, ^(U)priests to ^[e](V)His God and Father—^(W)to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ^7 (X)Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and ^(Y)every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will ^(Z)mourn over Him. ^[f]So it is to be. Amen.

⁸ “I am ^(AA)the Alpha and the Omega,” says the ^(AB)Lord God, “^(AC)who is and who was and who ^[g]is to come, the Almighty.”

The Patmos Vision

^9 (AD)I, John, your ^(AE)brother and ^(AF)fellow participant in the tribulation and ^(AG)kingdom and ^[h](AH)perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(AI)because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was ^(AJ)in the ^[i]Spirit on ^(AK)the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(AL)like the sound of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “^(AM)Write ^[j]on a scroll what you see, and send it to the ^(AN)seven churches: to ^(AO)Ephesus, ^(AP)Smyrna, ^(AQ)Pergamum, ^(AR)Thyatira, ^(AS)Sardis, ^(AT)Philadelphia, and ^(AU)Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw ^(AV)seven golden lampstands; ¹³ and ^(AW)in the middle of the lampstands I saw one ^(AX)like ^[k]a son of man, ^(AY)clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and ^(AZ)wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴ His head and His ^(BA)hair were white like white wool, like snow; and ^(BB)His eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵ His ^(BC)feet were like ^[l]burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His ^(BD)voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In His right hand He held ^(BE)seven stars, and out of His mouth came a ^(BF)sharp two-edged sword; and His ^(BG)face was like ^(BH)the sun ^[m]shining in its strength.

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I ^(BI)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He ^(BJ)placed His right hand on me, saying, “^(BK)Do not be afraid; ^(BL)I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the ^(BM)living One; and I ^[n](BN)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have ^(BO)the keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹ Therefore ^(BP)write ^(BQ)the things which you have seen, ^[o]and the things which are, and the things which will take place ^(BR)after these things. ²⁰ As for the ^(BS)mystery of the ^(BT)seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the ^(BU)seven golden lampstands: the ^(BV)seven stars are the angels of ^(BW)the seven churches, and the seven ^(BX)lampstands are the seven churches.